Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Republicans would end a mandate requiring expanded production of renewable fuels under a platform released at the party convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The plan to end the mandate runs counter to policies advocated by President George W. Bush. Republican presidential candidate John McCain has said that he opposes the mandate.

``That's not John McCain's bidding, that's the Republican Party recognizing that markets work,'' Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's economic adviser said on Bloomberg Radio yesterday. ``Biofuels have a place in our future, but we don't need the heavy hand of our government to have them enter into the marketplace.''

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which Bush signed into law in December, increased the ethanol mandate to 15 billion gallons a year and 1 billion gallons of biodiesel by 2015 and 36 billion gallons by 2022. Its intent was to lessen dependence on foreign fuel and curb emissions. The mandate calls for 9 billion gallons this year and 11 billion gallons in 2009.

There is not unanimity among Republicans on ending the mandate, as farm state lawmakers in addition to President Bush oppose the platform language.

``I disagree with that part of our platform,'' said Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who talked to reporters yesterday on a conference call. ``If we were going to have $140- a-barrel oil the rest of our life, we may not need mandates. But if we didn't have mandates, we wouldn't have the vibrant energy business we have right now.''

Reversal 'Far-Fetched'

Even if McCain wins the White House, he would have to get the mandate past recalcitrant congressional Republicans and Democrats who support it, said Mark McMinimy, an analyst with the Stanford Group Co. in Washington.

``Unless the leadership in Congress flips to the Republican party, and it seems like it won't, the likelihood that that mandate would end or be dialed back is far-fetched,'' McMinimy said.

Bush in 2007 proposed cutting U.S. gasoline dependence 20 percent in 10 years, by raising car fuel-efficiency and using more alternative fuels. Renewable fuels account for about 6 percent of U.S. gasoline supplies

Aventine Renewable Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ronald Miller said that he isn't concerned about wavering political support.

There are ``good public policy reasons to increase ethanol demand in this country,'' he said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television. ``We're shipping $700 billion per year to foreign governments, many of them that are not friendly to the United States. It is an appropriate strategy for this country to begin to reduce its dependency on foreign oil.''

Prices Down

Aventine, based in Pekin, Illinois, is the sixth-largest producer by capacity. The company's customers include Valero Energy Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Denatured ethanol for September delivery fell 4.5 cents, or 2 percent, to $2.19 a gallon at 12:45 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have slipped 7.5 percent this year.

The Environmental Protection Agency last month rejected a request by Texas Governor Rick Perry to ease the requirement for the use of corn-based ethanol in gasoline, saying he didn't prove that the rules were straining grain supplies enough to cause ``severe economic harm.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Whitten in Washington at dwhitten2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 3, 2008 15:16 EDT