It was April 12, 2022 when President Biden traveled to an ethanol plant in Iowa to announce an emergency waiver to allow the sale of 15 percent ethanol (E15) in the summer months – and once again the industry finds itself in the same situation a year later. In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan last week, Renewable Fuels …
Ethanol Report with More #NEC23 Highlights
The centerpiece of the 2023 National Ethanol Conference was a new concept vehicle that runs on both electricity and up to 85 percent ethanol. In this edition of The Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association VP of Industry Relations Robert White talks about the new Flex Fuel EV, which has already become a trade show star. We also hear from Jeff …
Senators Reintroduce Next Generation Fuels Act
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), together with Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), this week led bipartisan colleagues in reintroducing the Next Generation Fuels Act, legislation that would leverage higher-octane fuels to improve engine efficiency and performance. “Instead of continuing to buy more oil from foreign adversaries, we should be increasing the use of ethanol made …
EPA Holds Virtual Hearing on Proposed E15 Waiver
The Environmental Protection Agency held a virtual hearing Tuesday on the recently proposed rule for a permanent waiver to allow eight states to sell E15 year round. For ethanol stakeholders, comments boiled down to one message: EPA took too long to respond to the governors’ request and must do something immediately to implement a waiver before summer. Renewable Fuels Association …
RFA Provides Comments on California LCFS
The Renewable Fuels Association submitted comments last week to the California Air Resources Board that identified several areas in CARB’s proposal and underlying analysis that need improvement. The top area of improvement cited by RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman is immediate approval of E15 for use in California. “Migrating all E10 to E15 in California today would result in approximately …
California E85 Sales Surpass 100 Million Gallons
California drivers set a new record buying E85 (85% ethanol) fuel last year, up 66 percent over 2021 and more than doubled the pre-pandemic record set in 2019, according to new data released by the California Air Resources Board. The Renewable Fuels Association reports that California drivers purchased over 103.5 million gallons (mg) of E85 flex fuel, up from about …
Consumers Continue to Support Ethanol
The Renewable Fuels Association revealed the results of its latest consumer focus group research at the recent National Ethanol Conference. Phillip Morris of the Locust Street Group conducted a round of focus groups for RFA in late January with consumers in Ohio, Florida and California. This was the third time this research has been conducted for RFA, previously in 2019 …
Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act Reintroduced
Legislation that would allow the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends higher than 10% was reintroduced in both the House and Senate this week. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led the reintroduction in the Senate of the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act this week, as Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Angie Craig (D-MN) and Rep. Dusty Johnson …
RFA Brings Flex Fuel Plug-In Hybrid EV to #Classic23
The Renewable Fuels Association showed off its new 2022 Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) at the Commodity Classic in Orlando last week, right down the road from where it debuted at the National Ethanol Conference the week before. The concept is to use this vehicle to demonstrate that ethanol (E85) and electricity can jointly power today’s vehicles. Students …
Lallemand Biofuels Supports Future of Ethanol Industry
The Renewable Fuels Association Young Professionals Network is itself very young, only started in the summer of 2020, but it is growing quickly thanks to strong industry support and the dedicated sponsorship of Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS). “We’ve always believed in the importance of gatherings like NEC where professionals can get together and exchange good ideas,” said LBDS …