The virtual American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference kicked off without a hitch this afternoon with opening remarks from Board President Duane Kristensen representing Chief Ethanol Fuels, followed by ACE CEO Brian Jennings reflecting on the struggles of the year so far and the opportunities for ethanol in a low carbon future. “At the federal level, it is a …
Preview of Virtual #ACECONF20
The 33rd Annual American Coalition for Ethanol Conference taking place on Wednesday afternoon of the Fuel Ethanol Workshop will be a lot different from any of the 32 that came before, but the agenda offers the same great content it always does. The popular retailers panel will kick the meeting into high gear as ACE Senior Vice President & Director …
RFA Pleased Gap Year Petitions Being Denied
The ethanol industry was pleased to hear Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is denying petitions for retroactive small refinery waivers for the 2011-18 compliance years. The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed the news that EPA is denying 54 “gap-year” small refinery exemption petitions and will deny the remaining 14 petitions once they are received from the Department of Energy. …
President Trump Order to Help Grow E15
President Donald Trump tweeted an announcement out over the weekend directed at increasing availability and sales of 15% ethanol blended fuel. “Subject only to State approval, our important Ethanol Industry will be allowed to use the 10% Pumps for the 15% BLEND,” the president tweeted on Saturday morning, thanking several ethanol state senators including Joni Ernst of Iowa. He called …
ACE Rises Up to Challenge of Virtual Annual Conference
Once upon a time, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 33rd annual conference was scheduled to be held last month as an in-person event like conferences used to be held back in the pre-COVID world. Instead, producers from all over the country will now be able to attend a virtual event on September 16 and come away more informed on …
Ethanol Report 8-28-20
As the presidential election nears, the ethanol industry is watching closely to see which candidate will be more supportive of the Renewable Fuel Standard. As Democratic candidate Joe Biden released a strong statement of support for the industry this week, the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency continues to drag its feet on important decisions like the 2021 Renewable Volume Obligations …
EPA Working on 2021 RVO, Waiver Requests
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler says they are working to get the 2021 Renewable Volume Obligations “done as quickly as possible” and promises they will not be as late as the previous administration. “I remember there in the Obama-Biden administration they were actually two years late on setting the RVOs,” said Wheeler during a press call on Wednesday. “So …
Biodiesel Ads Urge President to Reject “Gap” SRE Petitions
The National Biodiesel Board has launched a radio advertising campaign in six Midwestern states, urging President Donald Trump to keep his promise on the Renewable Fuel Standard. The ads will run for two weeks in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The 30-second ads say, “EPA is threatening to grant more big oil handouts this year that reduce biodiesel …
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 …
Ethanol Report 8-14-20
In this episode of The Ethanol Report, we cover a number of different topics on the ethanol front. First, we head to South Dakota for the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, where the Renewable Fuels Association once again provided free fuel and ethanol education for bikers, with the new addition of ethanol-based hand sanitizer as a giveaway. RFA’s Robert White, former …