As President Trump was starting a roundtable on workforce development in Iowa Thursday, his very first words were about ethanol. “I’m very close, I have to tell you, to pulling off something that you’ve been looking forward to for many years and that’s the 12 month E15 waiver,”said Trump. “It’s a very complex process.” Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said …
#SubEnvironment Holds Hearing on RINs
The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment took a deep dive into the complex world of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) during a hearing on Wednesday. The committee, chaired by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), heard from a panel of independent witnesses to provide background on RINs and how the market for them works. The panel included: Brent Yacobucci – Energy …
EPA Approves Sorghum Oil as Biofuels Pathway
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler yesterday announced the approval of sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard during a signing event at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., with sorghum farmers and other stakeholders. In December 2017, the EPA released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning renewable fuels produced from sorghum oil under the RFS …
USDA Announces Trade Disruption Relief for Farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers negatively impacted by recent trade actions. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, …
FAPRI Report Considers World Biofuels Trends
The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) recently released its 2018 International Biofuels Baseline Briefing Book which provides economic and policy perspective and projections for both ethanol and biodiesel. “If we continue current policies, which is a big if, we would expect that the U.S. would continue to be an exporter of ethanol and an importer of biodiesel,” said …
Ethanol Report on RFA Leadership Succession
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has announced a change in leadership for the ethanol industry’s leading trade association. Executive Vice President Geoff Cooper will assume the position of president and CEO in October 2018, while current President and CEO Bob Dinneen will transition into the role of RFA’s Senior Strategic Advisor. In this edition of The Ethanol Report, Dinneen talks …
Dinneen to Step Down as RFA CEO
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is marking the beginning of a new era. The Reverend of Renewables is climbing into the backseat of the ethanol organization and allowing Executive Vice President Geoff Cooper to drive. Cooper will assume the position of president and CEO in October 2018, while current President and CEO Bob Dinneen will transition into the role of …
RFA Asks EPA to Fix Pruitt Damage to RFS
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is imploring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use the 2019 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) rulemaking process “to fix the extensive damage done to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by former Administrator Scott Pruitt.” “Administrative cuts to the RFS have resulted in significantly lower RIN prices, reduced corn and ethanol demand, avoided legal obligations for …
EPA Waivers Make Deep Cuts in RFS
The latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows just how much the small refiner exemptions have resulted in demand destruction, even more than estimated just a few months ago. According to an analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) updated from April, the waivers have resulted in “effectively lowering the 2017 required volume of renewable fuels by 1.37 billion …
Ethanol Report on EPA Changes
Ethanol industry stakeholders were relieved to see Scott Pruitt depart from the Environmental Protection Agency on July 5 and deputy administrator Andrew Wheeler appointed as acting chief. With a Supreme Court justice nominee on the table, it is unlikely President Trump will be moving too quickly to nominate a new EPA administrator, so Wheeler will probably have the job for …