President Donald Trump’s visit to Iowa on Tuesday comes as the biofuel industry is scrapping for a political win.
Ahead of the president’s visit to the Des Moines area — in part a pep rally for the administration’s energy and economic policies — biofuel groups urged quick action on a yet-to-be-implemented clean fuel tax credit and other long-awaited priorities.
They urged a greater commitment to biofuel mandates and to allowing the year-round sale of E15 fuel, the 15 percent ethanol blend that can’t be sold during the summer in most of the country, a goal that suffered a setback in Congress last week.
Petroleum refiners counter that government action to boost biofuel volumes will only hurt them — especially small refineries more sensitive to compliance costs — unless other aspects of biofuel policy are changed too.
