To qualify for California’s low carbon fuel standard or sustainable aviation fuel, a carbon score of 50 or below is required. With a carbon score of 60, ethanol currently does not qualify for these new markets. The score can be lowered if ethanol plants remove the carbon dioxide and bury it. Former House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson, who is now an advisor for the American Carbon Alliance, said the ethanol industry can only grow it it gets into these new markets. “The RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard) tops out at 15 billion gallons and there is no more capacity under the law. They cannot get in those markets until the carbon issue is addressed.” Ethanol totally changed the market dynamics in agriculture. “If this thing comes to a halt, you could see a situation where we we go back to the way it was before ethanol came into the marketplace. You could end up at $2 or $3 (per bushel corn).” Peterson won’t get into the battle over pipelines, but wants carbon capture addressed to help farmers and the ethanol industry.
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