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 …
Grassley Questions DOE on SRE Review Process
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry this week asking for clarity about the department’s review process concerning Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) requests. “EPA has granted an unprecedented number of small refinery hardship exemptions for 2016 and 2017 and even more small refineries are seeking exemptions from the …
RFA Earns Seventh Straight TRANSCAER® Award
For the seventh consecutive year, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has received a TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award for its industry-leading ethanol safety program. RFA hosted numerous ethanol safety training events in 2018, giving more than 1,800 emergency responders the tools and information they need to effectively respond to any incidents involving fuel ethanol. The TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award is given …
Ethanol Not to Blame for Higher Gas Prices
Gas prices are up, but ethanol is not to blame, according to an analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association. Gas prices at the pump have been steadily increasing since the end of January, and some have speculated that it is due to ethanol transportation issues following the Midwest floods in March. But RFA found that it is mainly because of …
Ethanol Report from Washington DC
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to be a major source of frustration for the ethanol industry, as the agency gives with one hand and takes away with the other as it keeps granting waivers for refineries from their obligations to blend ethanol while it works toward allowing year round sales of E15. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper …
Royal DSM and Lallemand Complete License Agreement
Royal DSM and Lallemand Inc. have announced a joint agreement allowing Lallemand a non-exclusive, royalty bearing license to DSM’s low-glycerol yeast technology patents. The license agreement is part of a settlement that was reached following a 2018 US Federal Court jury verdict in Wisconsin and the technology in the agreement is for use in the fermentation of first-generation biofuels. Royal …
Study Finds Mid-Level Ethanol Blend Benefits for More Cars
A new study concludes that mid-level ethanol blends can be used in most cars, not just flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), and can help cars run more efficiently while reducing greenhouse gas emissions along with other pollutants. The study was conducted by North Carolina State University and commissioned by the Urban Air Initiative. Researchers tested regular E10 with 10% ethanol to a …
Land Use Change Study Uses Incorrect Data
When you do a study that claims biofuels are resulting in increased land use for agricultural production you should be sure the land you are counting is not actually a subdivision. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) points to a new study published in the academic journal Biomass and Bioenergy that exposes major methodological problems in recent studies paid for by …
Couple Takes Personal Ethanol Story to DC
Phil Near and his wife Cheryl Werth Near were part of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual DC Fly-in last week, participating for the first time and bringing their personal story about the health benefits and good value of ethanol to members of Congress. The Nears operate ten Jump Start Convenience Stores in Kansas, offering their own brand of …
RFA Helps Ethanol Plants Celebrate Anniversaries
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) celebrated milestone anniversaries of three ethanol plant members this week. RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White attended the 10th anniversary of Homeland Energy Solutions, which operates a 200 million gallon per year ethanol plant in Lawler, Iowa. The facility also produces distillers grains, a valuable animal feed co-product, and corn oil. To date, …