A new TV advertising campaign is being launched in Washington, D.C. this Sunday by Americans United for Change calling for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop supporting Big Oil’s bottom line. The EPA is currently reviewing comments of their 2014 proposed rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The goal of the TV ad is to underscore the consequences …
An Energy Enthusiast Version of March Madness
March Madness is upon us. For those not living in the United States, it’s the two weeks where college men and women’s basketball teams battle it out on the court until the last team is standing and crowned champion. Now that the NCAA teams have been announced and the brackets determined, people are filling out their official tournament forms with …
New Budget Would Roll Back Oil Subsidies
The recently proposed Obama administration Fiscal Year 2015 Budget includes $4 billion a year in cuts to oil industry subsidies, notes Americans United for Change (AUFC), which calls that “a big win for taxpayers and consumers.” Under the Department of Energy section, the budget calls for elimination of “Unnecessary Fossil Fuel Subsidies” stating that as “the Nation continues to pursue …
Iowa Farmers Oppose RFS Changes
A vast majority of Iowa farmers in a recent poll oppose changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Agri-Pulse Farm Opinion Poll, launched last month in partnership with the Iowa Soybean Association, found that 92% of farmers polled oppose the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to lower of the amount of corn-based ethanol and biodiesel required to be blended in …
Biodiesel Finds Allies at Commodity Classic
Commodity Classic is the annual meeting that attracts more than 7,000 corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum farmers, but it’s also a great place to find biodiesel and ethanol producers. Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) says they make sure to connect with their allies from the commodity groups, especially those soybean growers. “Biodiesel is made from a …
RFS is Revitalizing Rural Iowa
The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its Preliminary 2012 Farm Census data and according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), it’s easy to see that increased in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) have revitalized rural Iowa. The USDA data shows that since the increase in the RFS in 2007, Iowa has experienced nearly a 51 percent …
Cold Winter Challenges Ethanol Plant Logistics
At the National Ethanol Conference last week, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen had a discussion with Ed Hamberger, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, on Regulatory Crackdown on Rail Transport. They discussed current government proposals focused on rail cars. Hamberger kicked off the discussion by noting that ethanol has been one of the fastest growing commodity …
Social Media War Room for Ethanol
Make no mistake about it. The ethanol industry is engaged in a war of words with anti-ethanol forces and every weapon in the arsenal needs to be deployed to fight against these well-funded opponents. Communications and Social Media War Room was the title of one of the breakout sessions at last week’s 2014 National Ethanol Conference. Renewable Fuels Association executive …
Patriot Out Front with Ethanol
Patriot Renewable Fuels wants to be the “poster child” for other ethanol plants when it comes to marketing higher blends in their own communities. You might remember Darrell Rakestraw as the veteran we interviewed last fall about the EPA proposal to lower the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). When we spoke to him last week at his first National Ethanol Conference, …
State Level Blend Walls Update
The phrase “all politics is local” seems like it sure could apply to some of the decisions to overcome the ethanol blend wall. Challenges to increasing ethanol in the marketplace exist on the state level as well as the federal level, and participants at the National Ethanol Conference learned more about efforts to break down the blend wall in various …