Renewable Fuels Association

The Renewable Fuels Association is a trade and lobbying group for the US ethanol industry.

According to a report by Stephen Power in The Wall Street Journal, shortly prior to US President Barack Obama's inauguration, the RFA suggested a government bail-out for the biofuels industry, which was hit in late 2008 by the drop in oil prices:

The Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group for the U.S. ethanol industry, has spoken with staff members from Capitol Hill and President-elect Barack Obama’s team and “provided them with some ideas on how to craft the language of” an economic recovery package, said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the RFA.

Hartwig said RFA has suggested a number of steps including setting up a $1 billion short-term credit facility so ethanol producers could finance current operations; a $50 billion federal loan guarantee program to finance investment in new renewable fuel production capacity and supporting infrastructure; and a requirement that any auto maker receiving federal aid only produce new vehicles that can run on any blend up to 85% ethanol, beginning with the 2010 model season.

Hartwig said:

We’re not asking for a specific bailout, but rather, as a trade association, we’re providing ideas to an incoming Congress and a new administration about ways to bolster the domestic renewable fuel industry ... We’re doing what all trade organizations are doing - providing the Obama administration with ideas.

Power added the following update to his article:

Hartwig calls back to add that his group offered ideas to the Obama team after being approached by a transition representative seeking the RFA’s input on what should be included in an economic recovery package; “We are not, I repeat, not asking for anything or lobbying for anything,” Hartwig said.