20th anniversary of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which has successfully lowered gas prices and improved U.S. energy independence, while contributing to stronger farms and cleaner air.
On Oct. 2, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed legislation allowing E15 in the state, the final one to approve the lower-cost fuel blend.
The EPA gives final approval to a petition from the Governors of eight Midwest states allowing permanent, year-round sales of E15 in those states beginning in 2025.
North America’s first commercial ethanol-to-jet SAF facility begins operations in Soperton, Georgia.
The RFA debuts the world's first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Flex Fuel Vehicle (PHEFFV), a 2022 Ford Escape that combines the benefits of a flex fuel vehicle (FFV) capable of operating on low-carbon E85, and a plug-in battery electric vehicle.
The EPA finalizes RFS volumes for 2023-2025, marking the first time the agency set standards for multiple years at a time. It also marks the beginning of the “post-2022 era” for the RFS, in which there are no specific Congressionally mandated volumes and EPA has more discretion to establish RFS levels.
Recognizing the ability of ethanol to extend domestic fuel supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EPA issues emergency waivers removing the summertime barrier to E15 and allowing year-round sales of the fuel. EPA would go on to take similar action in both 2023 and 2024.
The Inflation Reduction Act is signed into law. The legislation provides grant funding for higher-blend biofuels infrastructure; extends several current biofuel tax credits; creates new tax credits for clean fuel production (45Z) and sustainable aviation fuel (40B); and enhances support for carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
RFA ethanol producer members commit to ensuring ethanol achieves a net-zero carbon footprint, on average, by 2050 or sooner.
As the industry begins to recover from COVID-induced demand destruction, U.S. ethanol production rebounds by 8 percent over 2020 levels.
The White House announced the Sustainable Aviation Fuels “Grand Challenge,” a strategic initiative to increase SAF production to at least 3 billion gallons annually by 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic leads to global lockdowns and fuel demand plummets, causing many ethanol producers to pivot to hand sanitizer and industrial alcohol production. At the peak of the crisis, over half the industry’s capacity was shuttered and roughly three-quarters of ethanol plants were offline or operating at reduced rates.
In its first decade, ethanol generates more greenhouse gas reductions than any other fuel used to meet LCFS requirements in California’s LCFS program.
The EPA’s secretive issuance of “small refinery exemptions” allows dozens of oil refiners to avoid RFS blending obligations, undercutting the ethanol market and causing more than 20 plants to temporarily shutter.
U.S. ethanol production reaches a record 16.1 billion gallons.
Ethanol consumption breaks the “blend wall,” making up more than 10% of the nation’s fuel.
The EPA approves blends of 15% ethanol (E15) for use in model year 2001 and newer passenger cars and light trucks.
VEETC and the ethanol tariff are allowed to expire.
U.S. becomes a net exporter of ethanol, exceeding 1 billion gallons for the first time.
California’s first-in-the-nation Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) takes effect.
As of March 2008, U.S. ethanol production capacity was at 7.2 billion gallons, with an additional 6.2 billion gallons of capacity under construction.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 expanded the Renewable Fuel Standard to require that 36 billion gallons of ethanol and other fuels including advanced and cellulosic biofuels be blended into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel by 2022.
In 2007, the United States consumed 6.8 billion gallons of ethanol and the average blend rate in the U.S. hits 5%.
An Argonne National Laboratory study compared data on water, electricity, and total energy usage from 2001 and 2006. During this period, America's ethanol industry achieved improvements in efficiency and resource use while it increased production nearly 300%.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is signed into law, creating the Renewable Fuel Standard ensuring gasoline sold in the United States contained a minimum volume of renewable fuel. The regulations aimed to double, by 2012, the use of renewable fuel, mainly ethanol. The bill also eliminated liability protections for gasoline suppliers using MTBE, effectively driving MTBE out of the marketplace.
The ethanol tax exemption was transformed into the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC).
A 1998 law reduced the ethanol tax incentive to 52 cents per gallon, starting January 1, 2003.
As of October 2003, a total of 18 States had passed legislation that would eventually ban MTBE.
California began switching from MTBE to ethanol to make reformulated gasoline, resulting in a significant increase in ethanol demand by mid-year, even though the state ban did not officially go into effect until 2004.
U.S. automakers continued to produce large numbers of E85 flex fuel vehicles to meet Federal regulations that required a certain percentage of fleet vehicles capable of running on alternative fuels. Over 3 million of these vehicles were in use.
At the same time, several States were encouraging fueling stations to sell E85.
With only 169 stations in the United States selling E85, most flex fuel vehicles are still operating on gasoline.
BP and ExxonMobil begin phasing out MTBE and switching to ethanol in California.
A 1998 law reduced the ethanol tax incentive to 53 cents per gallon, starting January 1, 2001.
The EPA recommended that MTBE should be phased out nationally.
