Renewable Fuels Association board members had the opportunity this past week to meet with administration officials and lawmakers in both Houses and from both sides of the aisle to talk about priorities for the ethanol industry. The event included a timely talk with USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small about tracking climate-smart farming practices and hearing from EPA Administrator Michael …
Busy Week on Capitol Hill for RFA
It was an eventful and historic week in Washington D.C. for many reasons, and members of the Renewable Fuels Association had a very busy and productive annual board meeting in the middle of everything else happening. The event included meetings with EPA Administrator Michael Regan and USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, as well as Capitol Hill visits to the …
USDA Gets Climate Smart Farming Feedback
The U.S. Department of Agriculture received lots of input from biofuels groups this week on how to prove the impact of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions estimates associated with the production of domestic agricultural commodities used as biofuel feedstocks, in response to a Federal Register request last month. The Request for Information is expected to …
RFA Files Briefs Supporting EPA Set Rule
The Renewable Fuels Association has filed two joint briefs in the DC Circuit Court defending the Environmental Protection Agency’s “set rule” volumes. The briefs were filed in the case of Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency in which CBD and others, including oil refiners, are challenging EPA’s renewable volume obligations for the 2023-2025 compliance years. RFA and other …
Chevron Reversal Could Impact EPA Clean Air Rules
One of the federal agencies likely to be most impacted by the recent Supreme Court decision that reversed the Chevron deference is the Environmental Protection Agency, which was the one responsible for the original case decision in 1984. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper says it’s still too early to tell exactly what the reversal could mean for …
Ethanol Report on California and E15
It has been nearly 15 years since the Environmental Protection Agency approved the sale of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) for 2001 model year cars and older, and nearly every state in the nation now sells it, often at a discount to regular gasoline. The only state that bans the sale of E15 is California, despite the fact that the …
Study Shows E15 Could Save California Drivers
According to a new study by economists at UC Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy and sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association, California drivers could save up to 20 cents per gallon if the state allowed gas stations to sell 15% ethanol blended fuel or E15. The potential savings for California consumers could reach $2.7 billion annually, according to the …
Scientists Urge Court to Reject Land Use Claims
Eight of the nation’s leading experts in agricultural economics and biofuels lifecycle analysis are urging the D.C. Circuit Court to reject claims made by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in its lawsuit challenging EPA’s 2023-2025 Renewable Fuel Standard volumes. In its challenge to EPA’s so-called “RFS set rule,” CBD relied on debunked studies by University of Wisconsin researcher Tyler …
U.S. Ethanol and DDGS Exports Strong in May
U.S. exports of both ethanol and the co-product dried distillers grains were strong during the month of May, according to the latest analysis from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Ethanol exports actually hit their highest level ever for the month of May at 154.4 million gallons (mg), but this was 28% decline from a near-record in April. Canada was the …
RFA CEO: Lark Changes Tune on Land Use Change
Blog post by Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO In early 2022, University of Wisconsin researcher Tyler Lark published a study claiming that U.S. farmers had converted several million acres of pristine grassland and other “seminatural areas” to cropland in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard and growth in ethanol production. The study was accompanied by a well-funded, …