New research out of The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota has discovered links between breast cancer risk and exposure to carcinogens and aromatics from gasoline. The Biofuels Research Project at The Hormel Institute has been studying the carcinogenic effects of compounds originating from burning fossil fuels thanks to the support of organizations like the Renewable Fuels Association. RFA board member …
EPA Announces Summertime Waivers for E15
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued the first in a series of waivers to allow sales of 15% ethanol blended gasoline, E15, to continue this summer. The first waiver begins on May 1, 2025, and lasts through May 20, 2025. By doing so, EPA will keep E15 on the market giving consumers more options across the nation. This …
Research Finds Breast Cancer Risk Link to Aromatics
Research out of The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota has discovered links between breast cancer risk and exposure to carcinogens and aromatics from gasoline. Professor Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, PhD, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, is the author of a paper appearing in the scientific journal iScience titled “Aromatics from fossil fuels and breast cancer.” In a review of existing scientific …
Waiting on E15 Summer Waivers
For the past three years, EPA has announced in April that waivers would be issued to allow nationwide summertime sales of 15% ethanol fuel, or E15. Last year, the announcement was made April 19, and the previous two years it was April 28 and 29, but the Trump administration has yet to take that action for this summer. This week, …
Ethanol Production Gains, Stocks Fall
Per the Renewable Fuels Association’s analysis of EIA data, U.S. ethanol production for the week ending April 18, rose 2.1% to 1.03 million barrels per day (b/d), or 43.39 million gallons daily, up 8.3% from last year and 7.5% above the three-year average. While higher than the previous two weeks, the four-week average production dipped 0.5% to 1.03 million b/d, …
California Receives LCFS Comments
This week was the final deadline to provide comments to the California Air Resources Board regarding proposed modifications to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The Renewable Fuels Association filed comments on the proposal Monday. In its comments and an attached analysis, RFA said empirical data clearly undermine CARB’s rationale for including the new sustainability requirements for grain-based ethanol. CARB …
Ethanol Report on E15 Optimism
U.S. sales of E15 reached a record 1.24 billion gallons in 2024, an increase of 11% over 2023, according to a Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) analysis of data released by state agencies in Minnesota and Iowa. While it appears the Trump administration will have to continue the practice of issuing waivers this summer to keep E15 at the pump, there …
Stakeholders and Congress Want 45Z Extension
Wednesday was the deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Treasury on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit and some members of Congress commented by introducing legislation that would extend the tax credit and limit it to renewable fuels made only from domestically sourced feedstocks. Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced the bipartisan and bicameral Farmer …
U.S. Ethanol Exports Drop in February
According to the latest trade monitor report from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), U.S. ethanol exports fell 30 percent in February, compared to the previous month, but remained on par with the same time last year at 138.7 million gallons (mg). Half of all February shipments were directed to Canada and the European Union, with the remainder distributed among eight …
E15 Waivers Requested for Summer Again
With no prospects for a legislative fix to allow E15 year-round nationwide before the summer driving season, senators are now asking President Trump to once again authorize waivers to keep the blend available this year. A bipartisan group of senators led by John Thune (R-SD) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the president this week asking him to …