ACE Conference 2026

RFA Seeks Answers in 2012 RFS Delay

Today, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) wrote to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson seeking an explanation for the delay in releasing the 2012 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements. According to statute, volume requirements for the coming compliance year were due by November 30th.RFA

The entire letter from RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen to Administrator Jackson is as follows:

December 20, 2011

Dear Administrator Jackson:

With fewer than two weeks remaining before a new compliance year is set to begin under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), it is concerning that EPA has thus far failed to announce the volume requirements for 2012 as dictated by the law. Equally concerning is the failure to provide renewable fuel providers and obligated parties under the RFS any explanation for the delay beyond the November 30th deadline set forth by the statute.

The RFS provides critical market certainty for existing ethanol producers, emerging renewable fuel technologies, and motor fuel suppliers that must comply with the RFS. Additionally, the RFS is an important tool in reducing the nation’s dependence on imported oil and creating domestic jobs and economic opportunities that cannot be outsourced. This market certainty is put in jeopardy as long as questions remain about impending RFS requirements and when those requirements will be made final.

With the holidays fast approaching and a new compliance year upon us, we are asking that EPA release its final volume RFS requirements for 2012 as soon as possible. At the very least, EPA should immediately explain the reasoning for the delay, provide guidance to renewable fuel producers and obligated parties, and disclose when release of the final rule might be expected. Quite frankly, this nearly three-week delay in the publication of 2012 RFS requirements is both inexplicable and unacceptable.

The members of the RFA and the entire American motor fuels industry eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely,
Bob Dinneen
President and CEO

Ethanol, RFA

Congress Disappoints Biodiesel Industry

Cindy Zimmerman

Congress has failed to renew the biodiesel tax incentive that will expire at the end of this year and the biodiesel industry is hoping they will turn it around and act quickly in 2012 to save thousands of jobs that have been created thanks to the initiative this year.

“We’re disappointed,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board. “Jobs and the economy are supposed to be the top priority in Washington, yet Congress has left thousands of workers in limbo heading into the holidays by failing to extend this tax incentive. It’s a missed opportunity, and we are urging Congress to pass an extension immediately next year to limit the economic damage.”

“We appreciate our bipartisan supporters in the House and Senate who worked hard to include the incentive in year-end legislatiohttps://energy.agwired.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpn recently, and we look forward to building on that support when Congress returns,” Steckel added.

The biodiesel industry has seen a remarkable turnaround this year after Congress reinstated its $1-per-gallon tax incentive following a one-year lapse in 2010. When the credit lapsed, dozens of plants shut down and thousands of jobs were lost as 2010 production plummeted to about 315 million gallons, the lowest level since 2006.

Through the end of October of this year, according to the latest EPA figures, the industry had set a new annual production record of more than 802 million gallons and could triple the 2010 production volume by the end of the year.

Biodiesel, Government

Poll Shows Agriculture Support for Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

A significant majority believe that ethanol production is a good thing. In answer to this past week’s ZimmPoll question, “Is Ethanol production good for ALL of Agriculture?” 64% said yes and 36% said no. That still shows a large group who aren’t on board the ethanol bandwagon. If you’re in the “no” group let us know why by posting a comment.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What is your Christmas/Holiday entree?” The holidays are almost here and I’ll be you’ve got plans made already. We sure hope you have a happy holiday time with family and friends.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

corn, Ethanol, Farming, ZimmPoll

Biofuel and Chemicals Made from Wood Biomass

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have developed a method using microbes from wood biomass to produce butanol suitable for biofuel and other industrial chemicals. Butanol is particularly suited as a transport fuel because it is not water soluble and has higher energy content than ethanol.
butanol
Until now, starch and cane sugar have been the most commonly used raw materials in butanol production. In contrast, the Aalto University study used only lignocellulose, otherwise known as wood biomass, which does not compete with food production.

Another new breakthrough in the study is the successful combination of modern pulp and biotechnology. Finland’s advanced forest industry provides particularly good opportunities to develop this type of bioprocesses.

Wood biomass is made up of three primary substances: cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Of these three, cellulose and hemicellulose can be used as a source of nutrition for microbes in bioprocesses. Along with cellulose, the Kraft process that is currently used in pulping produces black liquor which already can be used as a source of energy. It is not, however, suitable for microbes. In the study, the pulping process was altered so that, in addition to cellulose, the other sugars remain unharmed and therefore can be used as raw material for microbes.

When wood biomass is boiled in a mixture of water, alcohol and sulphur dioxide, all parts of the wood – cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin – are separated into clean fractions. The cellulose can be used to make paper, nanocellulose or other products, while the hemicellulose is efficient microbe raw material for chemical production. The advantage of this new process is that no parts of the wood sugar are wasted.

In accordance with EU requirements, all fuel must contain 10 percent biofuel by 2020. A clear benefit of butanol is that a significantly large percentage – more than 20 percent of butanol – can be added to fuel without having to make any changes to existing combustion engines. The nitrogen and carbon emissions from a fuel mix including more than 20 percent butanol are significantly lower than with fossil fuels. For example, the incomplete combustion of ethanol in an engine produces volatile compounds that increase odor nuisances in the environment. Estimates indicate that combining a butanol and pulp plant into a modern biorefinery would provide significant synergy benefits in terms of energy use and biofuel production.

advanced biofuels, biobutanol, biofuels, biomass, Research

Solar Energy to Power Irrigation for Chilean Company

Subsole, one of Chile’s largest locally owned exporters of table fruits, is planning to use solar energy from the Atacama desert to help supply its power as the company grows.

Subsole plans to increase output 60 percent over the next four years, mostly by expanding farming in the Copiapó Valley, a region 800 kilometers north of Santiago that is surrounded by the Atacama Desert. The desert is the driest place on earth and the region has the highest solar radiation on the planet.

In order to be able to boost output competitively, Subsole plans to build a 300 kWp (kilowatts-peak) solar photovoltaic plant in the valley to power its irrigation systems. The new plant, the first ever by a Chilean fruit producer, will allow the company to pump water from underground aquifers cheaply and sustainably in a region where a thriving mining industry competes fiercely for scarce electricity. Subsole is using a $32 million loan and technical assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to fund this project.

“The solar plant will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint while ensuring stable energy costs and better energy efficiency,” said Miguel Allamand, Subsole’s president, who founded the company 20 years ago.

With technical and financial support from the IDB, the company will conduct energy audits in six irrigation sites and three packaging and cold storage facilities. It also will carry out a pre-feasibility study to implement solar cooling technology, to improve irrigation and water storage methods, and to build energy-efficient storage and packaging facilities with state-of-the-art technology.

“Subsole’s investment will enhance its sustainability practices and will have a significant impact along the entire supply chain, benefitting 275 small and medium-sized producers and creating more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, ultimately impacting approximately 82,000 beneficiaries along the supply chain,” said Paola Bazan, the project team leader for the IDB.

The loan is a milestone in the long-term relationship between the IDB Group and Subsole. In 2002, the company was the first Chilean fruit producer and exporter to receive financing from the Inter-American Investment Corporation ( IIC ), a member of the IDB Group. In 2008 the IIC made a second loan to a company of the Subsole group. The group also benefited from a diagnostic review process under FINPYME, a program that helps small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) become more competitive and gain access to longer-term financing.

The IIC’s first loan, a $7 million facility fully repaid in 2008, enabled Subsole to finance the increase in output of thirteen of its small independent fruit suppliers. The second IIC loan to the Subsole group, which is still outstanding, was used to finance the construction of a cold storage and packing plant in Copiapó.

Solar

Nebraska Ethanol Producer to Buy Grain Elevator

Cindy Zimmerman

The grain business subsidiary of Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) is acquiring the grain elevator assets of a company in St. Edward, Nebraska.

JW Grain holds 1.9 million bushels of state-licensed grain storage and is located approximately 40 miles from the GPRE’s Central City, Nebraska ethanol production facility.

“We continue to seek out opportunities to expand our agribusiness segment that can bring additional scale to our operations,” stated Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Acquiring facilities to increase our grain storage and merchandising capabilities is an important part of our diversification strategy going forward. Once this acquisition and expansion is completed, Green Plains will have 40 million bushels of grain storage capacity at 15 elevator locations in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed within 30 days. Green Plains plans to expand the on-site grain storage capacity by up to one million bushels before the 2012 harvest.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Grains Council Promotes DDGS in China

Cindy Zimmerman

usgcThe U.S. Grains Council recently held workshops in Guangzhou and Qingdao to promote the ethanol co-product distillers grains (DDGS) in China.

“The day-long sessions were designed to provide an exchange of comprehensive DDGS market information, including discussions and analysis of the value of U.S. DDGS,” said Alvaro Cordero, USGC manager of DDGS.

Cordero says they had 200 to 250 people, including buyers and USGC member companies. “This created a good opportunity for buyers and sellers to make connections,” he said.

The conferences, organized in cooperation with FoodChina Company, included presentations on DDGS use in swine, poultry and dairy rations, in addition to quality control, DDGS supply and demand, and pricing.

The United States continues to export a good volume of DDGS to China, despite an anti-dumping case initiated by the Chinese government last winter. U.S. shipments in the January-to-September period were down 49 percent from the previous year but still totaled almost one million metric tons, making China the number two export market for distillers grains.

corn, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USGC

New Ethanol Blender Pumps in Illinois

Cindy Zimmerman

Three new pumps that can dispense a range of ethanol blended fuel were officially opened in Princeton, Illinois last week.

Growth EnergyGrowth Energy, Horizon Fuels, the American Lung Association and Marquis Energy partnered to help with the promotions and labeling for the three new Flex Fuel pumps at the Princeton Fast Stop. “It was time to upgrade our gasoline pumps, so we went with Flex Fuel pumps that will give our customers a choice between E85, E30 and E20,” said Bob Sandhu, owner of Princeton Fast stop and the CEO and President of the MGS Petro Inc. Princeton Fast Stop celebrated the opening of the pumps last Friday, December 16, with special deals on ethanol blends and other promotions. Sandhu is picture here at one of the new pumps with Mark Orr, general manager of Ag View FS in Princeton, a local farmers cooperative that is part of the GROWMARK system.

“By giving consumers more choices at the pump that include higher blends of clean, green homegrown ethanol, we’re not only helping decrease our dependence on foreign oil, but also supporting our local farmers,” said Growth Energy Market Development Vice President Mike O’Brien.

Marquis Energy has a 140 million gallon per year ethanol production facility located just southeast of Princeton in Hennepin, Illinois. “We want consumers right here at home to understand that and now they have the chance to choose for themselves. Marquis is glad people in our local community will be able to use clean burning, renewable fuel that is made just 30 miles away,” said Director of Public Relations of Marquis Energy, Dana Gustafson.

Marquis Energy has contracted with Horizon Fuels to develop opportunities to install Flex Fuel pumps at area retail gas stations and then manage the project scope, equipment installation and promotional efforts for each.

blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, GROWMARK, Growth Energy

USDA Helps Install Ethanol Blender Pumps

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has used more funds to install 54 ethanol blender pumps in twelve different locations. The REAP program funded a total of 266 ethanol blender pumps in 30 states at a total cost of $4.2 million dollars in Fiscal Year 2011.

“The REAP Blender Pump program is a completely new approach to encouraging marketers to install the equipment needed to offer more ethanol blended fuel choices to consumers,” said the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty. “266 pumps in 30 states is especially impressive when you take into account how different this program is from the ones used by marketers in the past, and how short a timeframe USDA had to get the information out to marketers.”

Through the program, petroleum marketers were introduced to a competitive grant process that was unfamiliar to most of them, and they had a very short application window of about two months.

“The Blend Your Own (BYO) Ethanol campaign is pleased to have been involved in the planning,” Lamberty said. “Through webinars, grant writing assistance, and face-to-face meetings, we’re glad to have played a part in this program’s success. Funds will be lower in the upcoming fiscal year, so the process will be even more competitive, and ACE and BYO will continue to promote the program and assist marketers who want more information about the REAP flex fuel infrastructure program.”

blends, Ethanol