Biofuels industry representatives testified during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing Tuesday on how the increase in small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard has hurt ethanol and biodiesel producers and farmers. “EPA’s secretive and underhanded approach to the SRE provision in recent years has destabilized the RFS, reduced the production and use of clean renewable biofuels, …
Registration Open for 2020 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
The 2020 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit will take place at the Prairie Meadows Conference Center in Altoona, Iowa on January 16, 2020, just days before the Iowa Presidential Caucuses. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper will keynote the annual event gathering biofuels industry representatives together in the Midwest with the theme Empower, Promote, and Advocate. In the …
Witnesses Scheduled for RFS Waiver Abuse Hearing
Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper will lead off a panel of witnesses for a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing today on “Protecting the RFS: The Trump Administration’s Abuse of Secret Waivers.” Testimony will also be presented by Gene Gebolys, President and CEO, World Energy; Kelly Nieuwenhuis, President, Siouxland Energy Cooperative; and Chet Thompson, President and CEO, …
MN State Commissioners Tour Guardian Energy
Seven Minnesota state agency commissioners toured the Guardian Energy ethanol plant last week to learn about the plant’s production capabilities and how the ethanol industry helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost the state’s economy. Guardian Energy is located in Janesville, about 75 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The commissioners who participated in the tour were Steve Grove (Minnesota Department of …
RFA Receives Grants for Ethanol Safety Education
The Renewable Fuels Association has received new grants to support its safety education program through on-site seminars and on-line webinars via the association’s work with TRANSCAER, a voluntary national effort that focuses on hazardous material transportation incident preparation for communities. “One of the strengths that sets our association apart is our whole-industry focus that includes high-quality technical assistance such as …
US Ethanol Exporters and Brazil Importers Oppose TRQ
Exporters of U.S. ethanol and Brazilian importers of the same are united in opposition to the Brazilian government action amending the recent August 31st rule that raised the tariff rate quota (TRQ) on U.S. ethanol imports from 600 million to nearly 750 million liters per year. The TRQ regulates the threshold of ethanol that can be imported into Brazil without …
House Subcommittee Hearing to Address RFS Waiver Abuse
“Protecting the RFS: The Trump Administration’s Abuse of Secret Waivers,” is the title of a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing scheduled for next Tuesday October 29. The Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing will focus on EPA’s “mismanagement of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program” and will also examine H.R. 3006, the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act of 2019, …
New Court Docs Show EPA Abuse of Waivers
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today highlighted newly available court documents which show how EPA “inappropriately granted Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance exemptions to certain small refineries that did not even qualify for the waivers, and that there was division within the Trump administration about its new approach to small refinery hardship exemption requests.” Specifically, the briefs and supporting documents …
Trump Praises Refinery Waivers
During a cabinet meeting on Monday, President Donald Trump praised EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler for making small refineries happy by granting them waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “And I know you’re working on the small refineries — getting that straightened away so that it’s going to be terrific for the small refineries,” President Trump said to Wheeler. “They’ve …
USDA Deputy Reassures Senators About EPA Proposal
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing Thursday to hear from USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky regarding implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill, but several senators were more concerned about the EPA supplemental proposal out this week. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) was first to ask about it. “I can just assure you directly from conversations with …