Tom Vilsack has officially been nominated to serve as Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden Administration, reprising the role he held under President Obama for eight years, and the biofuels industry is quite happy with that decision. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says Vilsack is an excellent choice. “We are especially happy to have someone in the …
DOJ Opposes Supreme Court Review of RFS Waivers Decision
The Department of Justice has recommended against a Supreme Court review of the Tenth Circuit Court’s ruling earlier this year that invalidated several small refinery exemptions issued by EPA under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The DOJ filed its response Wednesday to a petition submitted in September by oil refineries HollyFrontier Corporation and CVR Energy asking the Supreme Court to review …
Biofuels Coalition Challenging Small Refinery Waivers in 2018
A coalition of six biofuel and farm organizations filed a brief Tuesday challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s August 2019 decision to exempt 31 small refineries from their obligations to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2018. The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union, collectively known …
EPA Misses 2021 RFS Deadline
For the first time under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency missed the November 30 statutory deadline for publishing the final rule for next year’s Renewable Volume Obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In fact, EPA never even issued a proposed rule for the 2021 RVOs. “And even if a proposed rule was released today, it would be …
ACE Pleased to Participate in Virtual NAFB
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) was pleased to be a sponsor and exhibitor for the second year in a row at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) virtual convention and trade talk. ACE CEO Brian Jennings discussed a number of topics with farm broadcasters, including possible scenarios for when the industry might finally see the Renewable Volume Obligations …
Farm & Biofuel Groups Ask Court to Enforce EPA Ruling
Farm and biofuels leaders say it’s way past time for EPA to act on a court order from 2017 and they are going back to the court to make it happen. A coalition of biofuels and agricultural trade groups filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Monday asking the court to enforce its …
NAFB Session Focuses on Ag and Energy
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) is holding its annual convention this week, and like everything else it is virtual. One of the newsmaker sessions on opening day of the convention focused on ethanol and biodiesel and “Agriculture’s Contributions to the Energy Market.” Carey Martin with Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network moderated the discussion with Tom Verry, Director of …
MN Governor’s Biofuels Council Recommends LCFS
The Minnesota Governor’s Council on Biofuels this week released its consensus report on the steps needed to grow Minnesota’s biofuels industry and get the state back on track to meet renewable energy goals, including a plan for the adoption of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). In the report to Gov. Tim Walz, the council recommends “a low-carbon fuel standard …
Ethanol Stakeholders Comment on FFV Standards
Ethanol stakeholder organizations submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency this week regarding the E85 Flexible Fuel Vehicle Weighting Factor (F-factor) for Model Year 2021 and Later Vehicles. Comments from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) support EPA’s new approach to maintaining some level of certainty for automakers, but would like to see the agency “provide a long-term floor and “more …
ACE Commends Argonne for GREET Model Updates
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is pleased with recent updates to the Greenhouse gas and Regulated Emissions and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model made by U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory scientists. The GREET model is widely recognized as the gold-standard tool used to audit the energy and environmental effects of transportation fuels such as ethanol and …