House Bill Would Replace RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) and Congressman Bill Flores (R-TX) are proposing new legislation that would replace the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) with the 21st Century Transportation Fuels Act.

In a discussion draft released last week, the congressmen proposed a “transition from the RFS beginning in 2023 to a national octane specification” which they say would create “new market opportunities for biofuel producers and give certainty to refining stakeholders.”

However, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says the proposed legislation “would turn back the clock on our nation’s commitment to renewable biofuels, completely undermining the benefits that consumers have come to expect from ethanol at the pump.”

“Ethanol itself has a natural octane of 113 and a lower carbon content than the gasoline components it replaces,” said Skor. “It is only through coupling a stable Renewable Fuel Standard with improvements to octane standards that consumers can continue to reap the increased engine efficiency, environmental benefits, and cost savings that ethanol provides.”

Ethanol, Government, Growth Energy, RFS

Get in the Holiday Spirits with E-Nog

Cindy Zimmerman

As the holiday season is set to kick into high gear this week, The Auto Channel salutes the ethanol industry and farmers with a delicious ethanol-inspired drink – E-Nog.

Executive VP Marc Rauch says just simply use a cinnamon-flavored whiskey instead of brandy to your favorite basic egg nog. “If you already like egg nog, you’ll go crazy for E-NOG,” Rauch says. “Stillhouse Red Hot Whiskey, Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, and Jack Daniels Tennessee Fire all work great.”

As people in the ethanol industry are fond of saying, “Drink the Best and Burn the Rest.”

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

Ethanol

Ethanol Groups Blast EPA for Chevron Waiver

Cindy Zimmerman

A report out yesterday that EPA granted Chevron a 2017 hardship waiver earlier this year is causing some pre-Thanksgiving heartburn for ethanol producers.

“While Chevron and other refiners enjoy their record profits and “economic hardship” waivers from EPA on Thanksgiving, many farmers and ethanol producers in rural America are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet,” says American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings. “Chevron posted net profits of nearly $10 billion in 2017. On what planet does that constitute the “disproportionate economic hardship” threshold needed to help justify a Small Refinery Exemption?”

Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper said, “When an oil company whose net profits surpass the total value of the Iowa corn crop claims it is experiencing ‘hardship,’ you know we’ve reached a new level of absurdity.”

Reuters broke the story of the waiver for Chevron’s Utah refinery based on a source familiar with the company. With a net income of $9.2 billion in 2017, Chevron is the biggest company yet to recieve a hardship waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

ACE, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

VERBIO Closes on DuPont Cellulosic Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

VERBIO North America Corporation (VNA), the U.S. subsidiary of German bioenergy producer VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG, has completed the purchase of DuPont’s Nevada, Iowa-based cellulosic ethanol plant and a portion of its corn stover inventory.

VNA president Greg Northrup says the company will now finalize its plans to install facilities to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) made from corn stover and other cellulosic crop residues at the site. Phase I construction will begin as soon as all appropriate permits have been obtained. VNA plans to use some 100,000 tons of the corn stover inventory to make renewable natural gas.

As part of the transaction, DuPont will repay the state of Iowa $10.5 million of incentives it was granted in 2011 to build the facility and the Iowa Economic Development Board will provide VNA with $1.78 million in tax credits. The board says the investment will go toward converting the plant to utilize the VERBIO RNG technology.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Natural Gas

Ethanol Report from 2018 NAFB Convention

Cindy Zimmerman

The new president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) met with farm broadcasters from around the country recently at the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk. While Geoff Cooper has been with RFA since 2008, it was the first time he had the opportunity to talk with the ag media as CEO.

Among the topics he discussed were the process of getting E15 approved year round, record production and exports for 2018, and the crazy year it has been for the industry.

Listen here – Ethanol Report from 2018 NAFB Convention

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Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

New NCGA CEO Talks Corn Issues at #NAFB18

Jon Doggett participated in his first NAFB Trade Talk this year as CEO of the National Corn Growers Association.

Doggett is no stranger to farm broadcasters, having served as head of NCGA’s policy efforts in Washington D.C. since 2002 and becoming executive vice president in 2014. But he was just officially named CEO in September. “I thought I was traveling a lot before but I’m seeing a lot more of that,” he said.

The biggest issue on the plate for corn growers right now is getting a farm bill passed. “Farm prices are half of what they were a few years ago. We need to get a farm bill done now,” said Doggett.

Doggett comments on a number of issues in this interview, including the mid-term elections, trade policy, and getting year-round E15 approved. NAFB18 Interview with Jon Doggett, NCGA CEO

2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention Photo Album

AgWired Energy, Audio, corn, NAFB, NCGA

3rd Pink at the Pump Campaign Raises $17,000

Cindy Zimmerman

Drivers choosing E15 across Iowa, North Dakota, and Missouri raised $17,000 in October for breast cancer support services and research as part of the 3rd annual Pink at the Pump® campaign, co-sponsored by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and Iowa Corn Promotion Board. The North Dakota Ethanol Council and Missouri Corn Growers Association also joined the campaign this year.

Fifty-one Iowa E15 retail stations donated three cents of every gallon of E15 sold from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31 to National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and The Hormel Institute.

“Pink at the Pump® is a unique campaign that brings together E15 retailers and their customers to support a very worthwhile cause,” said IRFA Managing Director Lucy Norton. “We are proud to provide donations to breast cancer researchers and service providers through the success of Pink at the Pump®.”

NBCF provides help and inspires hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education, and support services. The Hormel Institute is a global, cutting-edge research facility with a seven-decade history of making significant scientific discoveries on better ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Driving Ethanol Series on 10 Years of Growth Energy

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy was created in November 2008 and so is celebrating ten years of advocating for ethanol this month. This edition of the Driving Ethanol podcast is the first in a series of three focusing on a decade of accomplishments for the organization.

This podcast includes historical comments from the early years with industry leaders, including Greg Krissek, who was with ethanol plant engineering firm ICM, Inc at the time, first Growth Energy co-chairs Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark and former Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa, first CEO Tom Buis and current CEO Emily Skor, and President Barack Obama.

Listen here: Growth Energy Driving Ethanol podcast 11-19-18

Subscribe to the Driving Ethanol podcast

Audio, Driving Ethanol podcast, Ethanol, Growth Energy

RFA Welcomes New Members

Cindy Zimmerman

Six new member companies have joined the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) for the new year, including a new ethanol plant under construction in Kansas, a cellulosic ethanol facility soon to begin construction in North Dakota, and four associate members who provide goods and services to the industry.

The new RFA members are:

ELEMENT LLC, a partnership between ICM, Inc. and The Andersons, building a 70 million gallon per year biorefinery in Colwich, Kansas that will use ICM’s patent-pending Generation 1.5 Grain Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology™ to produce more than five million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually.

New Energy Blue – building a 16 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant in the Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown, N.D. The plant will use 280,000 tons per year of North Dakota wheat straw as its main feedstock and sell its biofuel into the California market under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Associate member GROWMARK – an agricultural cooperative that offers a full line of energy products and recently announced offering pre-blended E15 at company-owned terminals in Amboy, Ashkum, and Petersburg, Ill., Fort Dodge, Iowa, and St. Joseph, Mo.

Associate member BetaTec Hop Products provides natural, customized solutions for controlling bacteria and enhancing fermentation for ethanol producers. It is a division of the world’s largest hops supplier, the Barth-Haas Group.

Associate member Renew Kansas represents the state’s independent ethanol producers, as well as farmers and those who provide services to the ethanol production industry in Kansas.

Associate member RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms with more than 43,000 people in over 120 countries.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA