Senate Ag Chair Explains E15 Refinery Issue

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Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) sat down with Agri-Pulse Editor-in-Chief Philip Brasher Monday during the Ag and Food Policy Summit and explained what the real issue is with E15 legislation in Congress as he sees it.

Boozman said it started last year when Big Oil suddenly came out opposed to year-round E15. “And then they came out a few months ago, and said, we’re for it, but you’ve got to get rid of these small refineries. And I happen to have one in my state. It’s the only refinery in my state that produces gasoline and jet fuel, things like that, literally serves the entire southern part of our state, including the jet fuel for our airport in Little Rock. So it’s a big deal,” said Boozman, adding that is the case with refineries in several other states, which puts lawmakers like him in a difficult position. “So we’re very much in favor of getting E-15 done. I’m very much in favor of the Fisher Bill, you know, that does that, but I’m not in favor of somehow the big oil refineries, forcing consolidation with a smaller one, especially during this time.”

Boozman believes Congress ultimately can get it done, and it possibly can be included in the Senate version of the farm bill. “I’m also on the Environment and Public Works Committee….What we need to do is get them to sign off on it. So we’re talking to them, and ..if we can get that signed off, you know, we would be glad to stick it in there.”

Boozman added that E15 is at the top of Senator Thune’s priorities. “He understands, he wants to get these things done, and is counting on us to to push it forward.”

Listen to Sen. Boozman at the Agri-Pulse Summit:
Agri-Pulse Summit Sen. Boozman 24:16

Agri-Pulse, Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, farm bill

ACE Associate Members Provide Perspective in DC

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Ethanol plant owners, investors and workers generally make up the majority of the American Coalition for Ethanol members who attend the annual fly-in and visit lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But associate members, including financial and technical service providers, can provide their own unique perspectives on those visits.

Kim Herzog joined ACE board president Troy Knecht and Todd Brown, Dakota Ethanol, visiting Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN)

Kim Herzog has worked for natural gas partner Encore Energy and been involved with ACE for over eight years, but this year’s ACE DC Fly-in was her first.

“We have a lot of ethanol customers and we appreciate the mission of the ethanol industry, supporting local rural communities, supporting the farmers,” said Herzog. “So I wanted to just add to what we’ve always done in the past and try out the DC fly-in, see what it was like, see if I could help in any way.”

She encourages everyone in the industry to take part in the fly-in. “Something that it’s taught me is like, don’t be afraid to come out here and actually get involved in it. It’s really easy to just read headlines and think that that’s just a world that you shouldn’t be involved in, but ACE makes it super approachable. I was nervous for sure at the beginning of all of this and just having it be my first time. And I think it’s good to have some of that nervous energy coming into it.”

Jackie Hayes visits Rep. Mary Miller with John Christianson and Rick Schwark

Jackie Hayes has been active in the ethanol industry since 2017 and worked for the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville before starting at her position as business development director at Whitefox Technologies. She noted that while it’s always nice to meet with the lawmakers themselves on the hill, it’s very important to meet with the staffers as well.

“I don’t take for granted ever the opportunities to speak with congressional staffers,” said Hayes. “They’re a really critical piece of the value chain of policy. I mean, ultimately it’s staffers that wrote the initial draft of the renewable fuel standard, that delivered, the industry that we all serve today. It’s congressional staffers that, in many cases, really are the movers and shakers of DC.”

Listen to interviews with both Herzog and Hayes from last week’s ACE DC Fly-in:
Kim Herzog, Encore Energy (5:31)

Jackie Hayes, Whitefox Technologies (9:22)

ACE, Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Zeldin Promises RFS Set 2 Release by End of March

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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin confirmed today that the agency will finalize Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Set 2 regulations before the end of the month, providing much-needed certainty to the biofuels industry.

Speaking at the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit with founder Sara Wyant, Zeldin said the agency is in the “very final stages” of releasing the rule, which was overdue when he took office. While there has been speculation that an announcement might be made this week at a White House agriculture and biofuels event, when pressed for a date, Zeldin simply said, “Before the end of the month,” which is just over a week away. Zeldin described biofuels policy as involving “a lot of competing interests” that consume significant time at the agency. He noted diverse stakeholder input during the process and emphasized the need to “get it right.”

Zeldin explained that the RFS Set 2 decision involves multiple “dials,” including volume levels, biomass-based diesel, discounted RINs, and reallocation. He pledged the agency will immediately begin work on RFS Set 3 upon completion to provide greater predictability.

Zeldin also discussed ongoing congressional talks regarding year-round E15 sales and highlighted the strategic importance of biofuels as both an economic driver for rural America and a national security asset. “They view it as an economic issue and a national security issue,” he said of conversations with Midwest lawmakers like Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

“You have a lot of other members of Congress, who represent other parts of the country. And they have different views, different constituencies that they represent,” Zeldin said, referring also to his own biofuels opposition when he served in Congress. “I represented a different constituency on this issue on the east end of Long Island.”

The good thing, he says, is that people on different sides of the issue have been talking and listening to each other. “I can share from my perspective that this was the first time, the last couple months, it’s the first time that we’re having that deep dive with the multiple parties represented at the table,” said Zeldin.

Listen to Zeldin’s conversation with Wyant:
Agri-Pulse Summit Lee Zeldin 31:30

Agri-Pulse, Audio, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Report on Girls Auto Clinic

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The Renewable Fuels Association is a proud sponsor of Girls Auto Clinic (GAC) to expand ethanol education and outreach to a growing audience of women who are actively engaged in car buying, maintenance, and repair.

Founder Patrice Banks spoke at the recent National Ethanol Conference about her efforts to help women gain the knowledge and confidence to take charge of their automotive experiences and how her audience has been very receptive to information on the benefits of higher ethanol blends.

In this edition of the Ethanol Report, we hear from Banks and also from RFA Membership and Marketing Manager Kendra Coulson about how the RFA partnership with Girls Auto Clinic started and how its going.

Ethanol Report 3-19-26 13:19

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

ACE CEO Hopeful for EPA Final Rule Next Week

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ACE CEO Brian Jennings

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings is hopeful the delayed Renewable Volume Obligations for 2026 and 2027 will be announced next week sometime, and it could coincide with the reported White House event for agriculture and biofuels.

“We expect positive news on the RFS front, strong blending volumes. I think the big question is how much of the small refinery exemptions that they granted over the 2023 to 2025 compliance years are reallocated,” said Jennings at the group’s annual fly-in this week. “And the EPA has said they’d entertain fully reallocating those gallons, which is what we would prefer. But the media reports lately have been indicating it’s going to be something less than 100% reallocation, probably more than half, but less than 100%. So a little clarity on that would be helpful to know.”

While getting a legislative fix to allow E15 sales in the summertime has been the big focus for agriculture and biofuels on Capitol Hill this week, Jennings says summer is getting very close. “Despite the fact that by far our top priority is for Congress to enact a permanent solution for E15, the conditions are very ripe in the marketplace right now for another emergency waiver if the Trump administration feels like Congress is not getting its job done. And as we get sort of dangerously close to the summer driving season, there is an expectation that the EPA and or the White House would make this the 5th consecutive year 2026 of these temporary emergency waivers for E-15. So that could be part of something that’s announced next week, too.”

Listen to an interview with Jennings from the ACE DC Fly-in here:
Brian Jennings, ACE CEO (8:34)

2026 ACE Fly-in Photo Album

ACE, Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFS

Lawmakers Frustrated with E15 Hold Up

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Harmon Wilts and Doug Schliep meet with Rep. Michelle Fischbach

American Coalition for Ethanol members meeting on Capitol Hill with lawmakers this week found them to be just as frustrated as the ethanol industry about getting E15 legislation in Congress.

“We visited about seven different House Representatives and Senators, and the main theme is they’re frustrated too,” said Harmon Wilts with Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) in Minnesota. “Two different times it was in the legislation, it should have been passed, and it was pulled at the last minute by just a handful of folks that were able to do that. A lot of it centers around the SREs, the RVOs, and the small refineries. So I think that’s kind of been the biggest thing. But most folks are like, hey, this is fairly simple.”

Ben Rhodes, Zac Griess and Scott McPheeters meet with Rep. Eric Sorensen

Scott McPheeters with KAAPA Ethanol in Nebraska heard the same thing during his visits with ethanol-friendly legislators. “I think they’re pretty frustrated that the E15 thing has been so long and there’s actually really nothing negative about it. It doesn’t cost the government anything. It saves consumers money. It puts money in farmers pockets,” said McPheeters. “But it’s also hard because some of our lawmakers have gotten battle fatigue, you might call it, where they have said, we’ve been at this so long and we just need to move on and we can’t move on… It’s just what we need.”

While the chances of getting any E15 legislation this year seem to be dwindling, Reuters reports today that the Trump administration is contemplating a temporary suspension of the federal restrictions requiring summer-blend gasoline, which would lower prices at the pump while also allowing continued sales of E15 in the summer months.

Listen to interviews with Wilts and McPheeters below:
Harmon Wilts, CVEC (9:49)
Scott McPheeters, KAAPA Ethanol (7:00)

2026 ACE Fly-in Photo Album

ACE, Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Strong Start for 2026 Ethanol and DDGS Exports

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U.S. ethanol exports kicked off 2026 at 212.1 million gallons (mg), according to the latest Renewable Fuels Association Trade Monitor for January 2026. Despite slipping 4% from December, it is 8 percent more than January 2025.

Canada retained its position as the top destination with a 5% increase to 70.0 mg, with denatured fuel ethanol accounting for 90% of the total and representing two-thirds of all denatured fuel ethanol exports in January. Brazil tripled its imports of U.S. ethanol to 36.4 mg, marking the largest monthly purchase in nearly six years. Exports to the European Union declined 18% to a six-month low of 35.1 mg, with the Netherlands serving as the primary recipient. Exports to India decreased 19% to 12.2 mg, while Colombia jumped 25% to 12.1 mg and the Philippines scaled back 29% to 11.4 mg. Direct shipments to the United Kingdom rose 6% to 8.0 mg. Other key markets included South Korea (7.0 mg, -20%), Vietnam (4.9 mg, up from zero for a 14-month high), and Mexico (4.1 mg, -35%).

In addition U.S. exports of dried distillers grains (DDGS) jumped 13% in January to a three-month high of 1.01 million metric tons (mt) amid large swings among major markets. Mexico remained the largest destination with 226,324 mt, up 38% to a 10-month high. South Korea increased 9% to 120,911 mt. Colombia quadrupled to a record high of 104,959 mt. Indonesia decreased 19% to 91,660 mt, while Vietnam declined 12% to an 11-month low of 71,166 mt.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Verity and CIBO Partner to Help Biofuel Producers With 45Z

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Gevo subsidiary Verity Holdings and CIBO Technologies, a leading data and analytics platform for agriculture, have announced a strategic partnership to deliver an end-to-end data and verification solution connecting farm-level practices to fuel production. The collaboration is designed to enable biofuel producers to generate verified carbon intensity (“CI”) scores and audit-ready documentation that is required to capture value under Section 45Z, known as the Clean Fuel Production Credit.

As clean fuel markets evolve, biofuel producers must increasingly demonstrate traceable, auditable connections from feedstock sourcing through fuel production to be able to utilize credits such as the 45Z tax credit. Because of the value of the 45Z credit scales with verified reductions in CI, producers need systems capable of linking real-world agricultural practices with fuel production data and regulatory reporting.

Biofuels typically participate in multiple markets and credit programs, each with different compliance and reporting requirements. These include the Section 45Z credit, Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations, California and other state Low Carbon Fuel Standards, and emerging voluntary carbon market registries.

Together, Verity and CIBO aim to help the renewable fuel production supply chain (including ethanol producers, grain elevators, processors, and farmers) collect and convert verified farm-level and operational data into traceable environmental attributes that support participation in these markets.

aviation biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, SAF

RFA Report on Who’s Talking About E15

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Everyone is talking about E15 and yet there is still no bill to show for it.

The Renewable Fuels Association just released a comprehensive report on “What They’re Saying” about E15, featuring dozens of statements from members of Congress, President Trump, administration officials, Governors, and industry leaders on the urgent need to pass year-round E15 legislation immediately.

“As this report shows, there is broad bipartisan support—and growing urgency—for legislation that would finally allow year-round, nationwide sales of lower-cost E15,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “There is widespread agreement that the time to act on E15 legislation is right now. This can’t wait any longer. For the sake of America’s farmers and consumers facing higher prices at the pump, Congress must act immediately to allow unfettered access to E15. As gas prices continue to rise and as farmers are facing the worst economic crisis in nearly 50 years, we are again urging Congress to act as quickly as possible. Opening the marketplace to E15 would reduce pump prices, while providing a badly needed demand boost for our nation’s farmers.”

On January 27 in Iowa, President Trump called on leaders in the House and Senate to adopt legislation allowing year-round, nationwide E15 as quickly as possible. “I will sign it without delay,” he said. Nearly two months later, no legislation has been forthcoming from the Congressional council assigned to the task.

Still, members of Congress continue to talk about the need. At a Senate Agriculture Hearing last week, E15 was a constant refrain coming from witnesses and Senators. The National Corn Growers Association even made a reel highlighting the comments.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, Video

Clean Fuels Celebrates Biodiesel Day Urging Final RFS

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Clean Fuels Alliance America is celebrating National Biodiesel Day today and looking ahead to new opportunities for growth.

“Biodiesel helped chart the course for today’s clean fuels market in heavy-duty transportation and opened the doors to applications in rail, marine, Bioheat® fuel and aviation,” said Clean Fuels CEO Donnell Rehagen. “We have built that progress on a proud legacy of clean, homegrown fuel led by our nation’s soybean farms.”

National Biodiesel Day commemorates the birthday of Rudolf Diesel, who invented the diesel engine and predicted the importance of biodiesel more than a century ago. “The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time,” he said in a speech in 1912.

This week, Clean Fuels joined five other trade associations in a letter to President Trump urging him to unleash U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel production to bolster America’s energy security during the conflict with Iran.

The disruption in the global oil market is constraining diesel fuel supplies, which threatens to raise the cost of all U.S. consumer goods and further harm the U.S. agriculture sector as farmers start this season’s planting. Immediately finalizing the 2026 and 2027 Renewable Fuel Standards would encourage the U.S. clean fuel industry to quickly ramp up enough production capacity to meet 3% of the nation’s demand for diesel, the groups write.

The letter to President Trump is signed by Clean Fuels Alliance America, the American Soybean Association, National Energy & Fuels Institute (NEFI), National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), North American Renderers Association (NARA), and U.S. Canola Association, representing the full biomass-based diesel value chain – farmers, feedstock providers, clean fuel producers, and customers.

“The biodiesel, renewable diesel and SAF industry is ready to meet the challenge of providing crucial supplies of diesel fuel free from overseas threats,” the groups write. “The RFS rule should be finalized as quickly as possible. Continued delays in finalizing and publishing the RFS rule would extend market uncertainty for farmers and stakeholders across our value chain as well as exacerbate the recent spike in diesel fuel prices.”

Biodiesel, canola, Clean Fuels Alliance, renewable diesel, RFS, Soybeans