Verbio Starts Ethanol Production at Iowa Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

image courtesy of Verbio

Verbio officially began commercial production this week of corn-based ethanol at its biorefinery facility in Nevada, Iowa. The plant is a subsidiary of Germany-based Verbio SE and is the first industrial-scale biorefinery in North America to couple renewable natural gas and ethanol production.

Verbio has installed a total capacity to produce 60 million gallons of corn-based ethanol per year and 2.3 million MMbtu of renewable natural gas (RNG).

“Our biorefinery approach not only continues to support opportunities for local growers, but as importantly, drives the transition towards sustainable green energy by offering advanced renewable products,” says Claus Sauter. The successful launch of ethanol production in Nevada accelerates the company`s growth strategy. It further builds economic development in the region, and leverages the use of agricultural residues as the foundation of Verbio`s business. Committed to decarbonizing industry, Verbio looks forward to further expanding its business within North America as well as internationally in the coming years.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RNG

RFA Offers FSMA Training for Ethanol Producers

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association is offering an important training program this month in Des Moines to help ethanol producers who also market the co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) comply with animal food regulations.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) training program on Preventive Controls for Animal Food compliance is tailored specifically for the ethanol industry. This critically important 20-hour course will be held August 27-29 in Des Moines, Iowa.

“RFA has been at the forefront of preparing the ethanol industry to comply with FDA’s FSMA rules, having successfully trained over 200 employees from 74 companies across 22 U.S. states and Canada from 2016-2018,” said RFA EH&S Director Justin Schultz, the lead instructor for the program. “We aim to continue that legacy and encourage plants to deepen their benches by educating new and seasoned employees alike.”

RFA based the course on standardized curriculum developed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance in collaboration with the FDA. Participants who successfully complete the training program will receive FSPCA Certificates of Completion and will be recognized by FDA as meeting the requirements for a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual. This is critically important, as ethanol plants subject to the PCAF rule are required to have a PCQI develop and implement the facility’s food safety plan.

The 20 hour course will begin Tuesday, August 27 at 1:00 pm and go through Thursday, August 29 at 5:00 pm
and will be held at the Iowa Corn Growers Association office in Johnston. The cost is free for RFA Members; $1,000 for Non-Members.

Click here for registration information.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, livestock, livestock feed, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, safety

NASDA CEO Ted McKinney Sees Potential in SAF

Cindy Zimmerman

Former USDA Under Secretary and currently CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Ted McKinney is optimistic about the future of sustainable aviation fuel as a market for U.S. biofuels, provided they have the opportunity under the upcoming 45Z tax credit.

“Our ethanol and our soy diesel and renewable diesel and all the folks that are doing some of these things know what the rules of the road are,” McKinney said, referring to efforts to cut carbon emissions. “I remain optimistic because the excitement of doing right by the environment and lifting up farmers and we’ve all heard Mr. Vilsack correctly say, my goodness, we’ve got to lift the smaller farmer up. That’s our future, at least part of it. So I remain hopeful that wisdom will prevail.”

But he admits that politics will likely play a role. “The oil and gas lobby is very alive, very well and very strong and everybody is getting in the ear of Secretary Yellen’s Treasury,” said McKinney.

One of the main messages McKinney had for attendees of Tech Hub LIVE in Des Moines this week was that he believes we can address climate change globally with climate smart agriculture and still increase productivity. “Production ag, including forestry, is actually a solution to climate change challenges,” said McKinney.

“I have been witness on our own farm and in my industry days to the advancement of innovation across the board,” he said during an interview after his address. “And based on what I have been hearing and then what I saw at this conference in the types of companies here and what they’re doing, it’s mind blowing. So I’m juiced because I see it has not stopped. In fact, I’d say innovation is accelerating.”

In his remarks and interview, McKinney also comments on the lack of a farm bill, technology, and trade issues.

Ted McKinney, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)
2024 THL Ted McKinney, NASDA, remarks 51:49
2024 THL Ted McKinney, NASDA, interview 13:19

2024 Tech Hub LIVE Photo Album

Audio, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Ethanol, SAF, technology

RFA Urges California to Use FFVs to Meet Emissions Goals

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association is urging the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to require all new vehicles with internal combustion engines sold within the state be flex-fuel capable in an effort to achieve California’s carbon emissions goals.

RFA submitted comments to CARB in response to a late June workshop on potential amendments to the state’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulations.

“With the substantial portion of legacy vehicles that will still be on the road after 2035 when new ZEV [zero-emission vehicle] requirements take full effect, and with the twenty percent allowance for PHEVs [plug-in hybrid electric vehicles] under those rules, it is critical to maximize greenhouse gas reductions in both the legacy fleet and new PHEVs sold after 2035,” wrote RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman.

Citing new independent research, Richman said that expanding and sustaining the benefits of E85 utilization in California through a flex fuel requirement represents a unique opportunity for maximizing greenhouse gas benefits while lowering costs to the consumer under the state’s Advanced Clean Cars program.

Read more from RFA.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Court Decision Impacts RFS Small Refinery Exemptions

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol industry leaders are disappointed and surprised by a U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit order on Friday vacating most of the EPA’s 2022 denials of petitions for small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard obligations, and remanding those petitions to EPA for further proceedings.

While the court’s opinion remains under seal and is unavailable for public review the coalition of ethanol organizations that intervened on EPA’s behalf in the litigation remains committed to protecting and defending the proper implementation of the RFS. The Renewable Fuels Association, American Coalition for Ethanol and Growth Energy issued the following statement.

“We are extremely disappointed in today’s decision to vacate and remand EPA’s denial of dozens of small refinery exemption petitions. EPA’s decision in 2022 to deny the petitions was well-reasoned, based on sound economic analysis, and consistent with both the Clean Air Act and the objectives of the Renewable Fuel Standard. We will evaluate our next steps, which may include seeking further review of today’s decision.”

“We have always felt that EPA’s analysis of these petitions in recent years has been sound and well-reasoned and backed up by real world experience,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “There’s no evidence there’s been any sort of harm to any of these small refineries in any part of the country as a result of the Renewable Fuels Standard and their compliance obligations…and that’s because they pass along the cost of the RINS.”

Listen here:
RFA CEO Cooper comments on SRE ruling 2:18

ACE, Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, RFS

Ethanol Report on DC Board Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association board members had the opportunity this past week to meet with administration officials and lawmakers in both Houses and from both sides of the aisle to talk about priorities for the ethanol industry.

The event included a timely talk with USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small about tracking climate-smart farming practices and hearing from EPA Administrator Michael Regan, as well as more than 50 meetings by members on Capitol Hill.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses the priorities for the ethanol industry in this highly unusual presidential election year.

Ethanol Report 7-26-24 19:05

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

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

Busy Week on Capitol Hill for RFA

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA chair Erik Huschitt, EPA administrator Michael Regan, and RFA CEO Geoff Cooper

It was an eventful and historic week in Washington D.C. for many reasons, and members of the Renewable Fuels Association had a very busy and productive annual board meeting in the middle of everything else happening.

The event included meetings with EPA Administrator Michael Regan and USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, as well as Capitol Hill visits to the offices of lawmakers, including many of ethanol’s strongest advocates. Just to name a few – Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Zach Nunn (R-IA), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Bryan Steil (R-WI), Eric Sorenson (D-IL), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), among others.

RFA DC Board Meeting Photo Album

RFA members visit Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois

Sen. Duckworth was pleased to share her support for ethanol with RFA members.

“America has always relied on our nation’s farmers to produce the food and fuel we need, and I’m proud to be their biggest advocate on the national and international stage,” Duckworth said. “When we prioritize homegrown biofuels, we’re encouraging job growth, prioritizing our national security, reducing gas prices, protecting our environment and securing Illinois’s leadership in the energy sector for years to come.”

The senator shared that she traveled to Vietnam last week for an official Senate visit that included meetings with government and trade officials to highlight the benefits of increasing imports of corn and soy ethanol from Illinois.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

USDA Gets Climate Smart Farming Feedback

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Department of Agriculture received lots of input from biofuels groups this week on how to prove the impact of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions estimates associated with the production of domestic agricultural commodities used as biofuel feedstocks, in response to a Federal Register request last month. The Request for Information is expected to inform the U.S. Treasury’s upcoming proposed rule for implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean fuel production credit, otherwise known as the “45Z credit.”

The Renewable Fuels Association urged the use of a “book-and-claim” accounting framework for tracking and transferring the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices through the biofuels supply chain.

According to RFA’s comments, “Decoupling CSA attributes from the physical feedstock and allowing the renewable fuel producer to use book-and-claim accounting would encourage widespread adoption of CSA practices by growers and broad incorporation of CSA emissions improvements into biofuel lifecycle carbon intensity values. At the same time, book-and-claim accounting will allow the grain market to continue operating rationally and efficiently for all participants.”

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) stressed the need to use the Department of Energy’s GREET model to quantify emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) credits associated with the production of biofuel feedstocks.

ACE comments included progress that has been made to monetize CSA practices and ensure corn ethanol is part of the climate solution through its USDA-funded Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects, as well as soil organic carbon studies and a carbon intensity calculator tool.

Clean Fuels Alliance America submitted a highly detailed, technical response emphasizing “the need for immediate guidance and certainty before biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel producers and their farmer partners transition to the credit in January.”

Clean Fuels recommends that USDA extend its analysis of climate smart agriculture practices to winter annual oilseeds and to all feedstocks that have approved pathways under the RFS. Clean Fuels also recommends that USDA consider other practices defined by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and create regional, practice-based carbon intensity credit tables using ERS’ Farm Resource Regions.

Finally, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Coalition, which represents all facets of the SAF value chain, urges USDA to consider four overarching principles during the rulemaking process:

• Ensure federal policies are science-based and data driven to unlock the full potential to develop and deploy SAF and build on Congressional directives provided by the 40B and 45Z tax credits;
• Ensure federal policies are technology and feedstock neutral with the aim of reducing carbon intensity in a realistic and verifiable way;
• Provide sufficient flexibility to accommodate new feedstocks and technologies;
• Ensure simple and clear administrative practices that are implementable and manageable.

ACE, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Clean Fuels Alliance, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, SAF, USDA

Corn Grower Testifies on Farm Financial Conditions

Cindy Zimmerman

The president of the Minnesota Corn Growers told the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday that farmers in her state and across the country need the support of a reauthorized and strengthened farm bill.

“Unless conditions change, I believe we’re heading into a perfect storm, a storm that I don’t think will be fully appreciated until early next year when farmers try to get loans but are unable to do so because they cannot demonstrate the ability to cash flow,” said Dana Allen-Tully, Ph.D., owner of a diversified family farm near Eyota, Minnesota, speaking on behalf of the National Corn Growers Association and state groups.

“We have to have policies in place that reflect the realities of farming today,” Allen-Tully said. The stakes of farming are so incredibly high – higher than I ever remember them to be. We are putting everything we have on the line every single year for very thin and oftentimes negative margins.”

Allen-Tully said she is concerned about the opportunities for ethanol to be used for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) being taken away from U.S. producers by Brazil and China. “The sustainable aviation fuel space is one of the most exciting thing we have coming as a corn farmer and right now how the Treasury has their guidance written it would exclude us,” she replied in answer to a question from Rep. Eric Sorenson (D-IL).

MN Corn Growers President Dana Allen-Tully 5:37

Rep. Sorenson and Allen-Tully 1:09

Audio, aviation biofuels, biofuels, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, SAF

RFA Files Briefs Supporting EPA Set Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association has filed two joint briefs in the DC Circuit Court defending the Environmental Protection Agency’s “set rule” volumes.

The briefs were filed in the case of Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency in which CBD and others, including oil refiners, are challenging EPA’s renewable volume obligations for the 2023-2025 compliance years. RFA and other biofuel groups have intervened on behalf EPA.

“For nearly 20 years, the Renewable Fuel Standard has served as the preeminent federal policy for ensuring growth in the supply of low-carbon, domestically produced renewable fuels,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “RFA will continue to defend this important policy against all challenges, whether they arise from the anti-agriculture environmental extremists or the fossil fuel industry. As RFA and our partners demonstrate in these briefs, EPA’s ‘set rule’ definitively adheres to Congressional intent and aligns with the original objectives of the policy. By continuing the RFS program’s growth trajectory and setting the highest volumes ever, EPA’s ‘set rule’ is providing unprecedented environmental and economic benefits.”

RFA’s board of directors is meeting this week in Washington where they are scheduled to visit with key lawmakers and administration officials.

EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA