The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has decided to use the latest research on indirect land use change (ILUC) for implementing the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS), meaning the current ILUC penalty for corn ethanol likely will be cut by at least half by the spring of 2011. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the resolution is good news for the ethanol industry, but expressed concerns about waiting until after the standard is implemented in January to make the revisions.

RFA Vice President for Research Geoff Cooper talks about the decision and its impact in this edition of “The Ethanol Report.” Three separate audio sound bites from the interview are also included below.

Ethanol Report on CARB Decision  7:22 audio link

The program is voiced by reporter Cindy Zimmerman. It is in the format of a complete program called "The Ethanol Report." Please feel free to use as you wish, edited or in its complete form. If you have any problems downloading the audio file, please contact ZimmComm New Media at 573-896-5842. Separate sound bites from the interview are below.

Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association explains that California will now use latest ILUC modeling results from Purdue University.

Cooper-1  1:02 audio link

Cooper says this is good news for the continued use of corn ethanol from the Midwest in California, but the changes should be made sooner.

Cooper-2  :49 audio link

According to Cooper, California really had no choice but to update their modeling for lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions to reflect the best available science.

Cooper-3  :40 audio link