Ethanol Sets New Export Record

Cindy Zimmerman

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The latest export data for marketing year 2023/2024 from USDA shows exports of U.S. ethanol set a record at 1,746,490,298 gallons sold internationally and a single-market record of 23.4 million metric tons (924 million bushels) shipped to Mexico. That helped sales of U.S. grains in all forms (GIAF) increased to more than $48 billion.

“We applaud U.S. farmers and producers for their outstanding efforts in increasing exports this marketing year, and especially to ethanol producers who continue their trajectory of outstanding growth to meet global market demands,” said Ryan LeGrand, U.S. Grains Council (USGC) president and CEO.

The new ethanol record does not include an estimated 140.5 million gallons of ethanol exported to Japan in the form of ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), emphasizing the incredible accomplishments of the U.S. biofuels industry during the past year.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USGC

RFA Calls New California LCFS Updates Fundamentally Flawed

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association says proposed regulations updating California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard are “fundamentally flawed” and could significantly restrict the future use of low-carbon ethanol in the state.

In comments submitted last week to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman asserts that renewable fuel producers and California consumers will both suffer if CARB moves ahead with its proposal for new “sustainability” requirements and an arbitrary new method for assigning hypothetical land use change penalties.

CARB says the onerous new sustainability requirements are necessary to mitigate the “rapid expansion of biofuel production and biofuel feedstock demand.” However, the data clearly show that there is no “rapid expansion” in U.S. corn ethanol production and historical growth has been accommodated with existing cropland and higher productivity. Applying the sustainability criteria to U.S. corn ethanol makes no sense in light of the hard evidence documenting the efficiency and sustainability associated with the industry’s growth, according to RFA’s comments. Moreover, the proposed changes are unworkable for U.S. farmers and ethanol producers, RFA said. The proposal includes overreaching language that appears to extend beyond CARB’s authority, along with unrealistic requirements for commodity traceability.

“CARB should seriously reconsider such a broad and sweeping mandate that could result in an invalidation of LCFS credits due to an unrelated violation that occurs outside of both a fuel provider’s control and CARB’s jurisdiction,” wrote Richman.

RFA also argues that the development and assignment of land use change penalties should be based on scientific data and modeling and must be subject to an appropriate public rulemaking process.

“If CARB had its thumb on the scale against ethanol before, now they are trying to give themselves the authority to put their whole fist on the scale,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “This proposal is completely disconnected from reality and, if finalized, will very likely result in shortages of low-carbon fuels and higher fuel prices for California consumers.”

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

USDA Celebrates $3 Billion for Climate-Smart Commodities

Cindy Zimmerman

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack traveled to Pennsylvania last week to celebrate investing over $3 billion in 135 projects under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities since its creation in September 2022.

Vilsack highlighted the initiative’s success to date, including:

– Enrollment of over 3.2 million acres of working land into climate-smart practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon.
– Sequestered over 400,000 metric tons of carbon using a variety of direct measurement tools on the ground and testing nearly 50 different greenhouse gas models to verify results.
– Projects that have also produced low-carbon biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel.

Among the projects Vilsack highlighted is the Iowa Soybean Association’s Midwest Climate-Smart Community Program, which now has over 1800 farms enrolled in climate-smart production. The resulting corn, soy, sugar beats and wheat supply insetting markets where corporate entities aim to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.

Listen to Vilsack’s remarks:
Vilsack in Hershey, PA (26:41)

Audio, biofuels, Farming, SAF, Sustainability, USDA

Gevo Gets DOE Loan Commitment for SAF Facility

Cindy Zimmerman

Net-zero hydrocarbon fuels developer Gevo announced last week it received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.46 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Net-Zero 1 project (“NZ1”) in South Dakota. With capitalized interest during construction, the DOE loan facility has a borrowing capacity of $1.63 billion.

The NZ1 facility is being built in Lake Preston, South Dakota. It will use 100-percent U.S.-sourced feedstocks and is designed to produce approximately 60 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”), approximately 1.3 billion pounds of protein and animal feed products, and approximately 30 million pounds of corn oil per year. The design capability of the NZ1 facility, when combined with the Gevo business system, is expected to yield SAF with a net-zero carbon footprint on a lifecycle basis, including through the burning of the fuel. Gevo net-zero SAF projects are expected to catalyze the accelerated adoption of climate smart agricultural practices, support rural jobs and economic development, and reinforce domestic energy security.

NZ1 is the first-ever large-scale alcohol-to-jet (“ATJ”) project to receive a DOE LPO conditional commitment. “This marks a watershed moment for the Net-Zero 1 project and a critical step forward in Gevo’s mission to transform the aviation industry by providing a scalable, sustainable, and economical renewable-carbon-based jet fuel—SAF,” said Gevo CEO Dr. Patrick Gruber. “This valuable commitment to help finance NZ1, if finalized, should also attract other capital investments to unlock SAF commercialization given the robust due diligence conducted by the agency.”

While this conditional commitment indicates DOE’s intent to finance the project, DOE and the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, commercial, and financial conditions before the Department can enter into definitive financing documents and fund the loan guarantee.

aviation biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Chevron REG Invests in Terviva to Scale New Biofuel Feedstock

Cindy Zimmerman

Agricultural innovation company Terviva has announced an investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group to help scale production of pongamia for low carbon renewable fuel.

“Crude pongamia oil can be converted into biodiesel, renewable diesel, or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In working with Chevron Renewable Energy Group, we can increase the availability of feedstocks for production of these fuels while promoting our mission to revitalize agricultural land and communities. This relationship benefits stakeholders up and down the value chain, from farmers cultivating pongamia to fleets looking for lower carbon fuels,” said Naveen Sikka, founder, and CEO of Terviva.

Pongamia growing in Central Florida

Pongamia is a regenerative, permanent tree crop that stores carbon and produces a bean pod that can be used in turn to produce food, feed, and fuel. Terviva has been developing elite pongamia cultivars over 15 years of research trials spanning nearly 2,000 acres in Florida, Hawai’i and Australia. “Terviva’s pongamia trees produce three or more metric tons of beans per acre, which feature a high oil content,” said Sikka.

Terviva recently expanded its executive leadership team to include Simmarpal Singh as Chief Operating Officer, previously serving as CEO-India for COFCO International and prior to that for Louis Dreyfus India. Singh will focus on strengthening the upstream and midstream processes to expand the footprint of Terviva and pongamia across India, the U.S., Australia, and other parts of the world. “I think there is huge potential around pongamia,” said Singh. “I look forward to leveraging my deep experience in farming, origination, manufacturing, and international stakeholder management to work in a new commodity value chain that directly contributes toward improving our global climate.”

Learn more about Terviva and pongamia in this interview with CEO Naveen Sikka and COO Simmarpal Singh.
Interview with Terviva (19:04)

Audio, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, Feed, food and fuel, SAF

ACE Submits Comments on Climate-Smart Ag Practices

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) this week submitted virtual comments in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) request for information on the production of biofuel feedstocks using climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices.

ACE CEO Brian Jennings emphasized the organization’s key priorities and encouraged USDA to continue engaging with Treasury and leverage ACE’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects to help inform more accurate and updated GHG credit values for CSA practices as the Treasury Department implements the 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Jennings highlighted the following priorities:

Models and credit values for CSA practices should be routinely updated, incorporating data collected through ACE’s RCPP projects. Ultimately, our projects are designed to improve the accuracy of GREET and address perceived “information gaps” currently preventing farmers and ethanol producers from monetizing CSA practices in regulated markets.

45Z should allow individual CSA practices and stacking of agricultural practices. Do not require the all-or-none “bundled” approach from 40B or arbitrarily cap agriculture practice GHG credit values.

USDA has a long track record of stewarding federal taxpayer funds for commodity and conservation programs, ensuring that participating farmers meet necessary requirements to receive federal funds. If existing USDA protocols are sufficient for verifying the distribution of billions of taxpayer dollars for commodity and conservation programs, USDA protocols are equally sufficient for verifying the same practices for federal tax incentives such as 45Z. The Treasury Department should rely on existing USDA assets in the reporting and verification for the 45Z tax credit, and we encourage USDA to directly engage Treasury with respect to its expertise and experience in this area.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News, SAF, Sustainability, USDA

Farm Leaders Urge Action on Clean Fuels Credit

Cindy Zimmerman

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and leaders from the National Corn Growers Association and American Soybean Association met this week with Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation John Podesta to urge the administration to prioritize American-grown crops in the production of sustainable fuels.

Duvall said they expressed their concerns to Podesta about guidance needed for the Clean Fuel Production Credit and the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit. “Both have the potential to be valuable incentives to produce homegrown biofuels that will help lower the nation’s carbon emissions and keep America’s farmers economically sustainable, but improvements are needed,” said Duvall. “These are tax credits that should benefit Americans, not foreign companies.”

Duvall and the other agriculture leaders called for the administration to move quickly in adopting workable regulations for the tax credits, saying, “Time is of the essence. The Clean Fuels Production Credit is scheduled to go into effect next year, and farmers must soon decide whether they are willing and able to participate in the program. We urge Mr. Podesta and the administration to prioritize America’s farmers by establishing a domestic feedstock requirement for clean fuel production credits, and revise guidelines to make the goal of producing efficient biofuels more attainable.”

AFBF, Ag group, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, corn, SAF, Soybeans

Registration Open for 30th National Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

The ethanol industry will be getting “Back to Our Roots” in 2025 with the Renewable Fuels Association’s 30th annual National Ethanol Conference, taking place in Nashville February 17–19.

The milestone event is themed “Back to Our Roots” to reflect the ethanol industry’s humble beginnings, its incredible growth, and its enduring ties to American agriculture, according to RFA Board Chairman Jeff Oestmann, CEO of Aztalan Bio in Wisconsin.

“Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of this great conference gives us the opportunity to look back on how much has changed for our industry and celebrate both its pioneers and successes,” said Oestmann, who started his career in the industry at the second annual NEC. “I think it’s important to recognize something some people forget and that’s the deep, deep connection between ethanol and agriculture.”

Oestmann says the ethanol industry is proud of it’s rich history and tremendous growth over the past 30 years. “It’s nothing short of remarkable,” he said. “It stands as one of the greatest examples of value added agriculture in our history…and I see us growing even faster over the next ten years, really, than we have in the last 30.”

Oestmann talks about the upcoming 30th NEC and some of the big issues that will be in the spotlight in the latest edition of The Ethanol Report podcast:
Ethanol Report 10-4-24 15:12

Since 1996, NEC has been the nation’s most widely attended executive-level conference for the ethanol industry, where sessions featuring globally renowned speakers are interspersed with numerous networking opportunities to help the industry connect and collaborate. Last year in San Diego, RFA hosted nearly 900 industry stakeholders, hailing from 36 states and 20 other countries.

Early-bird registration provides substantial discounts until Dec. 2, and RFA members enjoy additional savings. Click here for more information and to register. For updates, follow NEC on X (formerly Twitter) at @EthanolConf, and track social media posts with the term #RFANEC.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference

ACE Ethanol Today Releases 2025 Editorial Themes

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) recently issued its lineup of 2025 editorial themes for the bimonthly industry trade magazine Ethanol Today. Since the launch of an enhanced digital platform last year at ethanol.org/ethanol-today — the publication aims to further expand its online presence in the coming year and offer additional print and digital magazine advertising opportunities.

“The response has been positive since we revamped Ethanol Today’s look and introduced a more robust digital experience for our readers,” said Katie Muckenhirn, ACE Vice President of Public Affairs. “We’re excited to keep growing this digital presence and invite companies interested in engaging with the biofuels industry to explore opportunities via our online forum.”

Upcoming editorial themes for Ethanol Today include insights into ethanol industry policy and regulatory priorities under the next administration and Congress, as well as business optimization, the expanding use of ethanol, efforts to promote higher blends, climate-smart farming practices within Low Carbon Fuel Standard markets, and expanded export opportunities.

The publication reaches every ACE member, including every ethanol plant across the U.S. and the offices of each member of Congress.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Corn Growers President Speaks Out for Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

NCGA president speaks at White House meeting (photo from NCGA)

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Kenneth Hartman Jr. this week spoke to officials at the White House, telling them that farmers are living through difficult economic times, but the administration and Congress can help by removing barriers so growers can access expanding markets for U.S. corn.

“On behalf of my fellow corn growers, I spoke about the need to make it possible for producers to access tax credits for sustainable aviation fuels,” Hartman said during an event called Farmers and Ranchers in Action. “The tax credit would help us expand the ethanol market, which is important to growers, while boosting the airline industry’s efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

Hartman also called on administration officials to help in any way they can with pending legislation, such as the farm bill.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, SAF