Following the 2016 presidential election, I explained Why The Ethanol Industry Should Fear President Trump . Since that time, the ethanol industry has indeed been on the defensive. In fact, I recently characterized the industry as being under siege . At issue is a requirement that ethanol is blended into the gasoline supply. The requirement has been in place since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Opposing Camps Ethanol producers and corn farmers love the RFS because it gives them a mandated market for their product. Refiners hate the RFS because they are being forced to sell a competing product and because compliance with the policy costs them billions of dollars each year. (For more details of how the RFS is managed, and why refiners hate it so much in U.S. Ethanol Policy Set For Big Change ). EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had […]