Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) addressed whether farmers and biofuel producers might see rules for the 45Z tax credit before the end of the year, or if the blenders tax credit will be extended, during a call with reporters on Tuesday. “45Z is not a subject of Congressional action, it’s a subject within the Treasury Department on the rules,” said Grassley. …
ZeaKal PhotoSeed is 1st Sustainability-Embedded Trait Tech
ZeaKal today announced that PhotoSeed™ Soy has been validated as the first sustainability-embedded trait technology for agriculture, a technology that could expand the volume of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production by approximately one billion additional gallons on existing U.S. soybean acreage. Han Chen, co-founder and CEO of ZeaKal, says they were able to validate PhotoSeed’s impact on the carbon intensity …
CoBank Report Studies Future for SAF
A new CoBank Knowledge Exchange report on Charting the Path Forward for SAF finds sustainable aviation fuel provides great opportunity for growth in U.S. biofuels production from agricultural feedstocks, as long as the market and regulatory incentives are there for farmers and the wider biofuels industry. According to the report, the anticipated guidance for the 45Z tax credit, also known …
Bill Would Extend 45Z Tax Credit
The 45Z clean fuel production tax credit would be extended by ten years under legislation introduced this week by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Julia Brownley (D-CA). The tax credit, created under the Inflation Reduction Act, is slated to start in 2025 and expire in 2027, even though no rules have been developed for it yet. The …
New Ethanol Infographics from Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has released a series of infographics to promote the benefits of biofuels, an explainer on various sustainability benchmarks for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and an update on global ethanol blending policies. The Council seeks to show international policymakers and industry stakeholders that U.S. ethanol is an affordable, abundant, compatible and sustainable way for countries to …
USDA Celebrates $3 Billion for Climate-Smart Commodities
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack traveled to Pennsylvania last week to celebrate investing over $3 billion in 135 projects under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities since its creation in September 2022. Vilsack highlighted the initiative’s success to date, including: – Enrollment of over 3.2 million acres of working land into climate-smart practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon. …
Chevron REG Invests in Terviva to Scale New Biofuel Feedstock
Agricultural innovation company Terviva has announced an investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group to help scale production of pongamia for low carbon renewable fuel. “Crude pongamia oil can be converted into biodiesel, renewable diesel, or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In working with Chevron Renewable Energy Group, we can increase the availability of feedstocks for production of these fuels while promoting …
ACE Submits Comments on Climate-Smart Ag Practices
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) this week submitted virtual comments in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) request for information on the production of biofuel feedstocks using climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices. ACE CEO Brian Jennings emphasized the organization’s key priorities and encouraged USDA to continue engaging with Treasury and leverage ACE’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects …
Farm Leaders Urge Action on Clean Fuels Credit
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and leaders from the National Corn Growers Association and American Soybean Association met this week with Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation John Podesta to urge the administration to prioritize American-grown crops in the production of sustainable fuels. Duvall said they expressed their concerns to Podesta about guidance needed for the …
Corn Growers President Speaks Out for Farmers
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Kenneth Hartman Jr. this week spoke to officials at the White House, telling them that farmers are living through difficult economic times, but the administration and Congress can help by removing barriers so growers can access expanding markets for U.S. corn. “On behalf of my fellow corn growers, I spoke about the need to …