Coalition Pleased to Welcome EESI, 25×25, California Biomass Energy Alliance and California Rice Commission as Supporters
Washington, DC – May 1, 2019 – The RFS Power Coalition today announced four supporting organizations, representing a wide range of stakeholders who support the inclusion of electricity in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), 25×25, California Biomass Energy Alliance (CBEA) and California Rice Commission are the first four supporting organizations for the coalition.
“We are grateful to EESI, 25×25, CBEA and the California Rice Commission for their support of the RFS Power Coalition,” said Bob Cleaves, president and CEO of the Biomass Power Association, one of the three founding members of the RFS Power Coalition. “The inclusion of electricity in the RFS will benefit not only the biomass power, biogas and waste-to-energy industries, but many other industries and organizations that have a stake in a strong and growing renewable electricity sector. We call on the EPA to implement the eRIN program, as Congress intended, as soon as possible.”
“EESI recognizes the importance of including electricity in the RFS,” said Carol Werner, executive director of EESI, which recently published a blog post on eRINs. “The sustainable utilization of biomass, biogas and so many feedstocks of organic wastes which can be converted into energy/electricity as well as other products is one of those important, common-sense ‘win-win’ strategies. This is a case of using material that can create problems if not utilized, and by utilizing this material we can create new revenue streams and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel at the same time. We estimate that, just by allowing electricity to participate in the RFS, the EPA could immediately increase the volume of low-carbon biofuels by 50 percent or more. As an independent non-profit organization originally started by a bipartisan Congressional caucus in 1984, EESI looks for bipartisan common-sense policy solutions that can help solve environmental and energy problems across the country. Electricity was included in the RFS2, and the EPA should not delay the implementation of the program.”
“At 25x’25, our mission is to see America’s farms, forests and ranches providing 25 percent of the nation’s total energy by 2025,” said Ernie Shea, coordinator of 25×25. “Including electricity in the RFS is critical to this mission because it’s helping farmers and landowners create value out of otherwise unusable materials. The EPA should implement this program and advance the bioeconomy for the benefit of rural communities and energy security.”
“The California Biomass Energy Alliance serves the biomass power industry of California,” said Julee Malinowski-Ball, executive director of CBEA. “We support any federal laws that will strengthen the biomass industry and California, and help our members continue to contribute to California’s economy and its effort to prevent catastrophic wildfires. Biomass power offers environmental benefits that are helping the state of California meet its aggressive climate and air quality goals, and can be crucial as a forest management tool.”
“Biomass power facilities are a crucial partner for our family farmers and mills that grow and process rice. Biomass power enables the use of rice hulls, a part of the rice plant that is unusable and takes a long time to degrade,” said Tim Johnson, President & CEO of the California Rice Commission. “We want biomass power facilities, including our partners, to utilize our waste rice hulls in a manner that is a true win-win for our growers, California’s power supply and the environment. We urge the EPA to implement the eRIN program right away.”
About the RFS Power Coalition
The RFS Power Coalition is a group of organizations dedicated to activating the renewable electricity pathway of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Coalition is led by the Biomass Power Association, American Biogas Council and Energy Recovery Council, the trade associations that represent, respectively, domestic biomass power producers who use organic fuels like forest residues, biogas-to-electricity producers like dairy farmers and wastewater treatment facilities, and waste-to-energy producers. All three fuels – biomass, biogas and biogenic waste – qualify as renewable transportation fuels that should be included in the D3 cellulosic and D5 advanced fuel categories of the RFS. https://rfspower.com