The executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has a mixed reaction to the U-S Environmental Protection Agency decision to give 34 small refineries from mixing reneable fuels with gas. Monte Shaw describes the announcement as a “bad news-maybe not so bad news” situation.
But Shaw also believes the Trump Administration will protect ethanol producers through the proposed reallocation of the waived gallons in the 2026 and 2027 renewable fuel obligations.
Shaw is cautiously optimistic that the reallocation will happen.
Shaw and other renewable fuel supporters are pleased about the California Legislature’s approval this week of the E-15 Cleanup Act the removes the final technical barrier to year-round E-15 sales in that state. Shaw says it will take months and years to implement E-15 sales, but he says the market there has the huge potential for 600 or 700 million gallons of new ethanol demand.
