Growth Energy: 45Z Extension Bill Will Unlock Investment

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Growth Energy, the nation's largest biofuel trade association, issued the following statement today after Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) introduced a 45Z extension bill. The Expanding Clean Fuel Production Act would extend the Section 45Z clean fuel production credit for 10 years.

"Farmers and renewable fuel producers are making decisions today about how to invest their time and money in the years to come. With this bill they would be able to make those decisions with greater confidence, and make the kind of investments that increase efficiency, lower their carbon intensity, create jobs, and grow the rural economy," said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. "We commend Reps. Schneider, Kildee, and Brownley for taking the lead on this issue in the House, and we look forward to working with them and all of our biofuel champions in this Congress and the next to extend the 45Z tax credit and maximize its benefits for farmers, producers, and the communities that depend on them."

Passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the 45Z clean fuel production tax credit is intended to incentivize the production of low-carbon fuels in transportation on the ground and in the air. If implemented properly, Growth Energy's own research demonstrates that the credit would add $21.2 billion to the U.S. economy, generate nearly $13.4 billion in household income, support more than 192,000 jobs across all sectors of the national economy, and provide farmers with a 10 percent premium price on low carbon corn used at a bioethanol plant.

Beyond a 45Z extension bill, Growth Energy has called on the U.S. Treasury Department to quickly issue guidance for the 45Z tax credit, preferably in a rulemaking, that accurately rewards the full spectrum of tools available to reduce bioethanol emissions at the plant and on the farm, including carbon capture and storage, process heat and energy, and climate-smart agriculture (CSA).

Learn more about the importance of a 45Z extension bill and about 45Z here.