Advanced Biofuels Association President Michael McAdams Talks Renewable Fuel Standard at 15th Annual OPIS RFS, RINs & Biofuels Forum
On September 28, the Advanced Biofuels Association’s President, Michael McAdams, discussed the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) at a policy panel during the 15th Annual OPIS RFS, RINs, & Biofuel Forum. On the biofuels side, McAdams was joined by Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper, and representing traditional fuel companies was American Petroleum Institute VP of Downstream Policy Will Hupman and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Senior VP of Government Relations and Policy Geoff Moody. Expectations for the event were high, with the conference calling it the “most anticipated RFS discussion of the year.”
This year’s discussion was timely given the EPA’s Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) ruling in June as part of its first ever “set” process. During the panel, McAdams emphasized advanced biofuels’ potential to decrease carbon emissions across all areas of the transpiration sector. He also added that, with an ever-increasing urgency to decrease emissions, a technology-neutral, all-of-the-above carbon reduction strategy is needed to achieve America’s climate ambitions.
“Common sense carbon reduction is the conversation we need to be having, and that’s going to take off after 2024,” said McAdams on the panel.
The Renewable Fuel Standard has already helped grow the domestic production of low-carbon, sustainable fuels from 343 million gallons in 2010 to over 2.3 billion gallons today. The decision to expand RVOs for 2023-2025 is an exciting step in the right direction and will lead to more investment in technologies proven to reduce carbon emissions.
Describing these advancements, McAdams stated: “There are many new innovative technologies coming online far beyond what was initially contemplated in the 2007 RFS bill that are going to increase volumes and carbon reductions for decades to come.”
As McAdams has previously discussed, the current RVOs still undervalue America’s advanced biofuels sector’s production capacity. The advanced biofuels industry is ready and willing to play a crucial role in emission reductions, but they need a more supportive RFS to make lasting reductions.