Ethanol producers and corn growers have provided support against the oil industry’s latest effort to undermine the expansion of E15 (gasoline containing 15% ethanol). The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and National Corn Growers Association on Friday filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit supporting and defending EPA’s 2019 regulation allowing year-round availability of …
Iowa Governor Allocates $100 Million for Agriculture Relief
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has allocated approximately $100 million of federal CARES Act relief funds for a range of agricultural programs to offset the impact of COVID-19 on farmers, producers and agricultural industries. “Iowa is at the foundation of our global food supply chain and the epicenter of the renewable fuels industry,” said Gov. Reynolds. “COVID-19 and a devastating derecho …
Nebraska Ethanol Industry to Benefit from Tax Reform
The Nebraska Ethanol Board and Renewable Fuels Nebraska were pleased last week to take part in Governor Pete Ricketts’ final approval of state legislation that will provide benefits for the struggling industry. Dubbed the great compromise, LB 1107 combined many of the business incentives of LB 720, otherwise known as the ImagiNE Act, with elements of property tax reform for …
EPA Small Refinery Waiver Requests Nearing 100
The Environmental Protection Agency now has 98 requests for RFS Small Refinery Exemptions parked in its online dashboard for consideration. The agency has received another nine new small refinery exemption requests for previous years, along with three new current waiver petitions for 2019-2020. The prior year petitions include one each for 2011 and 2012, two each for the years 2013 …
Lawmakers Urge USTR to Prioritize Brazil Ethanol Tariffs
U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (IL-18) and Adrian Smith (NE-03) spearheaded a bipartisan letter urging U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer to prioritize Brazilian trade barriers to U.S. ethanol during ongoing US-Brazil trade negotiations. Reps. LaHood and Smith both serve on the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. LaHood is co-chair of the U.S.-Brazil Caucus. The letter calls for a …
Virtual ACE Conference Offers Full Agenda
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 33rd annual conference offers attendees this year a virtual agenda on the most pressing issues facing the ethanol industry on the afternoon of September 16 from the comfort of your own home or office. The event agenda complements the broader content attendees will receive having dual access to the Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo …
New Leaders for Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel
Four new co-chairs have been selected to lead the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel (NGSB) forward. The new co-chairs are: Jenny Frank, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Leo Budy, University of Kansas Zenith Tandukar, University of Minnesota John Cramsey, Iowa State University In a live Zoom event – “Science, Live: Meet Biodiesel Scientists Making …
Sen. Ernst Urges President to Stop Gap Year Waivers
During a briefing on storm damage in Iowa Tuesday, President Donald Trump heard from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) about issues facing the ethanol industry, particularly the threat of the Environmental Protection Agency granting retroactive small refinery exemptions for previous years. “Our farmers would love to know that with these gap year waivers that the oil refineries are submitting to the …
RFA Welcomes President Trump to Ethanol Country
When President Trump visited Mankato, Minnesota yesterday he was welcomed by a full-page ad in the Mankato Free Press along with a banner on the front page of the local newspaper with the message “Mr. President, welcome to ethanol country. We need your support.” The front-page banner and full-page ad were sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association to remind the …
Mustard Family Plant Could Make Biofuel
Scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are studying a plant in the mustard family as a source for making butanol. It’s scientific name is Lesquerella, but it is often called Fendler’s bladderpod and Yellow Top, a plant native to the U.S. Southwest. Butanol is a cleaner-burning alternative to gasoline that was produced worldwide until after World War II, when …