New Bill To Facilitate Investment In Alternative Fuel Infrastructure

On February 11, 2014, Representative Dave Loebsack (D-IA) introduced H.R. 4051, the Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion, and Leadership (Re-FUEL) Act. The bill currently has no co-sponsors. The bill is designed to help fuel retailers with investments in renewable and alternative fuel infrastructure to provide consumers with the increased ability to choose alternative fuels at the pump. It would create a competitive grant program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to invest in renewable and alternative fuel infrastructure. Grants would be awarded to develop new or to retrofit existing infrastructure, including pumps for biofuels and hydrogen, tanks, piping, and electric vehicle chargers. Applicants would be required to provide a 30 percent non-federal match and the maximum grant to each entity per year would be $100,000. A copy of the bill is available online.

Representative Loebsack is a vocal supporter of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and has joined some of his colleagues to urge EPA to reconsider the Agency's current proposal to reduce the volumes of corn-starch ethanol and advanced biofuels under the law in 2014. Expanding the available distribution infrastructure as proposed in H.R. 4051 would help increase the availability and use of fuels with higher ethanol blends, including E85. This increased availability would help address the blend wall concerns cited as the driving factor for the proposed RFS volume reductions.