EPA’s proposed 2017 RFS mandates will raise prices at the pump and on the plate

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a proposed 2017 required volume obligation for biofuels under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that will require refiners to blend up to 18.8 billion gallons of  biofuels into the U.S. fuel supply next year. The mandate for conventional corn-based ethanol was proposed to be 14.8 billion gallons, up from 14.5 billion gallons for 2016. “EPA is proposing to guarantee a record domestic volume to ethanol producers for the fifth year in a row,” said Mike Brown, President of the National Chicken Council. Brown noted that the proposed volume equates to nearly 10.4 percent of projected total fuel use in 2017 according to the Energy Information Administration’s projections.  Read More