Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says revised guidance on the production of ethanol for hand sanitizer are clearer but will not help alleviate the hand sanitizer shortage in any meaningful way. “We welcome the specificity in the new guidance, but the new interim limits for certain impurities are overly restrictive and create a roadblock for producers who …
June is Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska
Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska is normally held in May as a kick-off to the summer driving season. However, due to COVID-19 concerns, Renewable Fuels Month was postponed and is now being celebrated this month. To help promote locally-produced biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts recently declared June as Renewable Fuels Month. Since 2006, the acting …
Ethanol Interests Challenge EPA Study Results
The U.S. ethanol industry is questioning a Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “anti-backsliding” study released Friday on the air quality impacts of renewable fuels which also determined no further action is needed to mitigate any potential adverse impacts on air quality from the use of renewable fuels. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) immediately raised concerns about EPA using a discredited modeling …
Governors Ask Congress to Support Ethanol Relief Bills
Members of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition are urging Congressional leaders to provide relief for the biofuels industry in the latest COVID-19 emergency relief package being considered. Coalition chair and vice chair South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sent a letter to Senate and House leadership this week urging them to support the Senate’s Renewable Fuel Feedstock …
Ethanol Report 5-29-20
As America gets moving again, ethanol is ready to fuel summer adventures. Ethanol production is slowly climbing back up after hitting historic lows due to coronavirus restrictions keeping people from traveling. Now that people are getting back on the road and in the water, Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Industry Affairs Robert White talks about some of their summertime …
Iowa Legislature Urged to Renew Biofuel Tax Differentials
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) members are urging state lawmakers to reauthorize biofuel tax differentials before the end of this legislative session. House File 2279 and Senate File 2403 would extend and modernize fuel tax differentials for E15 and higher ethanol blends and B11 and higher biodiesel blends, which are set to expire on June 30, 2020. With the passage …
RFA Decries “Gap Year” Refinery Waiver Requests
The Renewable Fuels Association is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to deny the latest attempt by the petroleum industry to circumvent the 10th Circuit Court decision which severely limits small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by seeking past-year waivers from renewable volume obligations. In a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper …
Ethanol and Oil State Senators Compete for EPA Help
During a hearing last week before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was pushed by senators on both sides of the Renewable Fuel Standard for a commitment to helping them. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who spearheaded a letter to Wheeler from oil state senators, expressed his dissatisfaction with the 10th circuit court decision regarding small …
ACE Calls on EPA to Maintain RFS
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to resist calls for to waive or significantly reduce the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs). “None of the requests from governors, senators, and attorneys general for EPA to waive the RFS this year have been accompanied by the evidence, which is required by the law …
Illinois Zein Protein Plant Switches to Hand Sanitizer
Global Impact Innovation (GII) has switched from producing Zein protein to producing and delivering hand sanitizer at mass-scale in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zein protein from corn has a variety of industrial and food uses. Since beginning production in mid-April 2020, GII has manufactured and delivered close to 100,000 gallons of sanitizer with a significant portion of its early …