Court Dumps EU #Ethanol Duty

Cindy Zimmerman

EUflag1Breaking news came from Europe today as ethanol supporters were gathered in Kansas City that a European court has ruled against the European Union’s (EU) countrywide 9.5 percent antidumping duty on all ethanol imported from the United States. The duty had been in place since February 2013.

Both the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy are pleased with the ruling that the five-year antidumping duty of $83.03 per metric ton was invalid. The trade organizations filed a joint complaint in May 2013, outlining violations by the European Commission in its antidumping investigation. The antidumping duty had effectively shut out U.S. ethanol producers from accessing the European market, which before the penalty was imposed had represented a 300-million-gallon market for our industry.

“The antidumping duty should have never been assessed,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “We feel vindicated and thank the EU General Court for its commonsense ruling.”

“From the beginning, we believed the implementation of an EU duty on imported ethanol violated EU law,” said Emily Skor, Growth Energy CEO. “We would like to thank the EU General Court for its fair and logical ruling, and are pleased with their decision.”

However, the antidumping duty remains in place, pending a possible appeal by the EU. The EU has approximately two months to file an appeal.

Listen to Bob Dinneen’s comments on the ruling: RFA CEO Bob Dinneen on EU ruling

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, RFA

Supporters Rally for #Biofuels at @EPA #RFS Hearing

Joanna Schroeder

Ethanol advocates called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase ethanol and other biofuel volumes in next year’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) today. Fuels America held a press conference with several leading biofuel advocates that was kicked off with comments from Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, a long-time and vocal ethanol opponent.

epa-hearing-press“A strong RFS means more jobs here at home, greater energy security, and a cleaner environment,” said Gov. Ricketts. “The biofuels industry supports more than 852,000 American jobs and creates fuel we need to help our country become energy independent. It also stimulates investments in states like Nebraska, where we are on the forefront of research, development, and infrastructure for first- and second-generation biofuels.”

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen continued the ethanol success story by discussing how the RFS is the country’s most successful energy policy of all time. “The EPA’s proposed targets would needlessly undermine America’s most successful clean energy program,” said Dinneen. “At a minimum, we must hit the statutory levels set by Congress to slash U.S. dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save consumers money at the pump. From any objective standpoint, the choice should be simple – more clean, American energy and less foreign oil.”

New Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor has hit the ground running and focused her remarks on the environmental benefits of biofuels. “Our call to action has never been more important,” said Skor. “Ethanol is an earth-friendly biofuel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and displaces chemicals in gasoline that form potent carcinogens when burned. Most importantly, ethanol offers consumers affordable options and a choice at the gas pump. It’s vital that the EPA meet the statutory biofuel targets for America’s 2017 fuel mix.”

While Chip Bowling, a long-time Agvocate and president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) stressed the effect the RFS has had on farmers and their commitment to increasing ethanol fuel choices at the pump. “Farmers, along with the ethanol industry and U.S. Department of Agriculture, have invested millions in new ethanol pumps and fuel infrastructure so that drivers can access affordable, renewable fuel choices,” said Chip Bowling, president of the National Corn Growers Association. “Now it’s up to the EPA to deliver on its promises. We have the resources to meet all our needs, spur investment in rural communities, and create more high-tech jobs.”

Listen to the full press conference here: Fuels America RFS Hearing Press Conference

Check out the EPA Hearing Photo Album.

Read More

biofuels, Boats, EPA, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NCGA, RFA, RFS

Missouri Ag Director Welcomes #RFS Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

epa-hearing-fordyceLast year’s EPA hearing on proposed volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was held in Kansas City, Kansas – this year, the hearing moved across the river to the Missouri side of Kansas City and Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce was pleased to welcome everyone to the Show Me State.

“We appreciate EPA coming and listening to folks talk about the RFS, we really appreciate the fact that you’re in Missouri this year,” said Fordyce, who is also a corn, soybean and cattle farmer from the northwest part of the state.

Fordyce talked about Missouri’s leadership in the biofuels industry. “Missouri is the proud home of six ethanol plants,” he said. “We built a biodiesel plant right here in Kansas City.”

He also discussed how biofuels have helped all segments of the agriculture industry in Missouri, including livestock. Listen to his comments here: MO Ag Director Fordyce EPA hearing testimony

EPA Hearing Photo Album

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Nebraska Governor Supports #RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

epa-rfs-rickettsThe governor of Nebraska testified at the Environmental Protection Agency hearing in Kansas City today on the importance of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) being implemented as intended by Congress. The governor also took part in a Fuels America press conference during the hearing this morning.

“The Renewable Fuel Standard is one of the most successful energy policies adopted by Congress,” said Gov. Pete Ricketts in his testimony. “The RFS laid a foundation for biofuels to provide consumers with renewable fuel choices in a market controlled by the petroleum industry.”

Listen to Gov. Ricketts’ testimony here: NE Gov. Ricketts EPA hearing testimony

Listen to a brief interview with Gov. Ricketts at the hearing here: Gov. Ricketts interview

EPA Hearing Photo Album

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Audio, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFS

RFA on First Panel at EPA Hearing

Chuck Zimmerman

Bob DinneenOver 100 biofuels supporters are in Kansas City this morning for another public hearing on the EPA’s proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Up on the first panel was Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen who woke everyone up with a strongly worded message to EPA.

“We encourage EPA to truly put the RFS ‘back on track’ and finalize the 2017 conventional renewable fuel renewable volume obligation (RVO) at the 15-billion-gallon statutory level. EPA’s proposed rule for the 2017 RVOs marks an improvement over the final rule for 2014-2016 RVOs, but it ultimately falls victim to the same legal malady that plagued your last rulemaking,” Dinneen testified. “Simply put, EPA continues to allege that ‘supply’ somehow equates to the capacity to distribute or consume renewable fuels. However, the statute does not allow EPA to consider imagined constraints on distribution when deciding whether to utilize a general waiver of the volumes. The intent of Congress was abundantly clear: if the physical supply of renewable fuel exists to satisfy statutory volumes, then EPA must enforce the consumption of those volumes. And it is beyond dispute that the industry is providing an adequate supply to meet the statutory mandate for conventional biofuels.”

Listen to Dinneen’s full testimony statement here: RFA CEO Bob Dinneen EPA hearing testimony

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advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

Syngenta’s Enogen Tech Improves Corn to #Ethanol Output

Joanna Schroeder

cutc-16-araba-interviewed The 10th annual Corn Utilization Technology Conference (#CUTC16) took place in St. Louis this week and featured several corn technologies. One such advance is Enogen, developed by Syngenta. The product was designed to improve the conversion from starch to ethanol enabling facilities to produce more ethanol per bushel. Miloud Araba, head of technical services for Enogen, discussed the enzyme technology that makes more ethanol from corn happen.

Araba gave an update on Syngenta’s partnership with Quad County Corn Processors who developed a cellulosic production technology called Cellerate that produces more ethanol in the fiber of the kernel. He noted that one of the best things about the technology is that it offers an unusual combination: Cellerate increases ethanol and yield at the same time. Now add the Enogen technology and wow.

The ethanol industry has done extremely well, said Araba, and Cellerate is part of a great future. Being able to increase yields and ethanol production, he added, means growers don’t have far to go to offer more energy to the nation.

Even better, the new product is a good solution for everyone. “You’re not only bringing value to the ethanol plant, you’re bringing value to the farmer–the corn grower,” Araba explained. “In this case you’ve turned the farmer not only into a corn provider, but also an enzyme provider. And so this is what we like to call a win, win, win. A win for the community, a win for the farmer, and also a win for the ethanol plant.”

Araba added that he is hearing great feedback from participants at the conference because of the simplicity of the process. “Technologies do not have to be complex to bring a lot of value.”

Listen to Chuck Zimmerman’s interview with Miloud Araba here: Interview with Miloud Araba, Syngenta

Check out pictures from the conference: 2016 CUTC Photo Album.

advanced biofuels, Audio, corn, CUTC, enzymes, Ethanol, Syngenta

#Ethanol Research Director to Testify at Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

caupertThe Executive Director of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) in Illinois will be at the EPA hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in Kansas City today to repeat the same comments he has made at the last several hearings on the subject.

“Ironically, they are very similar to the comments I presented in 2015, in 2014 and in December of 2013,” says John Caupert, who directs the NCERC at Southern Illinois University. “When you have policy unrest, it creates market unrest; when you have market unrest, you have investment unrest, and when there is uncertainty and unrest in the investment community, investment in research, development and new technology deployment stops. This is the impact these proposed rulings are having on the investment community.”

Caupert was heading to Kansas City for the hearing today after spending two days at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in St. Louis where there was a lot of focus on research in corn ethanol area, particularly the concept of biorefineries creating multiple products from corn. “This is the one conference that truly brings industry, academia, government and trade all together with the common goal of creating value added opportunity and new uses for corn,” he said.

Listen to an interview with Caupert here and stay tuned for coverage of the hearing today: Interview John Caupert, NCERC

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Audio, corn, CUTC, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research, RFS

RIT & Synergy Biogas Partner on #Algae Project

Joanna Schroeder

A new project will be kicking off with partners Rochester Institute of Technology and Synergy Biogas to explore using microalgae to make biofuels as well as clean agricultural wastewater. The pilot program is headed up by Jeff Lodge, associate professor in RIT’s Thomas Gosnell School of Life Sciences, who will be utilizing a anaerobic digester located on Synergy Farms in Covington, New York to grow microalgae on digested biomass. The goal of the summer project is to study how the microalgae consumes contaminants in wastewater and produces algal biomass. Lodge will then take the resulting feedstock and covert it to renewable energy in the form of biofuels.

Jeff LodgeLodge will grow the microalgae in a 1,000-gallon tank at Synergy in a process that can be scaled up to treat 52,000 gallons, or 200,000 liters, of wastewater a day. The trial project will study the organisms’ ability to consume ammonia, phosphorous and nitrogen from digested biomass and reduce contaminants below state-mandated levels. Lodge’s past laboratory experiments with microalgae have reduced phosphorous in wastewater by greater than 90 percent to levels of 0.1 parts per million, exceeding the required 1 parts per million in New York.

“My research lab has moved from small scale laboratory experiments demonstrating the significant reduction in ammonia, nitrate, phosphate and coliforms in municipal wastewater to larger scale experiments both in the lab and onsite at wastewater treatment plants,” Lodge said.

With agricultural runoff a growing concern, the project has the ability to identify a feasible solution to reduce phosphorous and other contaminants from the resulting liquid fertilizer to mitigate the impact of runnoff into streams and rivers.

“We are truly excited about the opportunity to work with RIT on this innovative approach—it could be a game-changer toward reducing phosphorous loads—which would go a long way towards keeping the Great Lakes free of algae blooms,” said Lauren Toretta, president of CH4 Biogas, parent company of Synergy Biogas. “It increases the overall environmental benefit.”

The research team will also isolate lipids from the remaining algal biomass to make biodiesel and carbohydrates to produce bioethanol through yeast fermentations. Finally, the remaining biomass after this process will be added to the anaerobic digester as a co-substrate or will be used as a fertilizer.

advanced biofuels, algae, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Research, water

Corn Wet Milling Process Can Produce Bioproducts Galore

Joanna Schroeder

An interesting panel discussion took place this week at the 10th annual Corn Utilization Technology Conference (#CUTC16) about new and emerging technologies produced from the wet milling process of corn.

cutc-16-panelFor example, Kevin Coffman, part of the market development in ag environmental strategy group at Monsanto, discussed corn in the pipeline. The corn can be sold to an ethanol plant to produce ethanol and distillers grains, or could be sold for use in other products requiring food grade corn. However, said Coffman, a low carbon agricultural product such as ethanol, could just be the fuel of the future.

Fellow panelist Brent Shanks, Ph.D, with Iowa State University spoke about the conversion of biomes and biobased carbon into biochemicals and biomaterials as well as the paradigm of how to go after these products. Raghunath V. Chaudhari, Ph.D., who works at the University of Kansas, is focused on converting biomes to biochemicals with the use of a catalyst. New catalytic materials can change the use of current technologies to create something better stressed Chaudhari.

In addition, John White, Ph.D., with White Technical Research, is a consultant in the food and beverage industry. He focused his presentation on the opportunities of using corn as the basis for a wide range of sweetners, including a product currently in the R&D phase to fulfill consumers’ demands for more natural products.

To learn more, listen to Chuck Zimmerman’s interview with the panelists: Interview with CUTC Wet Milling Technologies Panel

Check out pictures from the conference: 2016 CUTC Photo Album.

advanced biofuels, Audio, biochemicals, biomaterials, bioproducts, CUTC

EPA #RFS Hearing Call-In Information

Joanna Schroeder

dontmesswithRFS_logoThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding a public hearing tomorrow, June 9, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. The hearing begins at 9:00 am CT at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, 2345 McGee Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64108. EPA representatives will be listening to comments related to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proposed rules, ‘‘Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2017 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2018’.’

A conference line has been set up for the public hearing in listen-only mode and will open when the hearing begins at 9:00 AM Central time.  To listen in to the hearing on June 9, 2016, dial: 877-396-8104 (Toll-Free) or 720-362-6938 (Toll), and enter participant code 29834687#.

In addition, Fuels America is holding a press conference at 10:30 am in Chouteau B on the mezzanine level
of the Sheraton. Speakings include:

  • Pete Ricketts, Governor of Nebraska
  • Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association
  • Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy
  • Chip Bowling, President of the National Corn Growers Association
  • Chris Soules, Iowa Farmer and Reality Television Star of “The Bachelor” & “Dancing with the Stars”
  • Annette Sweeney, Iowa Farmer and Former State Representative
  • Brian Sowers, Missouri Sportsman and Co-Host of Crappie Masters TV
  • Richard Fordyce, Missouri Director of Agriculture

Those unable to attend the press conference can watch it live via Periscope at Twitter.com/FuelsAmerica.

ZimmComm’s Chuck Zimmerman will be on site covering the hearing for Energy.AgWired.com with special thanks to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) for sponsoring are #RFS Hearing coverage.

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advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, EPA, Ethanol, RFS