Groups Urge EPA to Drop RIN Reform and Get E15 Done

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuel stakeholders want EPA to get rid of the excess baggage and get E15 to the finish line before summer driving season starts. The comment period on EPA’s proposed rule “Modifications to Fuel Regulations to Provide Flexibility for E15; Modifications to RFS RIN Market Regulations” ended Monday with major organizations sending in theirs at the end of the day. The …

ACE, Biodiesel, corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, NCGA, RFA

Biodiesel Means Jobs

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and several of its member companies are highlighting the plight of industry workers who are impacted by the uncertainty over the future of the biodiesel tax incentive. “Because the biodiesel tax incentive has been expired for sixteen months, many companies are facing a very uncertain future. With the on-again, off-again nature of the credit, biodiesel …

Biodiesel, NBB

Teaching Biofuels in Schools

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy, in partnership with the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE), has just released a new curriculum aimed at educating high school students about biofuels. The curriculum is the first industry-supported biofuels curriculum that provides students a guided in-classroom experience and will offer ag educators the tools needed to provide students with an array of technical skills and historical …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Education, Energy, Ethanol

SW Iowa Renewable Energy Sows Seeds for Monarchs

Cindy Zimmerman

Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) is one step closer to providing monarch butterflies with a new place to fill up on their cross-country journey. The ethanol plant seeded their Monarch Fueling Station this week with the help of local farmer Rick Frost. Habitat Establishment Coordinator Kevin Reynolds helped SIRE established the Monarch Fueling Station last year. “The first year there …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

EPA Revisits Proposal to Publish Refinery Waiver Info

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comment on the current process for issuing Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) that would allowing names of refineries who have applied for and received waivers to be made public in an effort to expand transparency. EPA has reopened the comment period for 15 days on one aspect of a 2016 proposal “that basic information …

Biodiesel, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NBB

New Iowa Rep Introduces Biodiesel Tax Incentive Extension

Cindy Zimmerman

Freshman Democrat Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer of Iowa this week introduced the Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act, a two-year extension of the biodiesel tax credit. Congress had previously extended the tax credit retroactively for 2017 but left it expired for 2018 and beyond. Producers and businesses at every stage of the biodiesel production and consumption process rely on these tax credits …

Biodiesel, NBB

Sen. Grassley Honored for Lifetime Achievement in Bioenergy

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was honored at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) in Washington DC this week with the Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in Bioenergy. Accepting the award, Grassley said he was honored, but noted that his “work’s not done yet.” The Iowa senator, who has been a champion of renewable energy for decades, gave a fiery address …

AgWired Energy, Biodiesel, biofuels, Energy, Ethanol

Biodiesel Interests Testify at EPA Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

At a hearing in Michigan on Friday, representatives from the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and its member companies weighed in on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal related to sales of 15 percent ethanol fuel (E15) and changes to the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) compliance system. Biodiesel interests also commented on the need to stop granting Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). …

Audio, Biodiesel, EPA, NBB, RFS

Biodiesel Industry Asks Congress to Extend Tax Incentive

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), joined more than 70 member companies and stakeholder organizations this week in a letter urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately address a multiyear extension of the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive. Last year, Congress retroactively extended the tax incentive for 2017, leaving it expired for 2018 and beyond. The letter …

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, NBB

Study Shows Biofuels are 3 Percent of Iowa GDP

Cindy Zimmerman

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has released a new study that shows biofuels are responsible for over $5 billion of Iowa’s GDP, or roughly three percent. The study, authored by John Urbanchuk of ABF Economics and commissioned by IRFA, also found that biofuels account for over 48,000 Iowa jobs and more than $2.5 billion in Iowa household income. “The …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA