USDA has announced a new collaboration with DuPont to promote sustainable harvesting of bio-based feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol. The joint agreement between USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and DuPont aims to set voluntary standards for the sustainable harvesting of agricultural residues for renewable fuel, and supports rural job creation, additional income for farmers, bio-based energy development, and the safeguarding …
Florida House Committee Passes FL RFS Repeal Bill
Yesterday I traveled to Tallahassee, Florida to testify at a hearing of the Florida House of Representatives Regulatory Affairs Committee on HB 4001 which is a bill to repeal the Florida Renewable Fuel Standard. This hearing was actually an extension of one held previously that ran out of time to conclude. You can watch the session here. The portion on …
Florida Bill Would Repeal Ethanol Requirement
A bill has been introduced in the Florida legislature that would repeal the state’s Renewable Fuel Standard Act. Currently, the Florida law requires that all gasoline sold or offered for sale by a terminal supplier, importer, blender or wholesaler in Florida contain 9-10 percent ethanol, or other alternative fuel, by volume. Legislation to repeal that requirement was considered by the …
Economist Says E85 Will Solve RINS Price Issue
A highly respected oil economist believes the solution to the current Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) price issue is more sales of E85 (85% ethanol). Economist Phil Verleger has weighed in on the RINS situation in the latest edition of Notes at the Margin, his weekly email report about news impacting the petroleum industry. “The obvious solution to the RIN price …
Senate Spending Bill Keeps Military Biofuels
The U.S. Senate yesterday passed a continuing budget resolution that would keep the federal government operating through the end of the fiscal year on September 30th and keep funding for advanced biofuels testing in the military. By a vote of 40-59, the Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) that would have transferred $60 million in funding for …
Renewable Fuels Leaders Refute Oil Industry Claims
Leaders of Fuels America held a press conference this morning to “preemptively answer misinformation on renewable fuel blends and gasoline prices” in a new report by the American Petroleum Institute. Speaking in defense of the renewable fuels industry were the heads of several industry organizations and companies, including Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen, Advanced …
RFA Calls for Investigation of Oil Industry Conduct
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is requesting a multi-agency investigation into what they are calling the “discriminatory and unlawful conduct” on the part of the oil industry. In a letter sent today to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), RFA requested the agencies investigate the …
Stop the RINsanity!
RINsanity is running rampant across the country and the ethanol industry is trying its best to bring some reason to the debate over these things called RINS. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen explains what RINS are and how the ethanol industry believes oil companies are choosing RINS instead of …
Governors Tell Congress to Support RFS
The Governor’s Biofuels Coalition met in Sioux Falls Wednesday and sent a letter to members of Congress in support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. The letter from the 30 governors represented by the Coalition, led by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, urges Congress to stay the course on the RFS. “As governors who see firsthand the impact that the RFS has …
Ethanol Groups Address RIN Misconceptions
The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) is working to stamp out RIN illiteracy, offering an education to the media on just what the compliance credits are and how they work under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). AEC sent a response entitled “RIN Credits for Dummies” to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial which argues higher prices for RIN compliance credits are …