Global Maritime Group Considers Reducing Ship Emissions

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The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is meeting this week in London to discuss a new set of international regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships.

“The IMO Net-Zero Framework is not perfect. However, it provides a balanced basis for our further work on a number of elements ahead of its entry into force in 2027,” said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez in opening remarks. “No specific fuel or technology has been excluded from the Net-Zero Framework as compliance option. I am confident that the various proposals that have already been submitted regarding the reward, fuel certification, well-to-wake emissions, or the fund will address remaining concerns and provide additional certainty.”

In a blog post this week, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said he hopes the interests of U.S. fuel producers, farmers, and shippers will be considered at the meeting.

The U.S. ethanol industry sees the IMO Net-Zero Framework as an enormous potential market opportunity for American-made renewable fuels produced from American-grown crops like corn, sorghum, and soybeans. How enormous? Well, the ships that would be subject to the IMO regulations typically consume roughly 70–80 billion gallons of fuel per year worldwide. To put that in perspective, total U.S. ethanol production last year was 16.1 billion gallons. Even if U.S. ethanol captured just 5 percent of the global maritime fuel market, it would equate to a game-changing demand boost of 4–5 billion gallons, while simultaneously increasing corn demand by 1.5 billion bushels or more. Just imagine the economic impact that this sort of new demand would have on the rural communities where ethanol is produced and corn is grown.

Cooper writes that according to Department of Energy (DOE) analyses, U.S. corn ethanol used for maritime fuel could reduce GHG emissions by 61 percent compared to the traditional fossil-based marine fuels being used today. The problem is the Trump administration has stated opposition to the IMO framework based on the belief that it would “preclude the use of proven technologies such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biofuels.”

Cooper says they don’t see it that way.

Again, according to DOE’s own analysis, U.S. ethanol—the lowest-cost alternative fuel available at scale worldwide—would be an incredibly competitive marine fuel option under the program. Major players in the marine engine and shipping industries are already acknowledging ethanol’s potential. Indeed, one marine engine manufacturer recently called adoption of the Net-Zero Framework “a beautiful case for those who have ethanol capabilities installed already” due to ethanol’s “handling benefits, growing availability and competitive pricing.”

The IMO meeting will conclude on Friday.

Read Cooper’s blog post.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Whitefox ICE® Helps Lincolnway Energy Hit Record Volumes

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Lincolnway Energy and Whitefox Technologies recently announced the successful installation and startup of a Whitefox ICE® membrane dehydration system at Lincolnway’s ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa.

With the Whitefox ICE system now fully integrated, Lincolnway is preparing to celebrate a significant milestone – surpassing 100 million gallons of ethanol produced per year. The system works by targeting water-rich recycle streams and relieving stress on the distillation, dehydration, and evaporation unit, enabling greater overall plant capacity and efficiency, positioning the facility for continued success.

“Having the Whitefox ICE® system fully operational is a major step forward for Lincolnway,” said Jeff Taylor, Chairman Board Member at Lincolnway Energy. “We started out as a 50 million gallon per year plant in 2006, and with gradual investments and upgrades, we doubled our output to 95 million gallons per year. The Whitefox technology supported us to reach our 100-million-gallon production milestone by enhancing both capacity and energy efficiency by reducing bottlenecks to get there and reducing steam consumption.”

With more than 20 Whitefox systems installed across the world and 1 billion gallons produced with its membranes, Whitefox continues to drive progress in sustainable biofuel production.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Corn Growers Make Economic Case for E15

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A new analysis from the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) shows that if Congress passed legislation allowing for year-round, nationwide access to 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15), corn use for ethanol could increase by 50% at full implementation, supporting a higher market price for corn and energy stability for Americans.

According to the report:
In their October Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA forecasts finished motor gasoline use at 136 billion gallons for 2025 and 2026. Given current motor gasoline usage, a 1% increase in the national blend rate equates to 1.36 billion gallons of additional ethanol used domestically, or 486 million bushels more corn used in ethanol.

A 5% increase in the national blend rate equates to 6.81 billion gallons of additional ethanol used domestically, or 2.43 billion bushels more corn used in ethanol.

Over the next decade, USDA forecasts corn use in ethanol to stay near the current 5.6-billion-bushel level and near the current share of total corn use while the trend for corn production is expected to continue rising on productivity gains and expanded production area in other nations, which will further depress already below-breakeven market prices.

NCGA officials say without policy change to remove a dated and unscientific regulatory hurdle to allow expanded use of E15, the outlook for domestic corn use in ethanol is stagnant. “Congress could address the economic crisis affecting corn growers by passing legislation that would make higher blends of ethanol readily accessible to all Americans,” said NCGA President Jed Bower. “We urge Congress to act now to make that happen.”

corn, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Nebraska CO2 Pipeline Gives Edge Over Iowa Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa ethanol producers are losing their winning edge to Nebraska with the start of CO2 shipments on the Tallgrass Trailblazer pipeline last week, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IowaRFA).

Mid America Agri Products/Wheatland (MAAPW) last week became the first plant to start carbon dioxide capture at its Madrid, Nebraska facility with volumes to be transported on the Tallgrass Energy Trailblazer Pipeline for permanent sequestration in Wyoming.

“Congratulations to Tallgrass for this monumental achievement,” said Iowa RFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Huge new markets around the world are demanding ultra-low carbon ethanol and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is the best tool to get there. The plants on the Tallgrass pipeline now have a leg up in many ways. IRFA will be working hard to ensure Iowa plants have access to the tools they need to compete.”

Shaw says ethanol plants able to capture and sequester CO2 can reduce their carbon intensity (CI) by up to 33 points, thereby qualifying for up to 66 cents per gallon under the federal tax credit program known as 45Z.

Iowa has been the most profitable place in the world to produce corn ethanol since 2000. As such, the industry expanded in the state to become the largest ethanol producer and many affiliated industries made investments in facilities and operations in Iowa. Last year, ethanol production in Iowa added nearly $5.2 billion to the state GDP, increased household income by $2.5 billion, and supported almost 33,000 jobs.

“For the first time since 2000, Iowa is no longer the best place to produce corn ethanol,” stated Shaw. “Alarm bells should be going off with any leader who values Iowa’s rural economy. We need to work to ensure this is temporary, not permanent. The huge economy-wide benefits that reverberate out from ethanol production in Iowa are not a given. If Iowa does not remain competitive, those investments will flow to areas that are competitive.”

Summit Carbon Solutions, which is working to build a 2,500-mile carbon-capture pipeline through the Midwest, including Iowa, recently filed a petition with the Iowa Utilities Commission to amend its current pipeline permit, approved in August 2024, requesting changes to the route and pipe. The project has been plagued with legal challenges in Iowa, as well as North and South Dakota.

Carbon, carbon capture, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Registration Unleashed for 2026 National Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

Registration is now open for the Renewable Fuels Association’s 31st annual National Ethanol Conference, taking place in Orlando, February 24–26, with the theme “Ethanol Unleashed” to reflect the industry’s robust growth potential.

“At the upcoming National Ethanol Conference, more than 1,000 industry professionals will have opportunities to network and collaborate, learn and share best practices, and celebrate our industry’s achievements,” said RFA Board Chairman Derek Peine, Western Plains Energy. “We’ll also be looking forward to the important work that still needs to be done to fully unleash ethanol’s potential. We hope to see everyone who has a stake in renewable fuels at this important conference.”

Since 1996, NEC has been the nation’s most widely attended executive-level conference for the ethanol industry, where sessions featuring globally renowned speakers are interspersed with numerous networking opportunities to help the industry connect and collaborate. Last year in Nashville, RFA hosted industry stakeholders from 37 states and 18 foreign countries.

Early-bird registration provides substantial discounts until December 9, and RFA members enjoy additional savings.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Sen. Fischer Promotes E15 on Senate Floor

Cindy Zimmerman

During a speech on the Senate floor Monday, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) addressed the economic crisis facing ag producers across America, highlighting how year-round, nationwide E15 can help farmers weather with a long-term solution that can provide stability and real opportunity for ag producers.

“Permanent nationwide access would increase corn demand by 2.5 billion bushels a year. It would lower gas prices for families. And it would drive new revenue into rural communities. President Trump’s Day 1 order to promote E15 through his National Energy Emergency Declaration was a strong start, but temporary fixes won’t cut it,” said Sen. Fischer. “That’s why I reintroduced my Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act earlier this year. When I first introduced this bill nearly a decade ago, it felt like an uphill climb. Today, momentum is finally on our side. We have strong bipartisan support. We have new industry partners, including members of the oil and refining sector at the table. This is a key piece of Republicans’ plan to lower energy costs, to strengthen American production, and to give consumers more choices at the pump.”

Fischer noted that trade is the other half of the equation. “At the end of the day, farmers and ranchers want programs that work and markets to sell their products,” she said. “Simply put, they just want a fair shot.”

Listen to Fischer’s comments here:
Sen. Deb Fischer - senate floor speech 6:56

Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Report with New RFA Chair

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association elected officers and its board of directors for the 2026 fiscal year at its annual membership meeting in Omaha, Nebraska last week and Derek Peine, CEO of Western Plains Energy in Oakley, Kan., was elected chairman.

Also last week, RFA celebrated the signing Assembly Bill 30 into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, immediately legalizing the sale of E15 in the Golden State.

In this edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast, we get to know RFA’s new chairman and hear his reaction to E15 in California, as well as the prospects for the organization’s number one priority – nationwide, year-round E15. Peine also comments on new research from RFA showing consumer support for ethanol, as well as other RFA priorities, including defense of the Renewable Fuel Standard and increasing global markets for U.S. ethanol exports.

Ethanol Report 10-7-25 23:09

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

Choose an option to subscribe

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Ethanol Industry Encouraged by California E15 Approval

Cindy Zimmerman

Finally getting E15 on the road in California is a major win for the ethanol industry and could help push nationwide legislation across the finish line.

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Chief Marketing Officer Ron Lamberty says California’s approval of E15 is a milestone for the U.S. fuel market.

“With California now on board, momentum for E15 is stronger than ever,” Lamberty added. “The future of the U.S. fuel market includes higher ethanol blends, and the next step is ensuring year-round, nationwide access to E15, so retailers can make changes without worrying about having to switch fuel offerings during the busiest time of their year, and drivers everywhere can rely on low-cost E15 being available every time they pull up to the pump.”

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Jed Bower encouraged Congress to make E15 available year-round, nationwide. “While today’s development is a sign of progress, many consumers across the country still lack year-round access to E15. We call on Congress to pass legislation that will extend access nationwide.”

ACE, corn, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

California Governor Signs E15 Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed legislation that could help bring down the cost of gasoline in California, making way for lower cost 15 percent ethanol fuel (E15) to be made available for the first time in the state.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says California was the only remaining state to not permit sales of E15. “Many other states have already seen the benefits of E15—healthier air, better engine performance, and cost savings at the pump. Now, California drivers are about to experience those same advantages for themselves, and we thank Gov. Newsom for voicing his support for E15 throughout the legislative process,” said Cooper.

The Governor signed Assembly Bill 30, which passed unanimously out of both the Assembly and Senate, allowing E15 to be sold immediately in the state while the Air Resources Board (CARB) completes its ongoing work to study whether the additional blend can meet the state’s clean air requirements.

Last October, the Governor directed CARB to accelerate studying how California could increase ethanol blending in gasoline while maintaining environmental protections. Authorizing the use of this alternative gasoline fuel blend reduces the state’s dependence on petroleum and further diversifies the state fuel supply, helping to avoid gasoline price spikes and costs to consumers at the pump.

RFA has been helping California retailers prepare for this moment in earnest over the past month, holding E15 workshops all over the state, starting in San Diego at the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance trade show.

RFA Senior Vice President of Industry Relations and Market Development Robert White says they have received tremendous response. “We believe that E15 value proposition is going to be even stronger than it is here in the Midwest and parts of the East Coast and Southeast so that when one retailer starts to do that blending we think it’ll take hold a little bit faster than we’ve seen in other areas,” said White. “So here’s this strange scenario where the last state to legalize E15 could really become the poster child for the rest of the country.”

RFA has set up a website to provide information about selling E15 in California called E15forCA.com.

Listen to White’s interview here.
Robert White, RFA - E15 for CA (12:35)

Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

EPA Holds Hearing on SRE Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency held a virtual hearing Wednesday to get feedback on its recent supplemental proposed rule regarding small refinery exemptions and the reallocation of affected volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard and the biofuels industry was unanimous in its call for 100 percent reallocation of all exempted renewable fuel blending volumes.

Just two weeks ago, EPA co-proposed “additional volumes representing complete (100 percent) reallocation and 50 percent reallocation for SREs granted in full or in part for 2023 and 2024, as well as those projected to be granted for 2025, as part of the ongoing RFS rulemaking.”

In testimony to the EPA, the Renewable Fuels Association strongly disagreed with EPA’s decision to grant 140 small refinery exemptions (SREs) based on a new approach to determining “disproportionate economic hardship (DEH).”

“If EPA is going to resume granting SREs under its flawed notion of DEH, it must reallocate 100 percent of those exempted volumes,” RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said. “Without reallocating 100 percent of the exempted volumes, the volumes originally proposed cannot be achieved and any final volumes will be illusory.”

Cooper also objected to EPA’s reliance on the Department of Energy’s outdated small refinery study and “scoring matrix” in the SRE process. “EPA has a duty to independently evaluate petitions and assess whether a small refiner has experienced DEH,” he said. “EPA should not be deferring to the DOE’s long-outdated 2011 study and scoring matrix. In 2022, the Government Accountability Office faulted the DOE study as ‘critically flawed,’ and EPA itself asserted that the study fails to provide useful information.”

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings emphasized in his testimony that without full reallocation, obligated parties could use the oversupply of low-priced renewable identification numbers (RINs) to satisfy the 2026 and 2027 obligations without buying or blending physical gallons of ethanol and other renewable fuels.

“This type of demand destruction undermines the integrity of the RFS,” Jennings said, adding that demand destruction occurred in 2018 and 2019 when SREs and low RIN prices discouraged refiners from blending ethanol above E10 and artificially restrained sales of E15, E30, and E85.

Jennings commended EPA for working to reallocate volumes that should have been legally blended and stated ACE’s view that the Agency is bound by statute to finalize full and complete reallocation for 2026 and 2027. “In other words, the Agency must reallocate 100% of the 2023 through 2025 exempted RVOs – an estimated 2.18 billion gallons – to the final Set 2 rule,” Jennings said.

ACE, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA