US biofuels industry welcomes Trump election victory

The US biofuels industry is voicing its support for Presidential-elect Donald Trump, saying he “understands” the needs of the renewable fuels industry.

Trump took the world by surprise on Wednesday by decisively beating his competitor Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

Several US biofuels companies have come out congratulating the presidential elect and supporting his views on the sector.

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, said Trump has “repeatedly” expressed strong support for both ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“He understands the importance of clean, domestic energy resources and the economic power of value-added agriculture. We are confident Trump will continue to support the expanded production and use of fuel ethanol,” Dinneen said.

“The president-elect is committed to removing regulatory barriers that impede growth. We look forward to working with a Trump administration to remove unnecessary volatility restrictions that have discouraged market acceptance of higher level ethanol blends like E15 and created unreasonable administrative burdens,” he added.

Ethanol industry’s trade association Growth Energy’s CEO Emily Skor echoed Dinneen’s views, but also extended a hand to Clinton.

“Trump has publicly supported the RFS throughout his campaign, and consistently opposed any efforts to roll back this policy.

“In fact, the RFS was one issue where both candidates found common ground, and we applaud their recognition of the importance that biofuels, like ethanol, play in fuelling our country,” said Skor.

Adam Monroe, president for Americas at Danish bio-solutions developer Novozymes, said the company supports Trump’s “ambitions” and that he understands the need for “good policy”.

“During the campaign, the President-elect expressed support for biotechnology generally and bioenergy and agriculture specifically, all core to America’s economy and keeping our country on the leading edge of innovation and discovery.

“It’s incumbent on the private sector to imagine and build cutting-edge solutions to solve society’s challenges – but we count on the President-elect to encourage that kind of groundbreaking innovation with smart, consistently-administered policy,” Monroe said in a statement.

Iowa Biodiesel Board also said it is “optimistic” of the policies Trump will pursue vis-à-vis biodiesel and extended congratulations to the Iowa congressional delegation, elected simultaneously with the next President.

“Our state owes these Congressional leaders gratitude for fighting time and again to give biodiesel the place at the table it deserves. Biodiesel is a critical piece of our nation’s ambitions for energy security, Greenhouse Gas reduction and economic development,” said Grant Kimberley, executive director at Iowa Biodiesel Board.

The Republican Party now controls the US decision-making system with wins in both the presidential and general elections, thus gaining majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

This article was written by Ilari Kauppila, deputy editor at Biofuels International