Congressional and federal agency staff members learned all about biofuels in Minnesota and Iowa last week during the 2023 Biofuels Science and Sustainability Tour.

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) hosted the tour which began Aug 14 in Des Moines and traveled through Minnesota in cooperation with MN Bio-Fuels. This included a tour of Guardian Energy in Janesville, visiting one of the first retailers in the state to offer E15 (Hennen’s Minnoco in Shakopee ) and providing the staffers with an overview of the emerging sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market during a tour of the Minneapolis – St Paul International Airport.

Following the visit at Guardian Energy, the group headed to Hennen’s Minnoco in Shakopee where they were briefed on how federal funding through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Investment Program, as well as state infrastructure funding, has helped increase the number of fuel retailers offering E15 and E85 in Minnesota.

On Aug 17, the group were briefed by both Delta Airlines and Gevo at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport on how SAF made from agriculture feedstocks can contribute to meeting the state’s carbon reduction goals. The group was also briefed by representatives from the Minnesota Farmers Union on how climate smart agronomic practices can be incorporated into the lifecycle accounting process at ethanol plants to produce ethanol with a lower carbon footprint.