physics

Renewable Fuels Association

Renewable Fuels Association is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Renewable Fuels Association rather than just read about it. In short: The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) represents the ethanol industry promoting policies, regulations, and research and development initiatives that will lead to the increased production and use of ethanol fuel. First organized in 1981, RFA serves as a voice of advocacy for the ethanol industry, providing research data and industry analysis to its members, to the public via the media, to the United States Congress…

Renewable Fuels Association — illustration

Key takeaways

Renewable Fuels Association belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Renewable Fuels Association to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Renewable Fuels Association from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) represents the ethanol industry promoting policies, regulations, and research and development initiatives that will lead to the increased production and use of ethanol fuel. First organized in 1981, RFA serves as a voice of advocacy for the ethanol industry, providing research data and industry analysis to its members, to the public via the media, to the United States Congress, as well as to related federal and state agencies.

Organization RFA's chairman is Neil Koehler of Pacific Ethanol, Inc. and the vice-chairman is Jeanne McCaherty of Guardian Energy, LLC. The RFA has offices in both St. Louis, Missouri, and Washington, D.C.

Staff

Geoff Cooper Geoff Cooper is RFA's president and CEO, a position he has held since October 2018. Previously he served as RFA Executive Vice President. In addition to overseeing market analysis and policy research, he provides regulatory support and strategic planning for the association and its members. Geoff also focuses on issues related to lifecycle analysis, sustainability and ethanol co-products. Prior to joining RFA, Geoff served as Director of Ethanol Programs for the National Corn Growers Association. In this role, he led research and promotional efforts to increase the production and use of corn-based ethanol. Previously, Geoff served as a captain in the U.S. Army, specializing in bulk petroleum supply and logistics. A Wyoming native, Geoff graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He earned his master's degree at Webster University in St. Louis.

Issues

Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) The RFA argues that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) abused its waiver authority by setting RVOs lower than the statutory minimums. They say Congress clearly intended for the law to apply according to supply that could be available rather than demand. They contend that the EPA has conflated the two. Under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), the statutory standard for 2017 is 24 billion gallons. The EPA only set an RVO of 18.8 billion gallons of biofuel for 2017. This was up from 18.4 billion gallons in 2016. Ethanol supporters and oil companies alike criticized this target.

Green jobs The RFA considers employment in the ethanol industry to be a primary example of "green jobs". The 2010 US Ethanol Industry Salary Survey determined that employees about 500,000 people with 75% of such workers making more than $50,000 per year and 99% receiving health benefits. The RFA points out that these jobs, heavily concentrated in rural areas, provide a much-needed economic boost to otherwise depressed places.

E85 As of December 2014, almost half of new vehicles produced by Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors are flex-fuel, meaning roughly one-quarter of all new vehicles sold by 2015 are capable of using up to E85. However, obstacles to widespread use of E85 fuel remain. A 2014 analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association found that oil companies prevent or discourage affiliated retailers from selling E85 through rigid franchise and branding agreements, restrictive supply contracts, and other tactics. The report showed independent retailers are five times more likely to offer E85 than retailers carrying an oil company brand.

Committees The RFA convenes four concern-specific committees.

Technical Committee focuses heavily on fuel specifications and standards such as ASTM International, National Conference of Weights and Measures, ISO, Canadian General Standards Board, and other international fuel requirements. Environmental Compliance Committee examines and provides guidance on the myriad of environmental regulations pertaining to ethanol production facilities. Co-Products Committee focuses on issues relevant to all ethanol co-products, from research and educational programs to regulatory issues and trade. Plant and Employee Safety Committee works with federal, state and local governments as well as industry partners, to bring attention to hazardous materials regulations and other safety requirements.

Illustrations

The official logo of the Renewable Fuels Association

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Renewable Fuels Association

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Renewable Fuels Association claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Renewable Fuels Association before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Renewable Fuels Association ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Renewable Fuels Association

In research: Renewable Fuels Association appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Renewable Fuels Association in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Renewable Fuels Association is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bioenergy organizations, Biofuel in the United States, Renewable energy organizations based in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Renewable Fuels Association outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Renewable Fuels Association in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Renewable Fuels Association means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Renewable Fuels Association out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Renewable Fuels Association in simple terms?

Why does Renewable Fuels Association matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Renewable Fuels Association?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Renewable Fuels Association.