Farmers and Ethanol Workers Call for E15 Waiver

Cindy Zimmerman

Nearly 1,000 farmers, ethanol industry workers and other supporters from across the country sent a letter to President Biden this week calling for action to allow continued access to E15 throughout the upcoming summer driving season.

“With the 2024 summer driving season just a few months away, we are urging your administration to take additional action that will ensure consumers across the nation have uninterrupted access to lower-cost, lower-carbon E15,” the letter states. “Allowing gasoline blenders and retailers to sell E15 this summer would help moderate prices at the pump, extend fuel supplies, and deliver relief to American families at a time of year when gasoline prices typically are at their highest. Today, E15 is selling for 10- 25 cents per gallon less than standard E10 gasoline, allowing the average American household to save $125-200 on its annual gasoline bill.”

Read the letter.

Ag group, corn, E15, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming

E15 Sales Set 2023 Record as Summer Remains Uncertain

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s certain at this point that sales of E15 in the United States hit a record last year, but the future of sales this year after May 1 is still uncertain.

According to a Renewable Fuels Association analysis of data released by state agencies in Minnesota and Iowa, total U.S. sales are estimated to have hit a record 1.11 billion gallons in 2023, up 8% over 2022. The increase was due to a combination of an expansion in the number of retail stations offering E15 and the savings that E15 continued to offer to consumers.

There are no official statistics on U.S. E15 volumes, but national sales can be estimated using Minnesota and Iowa data, given that the two states account for nearly 30% of all U.S. stations offering E15. RFA estimates national sales by multiplying its count of U.S. E15 stations by the average estimated volume per station in the two states. More than 3,000 stations offered E15 on average over the course of 2023, compared to 2,700 in 2022.

A key reason why the average E15 volume per station has increased over the last five years is that sales have been allowed during the summer months in conventional gasoline areas. However, if the administration does not take action within the next month, E15 sales will drop precipitously in most of the country this summer, as occurred in conventional gasoline areas prior to 2019.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says at this point the only practical solution this summer is for waivers to be issued again by EPA as it has done in the past two years due to market conditions. “And frankly the market conditions that justified those waivers last year and two years ago still exist and in fact, you could argue that the the circumstances are worse,” said Cooper. “We have actually lower inventories of crude oil and petroleum products today than we had a year ago or two years ago. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains at a 40 plus year low. You’ve still got the the situation in Ukraine and now you’ve got a situation in the Middle East that is affecting global global energy markets.”

RFA joined several other organizations last week in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging him to act swiftly on an emergency waiver for E15 sales.

Listen to Cooper’s comments on the need for a waiver.
RFA CEO Geoff Cooper need for E15 waiver 1:43

Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Ontario Plant to Install Whitefox System

Cindy Zimmerman

Whitefox Technologies is pleased to announce that IGPC Ethanol in Aylmer, Ontario will install a Whitefox ICE® membrane dehydration system. The installation project is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year.

Jackie Hayes, Whitefox Business Development Manager North America, said this represents the company’s first installation in Canada. “Whitefox has had a strong presence in Canada for over 20 years, as it is home to our Engineering and R&D centers in Calgary,” said Hayes. “Once the Whitefox ICE® solution is installed, it will assist IGPC to achieve key strategic objectives of Canadian biofuels policy – to make more fuel ethanol gallons in Canada, with reduced carbon intensity – and do so with lower energy and operating costs.”

The Whitefox ICE® system treats existing recycle streams to free up and debottleneck distillation-dehydration capacity, enabling IGPC Ethanol to lower natural gas use, cut carbon emissions, improve plant cooling, and increase potential production capacity depending on the system design. Whitefox ICE® is integrated into existing corn ethanol production plants with minimal disruption and a small footprint.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Facilities, Processing, Production

Sen. Klobuchar Tours Heartland Corn Products

Cindy Zimmerman

Sen. Klobuchar (green jacket) tours Heartland Corn Products (MN Bio-Fuels)

Sen. Amy Klobuchar toured Minnesota ethanol plant Heartland Corn Products (HCP) last week to discuss her efforts in addressing some of the challenges facing Minnesota’s ethanol industry with members of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

Among those efforts include securing an emergency waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow sales of E15 during the summer months this year. In February, the EPA approved a petition to allow eight midwestern states to sell E15 year-round. The rule, however, won’t go into effect until April 28, 2025.

Klobuchar said she will urge the EPA to issue an emergency waiver for this summer while continuing work on the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, which would provide for the permanent nationwide, year-round sale of E15.

In addition, Klobuchar highlighted her recent efforts in urging the Biden Administration to update the GREET model for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit program which was supposed to be released on March 1.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Clean Fuels Disappointed in Heavy Duty Vehicle Standards

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency was very proud of its new “Strongest-Ever Greenhouse Gas Standards for Trucks” released on Friday, but Clean Fuels Alliance America was extremely disappointed in the outcome.

EPA did not evaluate use of biodiesel and renewable diesel as part of engine systems to meet the new standards, focusing primarily on tailpipe emissions. However, the agency considered a range of alternative fuel and engine configurations, such as natural gas and hydrogen. EPA did recognize that equipment makers will continue to have the option to use biodiesel and renewable in their compliance strategies.

“EPA’s rule flatly dismisses the benefits of biodiesel and renewable diesel as the lowest-cost and most widely available options to kickstart decarbonization of the heavy-duty vehicle sector,” said Kurt Kovarik, Vice President of Federal Affairs with Clean Fuels. “There should be no uncertainty that biodiesel and renewable diesel also reduce criteria pollutants from heavy-duty vehicles, which will continue to be manufactured and used during the timeframe of this rule. EPA should recognize that biodiesel and renewable diesel merit a role in meeting these emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles.”

Biodiesel, Clean Fuels Alliance, EPA

RFA Supports Challenge to EU Maritime Fuel Regulation

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association has filed a petition to support a legal challenge brought by European ethanol producers against the European Union FuelEU Maritime Regulation, which considers crop-based biofuels to have the same emission factors as the least favorable fossil fuel pathway and effectively bans the use of renewable, crop-based marine fuels as a tool for decarbonizing the maritime sector.

RFA’s application to intervene in the proceedings supports the challenge brought by ePURE, a trade association representing European ethanol producers, and Pannonia Bio, one of Europe’s largest ethanol producers. Their application seeks to annul the relevant provisions of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, which was adopted by the EU in 2023 and is set to take effect in 2025.

“The FuelEU Maritime regulation is unlawfully biased against crop-based biofuels and it harms ethanol producers around the world by denying them access to an emerging low-carbon fuel market,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “In addition, the EU’s maritime regulation is entirely inconsistent with other programs, like the Renewable Energy Directive, in which the EU has confirmed the low-carbon benefits and sustainability of crop-based biofuels.”

David Carpintero, Director General of ePURE said the FuelEU Maritime regulation jeopardises the EU’s ability to meet ambitious decarbonisation targets. “Given the importance of achieving Europe’s goals for climate change mitigation, energy independence, food security and strategic autonomy, the EU should make better use of proven domestic solutions such as renewable ethanol.”

“Europe will be a climate laggard when the global maritime and aviation markets harmonise around solutions such as sustainable crop-based biofuels that the EU has ruled out but that are affordable, scalable and have low carbon intensity,” said Mark Turley, CEO of ClonBio Group, the owner of Pannonia. “EU investors like Pannonia are now choosing the USA for new investments in large part because EU transport decarbonisation policies are unstable.”

However, Cooper said the regulation would even hamper the ability of U.S. producers to sell low-carbon fuels to maritime shippers in the United States. “Because the regulation also applies to ships arriving at EU ports, it will affect the fuel choices made by EU-bound ship operators when they refuel outside the EU,” he said. “In this way, the regulation directly discourages development and use of low-carbon marine fuels here in the U.S.”

advanced biofuels, Carbon, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Ethanol Report on GREET Model Delay

Cindy Zimmerman

GREET is the word that has still not been heard from the Biden Administration as the ethanol industry anxiously awaits a decision on a modified lifecycle analysis model that will be used to assess the eligibility of feedstocks for new tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently joined two dozen other biofuel and farm groups calling on the Treasury Department to swiftly resolve any questions standing in the way of efforts to scale up U.S. production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explains why the administration was unable to meet the March 1 deadline, RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman discusses how the latest Census of Agriculture refutes any notion of land use change involving corn for ethanol, and RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper talks about where we are now.

Ethanol Report 3-28-24 26:28

2024 National Ethanol Conference Virtual Newsroom

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.

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Audio, aviation biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, SAF

Blue Biofuels Makes First Cellulosic Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Florida-based Blue Biofuels (BIOF) announced this week that a significant milestone has been made in advancing its Cellulose-to-Sugar (CTS) technology towards commercial scale with the production of its first batch of cellulosic ethanol, utilizing the cellulosic sugars created from biomass on its CTS pilot line.

Entering into the next phase, BIOF has embarked on the funding process to establish production capacity for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in collaboration with Vertimass. BIOF is evaluating prospective locations in Florida capable of accommodating both SAF and cellulosic ethanol production facilities.

Building upon existing partnerships, BIOF is also engaged in multiple discussions to expand its off-take agreements for biofuels. In addition to its established off-take arrangement with World Energy Sustainable Products, LLC, BIOF remains committed to forging new partnerships to meet the growing market demand for sustainable energy solutions.

aviation biofuels, biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, SAF

Defenbaugh Carries on Family Tradition

Cindy Zimmerman

Nicholas Defenbaugh, a senior at Orion Technical College and a maintenance technician at Big River Resources, was one of eight students and young professionals who attended the recent 2024 National Ethanol Conference under the Robert Sather Memorial Scholarship program.

Nicholas is carrying on a family tradition working at the plant in Burlington, Iowa which was started by his grandfather Ray Defenbaugh who passed away in 2020. “I got into the industry when I was 17 and I’ve loved it ever since,” Nicholas said.

Ray Defenbaugh, who is considered a pioneer in the ethanol industry, served on the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) board from 2005 until his death, and also served on the boards of other national and state corn, ethanol and grain organizations.

NEC24 Nicholas Defenbaugh, Big River Resources 1:11

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Zeakal PhotoSeed Corn Could Help Meet SAF Demand

Cindy Zimmerman

ZeaKal recently announced groundbreaking PhotoSeed™ technology in corn, designed to improve the crop’s oil and sustainability profile without compromising yield or protein.

In first year replicated field trials, PhotoSeed increased corn oil composition by an average of 23 percent. PhotoSeed enhances a plant’s photosynthetic capacity, capturing more CO2 and sunlight. This additional carbon capture increases oil production without taking away the energy necessary to maintain modern yields. Despite tremendous demand, previous efforts to boost oil content without compromising yield have eluded agribusinesses. ZeaKal now introduces the first viable solution.

ZeaKal’s PhotoSeed hybrid corn, grown in collaboration with the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center in a glasshouse setting.

Han Chen, co-founder and CEO of ZeaKal, emphasized the imperative for accelerated innovation to meet the escalating demand for sustainable corn oil production. “This trait technology allows us to elevate the overall value of U.S. corn and creates a differentiated, value-added product that addresses industry demand,” said Chen. “U.S. farmers need innovation faster if we hope to compete in a challenging global commodity market. While we cannot change sunlight availability and geography for our growers, we can bring a latitude advantage to them through genetics.”

Corn, occupying 90 million acres in the United States and ranking among the most crucial crops globally, serves as a cornerstone for food, feed, and fuel feedstocks. The FAO forecasts a 70% surge in global demand for sustainable food and feed, and other projections indicate that renewables will constitute 43% of total energy within a decade. Together, this underscores the urgency for plant-based energy, which offers inherent benefits for aviation fuel and renewable diesel that other innovations cannot offer.

Learn more in this interview with Chen:
Zeakal CEO Han Chen interview 10:55

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