Students interested in the ethanol industry have a chance to attend the 2015 National Ethanol Conference in Grapevine, Texas through a scholarship opportunity offered by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF). The 20th annual National Ethanol Conference, titled “Going Global,” will offer college students a chance to hear key industry leaders and policymakers address topics …
Registration Open for 20th NEC
“Going Global” is the theme for the 20th annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC) from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The event is being held February 18-20, 2015 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. With the U.S. leading the world in the production and exports of ethanol fuel and co-products, export markets are critical to the …
Advanced Ethanol Here at Last
During the National Ethanol Conference, representatives of four leading companies talked about how advanced ethanol is here at last. Moderated by Advanced Ethanol Council Executive Director Brooke Coleman, the panelists included Chris Standlee with Abengoa; Kenneth Hill with DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol; Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors; and Steve Hartig, Licensing General Manager for POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC. …
ACE Preparing for Biofuels Beltway March
Make Washington keep their word was a common mantra during the National Ethanol Conference last week. American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Executive Vice President Brian Jennings is going to help them do just that. Each March, ACE brings nearly 100 ethanol advocates to the Hill to meet with Legislative and key stakeholders to tell their stories about the benefits of …
Social Media War Room for Ethanol
Make no mistake about it. The ethanol industry is engaged in a war of words with anti-ethanol forces and every weapon in the arsenal needs to be deployed to fight against these well-funded opponents. Communications and Social Media War Room was the title of one of the breakout sessions at last week’s 2014 National Ethanol Conference. Renewable Fuels Association executive …
Driving Through the Blend Wall
We’ve heard a lot about how higher ethanol blends might affect the producers of the green fuel and the impacts to consumers on the other end. But what about the viewpoint of those who have to build the vehicles on which these higher blends would run? Representatives from General Motors and Mercedes-Benz were among the experts on a panel at …
Patriot Out Front with Ethanol
Patriot Renewable Fuels wants to be the “poster child” for other ethanol plants when it comes to marketing higher blends in their own communities. You might remember Darrell Rakestraw as the veteran we interviewed last fall about the EPA proposal to lower the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). When we spoke to him last week at his first National Ethanol Conference, …
State Level Blend Walls Update
The phrase “all politics is local” seems like it sure could apply to some of the decisions to overcome the ethanol blend wall. Challenges to increasing ethanol in the marketplace exist on the state level as well as the federal level, and participants at the National Ethanol Conference learned more about efforts to break down the blend wall in various …
Ethanol Exports Important to Industry
Exports of both ethanol and the animal feed co-product distillers dried grains (DDGs) are important for Patriot Renewable Fuels, located near the Quad Cities and not far from Chicago. Patriot commodity manager Judd Hulting attended a trade mission with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) to Brazil last fall. “It’s just another outlet for our …
NEC Global Ethanol Conversation
It is always interesting to hear the perspectives of different countries during the National Ethanol Conference global panel and to see the similarities as well as differences in viewpoint. The panel was moderated by Bliss Baker, Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, and included Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen, as well as (from left to right): Joel Velasco, Senior Advisor to …