For the seventh consecutive year, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has received a TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award for its industry-leading ethanol safety program. RFA hosted numerous ethanol safety training events in 2018, giving more than 1,800 emergency responders the tools and information they need to effectively respond to any incidents involving fuel ethanol. The TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award is given …
Ethanol Not to Blame for Higher Gas Prices
Gas prices are up, but ethanol is not to blame, according to an analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association. Gas prices at the pump have been steadily increasing since the end of January, and some have speculated that it is due to ethanol transportation issues following the Midwest floods in March. But RFA found that it is mainly because of …
Ethanol Report from Washington DC
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to be a major source of frustration for the ethanol industry, as the agency gives with one hand and takes away with the other as it keeps granting waivers for refineries from their obligations to blend ethanol while it works toward allowing year round sales of E15. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper …
Land Use Change Study Uses Incorrect Data
When you do a study that claims biofuels are resulting in increased land use for agricultural production you should be sure the land you are counting is not actually a subdivision. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) points to a new study published in the academic journal Biomass and Bioenergy that exposes major methodological problems in recent studies paid for by …
RFA Helps Ethanol Plants Celebrate Anniversaries
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) celebrated milestone anniversaries of three ethanol plant members this week. RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White attended the 10th anniversary of Homeland Energy Solutions, which operates a 200 million gallon per year ethanol plant in Lawler, Iowa. The facility also produces distillers grains, a valuable animal feed co-product, and corn oil. To date, …
EPA Hearing Witnesses Stress Problem of SREs
Small refinery exemptions were not the topic of an EPA hearing Friday in Michigan, but many witnesses used precious seconds of their allotted three minutes to comment on how they are impacting an already stressed ethanol industry. “While RFS small refinery exemptions (SREs) are not the explicit subject of this rulemaking or today’s hearing, we feel compelled to remind EPA …
EPA Grants Another Small Refinery Waiver
With a new waiver announced this week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now granted a total of 35 small-refinery exemption (SRE) from the 2017 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance year. Another 39 requests are still pending for 2018 exemptions. “If these exemption trends continue, they will fully and completely undermine the RFS at the expense of rural America and …
Flooding Takes Bite Out of Ethanol Production
Repair crews are working around the clock to get roads and railways impacted by flooding in the Midwest back in service, while the latest weekly ethanol supply and demand numbers show production down due to the disaster. According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), ethanol production for the week ended March 22 fell 29,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 2.9%, …
KAAPA Ethanol Celebrates 15 Years
Nebraska’s KAAPA Ethanol LLC is celebrating its 15th anniversary this week. The farmer-owned company operates two Nebraska biorefineries. Its Minden plant produces 80 million gallons of ethanol from 27 million bushels of corn per year and has 37 employees. The company’s Ravenna plant produces more than 125 million gallons of ethanol from 42 million bushels of corn per year and …
Ethanol Production Down, Stocks Record High
The latest Energy Information Administration data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending March 15, shows ethanol production edged 1,000 barrels lower to an average of 1.004 million barrels per day (b/d), or 42.17 million gallons daily. However, the four-week average ethanol production rate grew 0.2% to 1.015 million b/d—equivalent to an annualized rate of 15.56 billion …