(June 21, 2010) Washington - Today, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen will speak at the House Agriculture Committee’s Bioenergy Forum. Dinneen, as part of a panel, will present an update of the U.S. ethanol industry with significant and timely statistics and facts.

In his presentation, Dinneen will cover the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) including areas of ethanol greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, approval of mid-level blends, and current ethanol economics.

Dinneen will be discussing key issues that the ethanol industry faces including the recently delayed E15 approval waiver and the extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). In March, Representatives Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and John Shimkus (R-IL) introduced H.R. 4940, the Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act which would allow a five year extension of VEETC, the secondary tariff on imported ethanol, and the small ethanol producer tax credit. It would also include a three year extension of the cellulosic ethanol producer tax credit. Dinneen will also point out potential impacts of failure to extend the VEETC, which include more than 112,000 jobs lost in all sectors of the economy, a reduction of domestic ethanol production by 38%, and an increased reliance on imported motor fuels including the possibility of trading imported oil for imported ethanol from nations like Brazil. Together with the Renewable Fuels Standard, which requires a certain amount of biofuel to be blended into the nation’s existing transportation fuel supply, VEETC helps ensure that the goals of energy security and job creation are met with the production of clean, renewable, home grown alternatives to foreign oil.

As it appears that the Environmental Protection Agency is again delaying a decision on approving the use of up to 15 percent ethanol blends, Dinneen will address the importance of this waiver. It is essential to moving beyond the “blend wall”. Allowing up to E15 blends, up from current 10 percent limits, would mean a potential increase of 6.5 billion gallons of new ethanol demand, displacing more than 200 million additional barrels of imported oil.

To view Dinneen’s full presentation, please click here.