Podcast: RFS has done a lot to diversify fuel supply, reduce oil imports

This podcast features Dan Wesely, a farmer from Morse Bluff and member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, discussing the Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS.

The Energy Independence and Security Act became law five years ago, Wesely said. The act included an expanded Renewable Fuel Standard and built on the progress made by the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the first comprehensive energy legislation the nation saw in more than a decade.

"These energy independence acts are important, and the RFS is a key component and has done a lot to diversify our fuel supply and reduce oil imports," Wesley said. "In fact, the production and use of 13.9 billion gallons of ethanol last year helped reduce the need for imported oil by 485 million barrels. That saved us nearly $50 billion in oil imports."

He also noted that American-made ethanol contributed more volume to our fuel supply than the gasoline refined from oil imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and other OPEC nations.

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