Iowa backs Renewable Fuel Standard extension

The Iowa Senate passed a bipartisan resolution calling on the US Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), President Obama and the next president of the US to continue to support the renewable fuels standard (RFS) through to 2022 in order to encourage American energy production and to strengthen rural communities.

The resolution calls the RFS one of the simple most successful energy policies in US history and notes the program represents a congressional promise to American biofuel producers, farmers, communities and investors that biofuel blend levels will increase each year.

The resolution serves as a reminder of the benefits of the RFS to the state of Iowa in terms of economic output and the preservation of Iowa’s agricultural way of life, according to US ethanol trade body Growth Energy.

“The RFS has been a tremendously successful bipartisan policy that’s worked to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by producing our own clean American fuel and in leading the innovation of 21st century solutions to our energy needs. We need to keep this momentum going and I commend the Iowa Senate for passing this resolution,” said Tom Buis, co-chair of Growth Energy.