RFA Sponsors Crappie Masters for 2nd Year

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is back on as a co-title sponsor of the Crappie Masters Tournament for the second consecutive year. The first of 18 tournaments for the 2018 trail begins Friday, Jan. 26 in Deland, Fla., between Daytona and Orlando, at St. Johns River.

“We look forward to the continued education of the tournament Anglers, along with the general public, with an aggressive approach utilizing national television, social media, print, and grassroots face-to-face conversations,” said Crappie Masters President Mike Vallentine. “E10 is safe to use in outboards, as highlighted that in the past three years, every Crappie Masters tournament winning team has safely used E10 fuel with no reported engine issues.”

Listen to an interview with Mike from one of last year’s tournaments to learn more about his support of ethanol and farmers. Interview with Mike Vallentine, Crappie Masters

RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White says last year’s sponsorship really helped boost public awareness of ethanol use in marine engines. “For nearly 30 years, 10 percent ethanol has been used in all types of marine engines and the fuel blend is approved for use by all major marine engine manufacturers, helping to clean the air and water,” he said. Additional funding for the sponsorship came from the National Corn Growers Association.

Crappie Masters Television will also highlight each tournament on a weekly show that can be viewed on the Pursuit Channel, which is on DIRECTV 604, Dish Network 393, Verizon, CenturyLink and Roku. The next Crappie Masters Tournament Trail event is Feb. 2-3 at Lake Talquin in Gadsden County, Fla.

The 2018 Crappie Masters Tournament Trail season runs through Oct. 20.

Boats, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Censky Receives Biodiesel Pioneer Award

Cindy Zimmerman

LtoR: NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen, Steve Censky, Kurt Kovarik and Doug Whitehead of NBB

USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky was presented with the Eye on Biodiesel Pioneer award at the 2018 National Biodiesel Conference Wednesday.

As the long-time CEO of the American Soybean Association, Censky was instrumental in the growth and advancement of biodiesel over the years. ASA’s primary focus as an organization is policy development and implementation of soybean farmer issues, including biodiesel. The organization, under Censky’s guidance as CEO from 1996 to 2017, played a critical role in passing the biodiesel tax incentive in 2005, and the inclusion of biodiesel in the revised Renewable Fuel Standard through their national network of farmer leaders and extensive grassroots advocacy power. As USDA Deputy Secretary, Censky continues to provide critical leadership on agricultural policies as he has done throughout his career. He has also served at USDA in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, including as administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service.

Listen to Censky’s remarks here – Steve Censky award remarks

Steve had time for a few questions from reporters – Steve Censky press remarks

2018 National Biodiesel Conference

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB, Soybeans, USDA

Eye on Biodiesel Initiative Award

Cindy Zimmerman

This year’s Eye on Biodiesel Initiative award was presented to HERO BX founder Samuel P. “Pat” Black, III.

With a vision to help revitalize Erie, Pennsylvania with a return to a booming manufacturing sector, Black founded Lake Erie Biofuels dba HERO BX in 2005. HERO BX is the largest biodiesel plant in the Northeastern United States, and they operate a production facility in Moundville, Alabama, and a blending and distribution terminal in North Hampton, New Hampshire. This year, Black combined his philanthropic mindset with his passion for biodiesel and commissioned a book, “The Biodiesel Solution,” to help bring the biodiesel story to a mainstream audience and to capture the early history and numerous achievements of the industry as a collective.

Listen to the award presentation and Pat’s comments here: Pat Black award

2018 National Biodiesel Conference

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

Eye on Biodiesel Impact Award

Cindy Zimmerman

Minnesota has been a leader in the biodiesel industry for decades and Mike Youngerberg has been working since 1986 to advance soybean industry priorities as a member of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association staff. Mike’s dedication earned him the Eye on Biodiesel Impact award this year.

Mike currently serves as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Biodiesel Council which represents the biodiesel producers and feedstock providers and has served in a critical role in one of the most proactive biodiesel states in the country. In 2002, Minnesota passed landmark legislation requiring that diesel fuel sold in the state contain at least two percent biodiesel. The law was implemented on September 29, 2005, becoming the first state to require biodiesel blends. The program increased to B5 in May 2009, to B10 for the summer months in July 2014, and is scheduled to move to B20 on May 1, 2018.

Listen to the award presentation and Mike’s remarks: Mike Youngerberg award

Learn more about Mike in this interview: Mike Youngerberg interview

2018 National Biodiesel Conference

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

Welcome to #NBB18

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Biodiesel Conference & Expo opened today at the Fort Worth Convention Center with the theme of “Driven” to celebrate to 25th anniversary of the National Biodiesel Board.

“For the visionaries who launched what would become the National Biodiesel Board in 1992, we want to say ‘thank you,’” said NBB CEO Donnell Rehagan. “We look forward to taking this opportunity to reflect on those first 25 years, but we are also excited to launch into the next era of growth for America’s Advanced Biofuel.”

Following a University of Missouri study that demonstrated biodiesel had potential as a diesel fuel replacement, the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council created the National SoyDiesel Development Board in 1992. Sensing the opportunity to utilize the vast surplus of soybean oil collected each year, while also expanding energy security and environmental benefits, other state soybean associations quickly joined the effort. The new association changed its name to the National Biodiesel Board in 1994 to reflect the diversity of fats and oils that can be made into biodiesel.

“Biodiesel is an American success story,” said Rehagen. “We have overcome countless challenges, and we will undoubtedly face many more as we continue to grow the industry. But for everyone who has pulled together for the past 25 years to make our success a reality, this conference is a great time to celebrate.”

Rehagen took to the Mainstage at Conference Central to welcome attendees and kick off the conference by talking about Biodiesel’s Bright Lights and Big Opportunities.

Listen here: NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen opens #NBB18

2018 National Biodiesel Conference


Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB

2018 Ethanol Safety Webinars Scheduled

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and TRANSCAER® are jointly hosting four ethanol safety webinars this year for ethanol emergency response teams, starting on January 31.

The “Train the Trainer” webinars are funded through a Federal Railroad Administration / TRANSCAER® grant and designed as a “pay-it-forward” program so that a single webinar can train a group of individuals, who can then turn around and pass that information forward, equipping entire communities with the knowledge necessary to respond to any potential ethanol-related emergency.

The webinar, led by national hazardous materials trainer Joel Hendelman, is open to all professional individuals above the technical level of training who are interested in learning how to teach ethanol emergency response. These professional individuals must also have an awareness level of hazardous material storage, handing and emergency response. The webinar is intended to develop instructors to lead operations-level training.

The 2018 webinars are scheduled for Jan. 31, March 28, May 23, and July 25 and will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Registration is free, but is limited to the first 100 attendees per webinar. Certificates of attendance will be awarded following the completion of the safety seminar.

For more information or to register, visit www.rfa.traincaster.com.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, safety

E15 Logs Another Billion Miles

Cindy Zimmerman

American drivers have logged yet another billion miles on 15% ethanol fuel in just the last three months, according to Growth Energy, bringing the total number of miles driven on E15 to more than 3 billion.

“E15 is taking off with consumers wherever it’s available and rapidly becoming drivers’ go-to fuel,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “At the forefront of this incredible growth are forward-thinking retailers who have figured out that E15 is smart business, as well as consumers who have come to rely on the better value proposition E15 presents. It’s a win-win on both ends, and that means E15’s growth is only going to continue.”

Growth Energy works with Prime the Pump, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping build the infrastructure and distribution of higher biofuel blends, and has partnered with leading retailers including Casey’s, Cenex, Family Express, Kum & Go, Kwik Trip, MAPCO, Minnoco, Murphy USA, Protec Fuel, QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Sheetz, and Thorntons to offer E15 to customers at more than 1,300 stations across 29 states.

“Consumers are reaching for E15 because it provides unrivaled value that benefits their engines, the environment, and their wallets. This is how the number of E15 sites has doubled in 2017 for the fourth year in a row,” Skor added.

Growth Energy hosts GetBiofuel.com for biofuels information and station locations.

E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Ethanol Really Does Create Jobs

Cindy Zimmerman

An op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this week gives a real world example of how ethanol is a job creator for the nation.

Today, Christopher Wense is an operations technician for the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, but less than three years ago he had been laid off from his job at U.S. Steel in Granite City after the coke ovens at the facility closed. Faced with having to learn a new trade at 41 years old, Wense decided to pursue a degree in process operations technology at a local community college because he was interested in the growth potential of the renewable fuels industry.

Wense had the opportunity to intern at NCERC and in February of last year accepted a full-time position at NCERC as an ethanol plant operations technician, while also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

“I am so thankful to the NCERC for the opportunities I have been given,” says Wense. “I see endless growth opportunities for the U.S. ethanol industry, and providing people just like me with rewarding, long-term careers.”

Read his op-ed here.

Commentary, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Opinion

Real Cost of E15 Revealed in ACE Video

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) recently released the third video in a series of fuel marketer-focused videos on flexfuelforward.com, part of a campaign featuring real world experiences of E15 and flex fuel retailers adding and marketing the fuels.

This latest video addresses one of the most common misconceptions about adding higher ethanol blends – that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for the equipment needed to sell E15 and flex fuels. The episode features retailers who either found they already had equipment that was compatible with E15 and flex fuels, or utilized programs available to help pay the difference between standard and flex fuel equipment. While many reports have focused on major retailers like Sheetz, QuikTrip, Kum & Go, and Casey’s adding E15 and flex fuels, this video shows the addition can be affordable and profitable for any size retailer.


ACE, Retailers, Video

Iowa RFA Elects Officers

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa RFA president Eamonn Byrne

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) recently elected its Board of Directors, Officers, and Executive Committee for 2018.

Eamonn Byrne with Lakeview Plymouth Energy was reelected to a second term as President of IRFA. “We had a number of successes in 2017– including securing another year of funding for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program and protecting the 2018 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) levels,” said Byrne. “This year we will continue to advocate for a robust RFS and state and federal policies that increase consumer access to biofuels at the pump.”

Also elected:
Vice President – Bill Howell, POET Biorefining – Coon Rapids
Treasurer – Derek Winkel, Renewable Energy Group, Inc.
Secretary – Eric Hakmiller, Lincolnway Energy

Elected to join the IRFA Officers on the Executive Committee for 2018 are:
Past President – Tom Brooks, Western Dubuque Biodiesel
At-Large – Craig Willis, Archer Daniels Midland
At-Large – Rick Schwarck, Absolute Energy

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA