Lawmakers Rally for Biodiesel Tax Incentive

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) hosted a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday featuring an all-star lineup of Congressional biofuels champions.

The bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers included Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-IA), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Grassley introduced The Tax Extender and Disaster Relief Act of 2019 in February to renew a range of tax credits, including the biodiesel tax incentive, that expired in December 2017. Finkenauer, Bustos, LaHood, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) on April 4 sponsored The Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2019, which would extend the tax credit for 2018 and 2019.

In addition to the members of Congress, representatives of NBB member companies American GreenFuels, HERO BX, Newport Biodiesel, Western Dubuque Biodiesel, state soy associations, and regional Clean Cities Coalitions were on-hand for the rally to discuss the impact of the 16-month lapse of the credit.

Listen to the rally here:

NBB biodiesel tax incentive rally
Biodiesel, NBB

LAX Catering Company Moves to Propane Autogas

Cindy Zimmerman

Los Angeles International Airport catering services provider HACOR, Inc. joined with alternative fuel system manufacturer ROUSH CleanTech last week to announce the purchase of seven Ford F-750 delivery trucks fueled by propane autogas. The companies held a press conference at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (known as ACT Expo) in Long Beach, California, to unveil HACOR’s new propane autogas vehicles.

HACOR, Inc., serves multiple airlines, delivering up to 15,000 airline meals daily at Los Angeles Airport. “LAX will significantly benefit from our low emission catering trucks, as will the nearby communities that we are operating from and within,” said Jason Lee, general manager of HACOR. “The versatility and reliability of these propane vehicles allows us to operate our standard delivery and operating methods but with a low emission fuel.”

Each of HACOR’s vehicles is equipped with a Ford 6.8L V10 engine with a ROUSH CleanTech fuel system certified to 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hour. This engine has the lowest nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels of any propane engine in class 4-7 vehicles and is 90 percent cleaner than the Environmental Protection Agency’s most stringent heavy-duty engine standard. Nitrogen oxides are regulated under federal air quality standards because they are known to be harmful to human health and to the environment.

autogas, Propane

Groups Urge EPA to Drop RIN Reform and Get E15 Done

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuel stakeholders want EPA to get rid of the excess baggage and get E15 to the finish line before summer driving season starts.

The comment period on EPA’s proposed rule “Modifications to Fuel Regulations to Provide Flexibility for E15; Modifications to RFS RIN Market Regulations” ended Monday with major organizations sending in theirs at the end of the day.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) strongly supports the proposed regulatory fix would allow year-round sales of E15 in conventional gasoline markets for the first time, but discouraged EPA from finalizing any of the four proposed Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market reforms.

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings said, “With just over 30 days to go until the start of the 2019 summer driving season, time is of the essence. We encourage EPA to move forward to finalize a rule allowing RVP relief for E15 but to cast aside the unnecessary and harmful proposals to reform the RIN market.”

“Unless the EPA acts quickly, the summer market for E15 will be lost, which means higher fuel prices for consumers and another devastating blow to America’s rural workforce,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We cannot afford to let anything derail this opportunity to help revitalize growth in the heartland, and urge regulators to get this rule over the finish line by June 1, just as President Trump directed.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) also supports EPA’s proposal to provide parity for E15 with standard 10 percent ethanol blends, NCGA cautioned EPA against finalizing proposed Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market rule changes that would be counterproductive to greater biofuels blending supported by the E15 rule.

The National Biodiesel Board also disagreed with EPA’s proposal to modify RIN market regulations without first showing data-based evidence of problems within the RIN market. “The proposed RIN market reforms are unnecessary, as EPA has yet to see data-based evidence of RIN market manipulation. Reforming a system that, while certainly not perfect, is working as intended with no evidence of manipulation has the potential to disrupt and even undermine the system that obligated parties use to demonstrate compliance with the RFS,” NBB writes in the comments.

ACE, Biodiesel, corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, NCGA, RFA

RFA Submits Comments on E15/RIN Reform Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments on deadline day Monday for EPA’s proposal allowing 15 percent ethanol blends (E15) to take advantage of the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that currently applies to E10 during the summer months.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says the organization “strongly supports” the proposed regulatory fix would allow year-round sales of E15 in conventional gasoline markets for the first time, finally opening the marketplace more broadly to a fuel that provides consumers higher octane, lower cost, and reduced tailpipe emissions.

However, RFA does not support the second part of the proposed rule which has to do with RIN reform. RFA’s comments discouraged EPA from finalizing any of the four proposed Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market reforms.

Cooper summarizes RFA’s comments to EPA and talks about what happens next:
Interview with RFA CEO on EPA comments

RFA’s full comments to EPA are available here.

Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Biodiesel Means Jobs

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and several of its member companies are highlighting the plight of industry workers who are impacted by the uncertainty over the future of the biodiesel tax incentive.

“Because the biodiesel tax incentive has been expired for sixteen months, many companies are facing a very uncertain future. With the on-again, off-again nature of the credit, biodiesel companies are forced to build the credit’s value into contracts – and hope that Congress extends the policy at the end of the year,” said Kurt Kovarik, NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs. “Many companies have essentially priced their products at a loss for more than a year. The economic pressure of these losses while waiting on Congress to act is now threatening the future of the industry, putting jobs at stake. It is urgent that Congress act immediately to provide the biodiesel industry certainty for 2018 and 2019.”

Four biodiesel companies shared photos of their employees to show how many jobs are at stake. Chris Peterson, President of Hero BX in Erie, Pennsylvania, said, “Our employees are hardworking and industrious Americans, making a great-working green product. These blue-collar workers have committed to the biodiesel industry, finding jobs in the new green economy. It is unfortunate that members of Congress have not shown the same dedication to the industry by letting the lapsed credit situation continue.”

Other companies included Newport Biodiesel in Rhode Island, American GreenFuels in Connecticut, and Lakeview Energy in Missouri. With plants in nearly every state, the U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel industry supports more than 60,000 jobs, paying more than $2.5 billion in annual wages and generating more than $11 billion in economic impact. Every 100 million gallons of biodiesel production supports 3,200 jobs.

Biodiesel, NBB

Conference This Week on Water for a Hungry World

The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI) kicks off the 2019 Water for Food Global Conference today in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The conference will convene leading international experts and organizations to discuss “Water for a Hungry World: Innovation in Water and Food Security,” focusing on the next generation of research, smart technology, policy development and best practices that are achieving breakthroughs in this vitally important mission. The conference headlines a week of water and food security-related presentations, side events, networking opportunities and tours.

The conference includes farmers and agriculturalists from around the world and DWFI Executive director Peter McCornick says innovation is the key word when it comes to feeding a hungry world using less water resources. “Innovations in technology, innovations in practice, and innovation around policy,” said McCornick.

McCornick talks more about the conference and the work of the institute in this interview: Interview with Peter McCornick, DWFI executive director

Stay tuned for more interviews and news from the conference this week.

AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Audio, water

Wisconsin’s Ace Ethanol Installs Whitefox ICE System

Cindy Zimmerman

Ace Ethanol in Stanley, Wisconsin has become the fifth plant to install a Whitefox ICE system at Ace Ethanol’s plant in Stanley, Wisconsin. One-third of all Wisconsin ethanol plants now have a Whitefox ICE system installed, according to Whitefox Technologies Limited. Wisconsin is home to nine ethanol plants and is the ninth largest ethanol producing state in the country.

Neal Kemmet, president and general manager at Ace Ethanol, LLC and Fox River Valley Ethanol LLC said, “After seeing the benefits of the Whitefox ICE™ membrane system at Fox River Valley Ethanol in Oshkosh, we were eager to replicate the energy reduction solution at Ace. Whitefox has demonstrated its ability to help our two plants reduce energy consumption and reduce loadings on our columns and mole sieves.”

Ace Ethanol co-founder Bob Sather with RFA CEO Geoff Cooper

Whitefox’s membrane solution is a key part of a wider project that will integrate with D3MAX technology for taking corn kernel fiber-to-ethanol, enabling significant energy savings for the integrated facility. Ace Ethanol, which started production in 2002, will be the first ethanol plant to integrate the patented D3MAX technology with its existing corn dry mill.

At the recent 2019 National Ethanol Conference, Ace Ethanol co-founder Bob Sather was excited about the future for cellulosic ethanol and the D3MAX technology.

“Cellulosic is the way we are going now, together with (corn) ethanol – we’ll be able to do both,” said Sather, who has served on the boards of both the Renewable Fuels Association and the American Coalition for Ethanol.

In this interview, Sather talks about how the ethanol industry has grown over the years.
NEC19 Interview with Bob Sather, ACE Ethanol

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

RFA Joins Field to Market

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has become the first biofuels organization to join Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, a leading multi-stakeholder initiative working to unite the agricultural supply chain in defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production in the United States.

As an active member of Field to Market, RFA will collaborate with the Alliance’s diverse membership—including farmers, conservation groups, leading companies, academia and other stakeholders—to promote and advance continued efficiency improvements and sustainable development throughout the renewable fuel supply chain.

The entire ethanol production process has seen remarkable progress and innovation over the past few decades, and emerging technologies promise to further improve the industry’s environmental and economic performance, according to RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “Ethanol is already making our transportation fuels market more sustainable by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting toxic tailpipe pollution,” says Cooper. “We look forward to building upon that record of success and working with Field to Market to measure and document our progress using metrics and approaches grounded in science and agreed upon across the value chain.”

Field to Market engages in broad communication and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure a coordinated approach to sustainable agriculture that is grounded in science. By providing useful measurement tools and resources, Field to Market helps growers and the supply chain track and promote continuous improvement at the field and landscape levels.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, Sustainability

Iowa Funds Another Year of Blender Pump Program

Cindy Zimmerman

The Iowa legislature has funded another year of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP).

Commonly referred to as the state’s blender pump program, RFIP provides cost-share grants to Iowa retailers wishing to upgrade fueling infrastructure to offer E15, E85 and/or biodiesel blends. The program has led to millions of dollars of private economic investment and hundreds of new stations offering biofuels at the pump.

The program’s funding of $3 million for FY2020 was passed by the Iowa legislature this week.

“RFIP has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do, increase consumer fuel choice and promote private economic investment,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Managing Director Lucy Norton. “Another year of funding will ensure that more Iowa retailers can continue to build off of this success and driver access to Iowa’s clean-burning biofuels will grow.”

To date, RFIP has funded 782 projects for blender pumps, storage tanks, and other fuel infrastructure. Reimbursement can be up to 70 percent of the installation costs, up to a maximum of $50,000 per project, with a five-year commitment to sell E15, E85 or biodiesel blends.

blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Report on EPA Proposals and Deadlines

Cindy Zimmerman

The EPA proposal to allow year-round sales of E15, as well as reform the market for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS), was just announced March 12 – but the accelerated timeline for the rule means the comment period will be over on Monday April 29.

In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association Senior Strategic Advisor Bob Dinneen talks about the upcoming deadline, and explains another rule EPA has proposed that would publish the names of companies that seek and are granted small refinery exemptions (SREs). He also provides an update on the number of SREs pending at EPA and how the industry is pressing the agency to stop granting them.

Ethanol Report on EPA proposals and deadlines

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Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report