White House Reviewing Governors E15 Volatility Petition

Cindy Zimmerman

The White House Office of Management and Budget is now officially reviewing the request from nine Midwest governors to eliminate the 1-psi RVP waiver for E10 in their states and allow year-round sales of E15, according to the RegInfo.gov dashboard.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said, “OMB review marks an important step in this process, and we are pleased to see that the governors’ petition is moving ahead. This means the petition remains on track for approval before summer 2023, just as Administrator Regan outlined a few months ago. Of course, a legislative fix that applies nationwide (like the one introduced last week by Sens. Fischer and Klobuchar) would obviate the need for this multi-state petition, and we are actively pursuing that approach for E15 market access as well.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds led seven other Midwest Governors in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan in April of this year formally requesting a permanent Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that will allow each state to continue selling E15 year-round without restriction. In addition to Iowa, the states include Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine joined the petition as well in June, bringing the total number of states to nine.

E15, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

250 Groups Call for Senate Passage of Year-Round E15 Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

Over 250 organizations and companies signed a letter to Congressional leaders this week calling for quick passage of S. 5145, the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022, a bipartisan bill that allows for year-round of E15 by extending the 1-psi Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver to fuel blends containing gasoline and over 10 percent ethanol.

“Due to the current policy, it is extremely difficult for many fuel marketers and retailers that may desire to offer E15 to their customers in the summer months to source that product,” the letter states. “By ensuring uniformity across the nation’s fuel supply chain, federal legislation will provide more flexibility and result in more consistent outcomes than a state-by-state regulatory landscape. In the absence of such legislation, we could see gasoline marketplace uncertainty and political disputes over E15 continue to resurface every summer.”

The letter was signed by ethanol producer companies, organizations and stakeholders, farm groups, corn growers, petroleum interests, convenience store owners, and more. “We all agree that the marketplace desperately needs the certainty and stability that this legislation would provide,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “And by ensuring consumers nationwide have uninterrupted access to E15, this bill would help lower pump prices, enhance our nation’s energy security, and reduce emissions of both greenhouse gases and the pollutants that contribute to air pollution and smog.”

Earlier this week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said if they are unable to get the bill passed in the lame duck session it will be a priority in the new Congress. “I think that’s a very difficult thing to get done this year,” Grassley said during his weekly press call with farm reporters Tuesday. “But we are not going to stop fighting for it for sure.”

Read the letter.

ACE, Ag group, Audio, corn, E15, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association

Wayne Ovation Fuel Dispensers Get E40 Upgrades

Cindy Zimmerman

Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS) recently announced that all North American Wayne Ovation Fuel Dispensers will be supplied as compatible and UL-listed to E40/B20 as a standard feature. The announcement extends DFS’ UL compliance from E25 to E40, with the continued option of up to E85 available across all models and configurations, and makes DFS the first manufacturer of fuel dispensers to offer an E40 UL listing.

Scott Negley, Senior Director, Product Management at Dover Fueling Solutions, said the move reflects the company’s commitment to supplying retailers with the most flexible, reliable and future-proofed equipment options. “Regardless of the direction policy and next-generation vehicle technologies take, retailers can rest assured that their investments in our fuel dispensers will be viable for years to come.”

DFS works in partnership with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) to prepare for fueling advancements, enhance dispenser offerings and meet infrastructure needs for future mid-level ethanol blends.

“DFS continues to innovate by producing and selling dispensers certified to deliver fuel containing up to 40 percent ethanol,” said NCGA Vice President of Market Development Jim Bauman. “This initiative complements our policy priorities like the Next Generation Fuels Act and supports future demand for ethanol and corn farmers.”

“We want to congratulate DFS for being the first manufacturer to offer UL-certified E40 fuel dispensers,” said NCGA President Tom Haag. “This is an important step toward offering consumers additional choices at the pump supplied by ethanol, an affordable, domestically-produced source of octane that helps to reduce the environmental footprint of liquid fuels.”

blends, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Biofuels Industry Provides Input on IRA for IRS

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuel stakeholder organizations provided input this week to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on implementation of specific provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) related to credits for carbon sequestration and clean fuel production.

In its comments to the IRS, the Renewable Fuels Association stressed that, if implemented correctly, the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z) could lead to “transformative investments” in carbon reduction technologies in the ethanol sector. RFA advocates for the use of the Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model for lifecycle assessment related to the tax credit, including for sustainable aviation fuels.

In separate comments on Credit for Carbon Oxide Sequestration, RFA noted carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, or CCUS, “is an important tool for ethanol producers as they work toward their net-zero carbon emissions pledge.”

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings’ comments to the IRS noted that proper implementation of the new tax credit “will incentivize U.S. ethanol companies and farmers to invest in production processes and practices to reach these net-zero carbon intensity goals in a meaningful timeframe to address the current climate challenges.” ACE supports the use of the GREET model to make determinations about §45Z emission rates as directed in the IRA, but Jennings notes that certain emissions factors related to feedstock production (i.e., corn farming for corn-based ethanol) are not yet fully incorporated in the model and should be considered.

Clean Fuels Alliance America also advocated for use of the GREET model to measure the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Additionally, Clean Fuels asked that “Treasury allow producers to petition for provisional emissions reduction rates based on scores from California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.”

Clean Fuels also urged Treasury and IRS to “strictly adhere to the statutory prohibition on co-processed fuel, consistent with existing law under 40A for biomass-based diesel” and supports eligibility in the Clean Fuels Production Credit for use of biodiesel and renewable diesel in home heating oil.

ACE, Biodiesel, biofuels, Clean Fuels Alliance, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Economist Says Sustainable Aviation Fuel is the Future

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are big and getting bigger in the agricultural economy according to AgResource economist Dan Basse who presented his outlook for the industry at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS & Seed Expo 2022 this week in Chicago.

Basse says “green fuels” are very important to the current administration in the move toward electric vehicles, but some modes of transportation are unlikely to be electrified. “How many of you want to fly in a battery-powered airplane?” Basse asked. “Sustainable aviation fuel is going to be the future (and) will be a big deal for ethanol going forward.”

When it comes to renewable diesel, Basse says the industry is heavily investing in that future which demands lots of soybeans. “What is happening today is we’re building 23 new crush facilities, increasing soybean crush capacity 26% over the next four years. This is the biggest increase in crush capacity the United States has ever seen.”

Learn more in Basse’s report at ASTACSS and an interview specifically about renewables.
ASTACSS Dan Basse, AgResource, report 60:00

ASTACSS Dan Basse, AgResource, renewables outlook 4:25

Audio, aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, renewable diesel

Busse Named NCGA Director of Renewable Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has named Julie Busse as Director of Renewable Fuels to serve as lead staff for the organization’s Ethanol Action Team (ETHAT). 

For the past five years, Busse has worked in the NCGA communications department first as a manager, then senior manager, and most recently as director. She has supported the entire market development portfolio, which includes ethanol, animal agriculture and new uses. She also has served as the media relations lead for ag media, managed the organization’s content calendar, led NCGA’s communications metrics reporting efforts, and more. Last year, she was recognized at Growth Energy’s Executive Leadership Conference with the TOBI award for Public Affairs for the communications campaign she launched and managed in Washington D.C.

Prior to joining NCGA, Busse worked at an advertising agency, was the communications lead and served on the leadership team for DuPont Pioneer’s Heartland Business Unit and was a farm broadcaster at the Illinois Farm Bureau’s statewide radio network, RFD-Illinois. Busse has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications with a minor in general agriculture.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Ethanol Industry Relieved Rail Strike Averted

Cindy Zimmerman

Since more than 70 percent of the ethanol produced in the United States is transported by rail across the lower 48 states as well as into Canada and Mexico, the industry breathed a collective sigh of relief Friday as President Biden signed legislation passed by Congress to avert a major national rail strike.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said, “Shutting down the rails would have shut down our industry’s ability to provide lower-cost, low-carbon ethanol and other important co-products like distillers grains to customers here at home and across the border to Canada and Mexico. More than 400,000 jobs across America are supported by the ethanol industry, and a long rail dispute would no doubt have put many of them at risk.”

“The American Coalition for Ethanol thanks President Biden for pressing Congress to pass legislation that resolves the rail dispute, as a strike would have had a domino effect on our industry, from the producers of the fuel to midstream partners and ultimately the retailers and motorists who fill up with low-cost fuel at the pump,” said Brian Jennings, ACE CEO.

Over the last five years, U.S. railroads have transported an average of nearly 395,000 carloads of ethanol per year. In addition, roughly 25 percent of grain comes into ethanol plants by train, and an estimated 30 percent of outbound distillers grains, an important livestock feed produced at biorefineries, departs via rail.

ACE, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA, transportation

EPA Finalizes Canola Oil Pathways Rule for RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

In addition to proposing new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes and percentage standards for 2023, 2024, and 2025 this week, the Environmental Protection Agency also released a rule finalizing pathways for certain biofuels produced from canola/rapeseed oil.

With this action, these fuel pathways will be eligible to generate Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), provided they satisfy the other definitional and RIN generation criteria for renewable fuel specified in the RFS regulations. The biofuels covered by EPA’s final rule include diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas produced from canola/rapeseed oil via a hydrotreating process. EPA is also amending the RFS regulations by adding a new definition of “canola/rapeseed oil”.

aviation biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, EPA, RFS

RFA CEO Discusses EPA Proposed RFS Volumes Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper held a telephone media call with reporters Thursday shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its proposed rule to establish required Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes and percentage standards for 2023, 2024, and 2025, as well as to propose a series of important modifications to strengthen and expand the RFS program.

Cooper says they are pleased with the standard of 15.25 billion gallons of conventional renewable fuel – corn ethanol – for 2024 and 2025, even if it seems like a very modest increase. “There was some conjecture that EPA may flat line or even reduce the conventional volumes, so to see the proposal today with growth, albeit modest, we think is a positive signal,” he said.

Cooper also said they see the EPA proposal as very bullish for E15. “In order to reach the volumes proposed by EPA, it’s really going to stimulate the marketplace to rapidly expand its offerings of E15,” said Cooper, adding that legislation introduced this week in the Senate would help make that happen.

Listen to the call here:
RFA CEO on EPA Proposed RFS Volumes Rule 20:23

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

Clean Fuels Criticizes EPA Biomass Diesel Volumes

Cindy Zimmerman

Clean Fuels Alliance America is criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard volumes for 2023 and beyond for “undercutting investments in biodiesel and renewable diesel capacity.”

The minor increases for biomass-based diesel volumes in 2023, 2024 and 2025 are below the industry’s existing production and ignore the clean fuels industry’s significant investments in new capacity. The volumes provide no additional space for sustainable aviation fuel and short-circuit the nation’s goals to cut carbon emissions.

“EPA’s overdue set proposal significantly undercounts existing biomass-based diesel production and fails to provide growth for investments the industry has already made in additional capacity, including for sustainable aviation fuel. The volumes EPA is proposing for 2023, 2024 and 2025 ignore the more than 3 billion gallons currently in the market and fail to take into account the planned growth of the clean fuels sector,” said Clean Fuels Vice President of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik.

EPA’s data from the RFS program show that the U.S. market reached 3.1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel in 2021 and already 2.9 billion gallons through October 2022, with two months still to go. The Energy Information Administration’s Short Term Energy Outlook, which informs EPA’s decisions on annual RFS volumes, currently projects a 500-million-gallon increase in biodiesel and renewable diesel consumption for 2023. EIA has also projected 2.4. billion gallons of added renewable diesel capacity coming online by 2024 and calculated another 1.8 billion gallons in announced planned capacity.

“The biodiesel and renewable diesel industry has already made considerable investments in production capacity and distribution infrastructure that will come online by 2025. The soybean and canola industries have invested more than $4 billion to bring additional feedstock capacity online over the next several years,” Kovarik continued. “EPA’s proposed biomass-based diesel volumes undercut those investments.”

Biodiesel, biofuels, Clean Fuels Alliance, EPA, renewable diesel