A group of more than 150 members of Congress today asked the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to waive the ethanol requirements of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) ethanol to help livestock and poultry producers weather the worst drought in more than 50 years. Led by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the group asked EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to make a “fair …
DF Cast: House’s Turn at Biofuels in Farm Bill
During the last Domestic Fuel Cast, we talked about the U.S. Senate’s work on the renewable energy provisions of the Farm Bill. In this edition, we follow the debate over to the House, where not much funding in the energy title of the bill moved out of the Agriculture Committee. Listen to what some key lawmakers, as well as leaders …
Ethanol Industry Responds to RFS Waiver Request
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) expects the waiver requested by livestock and poultry groups of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) will be denied by the Environmental Protection Agency, despite the impact one of the worst droughts in history is having on the nation’s corn crop. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen explains how …
RFA Expects RFS Waiver to be Denied
Responding to plans by livestock and poultry groups to seek a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard, the head of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) expects the request to be denied. “Given the flexibilities inherent to the RFS, and the fact that waiving the program would not result in any meaningful impacts on corn prices, we fully expect Administrator Jackson …
Livestock and Poultry Groups Seek RFS Waiver
Livestock and poultry producers are filing a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking a waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in light of the current drought situation likely to cause feed shortages. “I and NCBA support American ethanol,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president J.D. Alexander of Nebraska. “I’m not asking for a handout. I’m asking for …
Retrofit Kits Available to Pump Higher Ethanol Blends
Gilbarco Veeder-Root this week announced E25 Field Retrofit Kits are now available for the entire line of the company’s Encore® dispensers. Retailers interested in offering E15 fuel or any other blend up to E25 will be required to prove E25 fuel compatibility and Underwriters Laboratory (UL) approval in order to maintain the unit’s listing. Encore E25 kits provide Gilbarco’s partners …
iDiverse’s New Yeast Gene Boosts Ethanol Production
Officials with biotech company iDiverse say they have discovered a yeast gene that can increase ethanol production yield by up to 34 percent: “The gene functions by protecting the yeast against some of the lethal stresses encountered in the bioproduction process,” said John Serbin, Chief Business Officer at iDiverse. “In its current embodiment, it allows yeast to produce significantly more …
Vilsack to Keynote American Coalition for Ethanol Conference
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. …