Big Oil sues over cellulosic ethanol mandate

A Better Iowa
Des Moines Register
1:16 PM, July 25, 2012


Oil companies have never liked the federal Renewable Fuels Standard, but they have a special ire for the requirement for the use of non-corn, cellulosic ethanol that is virtually nonexistent.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the largest oil companies, filed a lawsuit with the D.C. Circuit Court late Tuesday challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s mandated use of cellulosic biofuels in the 2011 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Cellulosic biofuels, made from crop residue or grasses, have been slower to develop than originally hoped and for the last two years the EPA has acknowledged that federal targets for the noncorn ethanol have not been met.

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