The National Ethanol Conference concluded this week with the always popular panel of international industry organization leaders. Bliss Baker with the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance moderated the discussion which included Emmanuel Desplechin, ePURE; Jim Grey, Renewable Industries Canada; Elizabeth Farina, Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA); and Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association. As always, Dinneen used the panel to publicly address …
State of Ethanol Industry Address Facebook Live
The annual “State of the Ethanol Industry” address by Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen is coming up this morning at 8:15 am central time live from the 23rd National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The live feed will be on the AgWired Facebook page. We have been doing a live video stream of this address …
RFA CEO Blasts Sen. Cruz in Texas
The National Ethanol Conference is being held in San Antonio, Texas this week, so to start the meeting on a high note, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen had a scathing editorial published in the local paper challenging Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to stop scapegoating the RFS. “He is holding it [vote for Bill Northey’s appointment to Under …
Manito Transit Acquires Lobdell Transportation
Manito Transit of Bloomington, Illinois has acquired the assets of Lobdell Transportation, Inc., a family-owned trucking company based in Lena, Illinois. The acquisition comes with 21 tractor units, 22 fuel tankers, and eight pressure vessels capable of hauling propane and anhydrous ammonia, as well as a two-bay maintenance shop. Manito Transit now operates 120 trucks, serving customers in 13 states. …
NCERC Technician Awarded NEC Scholarship
A former steel mill worker pursuing a degree while working full-time in the U.S. ethanol industry is this year’s student scholarship winner to attend the Renewable Fuels Association’s National Ethanol Conference next week in San Antonio. Christopher Wense is a full time Ethanol Plant Operations Technician at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and is …
Iowa RFA Sends Message to EPA Administrator
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has a message for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to answer the question of how to reduce RIN prices associated with the Renewable Fuel Standard – grant E15 the same RVP treatment as all other ethanol-blended fuels. On January 30th, while Administrator Pruitt was testifying before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Iowa …
Senators Speak Out to Approve Northey Nomination
After nearly four months of having the nomination of Iowa’s Bill Northey to the U.S. Department of Agriculture held up by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) brought it up on the Senate floor Wednesday and called on other colleagues to back him up. Northey was nominated to be USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in …
Harvard Professor Says RVP Parity Will Lower RIN Prices
A professor of economics at Harvard University claims that providing RVP parity for E15 would be the most direct way to lower RIN prices. A recent paper from economist Professor James H. Stock argues that providing RVP parity for E15 would facilitate increased ethanol blending, which in turn would drive increased generation and availability of RIN credits and ultimately lower …
Grassley Disputes Negative Impacts of RFS on Refineries
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is challenging claims that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was responsible in part for the recent bankruptcy filing of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES). Grassley released an internal memo produced by his energy policy staff who analyzed the situation and found that the biofuels blending requirement and the cost of Renewable Identification Number credits (RINs) “have little …
Summit Agricultural Group to expand FS Bioenergia
Summit Agricultural Group has announced a $100 million expansion of FS Bioenergia, its corn ethanol production facility in Brazil. The expansion of the plant is forecast for completion in the first quarter of 2019 and will more than double annual corn ethanol production from 60 million gallons to 140 million gallons. With this expansion, FS Bioenergia will annually process over …