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RFA head expects fewer RFS waivers

The head of the Renewable Fuels Association, Geoff Cooper, says he’s anxious to see how the EPA handles petitions for RFS small refinery exemptions in 2019.

At last check, the EPA had received 22 petitions seeking waivers for the 2018 compliance year. Cooper says the number of exemptions granted should be low, considering the big decline in Renewable Identification Number (RIN) prices in 2018.

“If RIN prices is the measure of harm that led to the granting of petitions previously, then we certainly wouldn’t expect to see very many, if any, of those 22 petitions for 2018 granted by EPA,” Cooper says.

The negative margins currently being experienced by the ethanol industry can be traced back to demand destruction caused by the small refinery exemptions, Cooper says.

“A lot of it has to do with demand that we were expecting here in the U.S. that didn’t materialize because of EPA’s actions last year.”

RFA is part of a coalition of groups that is challenging previous small refinery waivers in court.

AUDIO: Geoff Cooper