Verbio Harvesting Stover for RNG

Cindy Zimmerman

For the second year, Verbio is harvesting corn stover to be used as a feedstock to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) at its large-scale plant in Nevada, Iowa, and looking to begin ethanol production later this year.

“We are excited about this new harvest season,” says Greg Faith, President of the Verbio Nevada Biorefinery. “Unlocking the value of organic residue materials by creating RNG is a rapidly growing market in the United States. Successfully cooperating with local growers in the region is the foundation of our business, especially here in Iowa. The potential benefits of corn stover as a renewable fuel source are massive. We are planning to harvest approximately 135,000 bales of stover required to ensure full production over the next 12 months.”

Once a farmer has completed harvest in a field that is under contract, Verbio’s agronomy team chops, bales, and hauls corn stover off to be stored on site at the Nevada plant and used in the RNG production process. Verbio has been producing renewable natural gas from corn stover on an industrial scale at the Nevada plant since December 2021. It is injected directly into the natural gas distribution and transmission grid to be utilized as a climate friendly green fuel.

Besides looking forward to a successful corn stover harvest for RNG production, Verbio is working on the commissioning of ethanol production in addition to the biomethane produced at the Nevada plant. Operations are expected to begin in the 4th quarter of 2023. “The integration of RNG and ethanol production, unique to Verbio, incorporates advanced operational technology to build on the company’s successful experiences in Europe. The Verbio Nevada biorefinery will be the largest plant in the country to utilize this advanced technology. It will open up even more opportunities to the Iowa farmer, as well as provide a renewable alternative solution to fossil fuels.”

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RNG

Clean Fuels Conference 2024 Registration Open

Cindy Zimmerman

Registration is now open for the 2024 Clean Fuels Conference, February 5-8, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The annual Clean Fuels Alliance America event for biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel includes a full slate of educational sessions featuring industry experts and plenty of networking opportunities. Attendees include clean fuels producers and marketers, distributors, feedstock providers, fleet managers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), ESG officers and members of the media.

Early bird pricing for registration ends November 17, 2023. Click here for details.

aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, Clean Fuels Alliance, renewable diesel, SAF

EPA Official Highlights Agency’s Biofuels Support

Cindy Zimmerman

EPA’s Senior Advisor for Agriculture Rod Snyder talked about the agency’s commitment to biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) during an appearance Monday at the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City.

“In June, EPA finalized the largest renewable volume obligations in the history of the RFS,” said Snyder. “We project the new standard will require nearly seven billion RINS worth of advanced biofuels, including biomass-based diesel, in 2025. That’s a nearly 40 percent increase over the 2022 baseline.”

“For corn-based ethanol, the final rule sets targets at or above the 15 billion gallon statutory level for all three years, that had not been done prior to this administration…We estimate the RFS increases revenue for farmers by approximately 18 billion dollars every single year.”

Snyder was asked about the recent Science Advisory Board (SAB) report on the climate impacts of corn ethanol and the RFS, which was the topic at a hearing last week. Snyder first clarified that the SAB is an independent entity so the report is “not something that was initiated at the career or staff level.” Beyond that, he said, “everyone agrees that we need to do a better job of valuing the greenhouse gas benefits of various feedstocks…we’re appreciative of the SAB for raising the issue.”

Listen to Snyder’s comments related to biofuels from the Ag Outlook Forum
2023 Ag Outlook Forum - Rod Snyder, EPA 4:54

advanced biofuels, Agri-Pulse, Agribusiness, Audio, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Report on Environmental Benefits

Cindy Zimmerman

One might think that after nearly two decades of the Renewable Fuel Standard that the environmental benefits of corn ethanol would be accepted, but one might be wrong.

According to a draft report from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), the effectiveness of the RFS in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions “remains highly uncertain from a scientific perspective” and there may be “minimal or no climate benefits” related to substituting corn ethanol for gasoline.

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper brought the ethanol industry’s concerns about the report in testimony to the SAB this past week, and he questions what impact it could have on how the U.S. Treasury decides to treat corn ethanol as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credits. He talks about it in this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast.

Ethanol Report 9-21-23 16:55

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.

Choose an option to subscribe

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

Ethanol Groups Challenge EPA Board Over Climate Benefits

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) heard testimony Thursday from ethanol organizations challenging a recent report on the climate impacts of corn ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The workgroup draft commentary was sent to EPA Administrator Michael Regan regarding the RFS “Set” Rule.

Dr. Sheila Olmstead, University of Texas at Austin Professor of Public Affairs, chaired the working group that drafted the commentary and she summarized their findings. “The RFS requires that qualifying fuels have life cycle GHG emissions no greater than 80 percent of those of gasoline and diesel,” said Olmstead. “About one third of the estimates cited for corn ethanol would suggest this renewable fuel is unlikely to meet the 80 percent threshold…this is a good deal more uncertainty than we see for the other biofuels reviewed.” Olmstead added that much of the variations regarding corn ethanol’s climate benefits relative to gasoline and diesel has to do with its “impacts on land-use change.”

Listen to Olmstead’s summary remarks here:
Dr. Sheila Olmstead remarks 3:19

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper urged the SAB to review EPA’s own analysis showing a significant reduction in cropland since the RFS was enacted and Argonne National Laboratory’s extensive research demonstrating ethanol’s significant carbon savings.

“We adamantly disagree with the SAB’s assertion that ‘the best available science’ suggests there are ‘minimal climate benefits’ associated with using corn ethanol in place of gasoline,” Cooper said. “Indeed, the best available science shows just the opposite. Extensive research conducted by government laboratories, major universities, state and federal agencies, NGOs, and private lifecycle analysis experts all demonstrates that corn ethanol is 40-50 percent less carbon intensive than petroleum on a full lifecycle basis—including emissions from hypothetical land use change scenarios.”

Listen to Cooper’s comments here:
RFA CEO Geoff Cooper remarks 4:25

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings refutes the “outrageous claim” that corn starch ethanol may not meet the necessary scientific requirement of having no more than 80 percent of the lifecycle GHG emissions of gasoline. “There is no fact-based debate regarding the lifecycle GHG emissions of corn starch ethanol compared to gasoline,” Jennings stated in ACE’s response. “To the degree debate exists at all, it is not vigorous, unless one takes into consideration the vigor of misinformation campaigns orchestrated by various groups who are self-interested in their opposition to ethanol.”

Jennings also noted the SAB makes no mention of the GREET model but makes multiple references to discredited studies by Tyler Lark et al., with land use change (LUC) at the center of Lark’s attacks on corn ethanol. “While the Lark paper received outsized attention from the RFS workgroup letter, his biased methodology led to a LUC “result” which is far outside GREET CCLUB [Carbon Calculator for Land Use and Land Management Change from Biofuels production] results and other comprehensive and authoritative research done on this topic,” Jennings’ comments state.

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) CEO Neil Caskey also testified to the board, noting that the research shows unequivocally that ethanol is important to addressing climate change. “There are no shortage of studies on the environmental benefits of corn ethanol,” Caskey said. “The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, for example, has conducted extensive research on the matter and concluded that corn ethanol has reduced GHG emissions in the U.S. by 544 million metric tons from 2005- 2019 and that the feedstock’s carbon intensity is 44 percent lower than that of petroleum gasoline.”

Caskey also refuted the idea that farmers are growing more corn for ethanol. “American farmers planted an estimated 94.1 million acres of corn in 2023, which falls short of the more than 100 million acres corn farmers planted a century ago,” Caskey noted. “In the past decade, U.S. corn production has been over six times the production of the 1930s with fewer corn acres.”

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

Oilseeds Stakeholders Urge Use of GREET Model for SAF

Cindy Zimmerman

Clean Fuels Alliance America, the American Soybean Association, the National Oilseed Processors Association, and the U.S. Canola Association this week wrote to a senior energy advisor urging the Biden administration to support the investments made by U.S. companies and farmers who are ramping up production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The trade associations, whose combined memberships represent the entire value chain for SAF production, sent a letter to John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, asking the administration to recognize the most recent version of the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model as the “similar methodology” option specified in the Inflation Reduction Act for determining SAF tax credit eligibility.

“U.S. producers of SAF and their partners in farming and oilseed processing should be able to rely on the GREET model to calculate the value of SAF credits. Without this, our combined members and others in the industry may not be able to follow through on investments in SAF production,” the groups state in the letter.

The letter asks the administration to consider the billions of dollars that members of the associations have made to build new or optimize existing production facilities and expand availability of sustainable, homegrown, low-carbon feedstocks like soybean oil and canola. The letter further points out that the SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap recognizes that the goal to produce three billion gallons of SAF by 2030 will rely on expanded use of soybean oil and canola.

ASA, aviation biofuels, Clean Fuels Alliance, Oil, SAF, Soybeans

ACE Announces 2023 Scholarship Program Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) congratulates the 2023 scholarship recipients Elizabeth Studer, Mallory Moorman and Kaelyn Drury. Each student receives a $1,000 scholarship through ACE’s Scholarship Program to help further their collegiate education.

Elizabeth Studer is from Madison, South Dakota, and is pursuing degrees in History and Music Performance at Minnesota State University – Mankato in Mankato, MN. Elizabeth participated in marching, jazz and concert band, choir, theater, and oral interpretation. Her father, Chris Studer, is an employee of ACE member East River Electric Power Cooperative in Madison, SD.

Mallory Moorman is from Glenvil, Nebraska, and is attending the University of Nebraska – Omaha, in Omaha, Nebraska, where she studies Chemistry. Mallory was a member of Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, High Honor Roll, and Mentoring Works. Mallory is the daughter of Matthew Moorman. Her father is affiliated with ACE ethanol producer member Chief Ethanol Fuels in Hastings, NE.

Kaelyn Drury is from Blue Hill, Nebraska, and is pursuing a degree in Nutrition and Exercise Science, with a minor in Psychology at the University of Nebraska – Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Kaelyn is a Peer Mentor, volunteers at Food Fort After-School Program and Foster Care Closet and is a member of the Student Alumni Association. Kaelyn is the daughter of Terry Drury. Her father is affiliated with ACE ethanol producer member Chief Ethanol Fuels in Hastings, NE.

The ACE Scholarship Program was initiated in 2004, and ACE has since awarded $68,000. Scholarships are made available to employees and dependents of employees and shareholders of ACE Ethanol Producer, Voting and Associate member companies and organizations.

ACE, Ethanol

NCGA Tells EPA to Follow the Science on Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) sent a letter last week to the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan addressing recent concerns raised by the agency’s scientific advisory board about the environmental benefits of ethanol.

In the letter, NCGA CEO Neil Caskey noted that the research shows unequivocally that ethanol is important to addressing climate change. “There are no shortage of studies on the environmental benefits of corn ethanol,” Caskey said. “The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, for example, has conducted extensive research on the matter and concluded that corn ethanol has reduced GHG emissions in the U.S. by 544 million metric tons from 2005- 2019 and that the feedstock’s carbon intensity is 44 percent lower than that of petroleum gasoline.”

The letter was sent after EPA’s scientific advisory board submitted draft commentary on the Volume Requirements for 2023 and Beyond under the Renewable Fuel Standard Program. In the commentary, the advisory board questions ethanol’s ability to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and raises concerns that the production of ethanol increases land use.

The letter noted that corn growers are doing more with less land.

“American farmers planted an estimated 94.1 million acres of corn in 2023, which falls short of the more than 100 million acres corn farmers planted a century ago,” Caskey noted. “In the past decade, U.S. corn production has been over six times the production of the 1930s with fewer corn acres.”

corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Clean Fuels Assesses Global UCO Supplies

Cindy Zimmerman

Growing demand for cleaner fuels like biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is creating a new opportunity to develop additional supplies of low-carbon fats and oils, including used cooking oil and surplus crop oils, according to Clean Fuels Alliance America, which has released a new report assessing potential global supplies of used cooking oil (UCO) to meet that demand through 2030.

In 2022, global UCO trade reached 3.7 billion gallons, according to the report authors, LMC International/GlobalData Plc. With anticipated demand and added value from biodiesel and renewable diesel production, the supply could grow to between 5 billion and 10 billion gallons by 2030, the authors project. With additional global UCO collection, the potential supply could increase by an additional 4 billion to 7 billion gallons.

The report indicates that the United States has the most well-developed UCO collection system, due to long-standing practices for its use and disposal. In 2022, the U.S. supply reached 850 million gallons. Increasing biodiesel and renewable diesel production is incentivizing domestic use of that supply – curbing recent export trends. The report identifies additional room for growth in U.S. collection to 1.1 billion gallons.

Read the report.

aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Clean Fuels Alliance

ACE Renews Call for E15 Certainty

Cindy Zimmerman

As the sun sets on the summer driving season, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is renewing its call to the administration to make this the last year of uncertainty for the nation’s fuel retailers offering E15 (15% ethanol) by finalizing the regulation to eliminate the 1-pound per square inch (psi) Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver in eight states.

As gas prices in several states across the U.S. are predicted to spike anywhere from 50 cents to $1 per gallon, E15 remains a lower cost fuel, which saved consumers filling up on E15 last summer an average of 16 cents per gallon compared to regular gas, and in some parts of the U.S. the savings approached $1 per gallon.

“Ethanol costs almost a dollar less per gallon than gasoline right now, even without the RIN [Renewable Identification Number] value. That gives E15 and flex fuel retailers a huge advantage over their competition,” said Ron Lamberty, ACE Chief Marketing Officer. “While lower prices appeal to most consumers, E15 is also the lowest carbon regular gasoline most vehicles can use today. If Congress and the administration are serious about reducing carbon pollution, they should take action to get E15 across the finish line — it’s a simple solution that will make cleaner fuel available while saving drivers money at the pump.”

“The biofuels industry is not alone in our call, the American Petroleum Institute has joined us in supporting a permanent, national solution to allow E15 year-round through Congress.” Lamberty added. “As the summer driving season comes to an end, we renew our call to the Administration to promptly finalize its E15 rule in Midwest states and urge for Congressional support for the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act.”

ACE, E15, EPA, Ethanol