The National Ethanol Conference is coming up February 24-25 in Orlando, coinciding this year with an important deadline facing the recently formed E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, which has been having meetings over the past week in Washington D.C.

The council is tasked with submitting a legislative proposal by February 15 with the goal of considering the bill by February 25. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says that will make the NEC interesting. “The whole focus of our event this year is on unleashing American ethanol, unleashing new opportunities for corn growers, and unfortunately the pathway to doing that often runs through Washington DC or through state capitols,” said Cooper. “So we will have a heavy focus on what are those solutions for unleashing greater ethanol demand, greater demand for corn, greater value for both commodities, and E15 is a big part of that.”

Other topics to be addressed at NEC 2026 include energy, ag, and tax policy issues; the impact of AI in the ethanol marketplace, global demand for ethanol, maritime markets, 45Z tax credit opportunities, and updates from USDA and EPA.

Listen to Cooper’s NEC preview.
2026 NEC preview 3:54