Biofuels are less efficient and not cheaper in long run

Washington Examiner:

Parts of the transportation industry are worried that a Trump administration proposal to reduce the amount of biofuels blended into the nation's fuel supply will drive up prices.

Convenience store owners and truck stop operators, who interact directly with the users of fuel, say they have plenty at stake if the Renewable Fuel Standard were weakened.

"At a high level, truck stops play an integral role in the functioning of the Renewable Fuel Standard, because biodiesel is the most critical renewable fuel source under the program and most biodiesel is sold at truck stops," said David Fialkov, vice president of government relations at the National Association of Truck Stop Owners. "The Renewable Fuel Standard should allow us to incorporate renewable fuel into supply in a manner that allows us to lower the price charged to customers for fuel."

The Renewable Fuel Standard, a law passed in 2005 under President George W. Bush to promote renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, requires a certain amount of biofuels to be blended into the nation's fuel supply.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has proposed targets for 2017 and 2018 that are slightly below current levels after oil companies complained about the costs of blending ethanol and other biofuels.

Under the law, refiners must blend ethanol or other biofuels into their products or purchase credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers, from refiners that do.

The prices of those credits, which had been stable, have jumped in recent years, which oil refiners say drive up pump prices for consumers.

The EPA, which must finalize the regulations by Nov. 30, is looking to cut the total renewable fuel requirement from 19.24 billion gallons under the proposed 2018 standard to 18.77 billion gallons for 2019, a 2.5 percent cut.

It proposed cutting the already established 2018 volumes of biodiesel, which was set at 2.1 billion gallons, by up to 315 million gallons, which would be 15 percent.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other Midwestern lawmakers have threatened to hold up President Trump's EPA nominees over the proposed cut, arguing the move would result in job losses for local farmers that produce the corn, soybeans and other agricultural components that go into the fuel.
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If biofuels and ethanol really added value they would not need the Renewable Fuel Standard.  If they really made fuel cheaper no one would be forced to buy it or purchase credits. 

The fact is that the requirements were put in place at a time of perceived scarcity of more efficient fossil fuels.  Now there is no need whatsoever for the requirements other than rent-seeking by agricultural interests.  Let consumers decide whether they want this stuff. 

Personally, I would never willingly buy the stuff.  They make engines less efficient.  They screw up small engines like those used on chainsaws and lawnmowers.