RFA Reports Detail 2019 Ethanol and Distillers Grains Exports

Cindy Zimmerman

New reports from the Renewable Fuels Association summarize 2019 export and import data for U.S. ethanol and distillers grains.

The export/import trade summary report on ethanol provides annual and monthly data on U.S. ethanol exports, highlighting the fact that 1.47 billion gallons—9.3 percent of the ethanol produced here—were exported in 2019, second only to 2018’s record of 1.7 billion. This ethanol, valued at $2.42 billion, was shipped to more than 70 countries on six continents. Top destinations for U.S. ethanol exports (Brazil ranking first, followed closely by Canada) are also discussed in the report, along with information on the impact of trade barriers on shipments to certain markets.

The second report covers U.S. exports of distillers grains, a high-protein co-product of dry mill ethanol production used in feed for livestock and poultry, which totaled 10.79 million metric tons in 2019, the sixth straight year these exports exceeded 10 million metric tons. Mexico remained the top destination for U.S. distillers grains, representing 19 percent; however, U.S. distillers grains exports to China continued to see a significant drop since the country imposed punitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties against U.S. products in 2016. U.S. distillers grains exports had an aggregate value of $2.2 billion in 2019, the fifth highest on record.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, RFA

Kansas Ethanol to install Whitefox ICE™

Cindy Zimmerman

Whitefox Technologies announced this week that Kansas Ethanol will become the ninth facility to install Whitefox ICE™ membrane dehydration system, at its 77 million gallons per year (mmgy) plant in Lyons, Kansas.

The company says the addition of Whitefox ICE™ will enable Kansas Ethanol to improve their overall efficiency and “increase production by an average rate of 30,000 gallons per day.”

Whitefox Technologies CEO, Gillian Harrison, said, “It’s great to be working with the team at Kansas Ethanol to further improve their energy and operational efficiency. It will be our first plant in this important state and our ninth ICE solution. This takes us to over 100 mmgy of installed membrane capacity, which is an exciting milestone.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Packed Agenda for 25th National Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

With a theme of “Focus Forward,” the 25th annual National Ethanol Conference is shaping up to be an historic event next week in Houston, Texas, the “energy capital of the world.”

“We’re thrilled to have such a terrific program this year, with speakers and panelists representing a wide range of interests and viewpoints from around the world,”” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “There will not just be ‘something for everyone,’ but many things for everyone—so many ways to learn, connect, share and get more involved as we focus forward on the exciting future for high-octane, low-carbon renewable fuels.”

RFA CEO Geoff Cooper (:55)

Among the highlights will be “A Special Conversation with President George W. Bush – The Challenges Facing Our Nation in the 21st Century and the Power of Freedom,” which will take place Tuesday morning. There are extremely strict rules in place for this conversation allowing no media coverage at all and “no photography, recording or social media use by the audience will be allowed during the session.” So, if you really want to hear what the 43rd president of the United States has to say about ethanol, you will just have to be there in person.

Political analyst Bill Kristol, Director of Defending Democracy Together, will talk politics at the Tuesday luncheon. U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney will talk trade on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Timely session topics include implications of the 10th Circuit Court’s SRE decision, octane, low carbon fuel standards, ethanol off-road, exports and more.

Registration is still open for the conference Feb. 10-12 at the Marriott Marquis Houston.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

RFA Analysis Finds Record E15 Sales in 2019

Cindy Zimmerman

E15 sales set a record last year, thanks to that extra three months of pump time provided by finally allowing retail sales in summer.

A new analysis from the Renewable Fuels Association found a record 500 million gallons of E15 were sold nationwide in 2019. However, they also found that sales would have been even higher if not for the impact of Small Refinery Exemptions.

E15 sales in Minnesota—the only state that tracks monthly purchases of higher ethanol blends—increased by nearly a third in 2019, compared to 2018. The review by RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman extrapolated the Minnesota data nationally, finding that 499 million gallons of E15—containing 75 million gallons of ethanol—were sold across the country in 2019.

Prior to 2019, sales of E15 had been prohibited each year during the summer months in areas where conventional gasoline is sold. In May 2019, the EPA allowed E15 to be sold year-round by extending to it the vapor-pressure waiver that was already available for E10 blends.

As good as this news is for the ethanol industry, the data also suggest something else: The impact of small refinery waivers under the RFS definitely took a toll. On a per-station basis, sales of E15 were actually lower in the first several months of 2019 than during the same period in 2018. What changed? The EPA granted numerous RFS exemptions to small refineries, causing the price of RFS compliance credits (RINs) to plummet. Low RIN prices diminished the incentive for retailers to offer blends with higher ethanol content and reduced their ability to discount higher blends relative to gasoline.

Read the analysis.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Buttigieg and Sanders Show Strong Biofuels Support

Cindy Zimmerman

Initial Iowa Caucus results are showing Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders in the lead, both of whom profess strong support for ethanol and biodiesel, according to Biofuels Vision 2020. In fact, all of the top candidates are friendly to biofuels, including Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Biofuels Vision 2020 spent months asking candidates directly about: Implementing the RFS as intended; only granting SREs when verifiable harm exists; committing to the growing role of corn ethanol and soy biodiesel; supporting year-round E15; prioritizing open and free markets for biofuels in trade negotiations, and supporting long-term extensions of biodiesel and cellulosic tax credits. All leading candidates supported the top six issues to the biofuels industry.

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg visited the Golden Grain ethanol plant in Mason City back in November and later brought up the issue of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) during the Democratic debate in Atlanta when he was asked whether he would continue the “farm subsidies” that President Trump has authorized to help farmers struggling from the impact of the trade war with China. “We shouldn’t have to pay farmers to take the edge off of a trade war that shouldn’t have been started in the first place,” said Buttigieg.

However, Buttigieg said there are other problems facing farmers. “The worst thing is these so-called small refinery waivers which are killing those who are involved in ethanol,” he said.

Listen:
Presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg - farmers, trade, China, ethanol (1:41)

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, politics

Biodiesel Conference Wrap

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2020 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo is a wrap and all of the content is now available on the Biodiesel Conference Blog.

The conference, which was held Jan. 20-23 in Tampa, attracted more than 700 biodiesel producers, distributors, retailers, and other industry advocates from across the nation gathered in Tampa, Florida to set their sights on a new ambitious “Vision” for the industry.

The 2021 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo is scheduled for January 18-21 in Fort Worth, Texas.

2020 National Biodiesel Conference photo album

Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB

NCGA and USGC Leaders Visit Vietnam and Myanmar

Cindy Zimmerman

Leaders of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) learned firsthand about the Southeast Asian market for U.S. corn and co-products last week during a joint officers mission to Vietnam and Myanmar.

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing feed markets in the world – thanks to population and economic growth – and a major buyer of corn and dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS). Ranking as the second largest buyer of U.S. DDGS, Vietnam set a new record for DDGS imports in 2018/2019, increasing purchases by 24 percent year-over-year to nearly 1.3 million metric tons, valued at $278 million.

Vietnam also shows great promise for ethanol exports. The country currently allows up to an E5 blend and is working toward a goal of adopting an E10 mandate by 2020, but ethanol import duties prevent the United States from capturing additional market share.

During meetings with government officials and fuel retailers, the delegation reiterated the need for Vietnam to reduce this import tariff to stimulate demand and improve the affordability of ethanol-blended fuels for Vietnamese customers.

Myanmar has become a priority emerging market for the Council’s work in the last five years. Statistically resembling Vietnam in the early 2000s and China in the 1990s, Myanmar is expected to steadily increase feed consumption and production over the next decade.
Read more.

corn, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports

Comments Submitted for USDA Infrastructure Program

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuels organizations submitted comments this week on USDA’s proposed Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) to expand the availability of domestic ethanol and biodiesel by incentivizing the expansion of sales of renewable fuels and facilitating increased sales of higher biofuel blends (E15 or higher).

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) made a number of recommendations that USDA should consider in the final HBIIP. Among them, incentivize the highest number of locations available over the widest geography possible, and provide incentives to wholesale blending facilities, make any equipment used to store, blend, and dispense higher blends of ethanol eligible under the program, and provide a combination of grants and high percentage direct cost share to help smaller operators.

The Renewable Fuels Association in its response to USDA recommended that available funding be primarily directed at offsetting the costs to install and/or upgrade retail and wholesale infrastructure compatible with higher biofuel blends. In addition, RFA stated that funding assistance should be accessible to retailers of all sizes and on a nationwide basis. This should include everything from small, single-store owners to mid-size retailers and large chains.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) expressed the biodiesel industry’s gratitude for inclusion in the program, since the infrastructure needs for biodiesel, renewable diesel, Bioheat®, and sustainable aviation fuel are different from those of other biofuels. NBB asked USDA to focus the program on investments in strategic terminals, pipeline storage and rail expansion to create broader downstream capacity to sell more gallons.

ACE, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NBB, RFA, USDA

Ethanol Report 1-31-20

Cindy Zimmerman

In this episode of The Ethanol Report, we hear about a new court ruling that could be a game changer for Small Refinery Exemptions, get a preview of the 25th annual National Ethanol Conference, learn about LCFS for the Midwest, and kick off the 4th year of ethanol sponsorship of the Crappie Masters Tournament Trail.

The report includes interviews with Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper, Dakota farmer Ron Alverson, and RFA VP of Industry Relations Robert White.

Ethanol Report 1-31-20 (23:59)

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, RFA

Ethanol and Corn Back on Crappie Masters Tournament Trail

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association have signed on for the fourth year as co-title sponsors of the Crappie Masters Tournament Trail. The first tournament begins Friday, Jan. 31 at St. Johns River in Deland, Fla.

This year, the competition is bigger than ever and includes state-level tournament trails in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, West Tennessee and North and South Louisiana.

“We are looking forward to another great year on the water with an expanded schedule of tournaments,” said RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White. “This national partnership with Crappie Masters helps more anglers and boaters learn about the benefits of high-octane, low-carbon ethanol—a fuel that’s cleaner and cheaper, and that has proven its value on the tournament trail for years.”

Interview with Robert White, RFA, on 2020 Crappie Masters (4:06)

Crappie Masters Television will also highlight each tournament. The weekly show can be found on the Pursuit Channel, which is on DIRECTV 604, Dish Network 393, Verizon, CenturyLink and Roku.

The next Crappie Masters Tournament Trail event is Feb. 28-29 at Lake D’Arbonne in Gadsden County, Fla. The 2020 Crappie Masters Tournament Trail season runs through Sept. 26. A full schedule is available here.

Audio, corn, crappie masters, Education, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, RFA