Nicolas J. Gutierrez Jr.: Time has passed for renewable fuel standard

October 7, 2013

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion - at least at the national level - about the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS).

Most Floridians are probably not even aware of this mandate, which requires America’s fuel suppliers to blend an increasing amount of ethanol into gasoline and diesel. And, most Floridians are probably not aware that this federal requirement will drive up their food and transportation expenses.

To meet RFS mandates, fuel suppliers will soon hit what's called a "blendwall" - the point when biofuels cannot be incorporated into fuels at the levels required by the RFS. Fuel producers may be forced to limit production and purchase renewable fuel credits, disrupting the fuel market.