2018 marked the 10th year for the American Coalition for Ethanol‘s Annual Fly-In to Washington, D.C., and Iowa livestock producer and ethanol investor Bill Couser has been to most of those events over the years. “I think the most important thing we do when we come to these fly-ins is educate people,” said Couser, who owns Couser Cattle Company in …
Fly-In Participants Passionate About Ethanol
Retired civil engineer and ethanol investor Tom Blazek of Louisiana has a passion for clean air and clean fuels. “I’m interested in cleaning up our environment and we can do that by cleaning up our motor fuels,” said Blazek, who attended the American Coalition for Ethanol‘s Annual Fly-In to Washington, D.C. for the first time this year. “Motor fuels are …
Ethanol Exports Hit Record High
U.S. ethanol exports skyrocketed to a record 218.7 million gallons in February. That is up 148% from January and nearly 50 million gallons more than the previous record set in December 2011, according to government data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). However, trade sources believe that February’s export data includes some volume that was actually exported in late …
New ACE Video Discusses E15 Liability Concerns
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) released a controversial new video this week addressing fuel retailer concerns about potential liability for vehicle damage from the new E15 fuel. The video on the flexfuelforward.com website features current E15 marketers talking openly about customer E15 complaints and includes a collection of consumers who have had damage or had warranties voided by using …
Ethanol Report on EPA Small Refinery Waivers
Outrage is growing this week over revelations that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been granting Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance exemptions to dozens of oil refineries. Combined with the approval of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions bankruptcy agreement and the agency’s refusal to enforce the 2016 RFS requirements as remanded by the courts, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is saying …
RFA Request Demands Answers on Refinery Waivers
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy in pursuit of more information regarding Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance exemptions to dozens of oil refineries. “We want to know how many (refineries) and how many gallons are impacted by these small refiner exemptions,” …
DuPont Granted Patent for Ethanol Fermentation Product
DuPont Industrial Biosciences has been granted a U.S. Patent entitled “Prevention of Bacterial Growth in Fermentation Processes” which covers the application of stabilized chlorine dioxide, the active ingredient in DuPont™ FERMASURE®, to reduce microbial contaminations in ethanol fermentations. “FERMASURE® is an innovative technology, representing not just the best work of our scientists and researchers, but also the real-world value DuPont …
Growth Energy Demands Moratorium on RFS Waivers
With the scandal over the Environmental Protection Agency granting numerous small refinery hardship waivers growing, Growth Energy has sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt demanding a moratorium on waivers being issued. “EPA appears to be operating under the cover of night in a secretive process where the agency acts as judge, jury, and executioner to …
Minnesota Teen Takes Part in ACE DC Fly-in
Attending the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) DC Fly-in last month was a great experience for a high school junior from Minnesota. Michael Nagler says his dad David Nagler, a board member for Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company, invited him to attend this year’s event. “I didn’t really know all that much about ethanol before,” said Michael, who had the opportunity …
RFS Waiver for Big Refiner Sparks Backlash
A Reuters report about EPA exempting one of the country’s largest oil refiners from complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) touched off a backlash from farm groups and ethanol organizations Tuesday. The National Farmers Union (NFU) was first to respond to the report that Texas-based Andeavor received small refiner economic hardship waivers for three of its 10 refineries that …