Strattner Financial Group (SCNG)

[powerofthepenny]

The Renewable Fuels Association responded to the oil spill by sending the president a letter, just two weeks after it happened. Bob Dinneen, president of RFA, urged the president to use the event as a “teaching moment,” drawing Americans’ attention to the country’s addiction to oil. “The juxtaposition of a green American farm field and the copper-toned oil slick spreading across the Gulf is striking,” he said.

RFA advocated a short-term strategy of immediately approving the blending of E12, followed up by the approval of the E15 waiver for all cars, not just newer models. Dinneen also recommended that the U.S. DOE reevaluate the current loan guarantee programs and make them more accessible to next-generation ethanol technologies. “Increasing America’s ability to fuel itself through the use of domestic renewable fuels in and of itself will not solve all our problems,” Dinneen said. “Nor would it have prevented this most recent oil tragedy from occurring. But with sound policies and forward thinking, it can greatly reduce the likelihood of such an event occurring again by reducing demand for oil.”

BP has estimated the cost of the response to the oil spill to-date at $930 million. That includes the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs. It’s too early, the company said, to quantify other potential costs and liabilities.