RFA: 3rd Triennial Biofuels Report “Needs Work”

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released Third Triennial Report to Congress on the environmental impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard “takes some constructive steps but needs work,” according to the Renewable Fuels Association.

In comments during a peer review meeting last week, RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman pointed out several issues with the content they hope will be addressed in the final report.

One example is how the report covers corn ethanol, which was the only biofuel in the program for which EPA conducted a quantitative analysis attributing a specific increase in volumes to the RFS. At the same time, Richman said, when it came to land use, EPA “combined corn and soybeans into a single category, masking the divergent trajectories of the two crops over the last decade.”

Richman also questioned the report’s overreliance on disputed research by Tyler Lark of the University of Wisconsin. “The term ‘Lark et al.’ appears at least 65 times in the report, not including footnotes,” Richman said. “However, the methods used in the 2022 study by Lark et al. have been critiqued or refuted by the USDA; researchers from Argonne, Purdue and the University of Illinois system; and even the EPA itself.”

Click to read Richman’s remarks. RFA will submit a full response to the Triennial report on March 6 when the formal written comments are due.

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

NEC 23 Panel Will Explore Implementation of IRA

Cindy Zimmerman

It is almost Go time for the Renewable Fuels Association 2023 National Ethanol Conference, starting next Tuesday Feb. 28 but there’s still time to register and plan to attend the event in Orlando, Florida – which probably sounds pretty good about right now to some in the major ethanol producing states getting hit with major snow!

Jared Mullendore, RFA’s Policy Counsel and Director of Government Affairs, is very excited to be leading a panel at the conference on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, which he says, “represents the most significant federal commitment to low-carbon biofuels since the Renewable Fuel Standard was expanded by Congress in 2007.”

The panel will feature experts on the tax credits within the IRA and who are working daily on its implementation, including Dana Jackson, National Leader for the Federal Credits and Incentives practice for RSM US. Jorge Medina is the co-leader of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s Renewable Energy practice, and Matt Lauer is VP of Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage, Foss & Company.

Learn more in this interview with Mullendore here:
RFA's Jared Mullendore previews NEC23 8:27

Audio, Carbon, carbon capture, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

RFA Analysis Says MN E15 Sales Even Higher in 2022

Cindy Zimmerman

Minnesota sales of E15 last year were actually even higher than reported by the state, according to a new Renewable Fuels Association analysis of data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

The data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce reports 105.47 million gallons of E15 were sold in 2022, 21 percent more than the previous record of 87.11 million gallons sold in 2021. However, the department’s calculations are based solely on reported sales from only 270 of the 437 states in Minnesota that carry E15.

RFA’s analysis extrapolated the data to add in approximate sales from the other 167 stations and determined the record is more like 171 million gallons in Minnesota in 2022. “This represented a 31 percent increase over the prior year due to a combination of more stations offering E15, ethanol’s cost-competitiveness, and steps taken by the Biden administration to avoid obsolete restrictions on summertime E15 sales nationally.”

However, RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper says this progress is at risk unless the administration moves quickly to allow the blend to be sold in Minnesota and other Midwest states this summer. “We are pleased that consumers in Minnesota opted to purchase record volumes of lower-priced, lower-carbon E15 last year,” said Cooper. “However, the clock is ticking for the EPA to take the action required to allow E15 to be sold in Minnesota and other Midwest states this summer. The EPA is obligated to issue regulations immediately in response to the governors’ petitions, and the administration should put its full weight behind finding a permanent solution to allow E15 to be sold year-round nationally, such as supporting the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act.”

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

New Governor to Headline Nebraska Ethanol Forum

Cindy Zimmerman

Newly-elected Governor of Nebraska Jim Pillen will join the Nebraska Ethanol Board and Renewable Fuels Nebraska for the annual Ethanol: Emerging Issues Forum March 6-7 in La Vista, Nebraska.

Gov. Pillen and Dr. Venus Welch-White, senior advisor to the Agricultural Advisor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will headline the event and discuss how Nebraska ethanol plays a role in agriculture, the economy, and sustainability. The Innovation Showcase highlights three carbon-reducing technologies and reviews the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project in South Dakota.

This year’s Forum also includes resources to learn about investing in decarbonization projects and infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy and USDA will review past, current, and future funding, while Advanced Resources International helps make economic sense of carbon marketing and shows ethanol producers how credits can stack up in their favor.

Registration and a detailed agenda are available at ethanol.nebraska.gov/events/emerging-issues-forum/. Nebraska ethanol producers, students, media, and Nebraska legislators are welcome to attend at no cost. Registration ends Feb. 26.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

RFA Offers Emergency Response ‘Train the Trainer’ Webinars

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association is hosting a series of four “train the trainer” webinars this year for emergency response professionals interested in learning how to train their colleagues and others on proper responses to emergencies involving ethanol.

With the support of safety organization TRANSCAER and the Federal Railroad Administration, professional hazmat trainer Joel Hendelman will teach individuals how to train others in ethanol emergency response tactics and procedures.

“Train the Trainer” is a pay-it-forward program; 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 is open to all individuals interested in learning how to teach ethanol emergency response, but will be tailored toward ethanol production facility employees, ethanol safety professionals, railroad safety professionals, emergency responders, firefighters, police officers and emergency management professionals.

All webinars are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST / 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST and the first webinar is scheduled for TODAY Thursday, February 23.

Click on the dates to register, which is required.

Thursday, April 20
Thursday, June 15
Thursday, August 29

Certificates will be awarded at the completion of the training.

In 2022, more than 1,200 attendees were trained via 37 training opportunities supported by RFA. Since its inception in 2010, RFA’s safety program has been responsible for training over 15,000 individuals and conducting nearly 400 training sessions and events. For more information on RFA’s work in this area, visit the Ethanol Emergency Response website at http://www.ethanolresponse.com, where the training programs conducted in the seminars and webinars can be seen.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, safety

Clean Fuels’ Fenwick on ASTM International Board

Cindy Zimmerman

Clean Fuels Alliance America technical director Scott Fenwick began a three-year term on the ASTM International board of directors earlier this month. The 25-member board, which consists of leaders from companies, associations, universities, government bodies and other organizations around the world, integrates consensus standards to positively impact public health and safety.

Fenwick previously served as chairman of the ASTM International committee on petroleum products, liquid fuels and lubricants. He also serves as a member of gasoline and middle distillates working groups at the Canadian General Standards Board, and he is the U.S. Technical Advisory Group head of delegation for two petroleum groups in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Fenwick spent nearly 25 years in the fuel inspection industry before joining Clean Fuels Alliance America in 2013 where he is responsible for coordinating the original engine manufacturer (OEM) and fuel quality programs.

Biodiesel, Clean Fuels Alliance, Energy

RFA Comments on SAF Tax Credit

Cindy Zimmerman

In comments to the Department of Treasury, the Renewable Fuels Association said the use of science-based, consistent and transparent lifecycle analysis methods will be crucially important in implementing the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act.

“SAF production presents a major new market opportunity for ethanol producers, as the lifecycle carbon footprint of ethanol continues to shrink and the economics of ethanol-to-jet fuel processes continue to improve,” wrote RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The ethanol industry sees tremendous promise and potential in the emerging market for sustainable aviation fuels. The ethanol industry has the scale and capacity to deliver the volume of feedstock to meet SAF volume targets for the decades to come.”

However, Cooper pointed out that fair and consistent lifecycle analysis (LCA) modeling must be used for all potential SAF feedstocks and production pathways. “Rules which effectively pick one technology or feedstock over another or use incomplete or outdated science could serve as a barrier to entry and keep production volumes from reaching targets,” he wrote. Cooper noted that RFA member companies have unanimously committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Click to read RFA’s comments.

aviation biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, SAF

Iowa RFA Sounds Alarm on New CO2 Pipeline Legislation

Cindy Zimmerman

New legislation was introduced in the Iowa House this week to limit eminent domain for CO2 pipelines could impact the future of ethanol production in the state, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw says the legislation would create a “de facto ban” on new projects that allow Iowa ethanol producers to install carbon capture technology. “The difference between the rhetoric and reality on this bill is truly staggering,” said Shaw. “We hear about property rights, but this bill wouldn’t impact the next Dakota Access oil pipeline or Rock Island Clean Line Transmission project. We hear about safety, but this bill doesn’t apply to pipelines that carry explosive or flammable liquids while CO2 is neither. Instead, this bill singles out for destruction the single most important technology we have to keep liquid fuels like ethanol competitive with electric vehicles in the rapidly growing low carbon transportation markets. It is no surprise that anti-agriculture groups like the Sierra Club support preventing carbon capture and sequestration from going forward.”

“The bill is a veritable cornucopia of unreasonable regulations narrowly targeted at CCS technology,” continued Shaw. “For example, section three of the bill would allow just two people to effectively veto an interstate CCS project even if that project had 100 percent voluntary easements. It would only take two county supervisors to enact an ordinance, like a setback requirement that is physically impossible to meet, and then the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) would be prevented from issuing a final permit.”

IRFA does not object to the provisions in the bill that clarify and expand landowner rights that apply to all projects that come before the IUB.

“IRFA continues to urge all Iowans to unite to find a fair and equitable path forward for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects – fair and equitable to landowners, CCS projects and communities,” stated Shaw. “Further, any changes to the IUB permitting process should apply to all applicants, not just CO2 pipelines.”

Carbon, carbon capture, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

2022 Minnesota E15 Sales Exceed 100 Million Gallons

Cindy Zimmerman

The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association reports that annual sales of E15 fuel in Minnesota topped 100 million gallons last year for the first time ever.

According to data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, 105.47 million gallons of E15 were sold in 2022, 21 percent more than the previous record of 87.11 million gallons sold in 2021.

“The record E15 sales last year reported by the Minnesota Department of Commerce demonstrate that when consumers go to the pump they want a cheaper, more environmentally friendly option. E15 provides that option and we need our state and federal policymakers to double down on biofuel infrastructure investments and summertime regulatory relief so that its benefits are available to consumers year-round and at every gas station in the state,” said Brian Werner, executive director at the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

Meanwhile, E85 sales in Minnesota in 2022 totaled 15.38 million gallons, based on data from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, a 28 percent increase from the volume of E85 sold in the state in 2021.

E15, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News