Focusing Forward: Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion

Carrie Muehling

The closing panel at the Renewable Fuels Association National Ethanol Conference discussed how stakeholders are planning for the future, what opportunities they see, and how they can work together to achieve our mutual goals.

Participants in the panel included: Geoff Cooper, President & CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; Shane Karr, Head of External Affairs, FCA US LLC; Jon Doggett, Chief Executive Officer, National Corn Growers Association; Callie Eideberg, Director, Environmental Defense Fund; and John Reese, Downstream Policy & Advocacy Manager, Americas, Shell Oil Products U.S.

Focusing Forward: Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion
RFANEC Closing Panel 54:45

2020 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Energy Ag News 2/25

Cindy Zimmerman

  • The Renewable Fuels Association, in partnership with the Industrial Steel Drum Institute and TRANSCAER®, will host safety training in Davenport, Iowa March 4. The free seminars are funded through a Federal Railroad Administration/TRANSCAER grant.
  • Students from Ridgewater College in Wilmar toured Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) in Benson last week to learn about ethanol and dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) production. The tour was organized by MN Biofuels.
  • According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending Feb. 14, ethanol production grew 0.7%, or 7,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 1.040 million b/d—equivalent to 43.68 million gallons daily. Ethanol stocks built to 24.8 million barrels, up 1.7%.
  • Eco-Energy, a leading biofuel supply chain company, is pleased to announce that it has entered the final stage of construction on its ethanol distribution facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. The facility will be Eco-Energy’s tenth (10th) ethanol distribution terminal and is scheduled to commence operations in 3Q 2020.
  • Uncategorized

    Global Clean Fuel Standards

    Cindy Zimmerman

    In recent years, we have seen several countries beginning to develop clean fuel standards that can offer both opportunities and challenges for U.S. ethanol producers.

    A panel at the National Ethanol Conference focused on “The Emergence of International Clean Fuel Standards: Innovation Drivers or Industry Protectionism?” with insights on where global standards for clean fuel are headed. Renewable Fuels Association General Counsel Ed Hubbard moderated the panel which included:

    Mike Dwyer, President, Dwyer Agri-Associates
    Zoltan Szabo, Sustainability Consultant, Ethanol Europe
    Don O’Connor, President, S&T Squared Consultants
    Leticia Phillips, Representative, North America, UNICA

    Listen to their conversation:
    RFANEC Global Clean Fuel Standards panel 48:00

    Photos

    2020 National Ethanol Conference photo album

    Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, International, National Ethanol Conference, RFA, Uncategorized

    Partnership Testing 100 Percent Biodiesel in Fleet Trucks

    Cindy Zimmerman

    A new partnership is conducting a year-long test project to demonstrate viability of 100 percent biodiesel (B100) in high-mileage fleet applications.

    Under this partnership, five trucks owned by ADM will be outfitted with Optimus Technologies’ Vector fuel system, an innovative technology that enables diesel engines to run almost entirely on sustainable biodiesel. The trucks will be used in daily fleet operations for a yearlong period, with each vehicle anticipated to travel 160,000-180,000 miles and reduce up to 500,000 pounds of CO2. Advanced monitoring protocols will compare the performance and results of the new technology with five other trucks comprising a control group operating on conventional diesel. All biodiesel used in the project will come from ADM’s refinery in Mexico, Missouri.

    The American Lung Association, National Biodiesel Board, Illinois Soybean Association, and Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council are all partners in the project with ADM and Optimus.

    “Biodiesel blends have been utilized successfully in millions of miles of real-world applications across the diesel sector over the last two decades, but this project is especially exciting as more fleets look to take it to the next level,” said Kaleb Little, director of communications for the National Biodiesel Board.

    Learn more about the project and what it could mean for the biodiesel industry in this interview.
    Interview with Kaleb Little, NBB 21:33

    Audio, Biodiesel, NBB

    Biofuels Part of USDA Innovation Agenda

    Cindy Zimmerman

    At the start of USDA’s 2020 Agriculture Outlook Forum on Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a new initiative to stimulate innovation so American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050.

    To do so, USDA has set benchmarks to help measure progress toward meeting the ambitious goal in certain areas, including renewable energy.
    Specifically, the agenda calls for USDA to support renewable fuels, including ethanol, biodiesel, and biomass; and increase biofuel feedstock production and biofuel production efficiency and competitiveness to achieve market-driven blend rates of E15 in 2030 and E30 in 2050, as well as achieve market-driven demand for biomass and biodiesel.

    Listen to the secretary’s announcement here:
    USDA Outlook 2020 Secretary Perdue 21:33

    “We welcome Secretary Purdue’s announcement today of a bold new initiative that seeks to stimulate innovation in the agricultural sector and expand the use of ethanol and other renewable fuels,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “With ethanol, we don’t have to wait and hope for major technological or economic breakthroughs; the fuel is available now at a low cost to drive decarbonization of our liquid fuels. American farmers and ethanol producers have a long history of rising to meet ambitious goals and taking on daunting challenges, and we are excited and eager to work with the Administration to make this new vision a reality.”

    Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, USDA

    Beyond the Road Benefits of Ethanol

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Off the road, on the racetrack, or in the water, the benefits of ethanol go beyond the highway.

    Attendees at the 25th National Ethanol Conference got to hear about ethanol’s success in recreational uses like off-road vehicles and boats, providing power, reduced emissions and lower fuel costs. They also got to see Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) flex-fuel Jeep Wrangler up close and personal, as well as meet the guy who made it a reality.

    RFA VP of Industry Relations Robert White moderated a panel with Kenny Hauk, Hauk Designs; Brian Sowers, Crappie Masters; and Derek Tidd of Tidd Racing.

    Listen to their conversation:
    RFANEC Ethanol Off Road panel 58:12

    Interview with Kenny Hauk of Hauk Designs, High power E85 Jeep Wrangler builder
    RFANEC Interview with Kenny Hauk, Hauk Designs 12:18

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

    Senators Urge Timely Processing of Biodiesel Tax Credits

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are urging Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig to promptly process 2018-2019 claims for the biodiesel tax credit, which Congress retroactively reinstated at the end of 2019.

    “Timely payment of claims for 2018 and 2019 is necessary for the recovery of the entire biodiesel industry, including producers, blenders, and farmers,” the Senators wrote in a letter dated February 13, 2020.

    On January 15, 2020, the IRS issued guidance for biodiesel producers and blenders to claim payments for the retroactively reinstated credit. The agency will accept claims for 2018 and 2019 credit until August 11, 2020.

    National Biodiesel Board VP of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik thanked the senators for their constant and strong support of the biodiesel industry. The Senators stood with our industry to urge their colleagues to renew the credit, issued last-minute appeals to ensure its passage, and have now followed through to see that the credit provides a much-needed economic lifeline to biodiesel producers and farmers.”

    Biodiesel, NBB

    Low Carbon Future for Ethanol

    Cindy Zimmerman

    One of the biggest opportunities for the ethanol industry is regional low carbon fuel standards. A panel moderated by Neil Koehler of Pacific Ethanol, Inc., discussed the path forward for decarbonizing liquid transportation fuels at the 2020 National Ethanol Conference in Houston, Tex.

    Participants in the panel included: Christopher Hessler, AJW, Inc.; Jeremy Martin, Union of Concerned Scientists; David Clay, South Dakota State University; and Brendan Jordan, Great Plains Institute.

    2020 RFA National Ethanol Conference Low Carbon Fuel Standards Panel
    2020 RFA NEC Low Carbon Fuel Standards Panel 57:57

    2020 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

    Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

    NCGA President Filled With Ethanol Pride

    Cindy Zimmerman

    National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president and Iowa farmer Kevin Ross had the chance last week to attend the National Ethanol Conference and celebrate recent wins with the industry, like the recent Tenth Circuit court decision.

    “Just a fabulous result for us and everybody in the industry,” said Ross during an interview last week at the National Ethanol Conference. “And moving forward, they’re going to have to adjust the way they’re administering the SRE program.”

    NCGA was one of the parties in the lawsuit over Environmental Protection Agency’s small refinery exemption (SRE) program under the Renewable Fuel Standard along with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and National Farmers Union.

    Ross has been busy the past few months with multiple trips to the White House to celebrate trade deals, most recently a White House ceremony last month commemorating the signing of the phase one deal between the United States and China. “One of the biggest pieces for corn is really the biotech portion of the China deal,” said Ross. Another big piece of the deal would be increased access to the Chinese market for U.S. ethanol.

    Ross discusses these topics and gives a preview of Commodity Classic in this interview, and below watch him get a tour of the RFA custom designed Flex Fuel Jeep Wrangler on display at NEC:
    RFANEC Interview with NCGA president Kevin Ross, Iowa 5:43

    2020 National Ethanol Conference photo album

    Kenny Hauk, Hauk Designs, talks about custom built Jeep that runs on E85:


    Audio, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, National Ethanol Conference, NCGA, RFA, Video

    Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics

    Carrie Muehling

    Bob McNally of Rapidan Energy Group provided an update on global energy markets and geopolitics at the 2020 National Ethanol Conference. McNally served as the top international and domestic energy advisor for President George W. Bush, holding the posts of Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council and Senior Director for International Energy on the National Security Council.

    McNally looked at the history of oil and the impact of price volatility in that industry on ethanol and biofuels.

    Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics – Bob McNally, Rapidan Energy Group
    RFANEC Remarks from Bob McNally, Rapidan Energy Group 34:26

    2020 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

    Audio, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference