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Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy

Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy

Full Title:  Renewable Fuel Standard: Potential Economic and Environmental Effects of U.S. Biofuel Policy
Author(s):  National Academy of Sciences
Publisher(s):  National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date: January 1, 2011
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Biofuels that can be produced from renewable domestic resources offer an alternative to petroleum-based fuels. To encourage the production and consumption of biofuels in the United States, the U.S. Congress enacted the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act and amended it in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). The RFS, as amended by EISA (referred to as RFS2 hereafter), mandated volumes of renewable fuels to be used in U.S. transportation fuel from 2008 to 2022. At the request of the U.S. Congress, the National Research Council convened a committee of 16 experts to provide an independent assessment of the economic and environmental benefits and concerns associated with achieving RFS2. The committee drew on its own expertise and solicited input from many experts in federal agencies, academia, trade associations, stakeholders’ groups, and nongovernmental organizations in a series of open meetings and in writing to fulfill the statement of task.

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