Requests to Waive the Renewable Fuel Standard

The document examines requests from livestock and poultry producers to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to lower corn prices following a severe 2012 drought. It argues that such a waiver would provide limited short-term price relief while causing significant long-term economic and environmental harm, including increased oil dependence, higher gasoline prices, and discouraged investment in advanced biofuels. The brief highlights that the ethanol industry is already responding to high corn prices through production cuts and the use of blending credits, and emphasizes the RFS's role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing national energy security.

• The 2012 heat wave and drought significantly reduced the U.S. corn crop, with the USDA estimating a 13 percent decrease compared to 2011, totaling approximately 10.7 billion bushels.
• The net amount of corn required to meet the 2013 RFS requirement of 13.8 billion gallons is approximately 3.4 billion bushels, which represents about 32 percent of the anticipated 2012 harvest.
• The ethanol industry has already reduced corn demand by cutting production—which dropped more than 13 percent between June and late August 2012—and drawing down inventories of over 19 million barrels.
• Refiners possess approximately 2.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel blending credits that could be used in 2012 or 2013, potentially reducing corn demand by more than 850 million bushels without an EPA waiver.
• An RFS waiver may only marginally reduce corn prices; for example, one analysis suggests a complete waiver for 2013 would lower prices by about $0.58 per bushel, while another suggests a range from $0.00 to $1.31 per bushel depending on specific market conditions.
• Waiving the RFS would likely increase gasoline prices for consumers and increase the U.S. trade deficit by requiring more imported petroleum-based gasoline to replace the displaced ethanol.
• Policy uncertainty regarding the RFS threatens the commercialization of advanced biofuels, as the USDA estimates that over 500 new biorefineries costing up to $168 billion must be built to meet 2022 requirements.

APA

Stowe, N. (2012). Requests to Waive the Renewable Fuel Standard. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-requests-to-waive-the-renewable-fuel-standard

Chicago

Stowe, Ned. Requests to Waive the Renewable Fuel Standard. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2012. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-requests-to-waive-the-renewable-fuel-standard.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stowe |first1=Ned |title=Requests to Waive the Renewable Fuel Standard |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=20 September 2012 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-requests-to-waive-the-renewable-fuel-standard |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stowe2012requests, author = {Stowe, Ned}, title = {{Requests to Waive the Renewable Fuel Standard}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-requests-to-waive-the-renewable-fuel-standard}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }