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NBB to DefeND ADvANceD Biofuel StANDArD iN rfS cASe The National Biodiesel Board delivered oral arguments alongside the EPA and Department of Justice on April 7 in support of the Renewable Fuel Standard. In a case brought by oil refiner Monroe Energy LLC, NBB has intervened in sup- port of the EPA to defend enforcement of the 2013 statutory RFS volumes, particu- larly in the advanced biofuel category. The case, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, has tremendous implications for the future of advanced biofuels because, according to NBB, it will affirm the EPA's obligation to maintain the statutory volumes amid what it claims are persistent and unsupported calls to reduce those volumes. In the current case, Monroe Energy, joined by the American Petroleum Institute and other groups, is challenging the EPA's handling of the 2013 volume require- ments. Among the arguments supporting the EPA's position, NBB stated that that the petroleum industry's challenge makes no argument that insufficient volumes of renewable fuels were available in 2013 and fundamentally misinterprets the EPA's authority to waive volume requirements under the law. NBB maintains that the EPA's 2013 standards achieved the direc- tives of Congress. "The renewable fuels industry is united in supporting the RFS to promote produc- tion of clean, alternative fuels," said Anne Steckel, NBB's vice president of federal affairs. "As the leading producer of advanced biofuels in the nation, the biodiesel industry has demonstrated that the advanced biofuel standard is working. The simple fact is that we have met or exceeded the advanced stan- dard in each year of the program, including in 2013 when the RFS delivered more than 3.3 billion RIN-equivalent gallons of advanced fuels, made up mostly of biodiesel and renewable diesel." Represented by Bingham McCutchen in the Monroe case, NBB is the U.S. trade asso- ciation for the biodiesel industry. Biodiesel is made from a variety of resources including soybean oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats. With plants across the country, it is the first and only EPA-designated advanced biofuel produced on a commercial scale nationwide. StAteS Achieve Big SAviNgS with eNergy efficieNcy tArgetS Energy efficiency targets implemented in half of U.S. states in 2012 saved enough elec- tricity to power 2 million homes for a year. These are the findings of Energy Efficiency Resource Standards: A New Progress Report on State Experience, a new report released by the American Council for an Energy- Efficient Economy, based on the most recently available data. The report also finds that most states met or exceeded their targets and that these targets are making substantial contributions to national energy savings. "Energy efficiency is a cost effective and reliable resource that deserves to be a significant part of every state's energy port- folio," said Annie Downs, ACEEE state policy research analyst and lead author of the report. "Setting energy efficiency targets is smart policy that encourages utilities to help their customers save energy through efficiency programs, instead of spending even more money building unnecessary new power plants." Texas was the first state to set efficiency targets, also called an energy efficiency resource standard, in 1999. Since then, half of the states in the country have followed suit, setting long term targets designed to spur electricity and natural gas savings. Prompted by EERS policies, utilities in these states have invested in energy efficiency programs ranging from appliance rebates to whole-building retrofits. In Arkansas, utili- ties worked with customers to replace water heaters, weatherize homes and find energy savings for poultry producers. In Wisconsin, Focus on Energy programs have helped residents and businesses achieve more than $730 million in savings by replacing refriger- ators, offering incentives for energy-efficient heating and conducting free energy assess- ments for small businesses. Despite a landscape of EERS policies that are providing cost-effective energy savings in all the states profiled in the report, energy efficiency programs have yet to be embraced everywhere, and some are encountering resistance from opponents. In Indiana, legis- lators recently passed a bill which terminated energy efficiency programs that had been established by a prior regulatory commis- sion order, eliminating the state's EERS. State lawmakers in Ohio have begun considering legislation that would freeze the state's energy efficiency targets which would eliminate the need for further energy effi- ciency programs. The Ohio Public Utility Commission has found that utilities easily met or even surpassed their savings targets with cost-effective energy efficiency programs. In addition, a plan filed by American Electric Power Ohio demonstrates that a ramp-up in savings is reasonable and achievable. www.fueloilnews.com | fuel oil NewS | MAy 2014 3 DATELINE • NBB to Defend Advanced Biofuel Standard in RFS Case • States Achieve Big Savings with Energy Efficiency Targets • Senate Panel Advances Biodiesel Tax Incentive • H.R. 4076: HHEATT Act of 2014 STATES - pg 10 • MEMA Fights Back in the Conversion Battle FUELS/EIA - pg 12 • Over $224 Million Invested in Pennsylvania Communities by Energy Producers This Year • Proved Reserves of Oil and Natural Gas Show Divergent Trends • EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook Highlights BUSINESS OpErATIONS - pg 23 • Small Business Employment Remains Flat for Second Consecutive Month • Changes Will Open Door for More Small Businesses to Qualify for SBA Loans • Study Reveals the Employee Handbook Is Becoming Irrelevant • Survey: 88% of Respondents Reported Screening Exposed Resume Lie HVAC/HyDrONICS - pg 30 • Annual Dan Holohan Scholarship Announced • ASHRAE Residential IAQ Standard Proposal • Field Controls Wins Heico Awards; Acquires Ultra-Sun Featured News DateliNe BREAkING NEWS