Advocates for the biofuel industry are quick to point out that California could quickly reduce emissions by permitting higher ethanol blends at gas stations. With Californians logging more than 340 billion miles a year on the road, the benefits add up.
A UC Riverside study out this week has confirmed this. The research found that the E15 blend would provide notable reductions over conventional gasoline. Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, cheered the report and pointed out that E15 is often cheaper as well.
This is not news to Republican Sen. Shannon Grove, who represents a region that produces most of the state’s oil. Grove raised the issue during a confirmation hearing this week for two members of the Air Resources Board.
She took issue with CARB mandating truck and tractor owners upgrade to lower-emission models and noted the agency has found it can achieve the same results through biofuels. “Why are we not using that instead of requiring the new purchase?” she asked, adding that a new truck runs $250,000.
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Grove also took issue with CARB’s new Advanced Clean Fleets regulation for converting trucks to zero-emissions. John Eisenhut, the board’s ag member, responded that the regulation does include exemptions when charging infrastructure is not available. He also explained that CARB will hold a technology review in five years to study how far manufacturers have come in developing commercially available ZEV trucks.
Several farm groups registered their support for appointing Eisenhut to another term. Former Gov. Jerry Brown nominated him to the role 10 years ago and Gov. Newsom hopes to keep him there until 2030.
