BIO Tells EPA to Just Say No to Big Oil’s RFS Waiver

John Davis

biologo2Big Oil is trying to get out of its obligations under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), but an organization with close ties to the biofuels industry is calling on the government to stand its ground. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is asking Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy to reject the recent petition from American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers for a waiver of the 2014 volume obligations under the RFS. In an 11-page letter to the EPA, Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section said that Big Oil already enjoys great flexibility in planning and choosing how it will comply with the RFS, shooting holes in the petroleum industry’s argument that compliance would hurt the U.S. economy.

“BIO urges the EPA to deny the joint petition for several reasons. First, the petitioners do not meet the requirements to file the joint petition. The joint petition is also premature. The petitioners cannot demonstrate harm when the 2014 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) have not even been formally proposed.”

Erickson continues the 11-page letter, writing:

“The reality is that because they have blocked investment in infrastructure and created marketing challenges for higher blends of biofuels, the petitioners are now requesting the Administrator waive the 2014 RVOs to 9.7 percent of the domestic fuel supply. They created the very situation from which they are requesting relief.”

Erickson outlined the options Big Oil has, including accumulating Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) to meet its 2014 RFS RVOs. And he says “while some individual refiners may choose to restrict U.S. fuel supply as a compliance strategy, market competition and the increasing production of biofuels will work in tandem so such a restriction will not harm the U.S. economy or consumers.”

Erickson concludes saying that the oil companies have had five years to prepare for the 2014 obligations but chose not to, mostly to protect their monopoly on energy.

“The petitioners and their members should not be rewarded for these efforts.”

BIO, Government, Oil, RFS

Senator Calls for Review of RINS Market

Cindy Zimmerman

stabenow1Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is asking the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to review allegations of manipulation in the markets for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), the tracking mechanism to ensure petroleum blenders and refiners meet their requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Press reports have highlighted potential speculation and manipulation of the unregulated markets, possibly contributing to recent market volatility and spikes in price.

“I would like the CFTC to help determine whether factors other than supply and demand have been causing extraordinary volatility in the price of RINs and to what extent fraud and manipulation have been affecting the price of RINs,” Stabenow wrote to CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler. “I am concerned that a lack of transparency in these markets has made them more susceptible to manipulation. If this is the case, it is a problem that must be identified and fixed.”

growth-millerJim Miller, vice president and chief economist with Growth Energy, notes that RINS were something the oil industry requested when the RFS was being drafted to provide flexibility. “But there has been what appears to be some gaming, both in terms of speculation, as well as hoarding of RINS,” he said in an interview today with Domestic Fuel. “I think it’s interesting that the price of RINS skyrocketed just about the same time that the House was holding hearings on the RFS.” Since that time the price of RINS has dropped to about a third of what it was earlier this year. “That seems to me to be a bit odd,” he added.

Listen to or download Miller’s comment here: Jim Miller, Growth Energy

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Growth Energy, RFS, RINS

Analysis: Ethanol Cuts Gas Prices by $.50-1.00

John Davis

verlegerA new analysis shows that, thanks to ethanol, we’re paying $0.50-1.50 per gallon less for gasoline. The Renewable Fuels Association provided a short summary of the analysis by renowned energy economist Philip K. Verleger, former energy advisor to Presidents Ford and Carter.

“The implication for world consumers is clear… [T]he US renewable fuels program has cut annual consumer expenditures in 2013 between $700 billion and $2.6 trillion,” writes Verleger in a short commentary available on pkverlegerllc.com. “This translates to consumers paying between $0.50 and $1.50 per gallon less for gasoline.” The commentary summarizes a more detailed analysis that was included in Verleger’s August Petroleum Economics Monthly newsletter.

Crude oil prices would be between $15-$40 per barrel higher today without the substantial volumes of ethanol that have been added to petroleum inventories since enactment of the RFS. According to the commentary, the RFS today has added “…the equivalent of Ecuador’s crude oil output to the world market at a time of extreme tightness.”

The analysis credits in large part the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that has helped keep higher commercial crude oil inventories, and thus, prices lower.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

RFA National Ethanol Conference Registration Opens

John Davis

NEC1Time to finalize your plans to attend the Renewable Fuels Association’s 19th Annual National Ethanol Conference with the theme of Falling Walls, Rising Tides, Feb. 17-19, 2014. Conference registration is now open, and the RFA needs you at the JW Marriot in Orlando, Fla.

Now more than ever our industry should be proud of its success in bringing down barriers that limit our production and use, and which have resulted in noticeable reductions in demand for fossil fuels and imports, expanded markets around the world for both fuel and food, and consumer choice for renewable, domestic fuel options. We have answered the call with the introduction of E15, a proven fuel that is cost-effective for both consumers to use and retailers to install and provide. We see continued growth in E85 due to positive economics, and opportunities for advanced ethanol have never been brighter as the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) rises steadily over the coming years.

This is one event you sure don’t want to miss, as more than 1,200 attendees are expected for the two days chocked full of valuable, impactful ethanol expertise and numerous networking opportunities. Click here to register.

conferences, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, News, RFA

Defunding Biodiesel, Ethanol Center Draws Rep’s Ire

John Davis

SONY DSCThe North Carolina legislature’s lack of approving funds for a center that promotes the development of biodiesel and ethanol in the state draws the ire of one of its own members. In an opinion piece for the Herald Sun of Durham, N.C., State Representative G.K. Butterfield says the Biofuels Center of North Carolina in Oxford will soon close for good without the funding, and he says that is short-sighted for a job incubator that has created more than 21,000 clean energy jobs in the state.

[T]he misguided leadership in the General Assembly has voted against job creation by defunding the Biofuels Center in the state’s FY2014 budget… We simply cannot afford to reject job creation and the building of new industries in our state by standing idly by and allowing the General Assembly to shut the door on expanding employment opportunities and innovation…

With the help of the Biofuels Center, our state has become a leader in renewable fuel production. The Biofuels Center has invested $10.1 million in 71 projects throughout North Carolina dedicated to working with farmers to develop new biofuel crops and working with companies to build new manufacturing capacity to produce those fuels, especially in rural communities like many of those I represent in eastern North Carolina. Our state has five major biodiesel producers and leads the nation in biodiesel stations. When superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, Triangle Biofuels in Wilson provided significant amounts of biodiesel to the Northeast to respond to critical fuel shortages.

Butterfield points out that the Biofuels Center has been operating on a $4 million annual budget, less than two one hundredths of a percent of the entire state budget, while leveraging hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment and creating hundreds of jobs in new energy markets. He concludes that “North Carolinians deserve better.”

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Government, Research

New E15 Stations Give Dakota Drivers More Choice

John Davis

RFA-logo-13Six new E15 stations will give North Dakota drivers more choices at the pump. The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed the move at the six Petro Serve USA locations in Bismarck, Mandan, West Fargo, and Fargo, as North Dakota becomes the ninth state to offer E15 to consumers with vehicles 2001 and newer.

“We are committed to offering our customers choice at the pump,” says Kent Satrang, CEO of Petro Serve USA. “Ethanol blends are the perfect partnership between North Dakota’s corn fields and oil fields. E15 provides a very cost-effective option for our consumers.”

E15 is EPA tested and approved for all vehicles 2001 and newer. It has been offered for over 14 months and has been driven over 40 million miles. E15 is shown to save drivers an average of 10-15 cents per gallon compared to gasoline without ethanol. With the addition of the six North Dakota Petro Serve USA locations, E15 is now available in more than 40 stations in nine states.

“North Dakota drivers now have additional, cost-saving options at the pump,” said Robert White, Renewable Fuels Association’s director of market development. “A recent Fuels America poll showed that 82% of Americans want E15 to be available at the gas station. It is tremendous to see stations in state after state begin to offer E15 and I hope this trend will continue in North Dakota as other stations see the success of the six Petro Serve USA stations. The spread of E15 is only beginning and I am proud that North Dakota is helping lead the way in E15 implementation.”

E15 is a natural fit for the state, as the North Dakota Ethanol Council points out ethanol plants in the state contribute approximately $640 million/year to the economy, and they directly create nearly 200 in-state jobs and indirectly support 10,000 more. Plus, ethanol is made from local grain and creates a high protein feedstock, dried distiller grains (DDGS) for local farms.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News, RFA

Wine Chemicals Uncork Biodiesel Potential

John Davis

IonAgirre1Chemicals found in wine could help uncork the potential in biodiesel. Researchers at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country in Spain are looking into how acetals, chemical compounds found in many wines, can improve biodiesel’s properties.

From the point of view of chemistry, acetals are obtained through the reaction of an alcohol and an aldehyde. They are generated naturally in fermentation processes. For example, in many wines like port, acetals are the indicators of quality because of the tremendously special, sweet smell they give the wine. When the liquid is poured from glasses into the fuel tank, the acetals improve the properties of the biodiesel when they mix with it: combustion is more effective and, what is more, it is less polluting because engine performance is increased. It is vitally important to come up with a method to obtain acetals easily and cheaply, as a litre of biodiesel may have an acetal content of about 15%.

It is easy to produce acetals in a laboratory, but designing an industrial-scale process is quite another matter, according to the UPV/EHU researcher Ion Agirre. He is trying to make this process possible with the help of his colleagues in the SUPREN group. He has experimented with the alcohol that is the by-product of sugar-rich plants (sugar cane, beetroot, etc.) and also with glycerol, both of which are alcohols of renewable origin. Glycerol is also an alcohol and is a by-product obtained from the reaction to produce the biodiesel. It is used, above all, in cosmetic creams and other products, but it is difficult to channel all the glycerol generated in biodiesel production to this use. That is why it would be advantageous to validate this compound in acetal production.

The researchers found that glycerol-based acetals transmit better properties to the biodiesel compared to alcohols such as ethanol or butanol. They hope to translate this knowledge to a commercial scale.

Biodiesel, International

DF Cast: Ethanol Battles for Info & Against the Gov’t

John Davis

Understanding what the auto industry wants and needs… and how ethanol can meet that… all while battling Big Oil and even the government… that’s the daunting task the ethanol industry has been facing for some time.

ACE13-uniteandignite-vandergriendIn this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk with Dave Vander Griend, the co-founder and president of one of the world’s largest ethanol plant engineering and construction firms, ICM. He talks about how first the ethanol industry needed to identify what the auto industry needed and then what the refineries were producing, a first on both counts for the ethanol industry. He says once his industry was able to see what the car makers wanted, it was easier to figure out how to counter some of the arguments Big Oil has been making against ethanol.

Meanwhile, the Urban Air Initiative, a group that looks to reduce the threat to public health posed by petroleum-based fuels, issued a white paper, dispelling Big Oil’s myths and countering what the group characterizes as an erroneous report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would hurt ethanol.

It’s a fascinating conversation, and you can hear more of it in this Domestic Fuel Cast: Domestic Fuel Cast - Dave Vander Griend, ICM and Urban Air Initiative

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, blends, Domestic Fuel Cast, E15, E85, Environment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, News, Oil, RFS

Importance of Argentine Soy Complex

Cindy Zimmerman

ifaj13-foropaisForo PAIS – Productores Agro Industriales de Soja – was born in 2011 with the purpose of promoting the Argentine soy agro-industry and we learned more about it during the IFAJ 2013 Congress.

Foro PAIS Communications and Institutional Relations Director Dr. Adrián Figueroa says soybean production is a huge industry for Argentina. “Soybean production in Argentina in the last ten years has permitted this country to be the first exporter in biodiesel, soybean meal and soybean oil,” he told us.

One of the main reasons for this is Argentina’s large and technologically advanced crushing facilities near to the ports and production areas. “We have huge plants that can produce almost 20,000 tons per day,” he said. “All the arable land is close to the industry sector so in terms of transportation, the cost is so low.”

Listen to my conversation with Dr. Figueroa here: Interview with Adrián Figueroa, Foro PAIS

2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Audio, Biodiesel, International, Processing, Production, Soybeans

BASF to Acquire Verenium

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF BASF Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire biotechnology company Verenium Corporation.

The agreement, in which BASF will purchase all of the outstanding shares of Verenium’s common stock for US$4.00 per share, has been unanimously approved by both Verenium’s and BASF’s Boards of Directors. Based on all outstanding shares and including all net financial liabilities, the enterprise value would be approximately US$62 million. Verenium is based in San Diego, California, and generated sales of US$57 million in 2012. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

VereniumVerenium Corporation is focused on the development and commercialization of high-performance enzymes for a number of applications, including biofuels production. According to a BASF press release, the company believes that combining “Verenium’s scientific and technological excellence with BASF’s enzyme activities and its global access into all relevant markets will strengthen BASF’s footprint in the strategic enzyme growth market.”

advanced biofuels, BASF, biofuels