The Environmental Protection Agency issued final rules Wednesday to qualify additional fuel pathways for the production of cellulosic biofuel, including crop residue such as corn fiber. EPA has now determined that crop residue does meet the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements for cellulosic biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) provided that “producers include in their registration specific information …
Ethanol Report on Advanced Ethanol Concerns
Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) executive director Brooke Coleman commented last week on a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) so we got him on the phone for this edition of “The Ethanol Report.” In this interview, Coleman talks about his take on the CBO report, as well as Phantom Fuels legislation …
Supreme Court Turns Down California LCFS Case
In the flurry of decisions by the Supreme Court released the morning, justices declined to review California’s low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) decision. A federal trial judge ruled against the LCFS in 2011 but the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling last year and denied rehearing the case in January. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy …
Ethanol Boat Races Ride Into Garnett
Love to race? Love to boat? Then consider attending the Garnett Ethanol Hydroplane Shootout in Garnett, Kansas July 12-13, 2014. The competition, sponsored by the National Boat Racing Association (NBRA, pits drivers of hydroplanes and roundabouts against each other. The race is sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), East Kansas Agri-Energy, and the Kansas Corn Commission. Admission is free …
Murphy USA Offering E15, E85 in Indianola, IA
Murphy USA is now offering E15 and E85 in Indianola, Iowa location. This station is the first one to begin selling the ethanol fuel blends in Iowa, with six more locations coming online over the next few months. By the end of the summer, E15 and E85 will be available at Murphy USA locations in Clinton, Davenport, Fort Dodge, Mason …
RFA Dismisses Proposed RFS Repeal
Congressman James Lankford (R-OK) this week introduced legislation called the “Phantom Fuels Elimination Act” that seeks to eliminate the so-called “corn ethanol mandate” and require domestic production of all other Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending requirements. Response from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) on the proposed legislation was dismissive. “Congressman Lankford should get his facts straight,” said RFA president and …
RFA Calls EWG Report Flawed
The Renewable Fuels Association is disputing findings of an Environmental Working Group report released today entitled, “Ethanol’s Broken Promise: Using Less Corn Ethanol Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen says the report relies on “overblown and disputed assumptions of land use change, making ethanol from corn appear to be worse than gasoline,” which he calls “simply …
RFA Puts First Responders’ Safety First
Those folks who go into burning buildings and patch us up by the side of a road after a traffic accident are truly heroes in this country. Well, the folks at the people who help train those first responders how to handle going into hazardous materials (haz-mat) conditions are recognizing the people who advocate for biofuels… and try to help …
Ethanol Groups Participate in China Trade Mission
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse led a mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports in northeast China May 5-13. The mission is part of President Obama’s “Made in Rural America” export and investment initiative, designed to help rural businesses and leaders take advantage of new investment opportunities and access new customers …
Ethanol on the Rails
In the last couple of weeks there have been two derailments of trains carrying crude oil, one in Virginia on April 30 and one in Colorado on May 9. These incidents are just the latest in a string of accidents that began last summer when a runaway oil train carrying Bakken crude derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47 …