Farmers are using… but also making… a lot of energy. A new report from the U.S Energy Information Administration shows that American agriculture used nearly 800 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy in 2012, or about as much primary energy as the entire state of Utah. While growing and harvesting the crops and the energy needed to raise livestock …
RFA Hammers CARB on ILUC Analysis
Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen has submitted a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) where he expresses concern over their analysis of indirect land use (ILUC). He writes, “serious concerns about the openness, transparency, and scientific integrity of staff’s new indirect land use change (ILUC) analysis for the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).” …
E85 “Post Your Price” Contest
Fuel prices are on the decline and the Renewable Fuels Association wants to know how low E85 is at your station. In an effort to promote E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) sales and track E85 prices, RFA is offering the opportunity to win FREE E85 for one year with a simple snap of a camera and click of …
Ethanol Advocacy App
If you’re an ethanol advocate, there’s an app for that from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). In this edition of the Ethanol Report, RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about the new app, what it does, who should use it, and why they developed it. He also comments on when we might yet see a final rule on the …
Tips for Biofuel Investment In Turbulent Times
As a biofuels plant, how do you make sound plant management and investment decisions in an environment of political turmoil? This was the theme of one of the panel discussions during the 2014 National Advanced Biofuels Conference that took place in Minnesota this week. The conversation focused on how the uncertainty surrounding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that has not …
RFA Updates Fueling A Nation, Feeding the World
An updated version of the paper “Fueling a Nation, Feeding the World,” has been released by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The publication outlines ethanol’s contribution to the global food and feed supply and also contains information that RFA said disproves the “fabricated food vs. fuel” debate. “The U.S. ethanol industry has quietly evolved into one of the largest feed …
Small Biodiesel Maker Closing Indicative of RFS Problem
While the closing of one small biodiesel maker in California might not seem like big news, it’s certainly indicative of the problems facing the industry, big and small producers alike. This story from the Ukiah (CA) Daily Journal says that Yokayo Biofuels, which turned waste cooking oil into biodiesel, has closed. [Kumar Plocher, Yokayo Biofuels’ CEO] says the biggest reason …
East Kansas’ Jeff Oestmann Featured on Car Clinic
The ethanol industry was well represented on the nationally syndicated car-talk program “Bobby Likis Car Clinic” when Bobby Likis spoke with East Kansas Agri-Energy’s President and CEO Jeff Oestmann. The show aired Saturday, October 11, 2014 and the two ethanol advocates chatted about local, regional and national issues surrounding ethanol production. Oestmann, whose career spans 20 years in the bioenergy …
Crop Report Underscores Need for Market Certainty
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released new corn crop estimates that confirm another record setting corn crop and after accounting for the surplus after all demands are met, will hit a 10-year high. The WASDE report predicts the final 2014 corn crop at 14.48 billion bushels based on a record average yield of 174.2 bushels per acre In …
Fuels America Is Spilling the ‘Oil’
Fuels America is spilling the oil detailing the amount of money Big Oil has spent to “rig the political system” with lobbyists and campaign cash since 2008. Using data from opensecrets.org, the oil industry has spent more than $1.1 billion, $961 million lobbying Congress and $146 million in campaign contributions. This equates to more than $2 million for each member …