Iowa Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Grants Hit Record

Cindy Zimmerman

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP) last week awarded $1 million in cost-share grants to support the installation of E15 at 91 additional retail fuel sites across Iowa. This milestone brings the total number of E15 projects awarded this fiscal year to a record 388, by far the most grants in a year since RFIP’s inception.

RFIP has awarded over $11 million in grants since July 1, 2024, funding 388 E15 projects and 39 biodiesel projects. In total, since the program’s founding, more than $59 million in state grants have been awarded through RFIP, helping fund ethanol and biodiesel infrastructure.

“It is clear the Governor’s E15 Access Standard is working and on pace for implementation on January 1 next year,” said Monte Shaw, Executive Director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA).

The Iowa Legislature recently approved an additional $10 million in funding for the program for the upcoming fiscal year.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

April U.S. Ethanol Exports Stay Strong

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. ethanol exports moderated in April but remain strong, according to the latest report from the Renewable Fuels Association.

Ethanol exports declined 12% in April to 172.3 million gallons (mg), about 8% below year-ago levels. Year-to-date U.S. ethanol exports reached 704.9 mg, marking a 10% increase over the same period last year.

Canada remained the top destination despite a 15% drop to 54.9 mg, representing nearly three-quarters of April’s denatured ethanol sales. Exports to the European Union surged 62% to 34.3 mg, driven almost entirely by the Netherlands. India imported 20.1 mg, a 7% increase, while exports to South Korea rose 8% to an 11-month high of 12.7 mg. Ten additional markets accounted for the remainder of April’s exports, with notable shipments to the United Kingdom (10.6 mg, down 65%), Brazil (7.9 mg, up 13%), Colombia (7.7 mg, down 28%), Mexico (6.3 mg, up 8%), and Peru (5.2 mg, down 6%). The Philippines, which imported 10.8 mg in March, was notably absent in April.

In the latest Ethanol Report podcast, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says ethanol exports have not been affected by the trade wars and tariff discussions so far.

“We’ve been in the last six months or so between 150 and 190 million gallons per month and that’s a big number,” said Cooper. “We’re basically taking the annual output of one or two ethanol plants and exporting that every month of the year and and that really helps clear the marketplace domestically, helps keep our supply and demand in balance here in the US. It’s been a huge uplift for the industry.”

However, Cooper says they are keeping a close eye on Canada. “We really need to make sure our governments can come to a long-term agreement that is good for biofuel producers in both countries,” Cooper said. “Canada is our top ethanol export market has been for many years. We have a great trading relationship with the Canadian AG and biofuel sector and we don’t want to upset that apple cart.”

Listen to the latest Ethanol Report.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, Trade

ALCO Energy Canada Installs Whitefox ICE®

Cindy Zimmerman

Whitefox Technologies announces the successful installation of the Whitefox ICE® membrane dehydration system at ALCO Energy Canada in Aylmer, Ontario.

This project increases ALCO’s ethanol production capacity by just over 50 million liters per year (13.5 million gallons/year), an increase of 15%, while also making the plant operate more efficiently throughout distillation and dehydration.

Representing Whitefox’s 18th installation and first project in Canada, it marks a significant step in the company’s North American growth strategy and commitment to improving the overall efficiency of the ethanol industry with cutting-edge membrane technology.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

USDA Peru Trade Mission Includes Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

A USDA trade mission arrived in Lima, Peru today to work on expanding market access and boosting U.S. agricultural exports to address the $3.66 billion trade deficit with Peru. Export prospects are focused on a number of commodities including beef, pork, poultry, dairy products, ethanol, wine and distilled spirits.

“I am honored to lead this delegation to Lima as we work to strengthen vital connections, grow U.S. agricultural exports and showcase the broad array of products American agriculture has to offer,” said USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley who is leading a delegation of more than 50 U.S. agribusinesses and trade groups as well as five state departments of agriculture, all working to strengthen economic ties and improve the trade balance. The U.S. Grains Council is representing the ethanol industry on the trade mission.

Peru is the fourth-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports in South America and the U.S. is Peru’s second-largest agricultural supplier. Despite bilateral agricultural trade growing by 263% since 2009 to $5.3 billion, the $3.66 billion agricultural trade deficit persists. This mission aims to build on this growth, bridge the gap, and increase U.S. exports.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USDA, USGC

RFA Headlines This Week’s Fuel Ethanol Workshop

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA’s Geoff Cooper at the 2023 FEW (BBI Photos)

The Renewable Fuels Association will have a strong presence at the 2025 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo this week June 9–11 in Omaha. In addition to RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper’s Tuesday morning keynote address, RFA also has four other staff members speaking at the conference.

On the Expo floor, RFA will showcase the importance of flex fuel vehicles, with a new 2025 Chevrolet Trax FFV on display and a thank-you letter to General Motors that attendees can sign. GM is currently the only automaker producing flex fuel vehicles for the U.S. market. With the theme “Hats Off to GM,” all signers will receive a free RFA ballcap. Flex fuel vehicles are made to run on both regular gasoline and flex fuels containing up to 85 percent ethanol (E85). E85 flex fuels are available now at more than 6,100 locations nationwide.

“The International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo is always an important opportunity for the industry to connect and learn,” said Cooper. “With the return of new FFVs to the market this year, we thought this would also be a great time for the industry’s grass roots to continue pushing automakers toward expanding FFV production.”

Cooper talks about what RFA will be doing at FEW this year in the latest Ethanol Report podcast.
Ethanol Report 6-6-25 20:44

RFA speakers this year include Justin Schultz, RFA’s EH&S Director, on an 8:30 a.m. Monday panel on workplace safety hazards; and Robert White, Senior Vice President for Industry Relations & Market Development, presenting at 4 p.m. Monday, on opportunities for ethanol beyond the fuel tank (at the Ethanol 101 Summit). After Cooper’s 9 a.m. keynote on Tuesday, Troy Bredenkamp, RFA Senior Vice President for Government and Public Affairs, will be part of a roundtable discussion of top association executives. Finally, during the Carbon Capture & Storage Summit at 1 p.m. Tuesday, RFA Vice President for Strategy and Innovation Tad Hepner will moderate a panel on utilizing waste CO2. In addition, RFA will host special events for its members and those active in the Young Professionals Network and Veterans for Renewable Fuels.

Visit RFA at Booth 901 in the FEW Expo, right inside and to the left of the Expo’s main entrance.

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

Ethanol Report on Current Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

There is quite a bit happening right now that impacts the ethanol world. That includes tariffs and trade, the One Big Beautiful Bill, E15 legislation in California, small refinery exemptions, and EPA’s pending proposal to set Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2026 and beyond.

In this edition of the Ethanol Report podcast, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper addresses all of these issues and more as he prepares to keynote the Fuel Ethanol Workshop next week in Omaha.

Ethanol Report 6-6-25 20:44

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

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

Grains Council Signs MOU to Advance Biofuel Use in Mexico

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Secretariat of Energy Development of the State of Tamaulipas have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a cooperative framework to promote ethanol vehicle programs to decarbonize public transportation, enhance renewable energy options and support U.S. ethanol exports.

The Secretariat of Energy Development of the State of Tamaulipas’ goal is to position the state as a leader in developing strategic projects that promote renewable energy development through preservation, conservation and forward-thinking uses of natural resources, driving innovative and competitive development.

The MOU initiated a five-year partnership focused on joint initiatives, data exchange and market studies to advance ethanol use in Tamaulipas. It intends to highlight ethanol as a cleaner fuel to diversify Tamaulipas’s energy matrix, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality while strengthening the Council’s role in supporting Tamaulipas’s energy transition through technical assistance and policy advocacy for biofuels.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USGC

FEW Panel to Highlight New Market Opportunities

Cindy Zimmerman

ACE CEO Brian Jennings at 2024 FEW (BBI Photos)

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings will moderate a panel at next week’s 2025 Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) spotlighting how agricultural conservation practices can create new markets and profit opportunities for ethanol producers and farmers.

Titled “Turning Agricultural Practices into Low-Carbon Farming Success,” the panel will explore how the ACE-led Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects are helping farmers adopt soil health practices such as reduced tillage, efficient fertilizer use, and cover crops—to generate localized, verifiable data that supports greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measurements that can lead to access to lucrative carbon markets.

Panelists include:

Brennan Lewis, Research Associate, Agronomy and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, who will provide a progress update and share insights from field-level data and grower engagement.
Brent Hoops, Commodities Director at Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc., who will offer a perspective from the ethanol production side and describe how this work aligns with facility and farmer interests.
Dr. Richard Ferguson, Professor of Soil Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who will discuss soil health, carbon benefits, and productivity impacts of conservation practices.

Jennings says ACE is working alongside farmers, ethanol companies, university soil scientists, and U.S. Department of Energy carbon modelers to scientifically document the carbon value of conservation practices across different soil types, temperatures, and precipitation levels across the corn belt.

“We’re helping bridge the gap between conservation practices on the farm and clean fuel markets that reward those efforts,” said Jennings. “That means more value for farmers and ethanol producers, and real progress toward improving modeling tools and unlocking market opportunities which can create new demand and value for corn ethanol.”

The session will take place on Monday, June 9, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in Room 213/214 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. Jennings will also participate in the Association Executives Q&A during the FEW general session on Tuesday morning, and ACE staff will be at booth #501 during the event, June 9-11.

ACE, Carbon, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming, FEW

Ethanol Production and Exports Ramp Up

Cindy Zimmerman

Click on image for enlarged version

Ethanol production hit its highest level since January the week ending May 30 while stocks are up slightly and exports are on the rise.

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production accelerated 4.6% to an 11-week high of 1.11 million b/d, equivalent to 46.41 million gallons daily. Output was 3.1% higher than the same week last year and 5.3% above the three-year average for the week. The four-week average ethanol production rate scaled up 2.1% to 1.05 million b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 16.11 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks only gained 0.7% to 24.4 million barrels, but that is 6% more than the same week last year and 5.3% above the three-year average. Ethanol exports gained by over 127% to an estimated 150,000 b/d (6.3 million gallons/day).

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

USTR Urged to Improve Access for US Ethanol in India

Cindy Zimmerman

Amb. Greer pictured with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry in March 2025

Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) and 15 of their colleagues are urging U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer to seek improved market access for American agricultural exports of ethanol and distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in India.

“The long-term demand opportunity for DDGS alone could be two million metric tons per year valued at $500 million, which would turn into the second largest export market (behind Mexico),” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Greer. “For ethanol, India is already our 3rd largest export destination at 170 million gallons valued at $393 million, however further reducing existing market barriers would allow for over $400 million of additional exports.”

The lawmakers said they believe increased exports of U.S. ethanol and DDGS to India represent “an easy win for American farmers and will be a terrific way to begin addressing the federal trade deficit through mutually beneficial trade with India.”

This comes as historic advances are made in negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with India, the framework of which was announced by Vice President J.D. Vance and USTR in April. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is scheduled to travel to India this year in efforts to continue discussions to open new markets for agricultural exports.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports