Geoff Cooper, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, says former New York congressman Lee Zeldin is not known for supporting biofuels. Now that President-elect Donald Trump has tapped him to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will that change?
Cooper is optimistic that economic and political dynamics have changed in ethanol’s favor.
“We’re very eager and looking forward to an opportunity to sit down with Mr. Zeldin and get him updated on what’s happening in the ethanol world today, what’s happening with the Renewable Fuels Standard,” he says. “Frankly, we think ethanol can check a lot of boxes and meet a lot of goals that the incoming Trump administration has stated whether it’s putting American energy first… leveling the playing field for trade, lowering consumer costs at the pump — those are all things that renewable fuels can help with.”
The first order of business for RFA is to get EPA to publish a final rule on Renewable Fuel Standard volumes for 2026 and beyond. Cooper says this would ensure more ethanol gets blended into fuel, which lowers the price at the gas pump.
“We’re seeing more and more E15 out there, and again, what’s pushing more E15 into the marketplace is the Renewable Fuel Standard because it requires annually increasing volumes of renewable fuels to be blended into our gasoline and diesel each and every year,” he says.
In addition, RFA wants to see support for Sustainable Aviation Fuel with a clear path forward on tax credits for SAF production. He says while the U.S. leads the world in ethanol production, we’re at risk of missing out on leading the world in new ethanol uses, such as SAF.