The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially begun accepting application for $450 million in grant applications for the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). The funding, which comes the Inflation Reduction Act, will have application windows that run quarterly from July 1, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2024. Approximately $90 million will be made available each quarter to fueling stations, stores …
Ethanol Industry Leads in Military Vet Employment
According to a new Department of Energy (DOE) report, the military veteran workforce in the ethanol industry is triple the rate seen in the national workforce average and higher than the petroleum fuels and general energy workforce. According to the DOE report, veterans make up 15% of the corn ethanol fuels workforce, which is higher than the 9% energy workforce …
Praise for USDA Biofuels Grants
After last week’s disappointing final biofuel volume rule from the Environmental Protection Agency, stakeholder organizations this week are happy with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for announcing new infrastructure funding. Clean Fuels Alliance America says some of the new Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program grants will increase consumer access to biodiesel from California to New Hampshire, by companies such as …
USDA Announces Biofuels Infrastructure Funding
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced plans to invest up to $500 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to increase the availability of domestic biofuels and give Americans additional cleaner fuel options at the pump. Joined by Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Vilsack announced the first awardees of 59 infrastructure projects that will receive a total of …
House Energy Sub Committee Hearing on Affordable Fuels
A House Energy and Commerce Sub Committee heard testimony this week on “Driving Affordability: Preserving People’s Freedom to Buy Affordable Vehicles and Fuel” regarding several bills related to lowering emissions from transportation vehicles. National Corn Growers Association CEO Neil Caskey testified in support of several bills that would leverage the benefits of biofuels to ensure a level playing field in …
Ethanol Report on RFA Reaction to EPA Final Rule
The final 2023-2025 Renewable Fuel Standard volumes released by the Environmental Protection Agency this week mark an unfortunate step backward from the volumes that were originally proposed, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, RFA Senior Vice President for Government & Public Affairs Troy Bredenkamp discusses the final rule from EPA, as well …
Biofuels Groups Unhappy With Final EPA RFS Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced a final rule for biofuel volume requirements through 2025, displeasing major biofuel organizations. The final rule includes conventional renewable fuel requirements of 15 billion gallons for both 2024 and 2025, down from the proposed volumes of 15.25 billion for both years. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper called the reductions “inexplicable …
Coalition White Paper Concludes EV No Silver Bullet
New research by the Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) concludes that the widespread introduction of electric vehicles as a means of reducing carbon emissions presents more challenges than a technology neutral strategy. Reality EV: No Silver Bullet explores the constraints single fuel source electric vehicles (EVs) must overcome and how it could cost as much as $3 trillion in government/taxpayer …
FEW Honors Ethanol Industry Leaders
Ethanol industry awards were presented this week in Omaha at the 2023 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Trade Show. Mick Henderson, General Manager of Commonwealth Agri-Energy and past chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association, received the FEW High Octane Award, which honors those whose passion and unstoppable pursuits have significantly benefited the ethanol industry. Henderson began his career in ethanol …
Senators Support Sustainable Aviation Fuel Legislation
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Deb Fischer (R-NE), along with Joni Ernst (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), are introducing bipartisan legislation to identify the standards required to meet the definition of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Sustainable Aviation Fuels Accuracy Act of 2023 would require the federal government to use …