Ahead of a virtual hearing Thursday in the Minnesota House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings sent a letter of support for the Future Fuels Act, a bill to reduce the carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuel in Minnesota.
The Future Fuels Act is modeled after recommendations the Midwest Clean Fuels Policy Initiative published a year ago, A Clean Fuels Policy for the Midwest.
The Initiative, formed by ACE, the Great Plains Institute (GPI), and others, comprises a diverse coalition of agriculture, environmental, scientific, electric vehicle, and biofuel organizations in support of a technology-neutral and market-based approach to decarbonize transportation fuels.
“ACE has been working for nearly three years to mobilize support for clean fuel policies in the Midwest,” Jennings says. “We are grateful Minnesota is taking the first step through the Future Fuels Act and we expect other states to follow in the future.”
ACE supports the Future Fuels Act because it will:
- Help increase the use of E15 and higher ethanol blends in Minnesota. Modeling indicates the quickest and lowest-cost way to achieve a 15 percent reduction in the CI of transportation fuels in Minnesota is by increasing the use of E15, E30, and E85.
- Reward farmers for climate-smart practices to help reduce the overall CI of corn ethanol. The credit market established by the legislation would provide a meaningful return on investment to farmers for practices that sequester carbon in the soil.
- Support economic development for Minnesota. An analysis commissioned by ACE and GPI indicates reducing the CI of transportation fuel in a Midwest state by 15 percent from 2021 to 2030 supports 15,000 jobs, creates nearly $1 billion in income, and generates $250 million in economic activity for biofuel producers and farmers annually.
The Future Fuels Act also supports the goals of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Biofuels November 2020 report and the clean fuel policy principles put forth by the the Minnesota Department of Transportation. ACE joined over 20 organizations, including Farmers Business Network, General Motors, Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, The Coalition of Renewable Natural Gas, The Nature Conservancy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Tesla, and Xcel Energy, in praising these state agency and stakeholder efforts in an announcement posted Thursday.
ACE also supports efforts to establish a state-wide E15 standard in Minnesota. In testimony presented during a recent virtual hearing, ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty shared his expertise and insights on E15 equipment compatibility.
