During a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing Wednesday, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was pressed for answers about the demand destruction created by small refinery exemptions, how EPA intends to reallocate the waived gallons, and when the agency will approve E15 use year-round. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) …
Ethanol Export Mission to Indonesia and Vietnam
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and ethanol industry partners joined the recent USDA Agricultural Trade Mission to Indonesia in July, led by USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney. Indonesia currently imports half of its gasoline demand, and the government has set a goal for renewables to represent 23 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2025 …
RFA Hires Chief Economist
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has announced that Scott Richman will join the organization next month as chief economist to lead the development and execution of a wide range of research and analysis initiatives. Most recently, Richman served as senior vice president and co-head of North America Consulting for Informa Agribusiness Consulting, a global firm specializing in research and intelligence …
RFA Hosting Ethanol Safety Seminars in VA
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and several organizations are hosting ethanol safety seminars in Virginia this week. The ethanol safety seminars, in partnership with TRANSCAER, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will be held all day today, tomorrow and Wednesday in Chesapeake at the Chesapeake Public Safety Operations Building. The ethanol safety seminar focuses …
Trump in Iowa Reaffirms Support for Ethanol
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 …