Secretary Purdue Rings Bell for Agriculture

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon, along with agriculture industry representatives.

“The farmers, ranchers, foresters and agricultural producers across America contribute a great deal to the American economy,” Secretary Perdue said. “I’m pleased to be here today, at the center of our economic activity, with all these people that I’ve met across the country to celebrate the bounty of the American harvest.”

On the podium, Secretary Perdue was joined by representatives from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Pork Producers Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National FFA and several farmers.

Secretary Perdue also welcomed dozens more farmers, producers and leaders to the commemorative event, including Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Executive Vice President Geoff Cooper. “On behalf of ethanol producers and supporters across the country, I was honored and privileged to join Secretary Perdue for this special occasion. The event was a poignant reminder that agriculture truly is the backbone of our nation’s economy, and America’s farm families play a pivotal role in feeding and fueling our communities,” said Cooper.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, USDA

Webinar Series on Ethanol Plant Cooling Systems

Cindy Zimmerman

An upcoming series of webinars hosted by the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) will help educate ethanol plant management and staff on how to address cooling system capacity issues, which, according to statistics published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and other agencies, result in lost revenue of $500 million.

The series, titled “Essential Knowledge, Disciplines, and Practices for Managing Cooling Water Systems,” is being organized by ACE, Minnesota-based ACE plant member Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC), and Solenis, a global leader in industrial water treatment. Other participants include technical experts from Brentwood Industries, Midwest Cooling Towers, and Trane.

The webinar series consists of six, bi-weekly, one-hour sessions that will occur every other week at 2 p.m. Central starting October 10. Each webinar will be recorded and available online. These webinars will take a deep dive into ethanol plant cooling systems and highlight solutions related to cooling towers, heat exchangers, chillers, and water treatment.

Learn more at ethanol.org/events/cooling.

ACE, Production, Webinar

Ethanol Groups Testify on SAFE Vehicles Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) held a series of three public listening sessions this week on proposed rulemaking for the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks (SAFE Vehicles Rule).

The hearings were in Fresno, California on Monday; Dearborn, Michigan on Tuesday; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Growth Energy Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley testified at the Michigan hearing and discussed the benefits of high-octane, midlevel ethanol fuel blends in improving octane and lowering greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions. “Ethanol has a very high-octane number, has a lower carbon content than the gasoline components it replaces, and has many other benefits that assist in combustion to increase engine efficiency and reduce both greenhouse gas and tailpipe criteria pollutant emissions,” said Bliley in his testimony.

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings also emphasized how ethanol-enriched, high octane fuel blends between 25 and 30 percent (in the 99-100 RON range) would enable automakers to simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel economy at the hearing in Pittsburgh. “Research indicates the use of 98 to 100 RON fuel containing at least 25 percent ethanol results in 3 to 9 percent efficiency gains in high-compression engines which are beginning to dominate the marketplace,” said Jennings.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Kelly Davis also provided testimony at the Pittsburgh hearing. “Clearly, pairing advanced internal combustion engine technologies like high compression ratio and turbocharging with high-octane low carbon fuels would result in far greater fuel economy and emissions benefits than previously contemplated by EPA and NHTSA,” Davis said.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, RFA

Make Reservations Now for Export Exchange 2018

Cindy Zimmerman

The hotel block cutoff for Export Exchange 2018 is October 1, so U.S. suppliers of coarse grains and co-products, industry representatives and members of the grain trade who plan to attend should make those reservations now.

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), Growth Energy, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Export Exchange 2018 is scheduled for Oct. 22-24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This biennial event focuses on bringing together international buyers and end-users of coarse grains and co-products, including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), with U.S. suppliers and agribusiness representatives. Export Exchange generates sales on a global scale, and relationships built at this conference help build future demand for in overseas markets.

Learn more about this year’s event in this podcast with RFA Executive VP Geoff Cooper – Ethanol Report Preview of Export Exchange

Audio, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Events, Export Exchange, Exports

ND Plant to Turn Straw into Cellulosic Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

NewEnergyBlue is about six months away from breaking ground on a cellulosic ethanol refinery that will turn North Dakota straw into low carbon fuel for California drivers.

New Energy Spirit Biomass Refinery is forecast to turn 280,000 tons of North Dakota wheat straw into 16-million gallons a year of some of the lowest carbon auto fuel selling in California, the world’s fifth largest market.

Located near Jamestown, North Dakota, the refinery is expected to produce not only cellulosic ethanol capable of exceeding California’s rigorous air-quality standards, but also clean lignin to reduce stack emissions in coal-fired power plants, as a replacement for wood chips. Lignin is also a lightweight binder for composites that replace metal parts in automobiles and other products.

After the Spiritwood refinery is up and running on Dakota straws, NewEnergyBlue intends to double capacity of future biomass refineries and also process corn stalks.

advanced biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Biodiesel and Soybean Producers Ask Trump for Support

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) wrote a letter to President Donald Trump this week asking that he “provide additional help to the nation’s farmers and rural communities by supporting policies that expand production and use of biodiesel.”

In the letter, NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen and ASA CEO Ryan Findlay state, “Biodiesel adds value to every bushel of soybeans and plays an important role by providing a market for surplus soybean oil. Today, farming income is at its lowest level in more than a decade. Even as soybean growers set production records this year, they are experiencing depressed prices and market uncertainty.”

The CEOs add that the Environmental Protection Agency “offered too little room for growth of biodiesel” in this year’s proposed rule for the RFS. While the agency acknowledged the industry’s ability to produce 2.8 billion gallons, it proposed a much lower volume. Moreover, the agency granted a flood of small refinery exemptions that reduced biodiesel demand by at least 300 million gallons – equivalent to the annual production of Iowa, the nation’s top biodiesel-producing state, they point out.

Read the letter here.

ASA, Biodiesel, NBB

EPA Updates RFS Website to Improve Transparency

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today updated the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program website to increase transparency and include new data and information for both stakeholders and the public.

The data will provide new information for renewable fuel producers, fuel refiners, importers, and marketers including:

The number of small refinery exemption petitions received, approved, and denied for each compliance year; weekly average price of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) traded; andwe ekly volume of RINs traded.

“For the first time, EPA is providing new information to the public on small refinery exemptions and RIN trading,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Increasing transparency will improve implementation of the RFS and provide stakeholders and the regulated community the certainty and clarity they need to make important business and compliance decisions.”

“In our corn-growing community, the RFS program is one of the top issues people are talking about. We hear concerns about lack of transparency around the issuance of small refinery waivers and we are hopeful these changes will put everyone on a level playing field to receive the information at the same time,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen says this is a step in the right direction for the agency. “Today’s action may prevent small refiners from obtaining market-moving information before other participants in the marketplace,” said Dinneen in a statement. “That’s important because it appears the RIN market was gamed earlier this year by a small group of refiners who were privy to sensitive information regarding compliance exemptions before the rest of the market knew what was going on.”

However, Dinneen says more information and transparency are still needed. “Market participants and the public deserve to know exactly who is receiving small refinery exemptions and what criteria is being used by EPA in making the decision to grant or deny a waiver request.”

The updated RFS website includes interactive and dynamic features that allow users to customize display of RIN information, feedstock type, and producer attributes.

corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS, USDA

U.S. Groups Comment on UK Ethanol Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. ethanol stakeholder groups have submitted comments on a proposal to implement a nationwide E10 ethanol blend level in the United Kingdom (UK).

Growth Energy, the U.S. Grains Council, and the Renewable Fuels Association jointly submitted comments to the UK Department of Transport this week highlighting the proven benefits of ethanol for fuel and the experience of the United States in implementing a similar nationwide E10 fuel blend.

“Ethanol has a number of proven benefits including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, reductions in harmful tailpipe pollution such as carbon monoxide and particulates, consumer cost savings, as well as job and agriculture development,” according to the comments. “In the UK, there are 31.3 million vehicles on the road and only 250,000 deemed to be incompatible with an E10 blend. There is no reason to deny the benefits of ethanol to British consumers.”

In addition, the joint comments strongly support moving directly to an E10 blended fuel, as the overwhelming majority of gasoline-powered vehicles are approved for this fuel. Doing so would offer benefits for consumers and ensure certainty for UK producers.

“It is imperative that the government move E10 forward to give these producers a predictable market for their fuel,” the comments noted. “Just this week, we saw the largest ethanol producer in Britain announce that they are ceasing production simply because they do not have a market and because the government has not moved fast enough in its adoption of E10.”

The organizations aim to achieve the goal of substantially reducing transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions to combat global climate change and provide consumers with more affordable, cleaner fuel.
Click to read the comments.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Growth Energy, RFA, USGC

Growth Energy Kicks Off E15 Now Bus Tour

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy has kicked off a new E15 Now bus tour and website to rally support for quick action on the president’s promise to allow E15 ethanol blends to be sold year round.

“Nationwide adoption of E15 could drive billions of gallons of new ethanol demand, creating a much-needed market for two billion bushels of American corn,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “Our bus tour will help spread the message at fairs, campaign rallies, and community events across the heartland that rural America wants action on E15, and we want it now.”

E15 is already sold in 30 states at least 8 months out of the year. However, due to outdated regulations, many consumers are unable to choose to put cleaner burning renewable biofuel blends like E15 in their tanks, an option which could save them 4 to 10 cents per gallon.

The new website is E15Now.com.

E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Bipartisan House Members Push for E15 Year Round

Cindy Zimmerman

House Biofuels Caucus co-chairs Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) led more than 20 House members in writing a letter this week to EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging the approval of year-round E15.

The letter encourages the Administration to reduce federal regulations on ethanol instead of implementing policies that only work against farmers and slow the biofuels market down. “Farmers and ethanol producers across rural America are struggling, and the EPA needs to be held accountable for making their problems worse by weakening the RFS,” wrote tha lawmakers.

“Our ag economy has really suffered in recent years,” said Noem. “By ending unnecessary limitations on E15, we have a big opportunity to help farmers and our ag economy, save consumers money, and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.”

Noem has been a leading ethanol advocate in Congress, consistently pushing to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard and met several times with President Trump and top administration officials to advocate in support of year-round E15.

E15, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News