During a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing Wednesday, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was pressed for answers about the demand destruction created by small refinery exemptions, how EPA intends to reallocate the waived gallons, and when the agency will approve E15 use year-round. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) …
Ethanol Export Mission to Indonesia and Vietnam
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and ethanol industry partners joined the recent USDA Agricultural Trade Mission to Indonesia in July, led by USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney. Indonesia currently imports half of its gasoline demand, and the government has set a goal for renewables to represent 23 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2025 …
NBB Files Brief Challenging 2018 RFS Rule
The National Biodiesel Board has filed the opening brief in a lawsuit objecting to the methodology EPA used for establishing the 2018 Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS). NBB has three specific disputes with EPA’s final RFS rule for 2018, arguing: – EPA must account for all small refinery exemptions in the annual percentage standard; – The agency acted arbitrarily when it …
ACE Plans Retailer Panel Encore
A flex fuel retailer panel will be part of the general session lineup again this year at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 31st annual conference, August 15-17 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty will moderate a discussion between returning panelist Bob O’Connor, owner of Wisconsin-based JETZ Convenience Centers, and first-time panelist Glenn Badenhop, owner of Ohio-based …
RFA Hires Chief Economist
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has announced that Scott Richman will join the organization next month as chief economist to lead the development and execution of a wide range of research and analysis initiatives. Most recently, Richman served as senior vice president and co-head of North America Consulting for Informa Agribusiness Consulting, a global firm specializing in research and intelligence …
RFA Hosting Ethanol Safety Seminars in VA
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and several organizations are hosting ethanol safety seminars in Virginia this week. The ethanol safety seminars, in partnership with TRANSCAER, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will be held all day today, tomorrow and Wednesday in Chesapeake at the Chesapeake Public Safety Operations Building. The ethanol safety seminar focuses …
ACE Addresses Ethanol Questions in 4th Mexican City
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty traveled to Chihuahua this week for the fourth of six technical ethanol workshops the U.S. Grains Council is holding for Mexican petroleum equipment installers and retailers. “My presentations to these groups are primarily math and history,” Lamberty added. “We “do the math” of splash-blending less expensive ethanol with gasoline, and …
Trump in Iowa Reaffirms Support for Ethanol
As President Trump was starting a roundtable on workforce development in Iowa Thursday, his very first words were about ethanol. “I’m very close, I have to tell you, to pulling off something that you’ve been looking forward to for many years and that’s the 12 month E15 waiver,”said Trump. “It’s a very complex process.” Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said …
#SubEnvironment Holds Hearing on RINs
The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment took a deep dive into the complex world of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) during a hearing on Wednesday. The committee, chaired by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), heard from a panel of independent witnesses to provide background on RINs and how the market for them works. The panel included: Brent Yacobucci – Energy …
EPA Approves Sorghum Oil as Biofuels Pathway
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler yesterday announced the approval of sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard during a signing event at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., with sorghum farmers and other stakeholders. In December 2017, the EPA released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning renewable fuels produced from sorghum oil under the RFS …