EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt faced a grilling from agricultural reporters Tuesday about the agency granting waivers exempting refineries from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations and why it is taking so long to decide on allowing year round use of 15% ethanol in all markets. The embattled administrator, who faces Congressional hearings this week where he will likely be questioned on …
American Ethanol Teams With Universal Technical Institute
Growth Energy has announced a new partnership between its American Ethanol program and Universal Technical Institute (UTI), the nation’s leading provider of technical training for automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians. As part of the agreement, Growth Energy will support the student resource center at UTI’s NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, North Carolina. “Growth Energy will be a …
ACE Addresses Ethanol Retailers in Mexico
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty was in Mexico this week to help Mexican petroleum equipment installers and retailers with the technical details of switching stations to E10 for the first time. It’s the second time this month that Lamberty headed south of the border to conduct seminars as part of a U.S. Grains Council series …
4th Plant to Install Whitefox ICE™ System
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) in Benson, Minnesota will become the fourth U.S. ethanol plant to install a Whitefox ICE™ membrane dehydration system. Whitefox has already installed its membrane dehydration system at Fox River Valley Ethanol and at United Ethanol in WI, Pine Lake Corn Processor in IA, and Pacific Ethanol in CA. “With the installation of the Whitefox ICE™ …
Ethanol Blend Rate Drops
The latest Energy Information Administration data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) shows ethanol production is lower but still averaging a little over a million barrels a day, while the ethanol blend rate dropped to its lowest point since the beginning of this year. “Although ethanol demand was the most robust in 16 weeks, ethanol content in gasoline supplied …
Senators Call on EPA to Stop Issuing RFS Waivers
A bipartisan group of senators led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are asking EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to stop issuing so-called “hardship” waivers exempting obligated parties from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The 13 senators are also requesting that EPA provide “information about the waivers already issued, disclose whether or not the agency redistributed the waived volume …
E15 Now Available in St. Louis Metro Area
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced this week that E15 (15% ethanol, 85% gasoline) has debuted in the St. Louis area and will be available throughout the year. Home Service Oil Co. now offers both E15 and E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) at the Express Mart location in Pevely, Mo., just off Interstate 55 south of St. Louis. The company, …
Japan to Allow Use of U.S. Ethanol for Oxygenate
Ethanol market development organizations cheered the news out of Japan today that the government’s new biofuel policy will allow imports of the oxygenate ETBE made from U.S. corn-based ethanol. A release from the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), and Growth Energy says Japan will now allow U.S. ethanol to meet up to 44 percent of a …
Ethanol Report on Demand Destruction
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to reveal just how many small refiner exemptions have been granted from blending obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and how many are still pending but the reduction in ethanol blending over recent months and a sharp drop in the price for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) indicate the impact they are having. …
New Research: Ethanol Reduces Emissions, Improves Air Quality
Separate studies conducted by North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of California Riverside show ethanol blends reduce toxic tailpipe emissions by up to 50 percent, significantly improving air quality and protecting public health. The Urban Air Initiative (UAI) commissioned both studies, which provide evidence that adding higher than the standard 10 percent ethanol blend to gasoline can significantly …