Shannon Gustafson is really jazzed for this year’s American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference and after speaking with her so am I. The theme is “Power. Passion. Performance.” and Gustafson says it embodies everything that makes American made ethanol great. “The passion of our producers, the power of the American industry and top notch performance of a high octane fuel.” The conference is taking place August 8-10, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ethanol’s octane benefits will be infused throughout the sessions but one panel in particular will discuss octane in-depth, says Gustafson. “Octane’s Value Proposition and Regulatory Path Forward,” will highlight how refiners calculate the octane value of ethanol and what adjustments they will make at the refinery to accommodate a higher octane fuel. Panelists include Dave Hackett, President, Stillwater Associates and Kristy Moore, KMoore Consulting LLC who will also be giving a presentation, “Up to Spec”.

Gustafson says the conference will kickoff with a market and association update from ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings. Other sessions will cover ethanol and dried distillers grains exports, carbon intensity, E15’s progress at the pump, Food Safety Modernization Act Compliance and ethanol plant profits.  The first day’s keynote speaker is Tom Kloza with OPIS who will be giving attendees a market update.  And a fun session is sure to be the “Advocate’s Arsenal: Making web resources work for you”.

Registration is still open and anyone from ethanol producers to academics, economists to consumers can attend and Gustafson says there will be something for everyone.

To get an in-depth preview of this year’s Annual Ethanol Conference, listen to my interview with Shannon Gustafson here: Interview with Shannon Gustafson, ACE