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The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) presented Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) with the 2020 Industry Award at the 25th annual National Ethanol Conference Wednesday. The award is presented annually to a member company that has provided a unique contribution to the industry’s success through technological, marketplace, or advocacy excellence.

SIRE is being recognized this year for their critical role in hosting the President of the United States along with multiple cabinet officials, federal, state and local officials and national news media for a tour of their facilities and a celebration of new regulations permitting summertime sales of E15. The event convened industry leaders and policymakers, providing an opportunity for the Trump Administration to hear first-hand accounts of the positive impact that expanding the use of E15 would have, as well as accounts of the damage being done to the renewable fuels industry by the unprecedented number of small refiner exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Listen to RFA CEO Geoff Cooper present the award and comments from SIRE Chairman Karol King
RFANEC Industry Award - SIRE 6:15

2020 National Ethanol Conference photo album

As the ethanol industry focuses forward in the new decade, a big bright spot is the very real potential that EPA’s generous allocating of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) may be coming to an end, thanks to the recent 10th Circuit Court decision.

The lead counsel in the case brought by Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), National Corn Growers Association, and National Farmers Union outlined the potential impacts of the decision during the National Ethanol Conference on Tuesday. Matthew Morrison, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, referenced comments made by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler last week that the decision has the potential to completely change the small refinery program.
EPA Admin Wheeler comments on SRE court decision

Listen to Morrison’s remarks here:
RFANEC Remarks from Matt Morrison, RFA Counsel 23:00

2020 National Ethanol Conference photo album

Still riding the high of hearing from former President George W. Bush, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper addressed attendees of the 25th annual National Ethanol Conference in Houston today with his annual State of the Industry remarks.

“2019 marked just the third time in the last three decades where output fell from the preceding year,” Cooper said. “Previous decreases in annual output—in 1996 and 2012—were both tied to historic droughts, short crops, and record high corn prices. The drop in ethanol output this time was caused by a disaster of an entirely different sort: policy uncertainty, bureaucratic meddling, and aggravating marketplace barriers.”

In the face of demand-destroying regulatory barriers and political uncertainty, Cooper highlighted how the ethanol industry continued to serve as a vital source of good-paying jobs and economic activity in hard-hit rural communities in 2019, citing key statistics from RFA’s annual study on the economic contributions of the ethanol industry. Released on Monday, the study measures the industry’s sizable economic footprint.

Cooper also touted the removal of regulatory barriers that had banned the sale of E15 during summer months and the marketplace’s enthusiastic response as a win attributable to the industry’s tenacity and ability to “focus forward.” He went on to point out that 2020 is already off to a good start with US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruling in favor of RFA in a decision that could ensure the EPA is finally held accountable for their abusive practices in issuing small refinery waivers.

Read Cooper’s remarks here, listen to them below.
RFANEC RFA CEO Geoff Cooper remarks 32:00

You can watch the video of Geoff’s remarks from our Facebook Live video here:

2020 National Ethanol Conference photo album

The Renewable Fuels Association was honored to welcome George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, to the 25th Annual National Ethanol Conference today in Houston.

By championing an all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy production while in office, President Bush put the United States on a course toward greater energy security and made an indelible mark on agriculture and the renewable fuels industry.

RFA Senior Strategic Advisor Bob Dinneen was thrilled to be able to hear from the former president who signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, creating the original Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In December 2007, he signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which extended and greatly expanded the RFS. Between these two signature events, in April 2006, President Bush spoke to RFA members in Washington, D.C., where he addressed the importance of energy independence and security.

We have no photos or audio from the president’s appearance as no media were permitted to attend, but Dinneen shared his impressions and reflections in this interview.

RFA Senior Strategic Advisor Bob Dinneen reflects on 25th NEC and 15th RFS anniversary
RFANEC Interview with Bob Dinneen, RFA Senior Strategic Advisor 11:46

2020 National Ethanol Conference photo album