A bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers in the House Thursday introduced the Next Generation Fuels Act, legislation to phase in higher gasoline octane levels through the greater use of ethanol and companion to the bill introduced last week in the Senate. The legislation was introduced with co-sponsors Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) and her Republican colleagues in the Iowa congressional delegation, …
Senator Klobuchar Fires Up ACE Fly-in Participants
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), co-sponsor of both the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023 and the Next Generation Fuels Act in the Senate, left the American Coalition for Ethanol DC Fly-in participants fired up after a day of Capitol Hill visits. Specifically the Retailer Choice Act would address the number one priority for ethanol right now, which is …
ACE DC Fly-in Kicks Off With EPA Official
Environmental Protection Agency Senior Agricultural Advisor Rod Snyder was happy to be able to join the American Coalition for Ethanol to kick off the organization’s first fly-in since 2019, but he unfortunately had little to say about the most important issue on the industry’s plate – allowing sales of E15 this summer. “While I can’t comment specifically at this time, …
New Poll Says Voters Want E15 Available Year-Round
Voters say they want their E15, according to a new Morning Consult poll for the Renewable Fuels Association. With retail gas prices remaining elevated, nearly 70 percent of poll respondents support increasing the availability of E15 to help lower fuel prices and support energy independence. Just 13 percent of those surveyed did not support expanded availability of E15. Meanwhile, 62 …
EPA Pressed to Take Action on E15
It was April 12, 2022 when President Biden traveled to an ethanol plant in Iowa to announce an emergency waiver to allow the sale of 15 percent ethanol (E15) in the summer months – and once again the industry finds itself in the same situation a year later. In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan last week, Renewable Fuels …
Senators Reintroduce Next Generation Fuels Act
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), together with Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), this week led bipartisan colleagues in reintroducing the Next Generation Fuels Act, legislation that would leverage higher-octane fuels to improve engine efficiency and performance. “Instead of continuing to buy more oil from foreign adversaries, we should be increasing the use of ethanol made …
EPA Holds Virtual Hearing on Proposed E15 Waiver
The Environmental Protection Agency held a virtual hearing Tuesday on the recently proposed rule for a permanent waiver to allow eight states to sell E15 year round. For ethanol stakeholders, comments boiled down to one message: EPA took too long to respond to the governors’ request and must do something immediately to implement a waiver before summer. Renewable Fuels Association …
Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act Reintroduced
Legislation that would allow the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10% was reintroduced in both the House and Senate this week. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led the reintroduction in the Senate of the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act this week, as Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Angie Craig (D-MN) and Rep. Dusty Johnson …
Iowa and Nebraska AGs Push EPA for E15 by Summer
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers started the challenge against the EPA’s illegally delayed decision regarding the sale of year-round E15 gasoline this week by sending an intent-to-sue letter demanding EPA change the proposed rule to allow for E15 sales this summer. The letter requests that the EPA issue a waiver allowing sale of year-round …
Ethanol Report on #RFANEC 2023 Highlights
The Renewable Fuels Association 2023 National Ethanol Conference coincided with the release of EPA’s proposed rule to allow year round sales of E15 ethanol, making it a very timely event with attendance back to pre-pandemic levels. This edition of the Ethanol Report podcast includes highlights from the NEC, including remarks from RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper; Ben Hengst, EPA …