MN Bio-Fuels Releases 2024 Annual Report

Cindy Zimmerman

MN Bio-Fuels Board President Brian Kletscher, and Executive Director Brian Werner share annual report

The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels) released its 2024 Annual Report last week at an event which included a keynote speech by Geoff Cooper, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association.

“As we look at the potential for record ethanol production and exports in 2024, we salute our farmers and ethanol producers for all their hard work this past year,” Cooper said. “Minnesota is one of our top ethanol-producing states and has been an important part of our industry’s success. We thank the dedicated staff and leaders of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association in bringing the industry together and supporting rural communities across the North Star State.”

MN Bio-Fuels’ 2024 Annual Report highlighted the various efforts undertaken by MN Bio-Fuels in the areas of advocacy, fuel and supply chain, and communications in 2024, as well as priorities for 2025.

“Whatever 2025 brings from a political, regulatory, or market perspective, we will be prepared to help the statewide ethanol industry remain competitive while working to foster an environment for stability and growth,” said Brian Werner, Executive Director of MN Bio-Fuels.

The report included updates to the organization during the year such as the addition of a new producer member (Bushmills Ethanol), and three new vendor members (AgCountry, LJP Waste Solutions and Clean Energy Economy Minnesota).

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

K-State Research Could Lead to Improved Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

Camelina can produce biodiesel

A recent breakthrough by Kansas State University biochemists could lead to the cover crops pennycress and camelina becoming new sources for improved biodiesel.

A research team led by Timothy Durrett, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and doctoral conferee Linah Alkotami used synthetic biology techniques to significantly increase the amount of acetyl-triacylglycerols — a unique type of oil found and adapted from the burning bush plant — in pennycress and camelina to near-pure levels.

These acetyl-triacylglycerols, or acetyl-TAGs, are very useful for their low viscosity and performance in cold temperatures — a key criterion for use as diesel replacement.

The team published its results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The overwintering ability of these crops are of particular interest to farmers who could plant them in late fall and harvest in early spring.

Biodiesel, feedstocks

US Ethanol Industry Supports SE Asia Markets

Cindy Zimmerman

USGC meeting with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade

Representatives of the U.S. ethanol industry recently traveled to Southeast Asia to provide support for the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam as they expand their domestic fuel ethanol policies.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Vice President Tad Hepner joined U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Ryan LeGrand and staff based in its Southeast Asia and Oceania regional office for high-level meetings with government officials and private sector leaders.

Indonesia is working toward instituting a five percent blend of fuel ethanol into gasoline for retail use (E5) in 2025 and a 10 percent blend (E10) by 2030. Concurrently, Vietnam is exploring opportunities to expand its current E5 mandate for the RON92 (88 AKI) grade of gasoline. Indonesia and Vietnam currently consume roughly 10 billion gallons and three billion gallons of gasoline per year, respectively.

“The governments of Indonesia and Vietnam see the potential of ethanol in reducing costs along the supply chain while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the Council and its allies are working to assure policymakers that ethanol is a viable and compatible option for nearly all road vehicles,” LeGrand said.

In Indonesia, the team met with Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-run oil and gas company, to discuss the company’s current bioethanol trial and tour Indonesia’s largest fuel terminal, where fuel ethanol blending is now happening. The delegation then traveled to Vietnam for meetings with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance to discuss further cooperation activities underpinning Vietnam’s efforts to expand the use of ethanol.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, International, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, USGC

Clean Fuels Alliance Ready to Accelerate

Cindy Zimmerman

“Accelerate” is the theme for the 2025 Clean Fuels Conference, Jan. 20-23 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, California.

Clean Fuels Alliance America CEO Donnell Rehagen says the meeting theme refers to the rapid growth and transformative progress of the biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel industries. “With the clean fuels industry accelerating at an unprecedented pace, this conference is crucial for anyone involved in shaping the future of heavy-duty transportation,” said Rehagen.

“We’re now a 5 billion gallon year industry. We’ve doubled in size in the last four years… So we’re we’re expecting to have probably about 1000 people gathering San Diego,” Rehagen added.

For more details on registration, agenda and lodging, visit CleanFuelsConference.org, and listen to an interview with Rehagen here to find out more of what’s in store.

NAFB24 Donnell Rehagen, Clean Fuels (2:54)

advanced biofuels, Audio, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, Clean Fuels Alliance, conferences, renewable diesel, SAF

US Ethanol Production Hits Weekly Record

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol production hit a record high the week before Thanksgiving, according to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association.

(F)or the week ending November 22, ethanol production scaled up 0.8% to 1.12 million b/d, equivalent to 47.00 million gallons daily and a record high. Output was 10.7% more than the same week last year and 9.7% above the five-year average for the week. The four-week average ethanol production rate increased 0.9% to 1.11 million b/d, also a record high, which is equivalent to an annualized rate of 17.09 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks hit an 8-week high of 22.9 million barrels, 7% more than the same week last year and 7.4% above the five-year average. Ethanol exports increased 9.7% to an estimated 158,000 b/d (6.6 million gallons/day), which is an 11-week high.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Happy Thanksgiving Ethanol Report

Cindy Zimmerman

As a record number of travelers are hitting the road this week for Thanksgiving, the ethanol industry is grateful to be able to keep travel more affordable this holiday season and all year long.

While AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over Thanksgiving, an analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) indicates that the use of ethanol in the nation’s gasoline is expected to save travelers $217 million just this week.

In this edition of The Ethanol Report, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper talks about that, as well as reaction to President-elect Trump’s pick for Secretary of Agriculture, what’s left to do this year, optimism for the next Congress, and what might happen in the new administration with EPA tailpipe emissions standards.

Ethanol Report 11-26-24 18:12

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

Clean Fuels Elects Governing Board Members

Cindy Zimmerman

Clean Fuels Alliance America members met in Washington D.C. last week to elect new Governing Board members that reflect the interests of both large and small companies, biodiesel and renewable diesel producers, as well as soybean growers and renderers.

The board appointed Kent Engelbrecht to serve as Chair, Rob Shaffer as Vice-Chair, Courtney Lawrenson as Second Vice-Chair, Ryan Pederson as Treasurer, Paul Teta as Secretary, and Mike Rath as Immediate Past Chair.

Clean Fuels chair Kent Engelbrecht (L) and vice chair Rob Shaffer visit Rep. Nikki Budzinski

Clean Fuels members voted to fill eight board seats for two-year terms:

Greg Anderson, Nebraska Soybean Board
Bob Haselwood, Kansas Soybean Commission
Tim Keaveney, HERO BX
Courtney Lawrenson, Ag Processing Inc.
Peter Ostenfeld-Rosenthal, Seaboard Energy LLC
Tim Ostrem, United Soybean Board
Rob Shaffer, American Soybean Association
Paul Teta, Kolmar Americas, Inc.

Continuing to serve on the board for a second year are:

Kent Engelbrecht, ADM
Neville Fernandes, Chevron Renewable Energy Group
Kerry Fogarty, Incobrasa Industries, Ltd.
Chris Hill, Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council
Ryan Pederson, North Dakota Soybean Council
Harry Simpson, Crimson Renewable Energy
Dave Walton, Iowa Soybean Association

Engelbrecht, who is Director of North American Biodiesel Trade Policy at ADM, previously served as chairman of the National Biodiesel Board in 2017. “The clean fuels industry is experiencing remarkable growth as we meet the rising demand for biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. I look forward to continuing working alongside Clean Fuels Alliance America’s Governing Board, members and staff to support the advancement of these fuels, which generate economic activity and more than 75,000 job opportunities across the country.”

aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, Clean Fuels Alliance

RFA Weighs in With CARB on Imported UCO Feedstock

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association provided comments this week in response to a request for information from the California Air Resources Board, urging them to do more to ensure the integrity of imported used cooking oil (UCO) and tallow for biomass-based diesel production under the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

According to CARB data on fuel consumption in California, usage of biomass-based diesel (BBD) produced from UCO doubled from 2019 to 2023, while usage of BBD produced from tallow tripled, RFA noted, and some in the marketplace believe these feedstocks may be of questionable origin and content.

“Many biofuel market participants and other observers have expressed concerns about the legitimacy of imported ‘waste’ feedstocks and have questioned whether some volumes of UCO in particular may contain palm oil and/or other incorrectly labeled fats, oils, and greases,” wrote RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman. “These concerns have been heightened in recent months as Indonesia and Malaysia, which jointly account for nearly 85% of world palm oil production, have emerged alongside China as leading origins of UCO imported into the U.S.”

Biodiesel, biofuels, biomass, feedstocks, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

USGC Names Ethanol Export Development Director

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has named Alicia Koch as its new director of global ethanol export development. Koch will be based in the Council’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and oversee the development and execution of the Council’s global ethanol program including program implementation, public affairs and strategic partnerships.

Koch previously served as executive director at Pivot Clean Energy Co., a nonprofit biofuels industry coalition and spent more than nine years across a variety of roles at POET, the world’s largest biofuels producer.

“Alicia’s wealth of experience in the U.S. ethanol industry will be an outstanding benefit to the Council’s ethanol market development efforts, especially at a key time when additional biofuel applications like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and clean cooking are becoming more prevalent,” said Ryan LeGrand, USGC president and CEO.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USGC

Summit Carbon Has a Good Month

Cindy Zimmerman

Summit Carbon Solutions has continued to move forward with its CO2 pipeline project this month, racking up a few wins after the South Dakota referendum loss on election day.

First, the North Dakota Public Service Commission granted the project a Route Permit, which was secured after the company implemented changes to the proposed pipeline route incorporating feedback from local landowners and community leaders. Summit Carbon has now secured more than 82% of the easements for the North Dakota route.

Two weeks after losing the South Dakota referendum, Summit Carbon Solutions submitted its permit application to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), reflecting “extensive engagement with South Dakotans to create a pipeline route shaped by direct stakeholder feedback, supporting agriculture and advancing energy innovation.” The application includes major reroutes in Spink, Brown, McPherson, and Lincoln Counties, along with numerous micro-adjustments, resulting from more than a year of working with landowners to find “mutually agreeable solutions.”

Perhaps the biggest win was last Friday when the Iowa Supreme Court upheld Summit Carbon Solutions’ ability to conduct land surveys under Iowa Code section 479B.15, allowing the project to continue “while respecting landowner rights and maintaining compliance with the law.” The court also determined that “liquefied carbon dioxide” is a technical term within the special expertise of the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC).

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw called the court ruling a victory for state law and common-sense. “A permit application requires a survey. So if you don’t allow temporary survey access then you empower just one landowner to derail a multistate infrastructure project. Iowa law is clear and this unanimous decision highlights what a frivolous lawsuit this was.”

Carbon, carbon capture, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA