(March 29, 2011)  Washington – President Obama is scheduled to outline his vision for America’s energy future in a speech in Washington tomorrow morning (Weds., March 30). The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the largest ethanol trade association in the world, today wrote to the President urging him to reaffirm his commitment to the continued evolution of America’s ethanol industry.

In the letter, RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen referred to a February 3, 2010, report from the Obama Administration entitled “Growing America’s Fuel: An Innovation Approach to Achieving the President’s Biofuels Target.” The report stated:

“To reach and exceed our biofuels targets, we will need to take a new strategic approach that continues to support the existing biofuels industry and accelerates the creation and rapid commercial deployment of new technologies so our Nation’s efforts to establish an advanced biofuels industry are met.”

Dinneen urged President Obama to stay true to that vision. “Such a vision is as applicable today as it was one year ago,” Dinneen wrote.

When it comes to addressing America’s dependence on foreign oil, Dinneen noted that, “no other energy technology can match today’s domestic ethanol production. At more than 13 billion gallons of production and nearly 10 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply, domestic ethanol production is helping to reduce America’s imported oil habit by 445 million barrels annually. That is more oil than the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia alone in one year.”

Additionally, domestic ethanol production “is helping to create and support some 400,000 jobs with many being located in rural areas often in need of good paying jobs. Ethanol production at more than 200 locations across the nation is also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the pain Americans feel at the pump.” According to current ethanol and gasoline pricing at the wholesale level, 10% ethanol blends (E10) are a dime cheaper than conventional gasoline.

Dinneen urged the President to continue working with the industry and with Congressional allies on efforts to transform existing ethanol policies to address fiscal concerns while simultaneously expanding the market for ethanol and accelerating the commercialization of advanced ethanol technologies.

“Our industry is proactively working together to transform existing tax policy that reflects fiscal concerns while simultaneously providing incentives to grow the market and commercialize new technologies,” Dinneen wrote. “We wish to continue these discussions with your Administration and Congress, and cooperatively work to rebuff legislative challenges that would stifle ethanol innovation while ignoring the fiscally wasteful subsidies for mature fossil fuel technologies like crude oil production and refining."

Other points of cooperation Dinneen identified were efforts to increase the number of flexible fuel vehicles on the road, expansion of ethanol-related infrastructure like blender pumps, and a renewed commitment to tackling the challenges facing advanced ethanol producers.

“Meeting America’s energy challenges will require a toolbox approach. As a nation, we must continue to invest in all renewable energy technologies. But when it comes to displacing imported oil, we must change what Americans put into their gas tanks. Investments in American ethanol production are already paying dividends in the economy, the environment, and our energy future. I strongly encourage you to continue these investments and seek to expand our commitment to all renewable energy sources, not to simply change the focus from one to another,” Dinneen concluded.

The whole letter can be read here.