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By now, I expect that most of the people here are familiar with the basics of the RFS program.
The program was enacted as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, or
as all of us know, EISA. We estimated that the RFS program will cut greenhouse gas emissions
by 138 million metric tons and displace about 13.6 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel
when fully implemented in 2022. From 2007 through the second quarter of 2011 over 2.4
billion dollars were invested in advanced biofuel production companies by venture capitalists
alone. That doesn't include additional funding that has become available to these companies.
So looking ahead in 2013, and I am an optimist by nature by the way, I am expecting to see
that this will be a year of continuing transition for the industry, as many companies are shifting
from their focus to demonstrate the technology, to full commercialization. All of this progress
has happened in a relatively short timeframe, when compared to how long it typically takes
to bring new technology to the market place. Driven products for municipal development
commercialization. What I am hearing from these companies, if you take a look at the
fact that we are talking about, indeed, advanced technologies and innovations, we are talking
about pretty significant tough economic times, to have made such progress speaks very highly
of the industry and the people that are working and supporting those efforts.
And we at EPA, along with our colleagues, the Department of Energy and USDA, and more
importantly with all of you, the industry, will continue to work together to do what
we can to facilitate the growth of this market, as Congress envisions.