News just in to Domestic Fuel this morning: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will be the keynote speaker for the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference, August 8-10, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. “The Secretary has been the most effective spokesperson for ethanol in the administration,” Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President for ACE, told me in an interview, previewing the …
Consumers in Kansas Embrace E15
Consumers in Kansas have embraced E15. The Zarco 66 “Oasis” station in Lawrence became the first retail gas station in the country to offer E15 under the waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and consumers are buying the renewable fuel blend. On July 18, 2012, Zarco 66 Station owner Scott Zaremba held a pump promotion for two …
Battle Over RFS Heats Up With Drought
With 78 percent of the corn crop suffering from drought, livestock and poultry groups are renewing calls for changing the ethanol requirements in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). During a press conference today sponsored by livestock and poultry interests, Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said he has introduced two bills – one to eliminate the RFS and one to reform it. …
Ag Secretary Says RFS Okay with Ethanol Stocks
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held a sobering press briefing Wednesday after meeting with President Obama about the impact of the nation’s drought on agricultural production. Vilsack says the drought is “most serious situation we’ve had in 25 years” with 61% of the land mass of the United States is currently characterized as being impacted. About one third of the counties …
Can Ethanol Meet RFS Demand with Lower Corn Crop?
USDA already cut the corn crop forecast by 12% but as conditions continue to worsen, concerns are being raised about whether the ethanol industry will be able to meet demand under the Renewable Fuels Standard with a drastically reduced crop. Renewable Fuels Association VP of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper tackled that question in a white paper posted on the …
South Dakota to Award Blender Pump Grants
The South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) is now accepting applications for nearly $1 million in funding for the Ethanol Infrastructure Grant Program in the 2013 fiscal year. The program was created last year to help station owners defray the cost of installation of ethanol blender pumps, which offer consumers a greater variety of fuel choices, including non-ethanol …
Ethanol Output and Exports Drop
U.S. ethanol production is the lowest its been in nearly two years, and exports are continuing to drop. According to the latest Energy Information Administration data, ethanol production averaged 821,000 barrels, or just under 34.5 million gallons, per day the week ending July 6. That is down 36,000 barrels per day from the week before and is the lowest weekly …
Dyadic Unveils Biofuels Enzyme Product
Global biotech company Dyadic International today unveiled its latest biofuels enzyme advancement, AlternaFuel® CMAX3™, which the company says is a next generation product that enables the production of cellulosic biofuels and bio-based chemicals from a wide range of renewable non-food feedstocks under broad operating conditions. “The data supporting this product clearly demonstrates Dyadic’s scientific capabilities to leverage our C1 technology …
IRFA Irked Over Blender Pumps Exclusion in Farm Bill
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw is calling out the U.S. House after the latest version of the Farm Bill attempts to modify the existing Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to specifically exclude blender pumps from eligibility: “It was very disappointing to see the blender pump exclusion maintained in the House Ag Committee Farm Bill. IRFA’s …
RFA Reiterates Safety of Ethanol By Rail
While the fiery derailment and crash of a train carrying 90,000 gallons ethanol in Columbus, Ohio makes for some spectacular pictures and video, the folks at the Renewable Fuels Association point out that this is the exception and not the rule as 99.99 percent of all hazardous materials are delivered by rail without any issues: “Billions of gallons of ethanol …