Dr. Franklin Orr, Under Secretary for Science and Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, provided the keynote address at the recent BioEnergy 2015 Conference which took place in Washington, D.C. In his role, Dr. Orr is the principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on clean energy technologies and science and energy research initiatives. “If there is any technology that …
Sen Klobuchar: Time to Govern by Opportunity
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) keynoted the opening session of the BioEnergy 2015: Opportunities in a Changing Energy Landscape conference in Washington, D.C. During her remarks, she noted it isn’t an easy time to be in Washington in terms of energy policy and the country has “lost opportunities” in energy policy since 9-11. Sen Klobuchar explained that in the summer of …
Citizen Testimony at EPA RFS Hearing
Of the more than 240 stakeholders who testified at the EPA hearing last week on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), at least 35 were citizens who spoke about why they felt it was important for our nation to continuing increasing the use of biofuels. One of those was Austin Ludowese (pictured far left) of Stewart, Minnesota, who was raised on …
EPA’s Grundler Visits #RFSWorks Rally
The EPA official in charge of last week’s hearing on proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proved to be open and engaged and truly interested in listening to what stakeholders had to say about the proposal. Chris Grundler, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality Director, even left the hearing for a time and walked down the …
Prime the Pump Funds Ethanol Infrastructure
The chairman of the Prime the Pump fund says getting more fuel infrastructure in the marketplace is vital to getting higher level ethanol blends to consumers. “It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg,” says Ray Defenbaugh of Big River Resources in West Burlington, Iowa. “The autos hold off because of the pumps, pumps hold off because of the …
EPA Hearing Turnout to Show #RFSWorks
The public hearing in Kansas City, Kansas last week on EPA’s proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard was a who’s who of the biofuels industry and then some. A total of 254 people on 43 panels testified in two different rooms for about seven and a half hours. It was over twice as many people who testified at …
Retailers Counter EPA Blend Wall Beliefs
Many fuel retailers were on hand at the EPA public hearing last week on volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to tell their stories about selling higher ethanol blends. Among those who testified at the hearing and also spoke at the #RFSWorks rally was Cheryl Near, who owns Jump Start gas station in Wichita, Kansas with her husband …
Corn Growers Testify and Rally for RFS
Corn growers from across the nation were in Kansas City, Kansas last week to testify and rally in support of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Leaders of the National Corn Growers Association were among over 200 stakeholders to provide comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to reduce the volume of ethanol required to be used in the nation’s fuel …
FFA Helps ‘Prime the Pump’ for Ethanol & Students
Maker of Enogen corn, Syngenta, recently announced it had raised money for ethanol infrastructure through the “Prime the Pump” campaign, an industry initiative to help early retail adopters of high-level ethanol blends through grants to reduce their initial investment in infrastructure. By donating a dollar for every acre of corn planted with the Enogen variety, Syngenta will put approximately $600,000 …
RFA Chairman to EPA: Tear Down the Blend Wall
Testifying at a public hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and rally in Kansas City, Kansas Thursday, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) board chairman Randy Doyal urged EPA to “tear down the blend wall” and implement the statute as Congress intended. In his testimony at the hearing, the CEO of Minnesota-based Al-Corn Clean Fuel said that even though gasoline consumption …