ACE Conference Kicks Off in Omaha

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference begins today in Omaha starting with a welcome reception this evening sponsored by nine state corn grower organizations.

Business gets underway tomorrow morning with a welcome from Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, followed by industry updates and a keynote presentation by new U.S. Grains Council CEO Ryan LeGrand.

With the bottom line a big concern for ethanol producers, there are several sessions and the final general session panel on Friday devoted to improving profitability. That last session on “Steps to a Biorefinery” will feature speakers from Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT), ICM Inc., and ACE member plant Golden Grain Energy (GGE), moderated by consulting firm Ascendant Partners Inc.

Follow the conference action here and on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtags #WhatItTakes #ACECONF19.

Get a preview of the annual meeting this year from ACE Senior Director of Operations and Programming Shannon Gustafson.

Interview with Shannon Gustafson, ACE
ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Audio, Ethanol

Growth Energy and GasBuddy Launch Unleaded88 on App

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy and GasBuddy have partnered to bring Unleaded 88 to GasBuddy’s database and app.

Unleaded 88 is 15 percent ethanol, or E15, approved for cars 2001 and newer, and GasBuddy is a smartphone app and website used by millions of drivers every month to avoid paying full price for fuel. It is the world’s largest database of real-time, crowdsourced gas price data covering more than 150,000 North American gas stations.

This new partnership allows GasBuddy’s app users access to a comprehensive database of Unleaded 88 fuel at more than 1,800 retail locations around the country. Additionally, Growth Energy and GasBuddy have launched an advertising campaign within the app to promote the benefits of the renewable fuel to consumers.

E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Coalition Wants EPA to Reconsider Higher Ethanol Blends

Cindy Zimmerman

A coalition of ethanol, agriculture, and clean fuel organizations has requested judicial review of a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking that would limit ethanol blending and restrict the use of blender pumps. The Urban Air Initiative (UAI) and National Farmers Union (NFU) are leading the alliance.

The petitioners believe that while the rule EPA approved to allow year round sales of E15 is a successful step forward, it puts new limitations on higher ethanol blends. “Specifically, the petitioners will argue that EPA misinterprets the “substantially similar” provision of the Clean Air Act to artificially limit ethanol blending. Because ethanol is a fuel additive used in EPA’s vehicle certification process, petitioners maintain that it is not subject to any volume limitations under the sub-sim law.”

Compounding the problem, according to Urban Air Initiative (UAI) president David VanderGriend, is a provision that would effectively make ethanol blender pumps subject to crippling new regulations. The rule would treat blender-pump retailers as fuel manufacturers, subjecting them to the same regulations as refineries. Consequently, blender pumps would only be allowed to dispense E15 and E85.

In addition to UAI and NFU, the petitioners include South Dakota Farmers Union, Farmers Union Enterprises, Jackson Express, Jump Start, the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, the Nebraska Ethanol Industry Coalition, Big River Resources, LLC, Fagen, Inc., Glacial Lakes Energy, LLC, and Little Sioux Corn Processors.

blends, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NFU, Urban Air Initiative

USDA Updates Acreage and Production Forecasts

In the August Crop Production report released today, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) revised planted acres downwards, while at the same time increasing corn production to 13.9 billion bushels and raising the average national yield by more than 3 bushels to 169.5 bushels an acre in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand (WASDE) report.

NASS noted that survey respondents who reported acreage as not yet planted for corn, cotton, sorghum, and soybeans in fourteen states for the Acreage report were re-contacted in July. “Excessive rainfall had led to planting delays and challenges at the time of the survey, leaving a portion of acres still to be planted for corn in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; cotton in Arkansas; sorghum in Kansas; and soybeans in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.”

Corn production for grain is forecast at 13.9 billion bushels, down 4 percent from 2018 but up 26 million bushels from the July projection as a decline in harvested acres is offset by an increase in yield, expected to average 169.5 bushels per harvested acre, down 6.9 bushels from 2018. The report indicates that Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Dakota are forecast to have yields below a year ago and Missouri is the only major producing state forecast to have yields higher than last year.

Soybean production for beans is forecast at 3.68 billion bushels, down 19 percent from 2018. Based on conditions as of August 1, yields are expected to average 48.5 bushels per harvested acre, down 3.1 bushels from 2018. Area harvested for beans is forecast at 75.9 million acres, down 4 percent from the previous forecast, and down 14 percent from 2018. Area planted for all purposes totaled 76.7 million acres, down 4 percent from the previous estimate, and down 14 percent from 2018.

In the August WASDE report, 2019/20 U.S. corn outlook is for larger supplies, reduced exports and corn used for ethanol, and greater ending stocks. Corn used for ethanol is reduced 25 million bushels to 5.5 billion. Exports are lowered reflecting U.S. export competitiveness and expectations of increasing competition from Argentina, Brazil, and Ukraine. With supply rising and use falling, ending stocks are up 171 million bushels to 2.2 billion. The season-average corn price received by producers is lowered 10 cents to $3.60 per bushel.

All cotton production is forecast at 22.5 million 480-pound bales, up 23 percent from 2018. All wheat production for grain is forecast at 1.98 billion bushels, up 3 percent from the previous forecast and up 5 percent from 2018.

AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, corn, Soybean, USDA

RFA CEO Surprised by New Waivers

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper was surprised and angry when the Environmental Protection Agency waited until the very end of the day Friday to announce 31 more exemptions from complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard were granted to oil refineries, representing 1.43 billion gallons of additional lost RFS demand.

“We don’t understand how in the world EPA could agree with these refiners that they are somehow suffering economic harm due to the RFS when we’ve had RIN prices at historic low levels for the better part of a year and a half now,” said Cooper.

With a total of 85 small refinery exemptions (SRE) now granted by EPA, Cooper says that means four billion gallons of RFS requirements have been erased. “What that does is put the actual RFS requirements below the so-called E10 blend wall and completely takes off any pressure for the refining sector and blenders to expand into higher blends like E15 and E85,” he said.

In addition, the waivers will completely offset any gain the industry might have experienced from the approval of retail sales for E15 in the summer this year and puts additional pressure on the already stressed farm economy and biofuels industry resulting from trade disruptions and planting problems. “Things are not good in the Heartland,” says Cooper.

In this interview, Cooper also talks about what the industry is doing to fight back against what they believe is illegal action on the part of EPA.

RFA CEO Geoff Cooper reacts to new waivers
Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

Ethanol Report on RFA Sturgis Promotion

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) had another great promotional event at the Buffalo Chip Campground for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last week in South Dakota.

In this episode of The Ethanol Report podcast, we hear from Buffalo Chip owner Woody Woodruff, Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider, Craig Ammann with Lallemand Biofuels and Distilled Spirits, various bikers filling up with free E10, and RFA’s Robert White.

Listen and enjoy and check out some of the photos from the Sturgis ethanol promotion below.
Ethanol Report on RFA Sturgis Promotion

2019 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with RFA at The Chip photo album

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Motorcycle, RFA, Sturgis

Farm and Biofuel Groups Dismayed by EPA Refinery Waivers

Cindy Zimmerman

Small refinery waivers will continue to take a chunk out of the gallons of biofuel that should be blended into our nation’s transportation fuel supply under the Renewable Fuel Standard, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement late Friday that granted 31 more exemptions, representing 1.43 billion gallons of additional lost RFS demand. Only six of the requests for 2018 were denied by the agency, and this latest action brings the total number of waivers granted from 2016-2018 to 85. That compares to only 23 granted in the previous three years.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper says they were shocked by the announcement after President Trump heard directly from farmers and ethanol plant workers about the disastrous economic impacts of these small refinery handouts during his visit to an Iowa ethanol plant two months ago. “At a time when ethanol plants in the Heartland are being mothballed and jobs are being lost, it is unfathomable and utterly reprehensible that the Trump Administration would dole out more unwarranted waivers to prosperous petroleum refiners,” said Cooper.

“Waivers reduce demand for ethanol, lower the value of our crop and undermine the President’s support for America’s farmers,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Lynn Chrisp. “Farmers are facing a sixth consecutive year of depressed income and commodity prices, with farm income for 2019 projected to be half of what it was in 2013.”

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings says EPA’s action reinforces the need to challenge the agency in court to restore lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from the unprecedented number of retroactive waivers. “The RFS is supposed to ensure the use of ethanol and biodiesel increases from one year to the next, but 85 Small Refinery Exemptions later and over 4 billion waived gallons represents an enormous step backwards,” said Jennings.

The biodiesel industry is being hit especially hard by the refinery waivers, according to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB).

“EPA and administration personnel are well aware that the ongoing spree of big oil exemptions destroy demand for biodiesel and render the RFS program meaningless,” said Kurt Kovarik, NBB’s Vice President of Federal Affairs, who adds that damage to the U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel industry could reach $7.7 billion or 2.54 billion gallons.

House Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson (D-MN) also reacted to the news. “The Administration tried to bury bad news for rural America by quietly approving 31 more waivers this Friday afternoon that undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the market for corn. On Wednesday, I hosted a packed forum at Farmfest with Secretary Perdue where farmers raised this issue again and again. Farmers are on the front lines of the tariff war and this announcement by the EPA will only make things worse.”

ACE, Biodiesel, corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NBB, NCGA, RFA, RFS

Study Finds Propane School Buses Decrease Harmful Emissions

Carrie Muehling

A West Virginia University study shows emissions measured from propane school buses are much lower than those from diesel buses.

West Virginia University researchers studied nitrogen oxides (NOx), highly damaging emissions that are federally regulated due to their negative impact on human health and the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to NOx exhaust can trigger health problems like asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory issues. The primary source of NOx is motor vehicles — including school buses.

“This study is monumental from an emissions and health perspective for students, schools, and communities across the country,” said Tucker Perkins, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). “Children arriving to school in propane buses aren’t exposed to harmful NOx emissions; they feel better and are more prepared to learn.”

In this comprehensive study commissioned by PERC, West Virginia University’s Center for Alternative Fuels Engines and Emissions (CAFEE) completed two types of tests at different times during 2018 on four Blue Bird school buses. Test routes included both city and highway roads, and a stop-and-go route similar to standard school bus operation. Researchers installed a portable emissions measurement system to measure exhaust emissions on each vehicle and performed test runs on each bus with both cold and hot starts, for a total of 36 test routes.

The study’s results demonstrated that distance-specific NOx emissions measured from the diesel bus were significantly higher than those measured from the propane bus for tests conducted in early 2018.

As a nonprofit research center that works extensively on emission reduction research, CAFEE also conducted research that exposed the Volkswagen emissions violations in 2015, resulting in a $14.7 billion settlement. Nearly $3 billion is set aside for the sole purpose of funding transportation projects in each state that reduce NOx emissions, like adoption of propane school buses. About 1 million students in more than 900 school districts across the nation ride to school in propane school buses each day.

Propane, when used in on-road engines, is commonly referred to as autogas. The full study, entitled “In-Use Emissions and Performance Testing of Propane-Fueled Engines,” can be found here.

autogas, PERC, Propane

MN Data Shows More E15 Sales in June

Cindy Zimmerman

Sales of E15 in Minnesota totaled 6.29 million gallons in June, the first month following elimination of the summertime E15 restriction, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the highest volume ever recorded for the month of June.

The Renewable Fuels Association says the data released Wednesday prove that the marketplace is already responding to President Trump’s elimination of a decades-old regulatory barrier severely limiting the sale of E15 in the summertime. That’s the good news. However, RFA notes, the Minnesota data also show that the wave of Renewable Fuel Standard compliance exemptions granted to oil refiners is suppressing more rapid expansion of E15 and other higher-level ethanol blends.

In recent months, E15 sales volumes per station have been slightly below year-ago levels due to weakened RFS requirements and lower prices for the RFS compliance credits known as RINs. From December 2018 through May 2019, E15 sales per station per day were 13% lower, on average, than the average during the same period the year before. Not coincidentally, RIN prices were three times lower in the period of lower E15 sales.

“These data provide further evidence that EPA’s rampant issuance of RFS small refiner exemptions is suppressing growth in E15 and other higher-level blends,” RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper said. “The bailouts given to refiners in recent years led to a collapse in the price of RFS compliance credits, which provide the marketplace with a powerful incentive to expand E15 availability. That incentive is greatly diminished when credit values are very low—as is currently the case. This is more proof that EPA’s reckless use of small refinery waivers is resulting in lost demand for ethanol producers.”

Minnesota is the only state that consistently reports sales volumes of E15 and flex fuels like E85. With a volume of 6.29 million gallons in June, the total volume of E15 sold in Minnesota for the first half of 2019 amounted to 36.6 million gallons. On an annualized basis, E15 sales in Minnesota would hit 73 million gallons this year, well above the 59.4 million gallons achieved in 2018.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

California Approves B20 Biodiesel in Underground Storage Tanks

Cindy Zimmerman

A decade of work by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has finally paid off as California has cleared the way for storing biodiesel blends of up to 20 percent (B20) in underground storage tanks, removing the last major barrier to mainstream use in the state.

NBB worked with several member companies and the California Advanced Biofuels Alliance to provide the State Water Board with data necessary to demonstrate B20 compatibility in underground storage tanks.

Biodiesel, a renewable fuel for diesel engines, significantly reduces greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels. This makes biodiesel use an important strategy in meeting the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The California Air Resources Board affirms biodiesel reduces greenhouse gases by at least 50 percent, and often by as much as 81 percent compared to petroleum. This gives biodiesel some of the best carbon scores among all liquid fuels.

The vast majority of diesel fuel is stored in underground storage tanks, particularly at retail fueling locations. Although biodiesel biodegrades in water as fast as sugar, regulators had concerns that any degradation of UST materials could allow diesel fuel to compromise the water supply.

The California State Water Resources Control Board amended California Underground Storage Tank (UST) Regulations on August 6. The regulations now say that diesel containing up to B20, meeting the ASTM standard for B20 (D7467), “shall be recognized as equivalent to diesel for the purpose of complying with existing approval requirements for double-walled USTs, unless any material or component of the UST system has been determined to not be compatible with B20.”

The language reverses the previous wording of the regulation, which in effect required tank owners to prove that every component of the tank was compatible.

Biodiesel, NBB