Groups Urge EPA to Resolve Summertime E15 Barrier

Cindy Zimmerman

Six national farm and biofuel organizations are asking Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to enact regulations requiring lower-volatility conventional gasoline blendstock in the summertime in order to facilitate year-round sales of E15 nationwide.

The Renewable Fuels Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, and National Sorghum Producers sent the joint letter saying that reducing the volatility of gasoline by just 1 pound per square inch (psi) would yield significant environmental benefits.

Regarding air quality, the six organizations referenced and attached a new study using EPA modeling tools, showing that reducing the vapor pressure of conventional gasoline blendstock by 1 psi “…would be beneficial to air quality, as emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) would be reduced.” The study further concluded that “if the elimination of the 1-psi waiver [for E10] leads to the replacement of E10 with E15, it will also decrease greenhouse gases and particulate emissions.”

The organizations also wrote that the move would “simplify engineering of emissions control systems and help facilitate compliance with Renewable Fuel Standard requirements, with no noticeable impact on fuel costs.” They attached a new economic study showing that lowering the volatility of gasoline blendstock would impact the cost of the fuel by just 1-2 pennies per gallon.

Ag group, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

EPA Biofuels Proposals Reaction

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuel supporters are having mixed reactions to the two proposals released this week by the Environmental Protection Agency related to the Renewable Fuel Standard.

On the good side, EPA proposed to deny 65 pending small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions based on the Tenth Circuit court decision in Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA.

However, the proposed package setting Renewable Volume Obligations for three years, including resetting the already approved 2020 level, is getting less favorable reviews. “While we are pleased to see that EPA’s proposal for 2022 is consistent with Congressional intent to require 15 billion gallons of conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol, it would be completely unprecedented and contrary to EPA’s past policies and practices for the agency to go back in time and revise the 2020 RFS requirements. We don’t believe a retroactive reduction of this nature is legally permissible,” said Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper. (Listen to Cooper’s full reaction in The Ethanol Report podcast)

Not only is it potentially illegal, American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty says a retroactive reduction is unnecessary because it is already built into the law. “Each year’s volume is converted to a percentage, so renewable fuel volumes automatically rise or fall based on actual fuel sales. By reducing the 2020 percentage and 2021 volumes EPA is essentially shifting more of the pandemic burden from refiners to ethanol producers and farmers, and allowing gallons already sold to be counted against 2022 volumes, extending the pain into another year.”

The National Biodiesel Board is pleased that EPA’s proposal would increase 2022 advanced volumes and restore improperly waived volumes from prior years. However, NBB Vice President for Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik said, “EPA is setting a bad precedent by recalculating the 2020 obligations. The retroactive lowering of volumes creates uncertainty about future growth.”

In 2020, the U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel market grew to 3 billion gallons – its highest volume ever – and generated more than 4.5 billion advanced biofuel credits (Renewable Identification Numbers or RINs). Through the first ten months of 2021, the industry maintained a sustainable production rate comparable to 2020. EPA is proposing sustainable growth opportunities consistent with industry expectations along with a statutorily required increase of 500 million gallons in the overall advanced biofuel category.

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

Ethanol Report Reviews EPA Announcements

Cindy Zimmerman

The ethanol industry got some long-awaited announcements from the Biden Administration this week on COVID aid from USDA and biofuel blending obligations from the Environmental Protection Agency.

It’s a mixed bag of good news and bad news for ethanol producers and in this edition of The Ethanol Report we get the details from Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper.

Ethanol Report 12-9-21 (15:09)

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

Choose an option to subscribe

Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, USDA

Project Carbonview Launched for Ethanol Producers

Cindy Zimmerman

Bayer, Bushel and Amazon Web Services (AWS) today unveiled Project Carbonview – a first-of-its-kind technology solution to help farmers drive more sustainable supply chains by aggregating the carbon footprint of end products, starting with ethanol.

Beginning as a pilot program, Project Carbonview is focused on creating awareness and acceptance for low-carbon fuel markets. Eligible farmers who enroll in the pilot will receive compensation for participation. Ultimately, once these markets are broadly established, we anticipate growers will be compensated based on the implementation of sustainable farming practices and will share in the financial incentives created by low-carbon fuel markets.

“This is designed currently for the ethanol supply chain and specifically for..ethanol processing facilities and the information they need to make good procurement decisions,” said Elizabeth Fastiggi, Head of Worldwide Agriculture BD at Amazon Web Services (AWS), speaking Wednesday morning at the ASTA CSS & Seed Expo.

Elizabeth Fastiggi, Amazon (6:34)

Project Carbonview focused on the United States will initially enable U.S. ethanol producers (corn is a key ingredient in ethanol production) to track carbon emissions across the entire supply chain – from planting through production – and implement more sustainable business practices by providing the data needed to make more informed purchasing decisions and reduce their carbon emissions. For farmers who opt into the program, Project Carbonview streamlines on-farm data collection with Bayer’s Climate FieldView™ application and connects it with delivery and transportation data captured from the 54,000 U.S. active users of Bushel’s platform. Through the Climate FieldView™ platform, farmers continue to own their data and choose who to share their data with.

Learn more from Bayer

Audio, Carbon, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Iowa VERBIO BioRefinery Starts RNG Production

Cindy Zimmerman

The first U.S. industrial scale renewable natural gas facility using agricultural residues as its feedstock began production Tuesday in Nevada, Iowa.

VERBIO AG, the German parent company, purchased the former DuPont Cellulosic ethanol plant in late 2018. With the commissioning of the Nevada plant, VERBIO will produce seven million ethanol gallons equivalent (EGE) of RNG with the completion of Phase I; upon completion of Phase II in the 4th quarter of 2022, the site will begin operating as a biorefinery, producing 19 million (EGE) of RNG and 60 million gallons of corn-based ethanol. The integration of RNG and ethanol production incorporates advanced operational technology as currently practiced at the company’s facilities in Germany.

biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Natural Gas

EPA Proposes Volume Standards and Waiver Rejections

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed a package of actions setting biofuels volumes for years 2022, 2021, and 2020, and introducing regulatory changes intended to enhance the program’s objectives. In addition, EPA is seeking public comment on a proposed decision to deny petitions to exempt small refineries from their obligations under the RFS on the grounds that petitioners failed to show that EPA has a basis under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and recent federal case law to approve them.

For 2022, EPA is proposing the highest total volumes in history, putting the program on a stable trajectory that provides for significant growth. The proposed volumes for 2022 are over 3.5 billion gallons higher than the volume of renewable fuel used in 2020. The proposed volume of advanced biofuel for 2022 is over 1 billion gallons greater than the volume used in 2020. EPA is also proposing to add a 250-million-gallon “supplemental obligation” to the volumes proposed for 2022 and stating its intent to add another 250 million gallons in 2023. This would address the remand of the 2014-2016 annual rule by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA. Spreading this obligation over two years would provide the market time to respond to this supplemental obligation. The last Administration failed to act on the Agency’s outstanding obligation to address the court’s remand.

Industry reaction to the proposal is mixed, with objections to retroactively reducing previously finalized 2020 Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) requirements. The Renewable Fuels Association called the package “a modest step in the right direction for the nation’s ethanol producers and farmers.”

Specifically, RFA welcomes EPA’s proposal to set the 2022 RFS conventional renewable fuel requirement at the statutory volume of 15 billion gallons (bg) and its move to deny all pending small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions based on the unappealed holdings of the Tenth Circuit Court’s decision in the Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA. The agency also said it will follow the Court’s ruling when it considers future SRE petitions. EPA’s proposal to restore 500 million gallons of illegally waived RFS requirements from 2016 —with that volume being added in the form of supplemental requirements to the 2022 and 2023 RFS requirements—also drew praise from RFA.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Cellulosic, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, RFS

USDA Releases COVID Aid for Biofuels Producers

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made good on the promise he made Friday and announced today that USDA will make up to $800 million available to support biofuel producers and infrastructure.

Today’s announcement includes $700 million to provide economic relief to biofuel producers and restore renewable fuel markets affected by the pandemic. The Department will make the funds available through the new Biofuel Producer Program authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Additionally, in the coming months, the Department will make $100 million available to increase significantly the sales and use of higher blends of bioethanol and biodiesel by expanding the infrastructure for renewable fuels derived from U.S. agricultural products. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to further growth of the biofuels industry, and the House-passed Build Back Better Act commits additional funding that will provide better market access for farmers and more affordable and cleaner fuels for consumers.

“At the peak of the pandemic, more than half of our nation’s ethanol capacity was idled. To this day, many plants remain offline or are operating at reduced output rates and the pandemic has cost the industry well over $5 billion in lost revenue. We are grateful to USDA Sec. Vilsack and the Biden administration for finalizing this relief package to help our industry recover, as well as the additional infrastructure funding,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

The announcement came in conjunction today with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposing a package of actions setting biofuels volumes for years 2022, 2021, and 2020, and introducing regulatory changes intended to enhance the program’s objectives. In addition, EPA is asking for public comment on a proposed decision to deny petitions to exempt small refineries from RFS program requirements.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, USDA

Renewable Fuels in the Economic Outlook at #ASTACSS

Cindy Zimmerman

AgResource Company president Dan Basse was back in person with his annual update on the global agricultural market at the 2021 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo on Tuesday.

This is the ninth year Basse has presented at the event and, as always, he packed a lot of information into an hour. Among the trends he noted for the coming year – a commodity “super cycle” and peak farmland; the role of farming and biofuels in carbon reduction; hog hotels in China and renewable diesel driving demand for corn and soy; and skyrocketing food prices.

Basse sees rising demand for renewable diesel as especially disruptive for the agriculture industry. “The problem we have in every bushel of soybeans as you put it through processor you get 47 and a half pounds of soybean meal and 11.6 pounds of bean oil,” said Basse. “I need more bean oil. If U.S. seed breeders could give me more bean oil, you’re going to have a very glorified future.”

Listen to an interview with Basse, as well as some of his insights from the presentation:
ASTACSS - Interview with Dan Basse, AgResource (6:44)

ASTACSS - Dan Basse, AgResource, trends overview (5:34)

ASTACSS - Dan Basse, AgResource, China hog hotels and renewable diesel (8:16)

Audio, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Carbon, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

RFA Mourns Sen. Dole as Ethanol Champion

Cindy Zimmerman

Bob Dole at the 2008 World Food Prize

The Renewable Fuels Association paid tribute to former Sen. Robert Dole (R-KS), who passed away Sunday at the age of 98, as a great patriot, war hero, national statesman, friend of farmers, and a champion of America’s renewable fuels industry.

“Throughout his distinguished career in public service, Senator Dole always put his country first and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all Americans,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “He was one of the first elected officials in Congress to vocally champion ethanol as a value-added market opportunity for America’s farmers.”

Cooper notes that Sen. Dole worked across the aisle in the 1990s with Democratic Leader Tom Daschle to push legislation that ultimately resulted in the successful passage several years later of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Dole and Daschle would also go on to found the Bipartisan Policy Center, which focused on fostering bipartisanship and bridging political divides.

In 2008, Dole was honored with the World Food Prize, along with the late Democrat Sen. George McGovern, for their work in creating the McGovern-Dole international school feeding program.

Both of the senators took questions from the media at the World Food Prize on a variety of topics, including the production of biofuels, since food versus fuel was a trending topic and the 2008 presidential election was just weeks away.

Dole noted the importance of new energy sources in the election that year and the issues that the ethanol industry was facing and stressed the all of the above approach to energy. “There’s switchgrass and other biofuels, and there’s nuclear energy and drilling off-shore,” Dole said. “We gotta do everything we can, it’s not all going to be ethanol.”

Listen to McGovern and Dole comment on food versus fuel in 2008:
2008 World Food Prize press conf - biofuels

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, food and fuel, politics, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

EPA Holds Hearing on Proposed RFS Compliance Deadlines

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuels groups had the opportunity to sound off to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed extension of Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance deadlines during a virtual hearing Friday.

The Renewable Fuels Association voiced strong opposition to again delay annual RFS compliance deadlines. “EPA has had ample time to decide pending 2019 and 2020 SRE petitions following the Supreme Court’s June 2021 decision in the HollyFrontier v. RFA case, which left intact two important holdings from the Tenth Circuit Court’s January 2020 decision in the RFA v. EPA case,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper in prepared testimony. “We strongly encourage EPA to immediately decide the remaining 2019 and 2020 SRE petitions in a manner consistent with the unappealed holdings of the Tenth Circuit decision. And immediately upon deciding those petitions, EPA should require compliance with the final 2019 and 2020 standards.”

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty pointed out that if EPA would have finalized the 2021 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) on time last November and predicted gas volumes would return to 2019 levels, the 2021 percentage would have assured refiners their renewable fuel requirements would again fall or rise as petroleum volumes remained flat or grew.

“Instead, the reason EPA has to propose delaying compliance reporting and attest engagements for 2021 and 2022 is EPA’s own failure to establish annual Renewable Volume Obligations when they are supposed to be established,” Lamberty said in his testimony.

EPA argues that the compliance deadline extensions are necessary because dozens of 2019 and 2020 small refinery exemption petitions have not yet been decided, and proposed standards for 2021 have not yet been published.

ACE, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA