Ethanol Report on RFS2 10th Anniversary

Cindy Zimmerman

Ten years ago this month, just days before Christmas, President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act which greatly expanded the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to include up to 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022.

The expansion became known as RFS2, like the sequel to a big movie that had just been released two years before. But unlike most movie sequels, the RFS2 has proven to be even better than the original and a success by any measure, according to a new analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), “The RFS2: Then and Now.”

In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, we flashback to the promises of President Bush at the signing, and RFA CEO Bob Dinneen talks about how the 2007 Christmas gift has kept on giving for a decade.

Listen to it here: Ethanol Report 12-21-17

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Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA, RFS

Green Plains to Expand Use of Enogen® Corn

Cindy Zimmerman

Syngenta and Green Plains Inc. have announced a partnership to expand the use of Enogen® corn enzyme technology across the company’s entire 1.5 billion gallon production platform.

“We have been using Enogen corn at a number of our locations for the past several years and have noted significant benefits, including enhanced yield and reduced energy costs,” said Green Plains President and CEO Todd Becker. “Combining our focus to buy more corn directly from farmers and purchasing alpha amylase locally, in the form of high-quality grain for all of our plants, we believe Enogen will create value for our shareholders, growers and the communities where we do business.”

Green Plains is one of the largest owners of ethanol production assets in the world, purchasing more than 500 million bushels of corn each year. Using Enogen corn as a portion of the feedstock enables alpha amylase to be delivered directly in the grain, eliminating the need to add a liquid form of the enzyme and significantly reducing the viscosity of the corn mash.

“Enogen is rapidly gaining popularity because of the value it delivers to ethanol producers and the opportunity it provides corn growers to be enzyme suppliers for their local ethanol plants,” said Jeff Oestmann, head, Bio-fuels Operations – Enogen at Syngenta. “Enogen corn enzyme technology creates increased profit potential for ethanol producers and corn growers while adding significant incremental value at the local level for communities that rely on their ethanol plant’s success.”

Enogen corn enzyme technology is an in-seed innovation available exclusively from Syngenta and features the first biotech corn output trait designed specifically to enhance ethanol production.

Read more here.

corn, Enogen, Syngenta

President Trump to Address Farm Bureau

Next month, for the first time in 26 years, the President of the United States will address the membership of the largest general farm organization in the country.

Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will address farm and ranch families from across the nation at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 99th Annual Convention, Jan. 5-10 in Nashville, Tenn. It was January 13, 1992 when the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, addressed the AFBF 73rd annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

That was just two weeks after Chuck and I had uprooted our Florida family and moved them to Missouri to work for the Brownfield Network. Lynn Ketelsen and I were chosen for some reason to anchor the live audio feed of President Bush’s speech, delivered via satellite to radio stations. That was where I first heard the pronunciation Missour-uh for the Show Me State and wondered if I had been pronouncing it wrong all my life. The scanned photo here is the best I could find in my archives – which is a box in the attic.

Searching on-line for photos from the event, I did find the video of the address on C-SPAN, and the text of the speech from the American Presidency Project. Two of President Bush’s main themes were international trade and tax reform, which are likely to dominate President Trump’s remarks as well. President Bush actually addressed the AFBF annual convention twice – the first time in 1990, which C-SPAN also has archived.

This is pretty fun to watch – and thanks to C-SPAN for keeping such an extensive archive and being a good use of our tax dollars!

AFBF, AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Video

MN Bio-Fuels Honors E15 Station Owner

Cindy Zimmerman

The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association has presented its 2017 Distinguished Retailer Award to Drake Properties LLC, which owns three E15 stations in the Twin Cities metro.

“This award recognizes Drake Properties’ commitment to offering consumers a clean and locally-produced choice at the pump. In under 12 months, E15 has been made available in three of its locations,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, who presented the award to company owner Andrea Drake at their station in White Bear Lake.

“I see E15 going the same way as leaded to regular unleaded. We will see a transition where E15 will be the new regular and 87 Octane will be a thing of the past. E15 is the minimum standard we should be at,” said Drake.

The company’s three E15 stations are among the 252 stations in the state that offer E15 and have contributed to a record-breaking year for E15 sales in Minnesota.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Retailers

GROWMARK FS Offers TOP TIER™ Biodiesel Blend

Cindy Zimmerman

GROWMARK FS FAST STOP locations recently became among the first registered TOP TIER™ Diesel Fuel sites in the country, and the Illinois-based farmer cooperative is offering the additized diesel fuel blended with biodiesel.

“By blending biodiesel into Top Tier Diesel Fuel, GROWMARK is providing customers with even more benefits,” said National Biodiesel Board Technical Director Scott Fenwick. “Biodiesel is cleaner burning than petroleum diesel, has higher cetane, provides better lubricity, and is safer to handle and store.”

Top Tier Diesel Fuel was developed to provide better performance, in turn helping the diesel fuel retailers, auto and engine manufacturers, and those who drive or use diesel-powered equipment. Relative to the ASTM D975 and D7467 specifications for diesel and biodiesel blends, the Top Tier Diesel Performance Standard requires detergents to reduce deposits on the fuel injectors, improve lubricity, improve fuel stability, and provide more protection against water and particulates that may be in the fuel before dispensing it into vehicles and equipment.

“We strive to provide the best fuel standard in the industry by not only meeting, but exceeding, the new TOP TIER Diesel Fuel standards,” said Curt Dunafin, GROWMARK energy services manager. “Additional performance benefits of Dieslex Gold include: cleaning up dirty engines, controlling moisture, faster starts, lower emissions, and extending storage stability.”

GROWMARK is a member of the National Biodiesel Board and has been an active participant in alternate fuel research, marketing and distribution for many years.

Learn more about TOP TIER and GROWMARK in this interview: Interview with Curt Dunafin, GROWMARK Energy

Biodiesel, GROWMARK, NBB

NCGA Announces 2017 Yield Contest Winners

Carrie Muehling

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has named the 2017 winners in its popular National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC). Five national entries surpassed the 400-plus bushel mark in the contest again this year.

The 18 winners in six production categories had verified yields averaging more than 386 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 175.4 bushels per acre in 2017. While there is no overall contest winner, yields from first, second and third place farmers overall production categories topped out at 542.2740.

That 542-plus bushels is another world record, set by the previous world record holder David Hula of Virginia. The new record yield was accomplished using Pioneer® P1197AM™ brand corn and breaks his 2015 record of 532 bushels per acre. Pioneer is proud to say that nine national and 191 state NCYC awards for 2017 are going to growers using Pioneer® brand products in their contest entry.

NCGA will honor this year’s winners during Commodity Classic 2018 in Anaheim, Calif. Find the complete list of state and national winners at www.ncga.com. The NCGA National Corn Yield Contest is in its 53rd year.

AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, corn, NCGA

A Decade of Progress with RFS2

Cindy Zimmerman

It was ten years ago today that President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act, which greatly expanded the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) established in 2005 so it became known as RFS2.

In the decade since passage, significant progress has been made towards greater energy security, cleaner air and boosting local economies, according to a new analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association, “The RFS2: Then and Now.”

Among the highlights in the report:

The number of operational U.S. ethanol plants has nearly doubled from 110 in 2007 to 211 in 2017

U.S. ethanol production has grown 143% from 6.5 billion gallons in 2007 to 15.8 billion gallons in 2017

The production of advanced and cellulosic biofuel increased 469% from 490 million gallons in 2007 to 2.79 billion gallons in 2017

Jobs in the U.S. ethanol industry grew 42% to 339,176, with the value of the industry increasing 74% to $31 billion in 2017

U.S. corn production grew 12% from 13 billion bushels in 2007 to 14.6 billion bushels in 2017, while corn acres planted fell 3% to 90.4 million acres in and average corn yields increased 16% to 175.4 bushels

The greenhouse gas emissions avoided from using ethanol has increased 291% from 12.7 million tons CO2e in 2007 to 49.6 million tons CO2e in 2017.

Read the full analysis.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

#ThankYouRFS for 10 Years of Biofuels Success

Cindy Zimmerman

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed 10 years ago this week, with the intent of moving the United States “toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers” under the expansion of the Renewable Fuel Standard created in 2005 and known as RFS2.

The Renewable Fuels Association is drawing attention to the successes of the RFS on this anniversary with ads in Politico Morning Energy all week and a #thankyouRFS campaign on Twitter to highlight all the consumer benefits of the RFS, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, less dependence on foreign oil, and greater choice at the pump.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says the milestone marks a decade of innovation. “The vital and increasing role of biofuels in America’s fuel supply are yielding real-world results that touch people’s lives every day,” she said. “On this keystone anniversary, our industry remains passionate about what the next 10 years holds.”
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings is very optimistic about the future. “I have every confidence that in 10 years from now our market share will grow from 10 percent of gasoline demand today to between 20 and 30 percent of the market, based on vehicle emission standards and demand for low-carbon fuel as the U.S. comes to grips with the fact that we need to do more to reduce CO2 emissions from the transportation sector.”

The EISA was signed on December 19, 2007 by President George W. Bush.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, RFA, RFS

ACE Urges Extension of Biofuels Tax Credits

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is urging the Conference Committee to include an extension of the Cellulosic Biofuel Tax Credit and Biodiesel Tax Credit as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“Extension of these provisions is critically important and consistent with the stated purposes of the tax bill of ‘growing our economy, bringing jobs back to our local communities, increasing paychecks for our workers, and making sure Americans are able to keep more of the money they earn,’” ACE CEO Brian Jennings said in a letter to Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means Kevin Brady and Chairman of the Committee on Finance Orrin Hatch.

With growth in cellulosic and advanced biofuels constrained under the Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations for 2018, Jennings says extending the tax credits is one of the “most important things the Conference Committee could do to support the existing biofuel sector and help spur its continued growth.”

Read the letter here.

ACE, advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Ethanol

Iowa Corn Looks to Increase Corn Use in Plastics

Carrie Muehling

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board is one step closer to expanding the corn market after receiving a new patent application on a proprietary production method using corn in the industrial manufacturing of monoethylene glycol (MEG). Most MEG is produced from fossil fuels, with the exception of some bio-MEG made from sugarcane ethanol and sourced from Brazil. Consumers are driving a change towards a more environmentally friendly product, especially when it comes to bottled water and soft drinks, where MEG is widely used.

“There’s already about a four percent growth annually in that market,” said Pete Brecht, a farmer from Central City who chairs Iowa Corn’s Research and Development Committee. “If we could just capture that four percent increase in the market every year, we could be looking at grinding another 96 million bushels of corn annually, and that will help the farmer and reduce these stockpiles that we have.”

Iowa Corn uses checkoff dollars to fund this and other research to find new uses for corn and to expand current markets for the product.

Learn more in this phone interview with Pete Brecht and Dr. Alex Buck: Interview with Pete Brecht and Dr. Alex Buck, Iowa Corn

AgWired Energy, Audio, corn