California Ethanol+Power Seeking Sugarcane Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

California Ethanol + Power (CE+P) has announced a new sugarcane production program for Imperial Valley farmers to produce feedstock for a planned low-carbon ethanol production and biomass energy campus set to begin construction this year.

CE+P will engage with the local farming communities to secure formal commitments to grow the first 20,000 acres of sugarcane feedstock for Sugar Valley Energy, a 160-acre project designed to produce 68 million gallons of low-carbon sugarcane ethanol annually, which will be the first facility of its kind to be built in the United States of America.

Dave Rubenstein, CEO of California Ethanol & Power, said the program will eventually allow opportunities for up to 60 local farmers to produce an estimated 48,000 acres of sugarcane crop, and growing agreements will be completed in a phased approach during the 2-3 year engineering and construction process for the new campus. The agreements are long-term and provide assurances for stabilized revenues for growers from the Sugar Valley Energy team, he added.

Sugar Valley Energy’s low-carbon fuel and energy products will assist the state of California in meeting its low-carbon fuel standards and carbon reduction initiatives. The campus represents the first in-state production facility for low-carbon ethanol. The ethanol products will be marketed under the new Essential EthanolTM brand, used as a gasoline additive and numerous other industrial and household applications. The campus will also generate needed electrical power and bio-methane gas, while providing a new wastewater treatment facility to support regional infrastructure.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, sugarcane

Ethanol Report 1-28-21

Cindy Zimmerman

In this edition of the Ethanol Report, we hear from three Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) staff members about the organization’s efforts in advocacy, safety, and education.

Troy Bredenkamp is RFA’s brand new Senior Vice President for Government & Public Affairs in the Washington D.C. office and he could not be coming on board at a more critical time for the industry with a new administration and a new Congress. He discusses what RFA will be doing to work with the new leadership.

Missy Ruff is RFA’s Director of Safety and Technical Programs and also serves as chair of TRANSCAER®, a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on providing assistance to local communities to help prepare for and to respond to possible hazardous material transportation incidents. She talks about RFA’s decade of leadership in ethanol safety training and what is new for 2021.

Finally, we hear from RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White about one of the organization’s very successful outreach and education programs – the Crappie Masters Tournament Trail, which just kicked off with RFA and National Corn Growers Association as co-title sponsors for the fifth year in a row.

Ethanol Report 1-28-21 (24:11)

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.

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Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

EPA Directed to Report on 2017 Court Order

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is directing the Environmental Protection Agency to submit a status report every 60 days “on its progress in complying with the court’s remand” stemming from the July 2017 ruling in a case regarding the improper waiver of 500 million gallons of 2016 renewable fuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Wednesday’s order was in response to a motion filed late last year by biofuel and farm organizations asking the court to enforce its 2017 decision by requiring EPA to fully restore the 500 million gallons. The court denied that motion but the coalition, which includes the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, and National Sorghum Producers, is pleased to see some action being taken.

“While we are disappointed by the court’s order on our motion, we are glad to see that the court is holding EPA accountable by requiring it to submit a report every 60 days on the status of the court’s remand on the improper waiver. This time of transition provides EPA the opportunity to move boldly and address prior missteps when it comes to the need for a low-carbon future for our nation’s fuel supply; adjusting quickly for the court-ordered remand would do just that. America’s biofuel producers, rural communities and farm families look forward to working with EPA and the Biden administration to make progress on restoring integrity and growth to the RFS.”

EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

DuPont Launches SYNERXIA® Gemstone Yeasts for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences has launched the SYNERXIA® Gemstone Collection of high-performance yeasts for the U.S. ethanol market. The new collection from the XCELIS® platform includes SYNERXIA® SAPPHIRE and SYNERXIA® RUBY designed for the unique needs of ethanol producers.

This marks the first time that DuPont has co-launched two high-yield yeasts. SYNERXIA® SAPPHIRE brings the most powerful combination of yield, robustness and enzyme expression in a yeast. It offers enhanced ethanol yield increase paired with revolutionary thermotolerance and infection robustness in fermentation and has been genetically engineered to withstand harsh stressors, while still finishing fermentation with ultra-low DP1.

SYNERXIA® SAPPHIRE has been engineered to provide a strong ethanol yield increase compared to conventional yeast and powers through fermentation finishing clean when ethanol producers encounter hot fermentations or severe infections. The product also expresses enough glucoamylase to displace up to 80 percent of the glucoamylase injected to fermentation. The yeast’s strong expression of the powerful glucoamylase offers reduced residual starch for many producers.

SYNERXIA® RUBY is the highest yielding yeast available today from the XCELIS® platform, delivering exceptional performance to producers via a patented PKL pathway and additional targeted genetic modifications. It produces less acetic acid compared to SYNERXIA® THRIVE GX and enables up to 65 percent glucoamylase reduction.

Dupont, enzymes, Ethanol, Processing, Production

China Starting to Buy U.S. Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Reports that China is buying U.S. ethanol again sent a positive message to the industry Tuesday that the Phase One trade agreement promises may yet be met.

During an investor call, Archer Daniels Midland Co-Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said they believe China has already made commitments “in the first half of the year for U.S. ethanol equal to the previous all-time high for the calendar year, roughly 200 million gallons.”

During a panel discussion at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, former Ambassador to China and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said Chinese purchases of U.S. ethanol are long overdue. “We need to hold their feet to the fire and keep the pressure on for them to fulfill the commitments they made under the Phase One trade agreement.”

Also on the panel with Branstad were U.S. Grains Council CEO Ryan LeGrand and Hagan Rose with Eco-Energy, with Absolute Energy CEO Rick Schwarck moderating the discussion. Listen to some of their comments here about the potential for China to buy more ethanol and DDGs.

IRFA Summit Trade panel segment (7:36)

Audio, biofuels, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports

Iowa Governor Supports Higher Biofuels Blends

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds once again addressed the annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week, something she has done every year as governor, as well as multiple years prior as lieutenant governor, but the first time in a virtual format.

Gov. Reynolds said she was looking forward to working with the new Biden Administration to grow demand for biofuels around the world, as well as continuing the leadership of Iowa in the renewable fuels space by advancing policies in the state that make “biofuels the clear choice for Iowa’s drivers.”

IRFA Summit - Gov. Kim Reynolds (7:11)

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA, IRFA Renewable Fuels Summit

RFA Celebrates Decade of Ethanol Safety Training

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association recently celebrated 10 years of its industry-leading safety training program that has reached thousands of first responders, rail shippers, ethanol plant workers and others, protecting the industry’s employees and saving lives in communities around the world.

RFA Director of Technical Services Missy Ruff says that over the past decade, RFA has hosted 328 training events reaching more than 13,000 attendees since December 2010. The ethanol Emergency Response Seminars and Webinars have reached over 8,000 people, while “Train the Trainer” programs and the Online Ethanol Emergency Response Course have reached more than 4,000. In-person training has been held in every state except Hawaii, but Ruff says they are working on getting that done this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic did have an impact on the in-person training segment of the program, but Ruff says it did actually help them expand their reach. “Because of the pandemic and moving our training to an on-line platform we’ve also trained attendees in 26 countries on five continents,” said Ruff.

RFA is currently working to update eight training module videos and an additional learning management platform, to be completed by spring 2021. In addition, a full slate of online training seminars has been scheduled for 2021. Listen to the interview with Missy Ruff below and visit www.EthanolResponse.com for more information.

Interview with Missy Ruff, RFA, on ethanol safety training (9:14)

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, safety

New Corn Ethanol Study Shows Lower GHG Emissions

Cindy Zimmerman

A new study published by the Environmental Research Letter this week finds that greenhouse gas emissions from corn ethanol have decreased by half over the last 30 years and are now estimated to be 46% lower than the average carbon intensity of gasoline with some corn ethanol in the market today achieving a reduction of more than 60 percent.

The study by Harvard and Tufts University and Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. scientists cite an American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 2018 White Paper titled “The Case for Properly Valuing the Low Carbon Benefits of Corn Ethanol” that highlights how U.S. farmers and ethanol producers are improving efficiencies, investing in technologies, and adopting practices to dramatically reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn ethanol.

“The findings in this report reinforce what we have been promoting for the last several years; the greenhouse gas reduction benefits of corn ethanol have been significantly undervalued because too many regulatory bodies refuse to apply or use the latest lifecycle science,” ACE CEO Brian Jennings said. “Today’s corn ethanol indeed reduces GHGs by approximately 50 percent compared to gasoline, and given improvements occurring in corn farming and within ethanol facilities, corn ethanol’s carbon footprint will continue to decline over time.”

“As elected leaders at the state and federal level look to craft new policies to tackle climate change and meet net-zero emission goals, we strongly encourage them to appreciate that corn farmers and ethanol producers are part of the solution,” Jennings added.

Read the report here.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Former Sen. Daschle Comments on Split Senate

Cindy Zimmerman

Tom Daschle at 2019 National Ethanol Conference

Former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle shared his thoughts on a 50-50 split Senate during an appearance on a panel at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Summit Tuesday. He offered advice from his own experience in the 107th Congress in 2001, the only other time in history there was a split Senate.

“It’s going to take good chemistry, it’s going to take communication between the two leaders in order to move what is basically an operating manual for the U.S. Senate for the next two years,” said Daschle, noting the good relationship he had with Mississippi Republican Sen. Trent Lott.

The former senator, who was instrumental in the development of the Renewable Fuel Standard, is now a strong advocate for higher blends of ethanol. “If we could get into orbit, E30 is going to take us there,” he said on the panel Biofuels Policy in 2021 and Beyond. “If we’re looking for solutions to carbon, ethanol provides it. If we need solutions for high octane, ethanol provides it. But we have to take it beyond E15 to get there.”

Listen to some of Daschle’s comments here:

IRFA Summit - Tom Daschle comments on split Senate (1:53)

IRFA Summit - Tom Daschle comments on higher ethanol blends (2:04)

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Future is Bright for Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Feedstocks

Cindy Zimmerman

Soybean oil has a long history as a vital feedstock for biodiesel, and more recently for renewable diesel, and it will likely continue to be. At the same time, newer sources of fats and oil are needed to feed the increasing demand for renewable energy plants coming on line.

Alan Weber has been in the biodiesel business from the beginning as both a Missouri farmer and an agricultural economist. He is founding partner of MARC-IV, a firm that helps commercialize industrial products from agriculture, and serves as a consultant to the National Biodiesel Board. He moderated two interesting panels during the 2021 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo related to the future of feedstocks and he is very excited about that future.

“I’m really excited about the potential for investment, because investment can drive innovation,” says Weber.

In this interview, Weber talks about soybeans, fats, oils, and feedstocks.
2021 Biodiesel Conference interview with Alan Weber, NBB advisor (7:53)

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB, Soybeans