Sixty-five percent of people in the United States support the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that mandates production and blending of a certain amount of fuel from renewable sources, according to a survey commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).
This is the third year in a row that RFA surveys have shown a majority favors the standard, the group said Wednesday. Support has grown since 2012, when 61 percent favored it.
Twenty-six percent of people oppose the standard, the RFA said.
{mosads}“It is telling that support for the RFS continues to grow in spite of the relentless attacks on ethanol and the RFS financed by Big Oil’s deep pockets,” RFA President Bob Dinneen said in a statement. “Repeatedly Americans have decisively said they place a premium on energy independence, job creation and a cleaner environment.”
The same day that the RFA released its survey, the American Petroleum Institute, which opposes the mandate, said 10 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency supporting its proposed renewable fuel mandate levels for 2014.
The EPA’s proposal, released last year and not yet made final, seeks to lower the amount of renewable fuels blended into traditional ones.
“The goals behind the RFS were well-intentioned, but in 2007, the energy market and our nation’s energy landscape were very different than today,” the members said. Thirteen members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent a similar letter in January.
The RFA’s survey also found majority support for incentives to develop cellulosic ethanol and mandates to build cars that run on alternative fuels. Most Americans oppose the tax credits that oil companies receive, the RFA said.