EPA Hearing on E15 in Michigan Tomorrow

Cindy Zimmerman

Ypsilanti, Michigan will be the place Friday morning for advocates and opponents of EPA’s proposed regulatory changes related to retail sales of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) and the renewable identification number (RIN) compliance system Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a hearing on the proposal released just 16 days ago that would allow E15 to take advantage of the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that currently applies to E10 during the summer months, and to change the RIN program to bring greater transparency to the market and deter price manipulation.

The hearing will start at 9:00 am Eastern on Friday, March 29 and will end when all parties present who wish to speak have had a chance to do so. Location is the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest.

EPA has set up a listen-in line for those unable to be at the hearing. The number is 866-667-1852, Conference Code 7695837.

biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Flooding Takes Bite Out of Ethanol Production

Cindy Zimmerman

Repair crews are working around the clock to get roads and railways impacted by flooding in the Midwest back in service, while the latest weekly ethanol supply and demand numbers show production down due to the disaster.

According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), ethanol production for the week ended March 22 fell 29,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 2.9%, to an average of 975,000 b/d, equivalent to 40.95 million gallons daily. This was the lowest production rate since the week ended Feb. 1, which in turn was the lowest level since Oct. 2017. The four-week average ethanol production rate declined 1.3% to 1.002 million b/d—equivalent to an annualized rate of 15.36 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol ticked up just a fraction to 24.4 million barrels but still represents a new record high.

Rail service remains disrupted in several states, including Nebraska and Iowa, and BNSF Railway reports employees and contractors working to repair track and restore service in areas that have experienced heavy flooding. BNSF has created a web page to address service disruptions and recovery operations in the Midwest after record flooding. It provides resources for customers affected by flooding, as well as a photo gallery for news media.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, transportation

KAAPA Ethanol Celebrates 15 Years

Cindy Zimmerman

Nebraska’s KAAPA Ethanol LLC is celebrating its 15th anniversary this week.

The farmer-owned company operates two Nebraska biorefineries. Its Minden plant produces 80 million gallons of ethanol from 27 million bushels of corn per year and has 37 employees. The company’s Ravenna plant produces more than 125 million gallons of ethanol from 42 million bushels of corn per year and has 50 employees. KAAPA is also a major supplier of distillers grains, a valuable animal feed co-product that has helped Nebraska’s beef industry thrive.

KAAPA Ethanol also operates a grain elevator in Elm Creek, Neb., and is in the process of building a new central office in Kearney, Neb., slated to be completed later this year. The company is also the largest stockholder in Guardian Energy, which manages three ethanol plants in Minnesota and Ohio.

KAAPA CEO Chuck Woodside is a past chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). “For 15 years, KAAPA Ethanol has been a leading voice and effective advocate for the ethanol industry and value-added agriculture,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “Congratulations to KAAPA Ethanol’s visionary leaders, passionate farmer investors, and hardworking employees for reaching this tremendous milestone, and best wishes for many more successful years to come.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Biodiesel Industry Asks Congress to Extend Tax Incentive

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), joined more than 70 member companies and stakeholder organizations this week in a letter urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately address a multiyear extension of the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive. Last year, Congress retroactively extended the tax incentive for 2017, leaving it expired for 2018 and beyond. The letter thanks Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for their bipartisan bill to immediately extend all expired tax incentives.

In the letter, the biodiesel industry stakeholders write, “The future of the credit has been unclear for more than 14 months. That uncertainty is curtailing investments in new plants and capital projects to upgrade existing plants. It is beginning to force some producers, blenders and distributors to cut back purchases of raw materials and deliveries of renewable fuel to consumers, which will have impacts across the economy.”

Congress last addressed the biodiesel tax incentive in February 2018, retroactively extending it for 2017 but leaving it expired for 2018 and beyond.

“The U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel industry’s continued success is now at stake,” the letter continues. “Tens of thousands of American workers and manufacturers—as well as the millions of Americans who benefit from cleaner air and water—are depending on you to provide our industry the certainty we need to secure investments and continue growing over the next several years.”

The U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel market grew from about 100 million gallons in 2005, when the incentive was first implemented, to more than 2.6 billion gallons annually since 2016.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, NBB

USDA Monitoring Nebraska Ethanol Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach is in Nebraska this week surveying weather-related damage and talking with affected farmers and ranchers. The impact of the flooding on ethanol production was brought up during a Facebook Live roundtable with Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts on Monday.

“We are aware at USDA that many of the railroad lines are shut down and the main issue is the backup of being able to get the ethanol out,” said Ibach. “We’re monitoring that.”

While there are indemnity programs for livestock losses and other USDA programs in place to help producers, Ibach said he is not aware of any programs that would help ethanol plants. “That is a compounding problem too because many of Nebraska’s livestock producers rely on distillers grains to use as a livestock feed and as those plants idle, that reduces the amount of feedstuffs available for producers,” he added.

Listen to a segment of the roundtable where participants including Ibach, Troy Brandenkamp with Renewable Fuels Nebraska, and Governor Ricketts, comment on the impact of the flooding on the ethanol industry.

Ethanol comments during Nebraska governor roundtable

Listen to opening remarks from Gov. Ricketts, Ibach, and state Director of Agriculture Steve Wellman:
Nebraska Gov. Ricketts, USDA Under Secretary Ibach, State Ag Director Steve Wellman

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, transportation, USDA

Ethanol Production Down, Stocks Record High

Cindy Zimmerman

The latest Energy Information Administration data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending March 15, shows ethanol production edged 1,000 barrels lower to an average of 1.004 million barrels per day (b/d), or 42.17 million gallons daily.

However, the four-week average ethanol production rate grew 0.2% to 1.015 million b/d—equivalent to an annualized rate of 15.56 billion gallons and stocks of ethanol increased 2.9% to a new record high of 24.4 million barrels, surpassing the high set 53 weeks prior.

Production numbers for the week ending March 22 are likely to show the impact of flooding in the Midwest that has reportedly impacted 13 percent of regular capacity, with many plants in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota limiting production or shutting down

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Text 24365 to Donate to NAMA Foundation

chuck zimmerman

With the NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association) Foundation serving 33 student chapters, your support has never been more important. Here is a new way to donate.

Please text “NAMA” to 24365 to donate to the foundation and support Student NAMA!

That will text you back a link to click on and donate via Paypal. Simple. Quick. Try it now.

AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Education

Job Growth in Biofuels Continues

Cindy Zimmerman

Job growth in the biofuels sector continued last year, according to the 2019 Clean Jobs America analysis of energy jobs data by the national nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs).

The report found that nearly every U.S. state saw an increase in clean energy jobs in 2018, combining to add about 110,000 net new jobs for a growth rate of 3.6 percent. The analysis expands on data from the 2019 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO),

Corn ethanol fuels employment represented about 3 percent of the U.S. Fuels workforce in 2018, and added about 500 jobs in 2018. Woody biomass fuel for energy and cellulosic biofuels supported 33,166 jobs across the United States in 2018 and added over 1,700 jobs in 2018.

The report also shows the significantly higher percentage of veterans working in the ethanol industry – 21%, compared to the national average of just six percent.

biofuels, biomass, Energy, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Flooding Impacts Rail Service in the Midwest

Cindy Zimmerman

Extensive flooding in the Midwest has caused damage to railroad infrastructure and additional flooding is expected now along the Mississippi River, resulting in widespread service disruptions in the Iowa-Kansas-Missouri-Nebraska area.

The Federal Railroad Administration has declared an “emergency event” related to railroad operations as the National Weather Service has documented historic flooding throughout the region with rivers rising to recored levels in over 40 locations, causing power outages and breached dams and levees. The situation has created delays in the transportation of biofuels all over the Midwest.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor has called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to help expedite rail delivery of biofuels amid historic flooding.

“While we certainly understand and appreciate that these rail issues have been caused by the calamitous flooding currently occurring in the Midwest, it is imperative that all possible actions be taken by the nation’s railroads to ensure that these critical fuel supplies are immediately prioritized and reach markets as quickly as possible,” Skor said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. “Further delays could not only impact our industry, but could also ultimately increase fuel costs for American drivers.”

Last week ethanol reached a seven-month high on the Chicago Board of Trade and it has been reported that 13 percent of the nation’s ethanol production capacity has been impacted by the flooding.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, transportation

ACE Senior VP Makes Second 2019 Visit to Mexico

Cindy Zimmerman

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty made his second trip to Mexico this year with a return visit to Monterrey for an ethanol technical information forum for Mexican petroleum equipment installers and retailers. He first visited Monterrey in April of last year to speak to a similar gathering.

“We’re going back to some of the same cities we hosted workshops in last year, so this year, we’re providing more in-depth, practical information on offering gasoline with 10 percent ethanol at retail sites in Mexico,” Lamberty said. “Now that we’ve introduced ethanol across Mexico, and more station owners and operators understand it can help them increase their profits by providing lower-priced fuel to customers, we need to provide more ‘how to’ information with respect to supply, logistics, blending, octane economics, and retail marketing and promotion.”

The forums are a joint effort of the U.S. Grains Council and the Mexican Association of Service Station Providers (AMPES), to inform Mexican petroleum marketers about opportunities in sourcing, marketing, and retailing ethanol-blended gasoline, as Mexico’s transportation fuel sector continues to evolve. Lamberty has shared his experience as an ethanol splash blender and retailer at nine events in Mexico since the fall of 2017. Fuel equipment companies in Mexico report increased interest from retailers and prospective wholesale distributors of ethanol since the workshop series began.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News