Biofuels organizations have submitted comments opposed to a proposed rule announced by EPA last month to partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the Renewable Fuel Standard program due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production. The Renewable Fuels Association comments that “retrospectively lowering RVOs destabilizes the RIN market, discourages investment, and …
Farm to Fly Act Reintroduced in Senate
Midwest senators have reintroduced the Farm to Fly Act that would help accelerate the production and development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) reintroduced the legislation that would utilize current USDA programs to support the development of SAF, clarify federal …
President Trump Declares Energy Emergency
President Donald Trump made it clear in some of his first executive actions that he wants to make American energy great again, and that includes E15, but no mandate for electric vehicles. Specifically, President Trump said he wanted to revoke the electric vehicle mandate so Americans will be able to buy the car of their choice. The order under Unleashing …
Groups React to Climate Smart Ag Rule and GREET Model
Biofuel organizations welcomed the release Wednesday of USDA’s interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks, in addition to a beta version Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator, and the Department of Energy release of the 45ZCF-GREET model The rule establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of corn, …
Treasury Releases 45Z Tax Credit Guidance
Now that the Clean Fuels Production Credit has been in effect for ten days, the U.S. Treasury Department has finally dropped its proposed guidance for 45Z, which will now have a 90-day comment period. The guidance includes both a notice of intent to propose regulations on the section 45Z credit and a notice providing the annual emissions rate table for …
2024 Ethanol Exports Set New Record Before Year’s End
A record year for ethanol exports has already been declared, even before the official year-end data has been tabulated. The latest data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau has U.S. ethanol exports for 2024 totaling 1.72 billion gallons just through November, already surpassing the previous annual record of 1.67 billion gallons set in 2018. With one month of data to …
Year End Ethanol Report
2024 was a very good year for the ethanol industry, but the battle for year-round, nationwide E15 will once again continue on into the new year. In this edition of the Ethanol Report podcast, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper comments on some of the top ethanol stories of the year, including the continuing roller coaster ride for …
Poll Shows E15 Support Despite Being Pulled From CR
The celebration by ethanol interests that E15 would finally be allowed nationwide, year-round was short-lived this week as the continuing resolution unveiled on Tuesday was pulled after receiving backlash for additional policy and funding provisions. But the fuel remains highly popular among voters, according to a recent survey. Recent nationwide polling conducted by Morning Consult for the Renewable Fuels Association …
Funding Bill Includes Year-Round, Nationwide E15
The continuing resolution to fund the government into next year contains a provision that may finally succeed in making E15 available year-round in every state, something the ethanol industry has been working toward since it was first approved by the EPA in 2011. “We are very pleased to see that the long-awaited fix allowing year-round E15 is included in this …
Opening Supreme Court Brief Filed on SRE Case
On Monday, the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy filed their opening brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Environmental Protection Agency v. Calumet Shreveport Refining. The case seeks to overturn an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit regarding the proper venue for adjudicating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) denials of several petitions for …