IARN — The Iowa Corn Growers Association continues to urge the Biden administration to support an increased role for biofuels to achieve its carbon reduction goals.
Earlier this year, President Biden released a carbon reduction plan for cars and trucks which includes a goal for electric vehicles to represent half of new vehicles sold starting in 2030 along with a proposed rulemaking to update fuel efficiency and emissions standards through model year 2026.
New ICGA President Lance Lillibridge says Iowa Corn has been lobbying on behalf of the ethanol industry for decades, and that the organization is hopeful the president embraces the role ethanol can play in reducing emissions.
“Iowa Corn kind of helped start the whole ethanol industry back in the 70s,” said Lillibridge. “It was a great move. Ethanol is such a cleaner burning fuel. It’s cheaper and there are so many benefits to it. Ethanol is renewable. This corn field out here is the best solar collector that we have. To able to take that energy from the sun and use it in a liquid fuel, I don’t know how it could get any better.”
Besides being a renewable fuel and helping lower emissions, Lillibridge says ethanol also lowers costs at the pump. E15, often marketed as Unleaded 88, costs between 5 to 10 cents less per gallon than Super Unleaded E10, while E85 for flex fuel vehicles is even cheaper.
“The carbon footprint of ethanol, it’s going down all the time,” said Lillibridge. “There is a possibility here in a few years where that carbon footprint would become net zero or negative. We really need to focus on ethanol and the clean air. I see the UK has bumped up their standards from 5% to 10%. That was a big deal. That means other nations are seeing that benefit as well.”
A press release from ICGA says the organization will continue to work with the Biden Administration to broaden the opportunity for biofuels to enhance the President’s carbon reduction plan and strengthen the final rulemaking on fuel efficiency and emissions standards.
