The biofuel debate goes to Washington

The brewing battle over a federal biofuel-blending mandate will hit Capitol Hill at a Wednesday hearing. The House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements will take a look at the renewable fuel standard, which is the subject of a growing political and lobbying effort. “It is one thing to say we want to help and protect the environment in our nation. It’s another thing to create an impossible standard,” Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who chairs the subpanel, told The Hill on Tuesday.  Several bipartisan bills aimed at changing the rule have been filed in both the House and the Senate, though the GOP-controlled House looks more eager to tackle the issue. The rule requires refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuel into conventional fuel by 2022. Among the rule’s detractors are the oil-and-gas industry, livestock and poultry groups and some environmental organizations that oppose corn ethanol. Opponents argue the rule’s blending targets are accelerating too quickly. They say refiners must then either churn out gasoline with higher ethanol concentrations or purchase renewable fuel credits...more