Biofuels stakeholders are celebrating some good news today with word that the Trump administration had made the decision not to request a rehearing of the recent unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that the EPA had “vastly exceeded its authority in granting exemptions from 2016 and 2017 RFS requirements to three refineries.” The challenge …
Iowa Biofuel Plants Donate Raw Products for Hand Sanitizer
On Monday, two Iowa biofuel plants sent the first donated shipments of ethanol and glycerin to be used by Iowa Prison Industries for the production of hand sanitizer during the national shortage. The donation was made by ethanol producer Absolute Energy and biodiesel producer Western Iowa Energy. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) worked with Iowa Prison Industries to secure …
NBB Kicks Off 2020 Biodiesel Branding Program
It’s National Biodiesel Day, in honor of Rudolf Diesel’s birthday, and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is celebrating with its 2020 vehicle branding program designed to showcase biodiesel’s sustainability and emissions reduction benefits with the theme “Biodiesel: Better. Cleaner. Now!” “When Rudolf invented the diesel engine in the 1890s, it was designed to run on peanut oil and he envisioned …
IRFA Announces Partnership with ISU BioBus
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is announcing a partnership with Iowa State University’s BioBus program, an on-campus, student-run organization that collects used cooking oil from Iowa State’s campus dining facilities and uses it to make biodiesel to be used in the school’s CyRide buses. “We are excited to partner with a group of your scientists who recognize the power and …
Ethanol and Biodiesel Continue to Power Iowa Economy
Despite the challenges of 2019, Iowa biofuel production continued to have a significant impact on Iowa’s economy, supporting over 48,000 jobs and more than $2.4 billion in household income, according to the latest study commissioned by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). The study, authored by John Urbanchuk of ABF Economics, also found that biofuels continue to account for over …
Farmers, Biofuel Producers Urge Trump to Support RFS
Farmer leaders and biofuel producers from the Midwest today expressed their concerns about news that the Trump administration has reversed course and decided to side with oil companies in their court battle against biofuels. The debate centers around a unanimous court decision that would halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) abuse of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel …
President Trump May Appeal Court Decision
Biofuel and agricultural organizations are up in arms over news reports out late Thursday saying President Trump is now planning to appeal the 10th Circuit Court decision regarding EPA’s granting of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). Oil state interests, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have been pressuring the White House to fight the unanimous court ruling that threatens to completely …
USDA Secretary Talks Biofuels at #Classic20
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue had a lot to say about biofuels during his address at the 2020 Commodity Classic in San Antonio Friday. While no announcement has been made by EPA yet, Secretary Perdue confidently told the audience that the recent 10th Circuit Court decision will mean less small refinery waivers. “I think you will see those waivers …
Partnership Testing 100 Percent Biodiesel in Fleet Trucks
A new partnership is conducting a year-long test project to demonstrate viability of 100 percent biodiesel (B100) in high-mileage fleet applications. Under this partnership, five trucks owned by ADM will be outfitted with Optimus Technologies’ Vector fuel system, an innovative technology that enables diesel engines to run almost entirely on sustainable biodiesel. The trucks will be used in daily fleet …
Biofuels Part of USDA Innovation Agenda
At the start of USDA’s 2020 Agriculture Outlook Forum on Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a new initiative to stimulate innovation so American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. To do so, USDA has set benchmarks to …