The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused another biofuel company of generating and selling fraudulent Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), marking the fourth case of RIN fraud since the federal ethanol mandate was passed in 2005. A RIN is a string of numbers used for identification when the ethanol industry produces a gallon of ethanol. Refiners acquire RINs as proof of purchase when they buy ethanol from producers, as required by federal law. These RINs—a creation of...
Continue Reading...

United States oil production has passed yet another milestone, reaching its highest level in 25 years. According to the EIA, the oil industry produced 8.075 million barrels per day in the first week of December, the most since October of 1988. This increase in production is largely occurring on state and private lands and has been a rare bright spot for an otherwise struggling economy. Technological strides in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have made it possible and economical...
Continue Reading...

The federal rulemaking process depends on sound science, especially when human lives are at stake. A proposed rule  from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would stiffen regulations for crystalline silica, a group of minerals used in numerous industries, including hydraulic fracturing. Prolonged exposure to respirable crystalline silica is associated with silicosis, an incurable disease that causes impaired respiratory function and scarring of the lungs. Unfortunately,...
Continue Reading...

Imagine an alternate universe in which a new diet craze began in 2005, where fitness gurus urged Americans to massively increase their corn intake. The spiking prices led farmers to substitute corn for other crops, and to bring new land under cultivation to meet the exploding demand from consumers. Then an Associated Press investigation reveals the dark side to the new fad: Five million acres of land taken out of conservation and turned into farmland, wetlands filled, and water sources...
Continue Reading...

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), have joined today in opposition to another extension of the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC). In a letter sent to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the Senators call for the permanent expiration of the wind PTC. AEA President Thomas Pyle released the following statement:

"The American Energy Alliance welcomes the efforts of this...

Continue Reading...

In a previous post we discussed the EPA’s proposed reduction to the 2014 biofuel mandate: Because motor vehicle consumption of gasoline has risen more slowly than legislators assumed back in 2007 when the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) statute was updated, the originally mandated targets would have required refiners to surpass the “blend wall.” In other words, the original mandates would have forced refiners to put more ethanol into the nation’s fuel mix than would be safe for many...
Continue Reading...

[caption id="attachment_1696" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Flickr/snake.eyes[/caption] The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a hearing this week on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The hearing comes on the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to reduce the total volume obligation for 2014. Testifying at the hearing, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Charles Drevna  explained some of the flaws with...
Continue Reading...

Have you noticed the price of beef, chicken, and eggs going up in recent years? This is what happens when federal laws require turning food into fuel. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires refiners to blend ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. Because the only domestic source of cost-effective ethanol is corn-based ethanol, this means that federal law mandates turning food into fuel. As a new ad campaign explains, the Renewable Fuel Standard makes it more difficult for American...
Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

WASHINGTON -- The American Energy Alliance launched today a week-long initiative targeting federal subsidies for the wind industry. The initiative includes a $40,000 digital and print ad buy promoting a new report from AEA's parent organization, the Institute for Energy Research. The report, titled "Estimating the State-Level Impact of Federal Wind Energy Subsidies" , provides a state by state and region by region assessment of the distributional impacts of federal wind subsidies. The ad...
Continue Reading...