As ethanol producers gather this week in San Diego for the 2024 National Ethanol Conference, they can celebrate a great year for the industry in 2023. As inflationary pressures eased and demand boomed for low-carbon ethanol and its co-products, the ethanol industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy remained strong in 2023, according to the latest economic impact analysis conducted for …
ACE Elects 2024 Executive Committee
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Board of Directors last week elected its Executive Committee for 2024. Re-elected to serve as officers on the 2024 Executive Committee are: Dave Sovereign, President – Chairman of Golden Grain Energy’s Board in Mason City, Iowa and also serves on the board of Absolute Energy in St. Ansgar, Iowa. Troy Knecht, Vice President – …
Lawmakers Urge Use of Sound Science in SAF Carbon Modeling
As the Treasury Department March 1 deadline nears to update the GREET model, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers have written to the working group in charge of the changes to asking them to ensure they are basing them on sound science, current data, and methodologies that properly recognize modern practices in agriculture and biofuel production. U.S. Representatives Angie Craig …
Ethanol Worth $2.5 Billion to Minnesota Economy in 2023
Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association has just released a new study by the University of Minnesota Extension shows the ethanol industry contributed $2.5 billion to Minnesota’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023. According to the study, the industry produced 1.35 billion gallons of ethanol in 2023, resulting in $6.6 billion in economic activity and supported 20,914 jobs. The industry also generated $1.3 …
New Mexico Passes Clean Fuel Standard
The New Mexico legislature this week passed a clean fuel standard that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign it into law. This will make New Mexico the fourth state, after California, Oregon, and Washington, to pass a clean fuel standard designed to reduce carbon emissions while promoting new investments in the production of renewable fuels and vehicles. New …
License Granted for Herbicide Tolerant Camelina Production
Yield10 Bioscience announced today that it has granted a global license to VISION Bioenergy Oilseeds to certain proprietary varieties of Camelina sativa (“Camelina”) for the production of feedstock oil for biofuels. By facilitating the large-scale commercial production of herbicide tolerant Camelina, this license agreement is intended to empower farmers to capitalize on the growing biofuel market while advancing the decarbonization …
Ag Secretary Calls Census Numbers “Wake Up Call”
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on Tuesday released results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which includes more than 6 million data points about America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them down to the county level. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack joined NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer and USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economic Chavonda …
Consumers Driving Demand for Clean Fuels
Clean Fuels Alliance America Chair Michael Rath, Sr. with Darling Ingredients is optimistic about the future of clean fuels. In his address to the membership at last week’s Clean Fuels Conference, Rath noted that consumers, including fleets, have choices for the fuel they put in their vehicles. “Clean fuel adoption is now largely driven by that consumer demand for choice,” …
Cargill Supports Low-Carbon Fuel Feedstock Research
Cargill has awarded $2.5 million to the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota to support research into new oilseed crops that can potentially produce low-carbon fuel. The research will focus on winter camelina and domesticated winter pennycress, two crops that can produce seed-based oil for low-carbon transportation fuels while also protecting soil, improving water quality, and providing new …
Corn Farmers Express Concerns About EV Focus
Thousands of farmers from across the country signed a letter that was sent to President Joe Biden last week expressing concern that his administration is taking a short-sighted approach to addressing climate change by prioritizing the use of electric vehicles over biofuels, such as corn ethanol, as it works to drastically lower the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. “If we are …