USDA’s 90-Day Progress Report on Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry which includes stakeholder input on how to best use programs, funding and financing capacities to encourage the voluntary adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. The report also supports the role of agriculture in de-carbonizing the transportation sector. The growth of the U.S. biofuels sector, driven in part by the Renewable Fuels Standard, …
Court Vacates Last Minute Refinery Exemptions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has issued an order vacating three small refinery exemptions granted by EPA in the waning moments of the Trump Administration. The court’s decision came promptly after EPA petitioned for the vacatur and remand of the exemptions on April 30 and Sinclair responded on May 18 that it did not oppose EPA’s …
FEW Looking for Industry Award Nominations
The 3th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop will be held in Des Moines July 13-15 and one of the event’s longtime traditions is the presentation of the industry’s High Octane Award and Award of Excellence. Nominations for both awards are now being sought, with a deadline of June 4. The Award of Excellence, established by BBI International in 2000, recognizes …
Ethanol Exports Up in March
Exports of U.S. ethanol increased to 133 million gallons (mg) in March, the second-largest volume in a year and up 31% from February’s dip, according to the latest summary from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Exports to China spiked from 4.7 mg to 48.3 mg for the country’s second-largest monthly imports of American ethanol on record (and narrowly missing the …
Ethanol Report: 10 Years of California’s LCFS
2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard being implemented with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the state’s transportation sector, while also lessening dependence on petroleum by using alternative fuels, like ethanol. A new Renewable Fuels Association white paper looks at how, for the past decade, ethanol has been the go-to fuel to …
Corn Use for Ethanol Forecast Increased
USDA’s May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report is forecasting corn use for ethanol to increase this year with greater production and domestic use. The corn crop is projected at 15 billion bushels, up from last year on higher area and a yield projection of 179.5 bushels per acre assuming normal planting progress and summer growing season weather. Total …
Iowa Fleets Make ‘100 Best’ List with Biodiesel
This year’s National Fleet Management Association 100 Best Fleets in the Americas list includes two fleets in Iowa that rely on biodiesel – Ames Fleet Services Department and Iowa State University. Ames has achieved greenhouse gas emissions reductions by deploying snowplows with 100% biodiesel as its primary fuel – a first for any midwestern city. With support from biodiesel producer …
Ethanol Could Help Ease Pipeline Pain
The fuel supply challenges being faced by some states due to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown could be helped by increasing use of 15 percent ethanol (E15), according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper specifically asked EPA to suspend certain regulatory requirements that otherwise would impede and …
RFA Comments on Oregon Clean Fuels Program
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is expressing some concerns related to a planned expansion of the Oregon Clean Fuels Program. The Oregon CFP currently requires a 10% reduction in the carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuels by 2025, and the state intends to expand the reductions to 20% by 2030 and 25% by 2035. In anticipation of the expansion, Oregon’s …
Biodiesel Group Requests Meeting with EPA Admin
The National Biodiesel Board is asking EPA Administrator Michael Regan for an opportunity to present the findings of a new study, “Assessment of Health Benefits from Using Biodiesel as a Transportation Fuel and Residential Heating Oil.” The study from Trinity Consultants quantifies the public health benefits and resulting economic savings of using 100% biodiesel in U.S. communities near heavy transportation …