Growth Energy slams API Renewable Fuel Standard poll

US ethanol trade body Growth Energy has slammed a poll commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which claimed that consumers were concerned about the costs of supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

API Downstream group director Frank Macchiarola released the poll on Friday (7 April).

“Sixty-eight percent of registered voters are concerned about the government requiring increased amounts of ethanol in gasoline and 74% agree that federal regulations could contribute to increased costs at the pump,” said Macchiarola.

He added: “Consumers have spoken loud and clear. The results of a new national API poll on the ethanol mandate send another strong signal to policymakers that RFS reform is desperately needed.”

In response to this poll, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said: “API’s reoccurring push polls rely on misinformation and leading questions to get the answers Big Oil wants to hear.

He added: “They’ve never been remotely accurate. Not only do homegrown fuels enjoy broad bipartisan support, recent polling shows that strong support for the RFS helped decide the last election. More than eight in ten battleground voters shared President Trump’s support for ethanol and the RFS.

“Consumers and voters alike appreciate that homegrown biofuels protect the environment, improve our energy security, and deliver savings at the gas pump. And the market agrees. More and more retailers are offering higher biofuel blends to their customers, and those retailers report rapidly growing sales of blends like E15. That growth is not only good for drivers, it’s good for communities looking to policymakers for support during the worst downturn in farm income since the Great Depression.”

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) also dismissed the poll. It stated that nearly 60% of those polled in a recent national survey support the RFS.

‘Cleaner air’

The survey, conducted in late March by Morning Consult on behalf of the RFA, found that 58% of those polled support the RFS, with only 17% of those polled opposed to the RFS. That’s a more than 3:1 margin of support for the RFS.

“Consumers all across our country are seeing the benefits of the RFS, whether it’s cleaner air, a reduction in our dependence on petroleum or a boost to local economies,” said RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFS has been an unmitigated success, stimulating growth in domestic renewable fuels, creating a value-added market for farmers and providing choice at the pump for consumers.”

“It’s no wonder that API, which represents petroleum producers, wants to obfuscate the success of a program that boosts the production and use of renewable fuel. Consumers want a choice at the pump and the RFS helps ensure that choice exists. API can release all the push polls it wants, but the truth speaks for itself,” Dinneen added.