Ken Markowitz Quoted by Law360 on Looming Battle over Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard

Law360 has quoted Akin Gump environment and natural resources consultant Ken Markowitz in the article “Biofuels Jostle To Get Renewable Credit For Powering EVs.” The story looks at the looming battle over changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which Law360 says will have ramifications for the Biden-Harris administration as it tries to bring electric vehicles (EVs) into the mainstream.

Relatively new renewable fuel types like biofuels could feed the grid and help power EVs, the article says. First approved by the Obama administration, they were then ignored under President Donald Trump, it notes.

According to Markowitz, the Biden-Harris administration has the prerogative to act on these, if not an outright obligation to develop a working system so that the new biofuel interests will have regulatory clarity on how and what fuels and pathways will qualify for the credits.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shouldn’t wait, Markowitz said. “EPA has the authority to act now, and if there are issues that need to be cleared up on some other pathways in the future, that’s fine — but they have an obligation to take action on existing pathways.”

Markowitz added that during the last administration, there seemed to be “an overarching bias against electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging and, despite willingness on the [EPA’s] part to hear from many of the applicants, there was no action as far as we can tell to move any of these applications on the [electricity renewable identification numbers] side forward.”