The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has become the first biofuels organization to join Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, a leading multi-stakeholder initiative working to unite the agricultural supply chain in defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production in the United States. As an active member of Field to Market, RFA will collaborate …
Teaching Biofuels in Schools
Growth Energy, in partnership with the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE), has just released a new curriculum aimed at educating high school students about biofuels. The curriculum is the first industry-supported biofuels curriculum that provides students a guided in-classroom experience and will offer ag educators the tools needed to provide students with an array of technical skills and historical …
SW Iowa Renewable Energy Sows Seeds for Monarchs
Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) is one step closer to providing monarch butterflies with a new place to fill up on their cross-country journey. The ethanol plant seeded their Monarch Fueling Station this week with the help of local farmer Rick Frost. Habitat Establishment Coordinator Kevin Reynolds helped SIRE established the Monarch Fueling Station last year. “The first year there …
EPA Revisits Proposal to Publish Refinery Waiver Info
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comment on the current process for issuing Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) that would allowing names of refineries who have applied for and received waivers to be made public in an effort to expand transparency. EPA has reopened the comment period for 15 days on one aspect of a 2016 proposal “that basic information …
Royal DSM and Lallemand Complete License Agreement
Royal DSM and Lallemand Inc. have announced a joint agreement allowing Lallemand a non-exclusive, royalty bearing license to DSM’s low-glycerol yeast technology patents. The license agreement is part of a settlement that was reached following a 2018 US Federal Court jury verdict in Wisconsin and the technology in the agreement is for use in the fermentation of first-generation biofuels. Royal …
Sen. Grassley Honored for Lifetime Achievement in Bioenergy
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was honored at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) in Washington DC this week with the Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in Bioenergy. Accepting the award, Grassley said he was honored, but noted that his “work’s not done yet.” The Iowa senator, who has been a champion of renewable energy for decades, gave a fiery address …
EPA Hearing on E15 in Michigan Tomorrow
Ypsilanti, Michigan will be the place Friday morning for advocates and opponents of EPA’s proposed regulatory changes related to retail sales of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) and the renewable identification number (RIN) compliance system Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a hearing on the proposal released just 16 days ago that would allow E15 …
Job Growth in Biofuels Continues
Job growth in the biofuels sector continued last year, according to the 2019 Clean Jobs America analysis of energy jobs data by the national nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). The report found that nearly every U.S. state saw an increase in clean energy jobs in 2018, combining to add about 110,000 net new jobs for a growth rate of …
Flooding Impacts Rail Service in the Midwest
Extensive flooding in the Midwest has caused damage to railroad infrastructure and additional flooding is expected now along the Mississippi River, resulting in widespread service disruptions in the Iowa-Kansas-Missouri-Nebraska area. The Federal Railroad Administration has declared an “emergency event” related to railroad operations as the National Weather Service has documented historic flooding throughout the region with rivers rising to recored …
Study Shows Biofuels are 3 Percent of Iowa GDP
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has released a new study that shows biofuels are responsible for over $5 billion of Iowa’s GDP, or roughly three percent. The study, authored by John Urbanchuk of ABF Economics and commissioned by IRFA, also found that biofuels account for over 48,000 Iowa jobs and more than $2.5 billion in Iowa household income. “The …