EPA Chief Urged to Visit Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited an oil refinery in Pennsylvania Monday at the request of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who just last week filed legislation in Congress to eliminate corn ethanol from the Renewable Fuel Standard. Now ethanol producers would like to see Wheeler visit one of their plants. “This refinery produces 200k barrels/day and is a great economic driver …

EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Oil, RFA, RFS

RFA CEO Blasts RFS Reform Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper criticized recycled legislation introduced last week by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) that “abolishes the corn ethanol mandate in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).” “Perhaps Senators Feinstein and Toomey are confused about the RFS. There is no ‘corn ethanol mandate’ under the program and there never has been. …

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

New Studies Show Ethanol GHG Benefits

Cindy Zimmerman

Two new studies released this week provide further evidence that grain-based ethanol is significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and call into question the reliability of recent “land use change” analyses based on flawed satellite imagery-based methodologies, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The first new study, conducted by the Laboratory for Applied Spatial Analysis at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville …

corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

Ethanol Report on 2020 RVO Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday issued proposed volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard program for calendar year 2020, with a total renewable fuel volume of 20.04 billion gallons, of which 5.04 billion gallons are advanced biofuel, including 540 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel. That leaves the 15-billion-gallon requirement for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol unchanged from 2019. …

Audio, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA, RFS

Biofuels Groups Blast EPA for RFS Proposed Volumes

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday (EPA) issued proposed volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard program for calendar year 2020, leaving them basically unchanged and not reallocating gallons lost due to small refinery exemptions. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Geoff Cooper says the proposal “completely betrays President Trump’s commitment” to uphold the integrity of the RFS by …

ACE, Biodiesel, corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NBB, RFA, RFS

Industry Hopes to Stop Small Refinery Waivers

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuel organizations are hopeful that legislation introduced last week by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will help stem the tide of Small Refinery Exemptions that have caused demand destruction for both ethanol and biodiesel. The RFS Integrity Act of 2019 aims to provide “more certainty for rural America by bringing transparency and predictability to EPA’s small refinery …

ACE, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NBB, RFA, RFS

RFS Integrity Act Introduced

Cindy Zimmerman

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), co-chairs of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus, have introduced the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act of 2019 which establishes an annual June 1st deadline for refineries to submit small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions from their RFS blending obligations each year and increases transparency in the process. Since 2018, EPA …

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

Study Shows RFS Saves 22 Cents Per Gallon

Cindy Zimmerman

A new study shows the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has lowered gas prices by an average of 22 cents per gallon in recent years and saved the typical American household $250 annually. The study, by economist and energy policy expert Dr. Philip K. Verleger, Jr., used an econometric model to estimate the impacts of the RFS, which requires refiners to …

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

Biodiesel Interests Testify at EPA Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

At a hearing in Michigan on Friday, representatives from the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and its member companies weighed in on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal related to sales of 15 percent ethanol fuel (E15) and changes to the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) compliance system. Biodiesel interests also commented on the need to stop granting Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). …

Audio, Biodiesel, EPA, NBB, RFS

EPA Hearing Witnesses Stress Problem of SREs

Cindy Zimmerman

Small refinery exemptions were not the topic of an EPA hearing Friday in Michigan, but many witnesses used precious seconds of their allotted three minutes to comment on how they are impacting an already stressed ethanol industry. “While RFS small refinery exemptions (SREs) are not the explicit subject of this rulemaking or today’s hearing, we feel compelled to remind EPA …

Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS