Washington, DC – September 27, 2018 – This week, the owner of a biomass power facility located in rural northeastern California urged EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to process applications from biomass power facilities to participate in the Renewable Fuel Standard. The letter, below, makes clear the urgency of processing eRIN applications for a biomass facility that is a key contributor to forest management in an area at high risk of forest fire.
“Denying biomass power producers their rightful participation in the RFS has had real world consequences, and we anticipate that these consequences will get worse,” said Bob Cleaves, president and CEO of Biomass Power Association. “Our industry has already seen shutdowns in recent years, and properly implementing the RFS could help avoid these problems. Most biomass power facilities, including Loyalton Cogen, are located in rural communities where they contribute significantly to the local economy.”
The EPA currently has applications from biomass power facilities across the country to generate RINs for renewably-produced electricity. Both Congress and the EPA have approved renewable electricity to participate in the program, but in the four years since it approved electricity the EPA has failed to implement the pathway.
This letter follows a letter sent earlier this month to the EPA by 111 biomass, biogas and waste-to-energy organizations urging action on eRINs, and a bipartisan letter sent in June by eight California members of Congress to the EPA.
