The Environmental Protection Agency finalized new greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks without including requirements that could have increased the use of ethanol.
The standards announced Monday are instead projected to promote the sale of electric vehicles. The standards apply to car models from 2023 through 2026 and will result in a 3-billion-ton reduction in the amount of GHG emissions through 2050, the agency said. EPA administrator Michael Regan called the standards “robust and rigorous.”
EPA estimates that sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles will grow from about 7% market share in the 2023 model year to about 17% for 2026. The standards also are expected to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 4.6 billion gallons in 2027, a 3.7% reduction from 2020 usage. Lower gasoline consumption could translate into reduced demand for ethanol unless blending rates are increased.
In comments filed in March, the Renewable Fuels Association complained that EPA's proposed standards did not mention that high-compression engines necessary to meet the standards would also require higher-octane fuels to prevent premature fuel ignition. Among other things, the group asked Regan to require a transition to a higher minimum-octane gasoline, with a research octane number of 98 to100.
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"At a minimum, the final rule for the 2023-2026 standards should include a statement expressing the agency's intent to consider adoption of a high octane fuel standard as part of a future longer-term rulemaking to establish standards for 2027 and beyond," RFA said in the comments.
RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said Monday that omitting ethanol from the standards was a “missed opportunity.”
“It appears EPA has again failed to recognize that the fuels we put into our engines can have as much—or more—impact on fuel economy and GHG emissions as the engine technologies themselves. EPA had the opportunity to use this rulemaking as a tool for moving toward the adoption of high-octane, low-carbon (HOLC) liquid fuels, but chose not to open the toolbox,” Cooper said.
“Research has proven that HOLC fuels can significantly improve fuel economy and reduce emissions from the light-duty vehicle fleet, while also reducing the harmful tailpipe pollution linked to heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses.”
Another industry group, Growth Energy, also wanted to see a minimum octane standard put in place, as well as approval for high octane, mid-level ethanol fuel for vehicle certification and credits for the production of flex-fuel vehicles, according to testimony the group's senior vice president of regulatory affairs, Chris Bliley, presented to the EPA.
Emily Skor, the CEO of Growth Energy, said Monday that "it is disappointing that EPA didn’t find an expanded role for high octane, low-carbon fuels like ethanol to reduce emissions in its final rule.”
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