A highly respected oil economist believes the solution to the current Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) price issue is more sales of E85 (85% ethanol). Economist Phil Verleger has weighed in on the RINS situation in the latest edition of Notes at the Margin, his weekly email report about news impacting the petroleum industry. “The obvious solution to the RIN price …
Senate Spending Bill Keeps Military Biofuels
The U.S. Senate yesterday passed a continuing budget resolution that would keep the federal government operating through the end of the fiscal year on September 30th and keep funding for advanced biofuels testing in the military. By a vote of 40-59, the Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) that would have transferred $60 million in funding for …
Renewable Fuels Leaders Refute Oil Industry Claims
Leaders of Fuels America held a press conference this morning to “preemptively answer misinformation on renewable fuel blends and gasoline prices” in a new report by the American Petroleum Institute. Speaking in defense of the renewable fuels industry were the heads of several industry organizations and companies, including Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen, Advanced …
RFA Calls for Investigation of Oil Industry Conduct
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is requesting a multi-agency investigation into what they are calling the “discriminatory and unlawful conduct” on the part of the oil industry. In a letter sent today to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), RFA requested the agencies investigate the …
Stop the RINsanity!
RINsanity is running rampant across the country and the ethanol industry is trying its best to bring some reason to the debate over these things called RINS. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen explains what RINS are and how the ethanol industry believes oil companies are choosing RINS instead of …
Governors Tell Congress to Support RFS
The Governor’s Biofuels Coalition met in Sioux Falls Wednesday and sent a letter to members of Congress in support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. The letter from the 30 governors represented by the Coalition, led by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, urges Congress to stay the course on the RFS. “As governors who see firsthand the impact that the RFS has …
Ethanol Groups Address RIN Misconceptions
The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) is working to stamp out RIN illiteracy, offering an education to the media on just what the compliance credits are and how they work under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). AEC sent a response entitled “RIN Credits for Dummies” to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial which argues higher prices for RIN compliance credits are …
Governors’ Biofuels Coalition Meeting This Week
The Governors’ Biofuels Coalition (GBC) is holding its annual meeting this week in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the headquarters of ethanol production company POET. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, GBC chairman, and South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard, a GBC member, will be leading a discussion of the accomplishments of the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Governor Branstad was one of …
ZeaChem Closer to Commercializing Cellulosic Ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol got a little closer to commercialization with an announcement today from ZeaChem, Inc. ZeaChem officials report they have produced commercial-grade cellulosic chemicals and ethanol at their 250,000 gallons per year (GPY) biorefinery in Boardman, Ore. “ZeaChem is developing the first truly-integrated biorefineries for the production of a broad portfolio of economical and sustainable biofuels and bio-based chemicals,” said …
Ethanol Producers Respond to Market Conditions
Corn oil recovery is helping the bottom line of ethanol producers with tight margins, according to a new report from the Energy Information Administration. Beginning in summer 2012, the prices of ethanol and corn reached levels where production costs at relatively simple ethanol plants exceeded revenue. These simple plants, which are not able to recover corn oil, make up a …