RFA Partners with Girls Auto Clinic for Ethanol Education

Cindy Zimmerman


The Renewable Fuels Association has just announced a new partnership with the Girls Auto Clinic (GAC) to bring ethanol education and promotion to a new and growing audience – women who are actively interested in auto purchasing, maintenance, and repair.

Founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Patrice Banks, Girls Auto Clinic builds and provides tools to drive knowledge and engagement to women, or “shecanics,” to own their automotive experiences. GAC empowers women to be fully engaged and confident in purchasing and managing their vehicles, while also increasing the presence of women successfully and happily employed within the automotive industry.

“The Girls Auto Clinic Car Care Workshop is an in-depth, interactive and fun way for women to learn about their cars, what maintenance they can do to prolong the life of their car (and save money), how to talk to a mechanic, and what to do in an emergency,” said Banks, GAC’s CEO and founder. “And now, with RFA’s backing, we can extend our reach, empowering more women across the country to become confident drivers and smart consumers.”

“We’re looking forward to working with Girls Auto Clinic, which does terrific work in expanding automotive knowledge and confidence to more women,” said RFA Vice President for Industry Relations Robert White. “It’s important for all consumers to understand the value of American-made ethanol, as it provides critical cost savings for families and benefits for the climate and the air we breathe. It’s also critical that all drivers understand the advantages and proper uses of higher-level blends like E15 and flex fuels like E85. Patrice and her team are the perfect partner for this effort.”

automotive, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Ethanol Industry Reacts to Waiver Ruling

Cindy Zimmerman

Farmers and ethanol producers are disappointed in last week’s ruling against EPA’s rejection of refinery waiver requests.

A coalition of groups including the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, American Coalition for Ethanol and National Farmers Union reacted to the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency its rejection of six small refinery exemption requests.

“While we are disappointed by this decision, we will continue to vigilantly defend the Renewable Fuel Standard and fight against the illegal abuse of small refinery exemptions. As other Federal courts have determined, the RFS does not impose an economic burden on oil refiners because any compliance costs are passed down the supply chain. All refiners—regardless of their size or location—face equitable RFS obligations, and all of them pass through their costs to comply. This lawsuit was never really about purported economic hardship; rather, it was about a handful of entrenched oil refineries doing everything they can to dodge their legal obligations to blend renewable fuels and block consumer access to lower-cost, lower-carbon options at the pump.”

ACE, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Report Claims White House is Stalling Summer E15

Cindy Zimmerman

A Reuters story out the day after Thanksgiving cites anonymous sources claiming the Biden administration is stalling any action on a petition from Midwestern governors to allow year round sales of E15 beginning in summer 2024.

According to the Reuters report, “The two sources familiar with the administration’s thinking, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House decided to delay action on the matter following the oil industry’s warnings in part because of concern that higher pump prices in certain states could hurt Biden’s re-election chances.”

The governors of eight Midwestern states petitioned EPA back in April 2022 to make the regulatory change allowing year round E15 sales and even though the Clean Air Act requiring the EPA to comply within 90 days, it was not until March 2023 that EPA proposed regulations to require fuel suppliers in these states to slightly reduce the volatility of gasoline beginning on May 1, 2024. EPA has yet to take final action on that proposal and in August the attorney generals of Iowa and Nebraska sued EPA for failing to meet a statutory deadline.

U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), who signed on to the original petition as governor of Nebraska, released the following statement in response to the report. “The Biden administration needs to follow the law and keep their commitments for this summer. President Biden has overlooked and underestimated the economic and environmental benefits of biofuels like ethanol as part of our energy portfolio. Ethanol saves consumers money at the pump, it is made in the USA and a boom to Midwest state economies, and it’s good for the environment.”

E15, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Court Rules Against Refinery Waiver Rejections

Cindy Zimmerman

A U.S. appeals court last week ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to deny biofuel blending waivers to small refineries.

Six small refineries sued EPA earlier this year after the agency denied almost all requests for small refinery waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The refiners claimed the RFS requirement to blend a certain amount of biofuel into their products would cause them financial hardship. In July, the EPA denied 26 petitions from 15 small refineries for waivers for the 2016-2018 and 2021-2023 compliance years.

The challenge was brought by Wynnewood Refining, Ergon, Calumet Shreveport, and Placid Refining Company. In its 38-page decision, the court ruled that the EPA’s rejection of the waiver requests was “impermissibly retroactive; contrary to law; and counter to the record evidence.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFS

ACE Talks GREET and HEFF at NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

Representatives from the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) talked with farm broadcasters at the recent NAFB Trade Talk about a number of topics, including GREET and HEFF.

ACE CEO Brian Jennings says they support requiring EPA to update its outdated lifecycle modeling for ethanol and biodiesel, by adopting the latest Argonne National Lab’s Greenhouse Gas and Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Model.

“The top scientists in the world developed this model to help estimate the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of all sorts of transportation fuels and technologies,” said Jennings. “So this is the gold standard scientific model.”

2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Brian Jennings, ACE 6:18

ACE Chief Marketing Officer Ron Lamberty talked about his baby HEFF, which stands for Hybrid Electric Flex Fuel vehicle. “It’s a 2019 Ford Fusion hybrid that we had converted using converters Eflexfuel.com sells primarily just to see what the carbon intensity would be,” said Lamberty.

ACE launched the project in 2021 to disrupt the ‘EV-only’ narrative by showing a standard hybrid vehicle powered by ethanol blends can have lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions as low or lower than plug-in electrics.

Learn more in this interview with Lamberty.
2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Ron Lamberty, ACE 9:11

ACE, Carbon, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Ethanol News

The RFS Really Did Shatter the “Blend Wall” for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

By Scott Richman, RFA Chief Economist

Not so long ago, renewable fuel critics claimed that due to purported infrastructure and vehicle constraints, the ethanol content in gasoline simply could not exceed 10.0%. They referred to this supposed limitation as the “blend wall,” and for several years that terminology found its way into virtually every debate about ethanol, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and higher-level blends.

But no one really talks about the “blend wall” anymore. Why?

Because ethanol’s blend rate has exceeded 10.0% every year since 2016 and hit a record 10.38% in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The experience of the past several years shows that the “blend wall” was nothing more than a fictional barricade. In fact, as this analysis shows, the U.S. market is on pace to consume some 630 million gallons of ethanol over and above the so-called “blend wall” this year, proving once again that the 10.0% threshold is not a real barrier.

Given this reality, critics changed their tune to say that the blend rate would not have exceeded 10% if not for the RFS, the primary federal program that has promoted the usage of biofuels since 2005. While this argument de-emphasizes other factors that have contributed to the rising blend rate, such as ethanol’s cost-competitiveness compared to gasoline and especially other sources of octane, it is consistent with the intent behind the enactment of the RFS.

Read more from the RFA Blog

Ethanol, Opinion, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Clean Fuels Conference Preview

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the first conferences of 2024 will be the Clean Fuels Conference, February 5-8, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The event, hosted by Clean Fuels Alliance America, is where the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industries will meet to learn the latest on the next generation of low-carbon fuel policies, feedstock development opportunities and decarbonization efforts from leading Fortune 500 companies, among other hot topics.

Clean Fuels Director of Outreach and Development Tom Verry was at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk last week in Kansas City where he gave a preview of the upcoming conference. “Our conference is really going to showcase how our industry has evolved, just over this past year,” said Verry. “Couple of industries we are really going to showcase are marine and rail, both getting a lot of pressure from their customers to reduce their carbon emissions.”

In this interview, Verry also talks about how the conference has evolved over the past 20 years.
2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Tom Verry, Clean Fuels 6:20

2023 NAFB Convention Trade Talk Photos

advanced biofuels, Audio, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Carbon, Clean Fuels Alliance

RFA at Farm Broadcasters Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

Each year at this time, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) annual convention provides an opportunity for the Renewable Fuels Association to connect with audiences around the country by doing interviews with agricultural reporters.

At the event this year were RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, VP of Industry Relations Robert White, and Communications Director Ken Colombini, and once again RFA was once of the convention sponsors welcoming members back to the Westin in Kansas City for their 80th anniversary.

RFA team at NAFB – Geoff Cooper, Robert White, Ken Colombini

Cooper and White spoke about numerous industry topics with dozens of reporters. In these interviews, Cooper gives a preview of the 2024 National Ethanol Conference coming up February 19-21 in San Diego. White provided an update on progress toward year-round E15, both on the state and national level.

2023 NAFB Trade Talk - RFA CEO Geoff Cooper 6:04

2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Robert White, RFA 2:23

2023 NAFB Convention Trade Talk Photos

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

Political Expert Charlie Cook Booked for NEC

Cindy Zimmerman

Charlie Cook, founder of The Cook Political Report and well-known political analyst for National Journal, has been confirmed to headline the luncheon at the 2024 National Ethanol Conference, Feb. 19-21 in San Diego, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The luncheon will be Feb. 20 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

“Elections have important consequences and implications for the renewable fuels industry, and we are excited to welcome Charlie Cook to the National Ethanol Conference to share his perspectives on what to expect in 2024,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “Charlie’s track record of correctly predicting election outcomes is remarkable, and he takes a balanced, non-partisan approach that our attendees will surely appreciate. If there’s anyone who can truly make sense of what is sure to be a contentious and chaotic election cycle in 2024, it’s Charlie Cook.”

Cook founded the independent, nonpartisan Cook Political Report in 1984, serving as editor and publisher for 37 years, stepping down in 2021 and transitioning ownership and management of the venerable newsletter to Amy Walter. In addition to lecturing, Cook continues to write his weekly column for National Journal, while also serving as a political analyst for the publication. He is also a co-author of the 2020 and 2022 editions of The Almanac of American Politics. Cook has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and ABC’s This Week. Over the years, he has served as an election night analyst for CBS and CNN.

Click here for more information and to register for the 2024 NEC.

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

Ethanol Report on Veterans for Renewable Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

The ethanol industry has a lot to celebrate for Veterans Day – including 15 percent of its workforce.

The Renewable Fuels Association is honoring its veterans this year by launching “Veterans for Renewable Fuels” (VRF), a new program to recognize and celebrate the contributions of military veterans in the industry and provide them with opportunities to network and support one another in their careers and personal lives.

In this edition of The Ethanol Report, we hear from five military veterans who are on staff or in leadership positions in the RFA. They include RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper, RFA Board Vice Chair and Aztalan Bio CEO Jeff Oestmann, RFA board member and president of Trenton Agri-Products Tony Leiding, RFA Director of Environment, Health and Safety Justin Schultz, and Robert White, RFA’s Senior VP of Industry Relations and Market Development. They talk about the new initiative and how their military service brought them to the ethanol industry.

Ethanol Report 11-10-23 22:03

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, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA