Clinton Wants A Stronger RFS

  • Thursday, 27 August 2015 00:00

Democratic presidential candidate front-runner, Hillary Clinton, wants a stronger Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to boost the economy in rural America.

According to several reports, Clinton, speaking in Iowa yesterday, said the RFS should be strengthened so that renewables make up a larger portion of the nation's energy equation.

She added she would promote the development of advanced biofuels and improve access to E15 and E85. Clinton's reaffirmation of her support for the RFS comes a day after she was endorsed by Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, who is a strong supporter of the biofuels industry and is part of her plan to boost the economy in rural America.

In May, prior to the EPA's announcement of its 2014, 2015 and 2016 RFS targets, Clinton wrote an op-ed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based The Gazzette in which she argued the RFS needed to be put back on track to provide investors with "the certainty they need, protect consumers, improve access to E15, E85 and biodieseld blends, and effectively drives the development of cellulosic and other advanced biofuels."

Indeed, the connection between the economy in rural America and the RFS is undisputed. Earlier this year, ABF Economics said the RFS supported nearly 380,000 jobs in the country with a bulk of them in rural towns. In Minnesota, the ethanol industry supported 18,630 jobs in 2014 with many coming from ethanol production and the agriculture industries.

During Congressman Tim Walz' visit to Guardian Energy in July, he said encouraging innovation and rural production are means to allow young people to stay in rural America.