RFA to Testify at Electric Vehicles Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen is scheduled to testify today at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment hearing on “Sharing the Road: Policy Implications of Electric and Conventional Vehicles in the Years Ahead.” The hearing begins at 10:15 am Eastern.

“There are still many challenges to realizing the full potential of electric vehicles, especially improving cost and convenience while ensuring adequate charging infrastructure. At the same time, liquid fuels providers and conventional internal combustion engine makers will be under pressure to continually improve in order to remain competitive in the years ahead,” said #SubEnvironment Chairman Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL).

The future for EVs and how it might impact renewable fuels was a topic at the 2017 National Ethanol Conference in February. RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White moderated a panel on the subject which included Tammy Klein, Future Fuel Strategies; Eva Rigamonti, Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA)/Steptoe & Johnson; and Leslie Hayward, Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE). Each panelist had a different perspective when it comes to the future of electric vehicles and the impact that will have on more traditional fuel sources, including ethanol.

Links to the panel discussion and an interview with Robert White are found below:

Electric Vehicles Panel

Interview with Robert White, RFA
Audio, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Groups Write President Ahead of White House Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

Numerous agricultural and biofuels interests are urging President Trump to help farmers by implementing year-round sales of higher ethanol blends when he meets once again this week with Congressional leaders from farm and oil states at the White House.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, American Soybean Association and National Association of Wheat Growers sent a letter to the President expressing concerns about how farmers have been negatively impacted by recent EPA actions in light of the lowest net farm income in over a decade expected this year. They ask the White House to allow sales of E15 all year, halt the abuse of “small refinery exemptions,” and uphold a strong RFS, without “further undercutting the RFS, such as imposing a RIN cap, and causing additional harm to the farm economy.”

In addition, NCGA and state corn grower associations sent a letter to USDA Secretary Perdue Monday thanking him for his support and asking his help “to continue to advocate for real solutions, such as RVP parity for higher blends, and to continue to highlight the demand destruction caused by EPA’s refinery exemptions, as well as how EPA’s actions contradict President Trump’s commitments.”

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association sent a letter to President Trump on behalf of fuel retailers offering E15 in 11 states asking him to immediately instruct the EPA to follow through on his pledge to allow year-round sales of E15 before summer restrictions begin on June 1st.

The latest White House meeting on the issue is expected to be held Tuesday and once again include Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst on the ethanol side, and Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Ted Cruz of Texas representing the oil industry. The four met with the president in February and again in March along with industry stakeholders.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA, NCGA

ABFA Suing EPA Over Small Refinery Waivers

Cindy Zimmerman

The Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt over the agency’s process of granting small refinery exemptions from compliance Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) obligations.

“We have seen reports that the number of small refinery exemptions recently granted for compliance years 2016 and 2017 have doubled compared to previous years,” said Michael McAdams, president of ABFA. “ABFA members are concerned that Administrator Pruitt is granting these exemptions in an arbitrary and capricious manner to undisclosed parties behind closed doors with no accountability for its decision-making process.”

McAdams adds that reports about the exemptions have had “significant market impacts on the prices of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) for the biomass-based diesel (D4) and overall renewable fuel (D6) pools…causing economic harm to ABFA’s members and posing a threat to the integrity of the RFS program at large.”

ABFA filed the petition last week with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

advanced biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Intellulose is New Name for Edeniq Pathway Technology

Cindy Zimmerman

Intellulose is the new name for Edeniq’s Pathway technology in a rebranding effort that includes a new logo and company-related materials.

“Our mission is to help our customers lead in cellulosic ethanol production,” said Brian Thome, president and chief executive officer of Edeniq. “Our vision is for Intellulose to be implemented into every existing ethanol production facility, and for this technology to evolve alongside plants as they become more advanced and create more value. This rebranding effort is a more accurate portrayal of our technology and the value it can offer to the more than two hundred ethanol plants operating in the United States.”

Edeniq’s Intellulose enables the co-production of starch ethanol and cellulosic ethanol at existing corn ethanol production facilities. The technology uses enzymes that maximize conversion of corn kernel fiber into fermentable sugar with a protocol to measure the output of cellulosic ethanol production. Intellulose has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a number of ethanol plants have been approved by the EPA to use Intelluose to generate cellulosic ethanol credits under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Edeniq’s customers are using Intellulose to deliver cellulosic ethanol gallons to fuel markets across the country.

advanced biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, technology

Growth Energy Members Urge Trump Action

Cindy Zimmerman

An open letter to President Trump from nearly 100 ethanol producers is greeting readers this morning in editions of the New York Times, New York Post, and Wall Street Journal.

The letter, signed by members of Growth Energy, urges the president to “unleash rural growth by cutting the red tape holding back homegrown energy” and condemns Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s actions that are “destroying demand for biofuels and crops during the worst farm crisis since the 1980s.” The full-page ads were placed by Growth Energy ahead of an expected meeting with farm-state champions and petroleum backers at the White House this week. The letter was signed by 94 of Growth Energy’s member plants from 18 states.

“Major petroleum refiners have received handout after handout at the expense of rural workers and farm families,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We need the president to act quickly on his pledge to lift outdated regulations on E15 and send a clear and final signal that that this White House will no longer tolerate oil-backed schemes to derail the rural recovery.”

The open letter coincides with a digital and radio ad campaign launched by Growth Energy last week, which urges Midwest voters to contact the White House in support of E15.

Ethanol, Growth Energy

Student Scientist Receives Grant from Biodiesel Foundation

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Foundation has announced the recipient of the first Beth Calabotta Sustainable Education Grant is studying Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University.

Mary Kate Mitchell received the $2,000 award to participate in the Biodiesel Sustainability Workshop in St. Louis, MO on September 27, with the remaining funds applied toward academics. Mitchell is a member of the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel.

“The National Biodiesel Foundation established this annual grant to help deserving full-time students interested in science, research and biodiesel sustainability,” explained Foundation President Jeff Lynn. “The grant honors scientist Beth Calabotta, whose legacy and dedication to biodiesel sustainability made an impact on the industry.”

The Foundation and the National Biodiesel Board want the grant to continue building on Beth’s work that adopting innovative technologies and diversifying markets will produce environmental benefits that can be documented through research and data.

Biodiesel, Education, NBB

Rhode Island Ethanol Safety Seminar This Week

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is joining other groups for an ethanol safety seminar in Rhode Island this week.

The ethanol safety seminar, in partnership with TRANSCAER, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will be held on May 11 in Exeter, R.I.

Registration is free and lunch will be provided. Registration is limited and Certificates of Completion will be awarded to attendees at the completion of the course. The seminar is designed for individuals who respond to ethanol-related emergencies, as well as emergency planning committees and safety managers.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, safety

Groups Urge EPA to Move on Pathway Approvals

Cindy Zimmerman

As the Environmental Protection Agency has been approving small refinery exemption requests at a record pace, dozens of ethanol plants have been waiting for months to receive approvals for new pathways to produce cellulosic ethanol, including from corn kernel fiber.

Five state biofuels organizations sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt this week asking him to “shift administrative time and staff away from demand-destroying Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) exemptions and toward pathway approvals for cellulosic ethanol.”

The groups say requests submitted by their members for RFS pathway approvals have been stalled at EPA, preventing the production of millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol and their related D3 RINs. “Dozens of plants are ready to produce and, in some cases, have been waiting months and months for pathway approvals for proven and commercially successful cellulosic technologies,” they say.

The letter was signed by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Renewable Fuels Nebraska, Wisconsin BioFuels Association, South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association, and Illinois Renewable Fuels Association.

Cellulosic, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Latest Ethanol Export and Production Numbers

Cindy Zimmerman

The volume of U.S. ethanol shipments in March was the second-highest in history, just two percent less than the record set in February, according to the latest government data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). U.S. ethanol exports totaled 215.1 million gallons (mg) in March, with Brazil once again the leading destination for the fifth straight month, receiving 95.9 mg (45% of total exports).

Although Brazil’s imports were down 7% from February, they represented the second-largest monthly volume to that country on the books. The U.S. shipped 24.6 mg to Canada, up 11% over February and a 5-month high. Meaningful volumes were shipped to China for the fifth straight month, although March exports retreated 40% from February to land at 19.8 mg. China’s April imposition of an additional 15% import duty on ethanol will no doubt contribute to further losses in that market.

March exports of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) were up 8% over February at 905,558 metric tons (mt) with the Mexico and Vietnam being the top two destinations.

Meanwhile, weekly ethanol production figures rebounded back to over a million barrels a day last week, after dropping below the million barrel mark the week before for the first time in 15 weeks to the second-lowest output in 80 weeks. The four-week average for ethanol production in April was 1.015 million b/d for an annualized rate of 15.56 billion gallons.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, RFA

Growth Energy Ads Urge E15 Action

Growth Energy has launched a new radio and digital ad campaign telling listeners in the Midwest that it’s “make or break time” for the rural economy.

The ads encourage farmers and ethanol stakeholders to call on President Trump to lift federal restrictions on the sale of E15 fuel blends, a move that would boost farm income amid the sharpest agricultural downturn since the 1980s.

“Outdated regulations kick back in on June 1st, cutting consumers off from a lower-cost product that supports farmers and rural manufacturing,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “President Trump promised Midwest lawmakers that he would fast-track a long-overdue fix, but oil lobbyists have held E15 hostage for years, and the White House needs to hear from rural communities. Too many American farmers are struggling to make ends meet, but we can deliver immediate relief by simply letting consumers make their own choices about American-made biofuel.”

Each year from June 1 to September 15, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules governing Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) limit the sale of E15 in many markets around the country, under guidelines that were drafted before E15 hit the market. The result is lower demand for biofuels and the crops that are used to make them during the summer months of vacation travel tim

Listen to the ad here: Growth Energy E15 radio ad

AgWired Energy, Audio, Ethanol, Growth Energy