The EPA is looking at slowing tailpipe emission limits, giving automakers more time to boost electric vehicle sales in a possible win for the ethanol industry. The New York Times, followed by the Washington Post, reported the change, billed as a major election-year concession to automakers and labor unions.
But slowing tougher tailpipe emissions in a pending rule that first called for EVs to account for two-thirds of car and light-duty truck sales by 2032 could mark a win for corn ethanol. Renewable Fuels Association head Geoff Cooper argued earlier, EVs still have too many flaws.
“They, in most cases, do not deliver the range that was advertised, that they have problems in extremely hot weather or extremely cold weather, that there are problems in finding places to charge these vehicles.”
EPA spokesman Timothy Carroll told the Post the agency is “committed to finalizing a technology standard that is readily achievable” while automakers say EV sales have slowed. But Cooper says ethanol continues to deliver results.
“If you are truly serious about reducing carbon emissions and doing it at the lowest cost possible for consumers and doing it in a way that doesn’t compromise or sacrifice vehicle range and convenience, this is what we’ve got to be looking at.”
Cooper’s group released a study ahead of its annual conference that the ethanol industry supported more than 72,000 jobs and $54 billion in economic activity last year, with corn buys alone, totaling nearly $32 billion.
-NAFB