NEC 2027

EIA: February Biodiesel Numbers Up to 68 Mil Gallons

John Davis

U.S. Energy Information Agency numbers show that U.S. production of biodiesel was 68 million gallons in February 2013, up from January’s figures of 66 million gallons. The report goes on to say nearly three-fourths of that production came from the Midwest. All 110 biodiesel refineries throughout the country have an operating capacity of 2.1 billion gallons per year:

Sales – Producer sales of biodiesel during February 2013 included 44 million gallons sold as B100 (100% biodiesel) and an additional 23 million gallons of B100 sold in biodiesel blends with diesel fuel derived from petroleum.

Feedstocks – There were a total of 524 million pounds of feedstocks used to produce biodiesel in February 2013. Soybean oil was the largest biodiesel feedstock during February 2013 with 275 million pounds consumed. The next three largest biodiesel feedstocks during the period were corn oil (61 million pounds), yellow grease (51 million pounds), and canola oil (38 million pounds).

The following chart tracks biodiesel production over the past two years:
biodieselproductionchart

Biodiesel, Government

Down to the Wire on RFS Comments

Joanna Schroeder

It’s down to the wire for the biofuel and agricultural industries to submit comments on the agricultural impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a second in an RFS series being published by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Growth Energy, Fuels America, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) all submitted input today.

The consensus among the biofuel industry is that the RFS is one of the most successful energy policies in the last 40 years. The industry cites the ethanol industry has been a direct benefit for farmers as well as Americans.

RFA-logo-13Bob Dinneen, CEO and president of RFA noted, “…it is important to remember that a central objective in developing a vibrant and robust ethanol industry was to increase demand for agricultural products and enhance farm income.” He points out that the emergence of ethanol has transformed the grain sector from a “stagnating, surplus-driven marketplace to one that is vibrant, high-tech and demand-driven.”

Growth_Energy_logo-1While opponents of ethanol say that the fuel has caused food prices to rise, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said that people need to better understand the relationship between corn and ethanol. “While our critics have said the ethanol industry uses a significant portion of the corn crop, if you look beyond simple volume of corn and into the net corn acreage used, the industry actually only utilizes 17.5 percent of the acres because of displacement of corn and soybean meal through the use of distiller grains as a high protein animal feed,” who also noted that biofuels have also been a benefit to farmers globally.

fuels-americaIn a letter from Fuels America, the organization’s membership urged to keep the RFS in place because it is the framework upon which cellulosic and advanced biofuels are being built. “The future growth in the sector lies in the cellulosic and advanced spaces where billions of dollars have been invested in research and development, testing, and commercialization of an entire industry that did not exist in 2007. Today, the industry is putting steel in the ground on multiple commercial facilities led by companies including INEOS Bio in Vero Beach, Florida; KiOR in Columbus, Mississippi; Abengoa in Hugoton, Kansas; POET-DSM in Emmetsburg, Iowa; and DuPont in Nevada, Iowa.”

Ultimately, the biofuel industry is urging Congress to keep the course as set for the RFS.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, Ethanol, RFS

IRFA, ACE & Auto Channel RFS/E15 Briefing

Joanna Schroeder

uscapitol-washingtondc-picture20Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and The Auto Channel are bringing together a panel of experts in the fields of renewable fuels, automotive and vehicle technology and fuel retailing to discuss important issues regarding E15 fuel, the so-called blend wall, and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The briefing will highlight how E15 and the RFS are key parts of an “all of the above” American energy solution.

The event is taking place on Thursday, May 2, 2013 from 9:30 am to 11:00 am EST in Washington, D.C. at the Congressional Meeting Room South CVC 217 in the Capitol Visitors Center.

Speakers include Bruce Vollan, Owner, Midway Service, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Marc Rauch, Executive Vice President, the Auto Channel; Ron Lamberty, Senior Vice President, American Coalition for Ethanol; and Monte Shaw, Executive Director, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

Please RSVP to T.J. Page, with the IRFA at 515-252-6249 or via email.

Alternative energy, biofuels, E15, RFS

100 Days of Action to Fight Climate Change

Joanna Schroeder

The Sierra Club is celebrating a successful campaign, “100 Days of Action to Fight Climate Disruption,” that began with President Obama’s inauguration and concluded on Earth Day. The goal of the campaign was to push the president to take bold action that would avert the climate crisis. According to Sierra Club, over one million Americans from across the country participated in events as well as signed petitions and sent letters to decision makers.

“In his inaugural address and again during the State of the Union, President Obama invited a national climate conversation. Over the past one hundred days, more than one million Americans responded to that invitation with a demand for bold action on climate disruption,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “The past one hundred days have seen major climate victories — from President Obama’s 364_100days_06WhatWeNeed04designating five new national monuments that will protect our wild places from fossil-fuel drilling and mining, to the Mayor of Los Angeles announcing that the city will be coal-free by 2025. Now we’re looking to the President to follow through with his climate commitments and secure his legacy with bold climate solutions like rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.”

The 100 Days of Action to Fight Climate Disruption campaign launched on January 14, just before President Obama’s second inauguration, and provided a framework of administrative steps the President can take to help curb climate disruption. During the past 100 days, a Forward on Climate Rally was held in Washington, D.C. in what the Sierra Club is calling the country’s largest rally with more than 50,000 people in attendance. In addition, climate advocates met with policy makers and held Climate Legacy Town Hall meetings and other grassroots events.

“With President Obama well into his second term, the next few months and years will be pivotal in the fight to address climate disruption and move America toward clean energy,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “Over the past one hundred days, the American people have shown that they are ready and willing to join the President in this fight that is not only winnable, but one in which we are already beginning to succeed. Working together, the President and the American people can fight the climate crisis, reenergize the American economy, create millions of jobs, and give our children the type of future they deserve.”

Climate Change, Environment

New Partnership for RFS Solutions

Joanna Schroeder

A new partnership has been formed to give the biofuel industry Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) solutions. The National Association of Shell Marketers and RINAlliance have partnered to aid petroleum marketers with renewable fuel blending and EPA compliance matters.

Biodiesel Plant Photo Joanna Schroeder“RINAlliance is extremely excited and honored to have the support and endorsement of the National Association of Shell Marketers and we look forward to playing a role in the success of its fuel distributors,” said Dawn Carlson, president of RINAlliance, Inc. “NASM understands the regulatory burdens of petroleum marketers and recognizes the value RINAlliance brings to its members.”

As the past few months have demonstrated, RIN values are the driving factor when it comes to renewable fuel blending. The positive economics are easily assessed and the ultra-competitive petroleum industry has taken notice of blending benefits.

Jennifer Richards, president of NASM, added, “Our marketers across the U.S. benefit from the consulting expertise of RINAlliance as their professionals have the longest and most successful track record in understanding RINs and serving the needs of renewable fuel blenders.”

RINAlliance has established a network of qualified renewable fuel producers by working with EcoEngineers to qualify production and RINs. According to RINAlliance, this network allows its blenders access to top tier pricing of their RINs through negotiated contracts with obligated parties while protecting them from regulatory perils.

biofuels, RFS

Senators Urge Probe in EU Ethanol Duty Decision

Cindy Zimmerman

A bipartisan group of senators are asking for an investigation into a recent anti-dumping decision made by European Union regarding ethanol imports from the United States.

wtoFourteen Democratic and Republican Senators have joined together to sign a letter sent to the Acting United States Trade Representative (USTR), Demetrios Manatos and Acting Secretary of Commerce, Rebecca Blank, calling on them to review and consider a World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to the European Union’s controversial and unprecedented anti-dumping duty recently imposed on U.S. ethanol producers.

The letter was co-authored by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and cosponsored by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Al Franken (D-MN), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tim Johnson (D-SD), John Hoeven (R-ND), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Roy Blunt (R-MO).

In a joint statement, Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said they are pleased to see the senators take action in the matter.

“The EU Commission failed to make any particular finding of dumping by any producer or marketer investigated in connection with the case,” said Dinneen and Buis. “The EU’s recent actions are unprecedented and we believe that the World Trade Organization (WTO) will nullify this blatantly protectionist country-wide anti-dumping duty on exports of ethanol from the United States.”

Read more here.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Government, Growth Energy, International, RFA

Boise Cab Company Looks to Convert Fleet to Biodiesel

John Davis

Boise, Idaho is certainly famous for its potatoes, and just about everyone’s favorite way to have those spuds are french fried. A local cab company is looking to take advantage of all that leftover cooking oil by turning it into biodiesel to run in its vehicles. KBOI-TV reports that Recab wants the idea to catch on in other cities in America’s Northwest:


Recab will soon have older model Mercedes Benz cars that have been converted to run on bio-diesel. One of the owners James Orr got the idea from his love of vintage cars and the environment.

“Whenever I realize these cars are as reliable as they are and they could be used in such an eco friendly way that’s what spawned the whole concept,” said Orr.

The company expects its french-fry-powered cabs to be on the road in a couple of weeks.

Biodiesel, Video

Study Shows Ethanol Reducing Footprint

Cindy Zimmerman

A new study indicates that ethanol production is continuing to reduce its energy and environmental footprint.

cutcThe study, entitled “2012 Corn Ethanol: Emerging Plant Energy and Environmental Technologies”, found that recent innovations in corn ethanol production have resulted in increased yield per bushel even as less energy is required for production. Thermal energy use at a typical dry mill ethanol plant has fallen 9% since 2008, the study found, meaning the carbon footprint of corn ethanol continues to shrink.

The authors, Steffen Mueller, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago Energy Resources Center and John Kwik, PE, of Dominion Energy Services, LLC wrote in summary, “Our work includes an assessment of over 50% of operating dry grind corn ethanol plants. On average, 2012 dry grind plants produce ethanol at higher yields with lower energy inputs than 2008 corn ethanol.”

“Furthermore, significantly more corn oil is separated at the plants now, which combined with the higher ethanol yields results in a slight reduction in DDG production and a negligible increase in electricity consumption,” the authors concluded.

Listen to an interview with Steffen Mueller here: Steffen Mueller, study author
Read the study here.

Audio, Energy, Environment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Europe Urged to Re-reconsider Biofuels Policy

John Davis

eu-flagIt wasn’t that long ago that Europe was a champion of biofuels, in particular, biodiesel, as just a few years ago the continent adopted a policy of having 10 percent of transportation fuels come from renewable sources, including biofuels. This boosted biodiesel demand, coupled with favorable tax laws and the popularity of diesel vehicles. This piece in Public Service Europe says that when cheaper imported vegetable oils replaced European biofuels crops, there was pushback that was unfounded and really amounted to trade protections for Europeans, and now the continent is moving to a 5 percent usage level … basically where it stands today. But the article says it’s not too late for Europe to re-reconsider its biofuels policy:

Therefore, with this cap, the EU endangers – or reinterprets – its own 10 per cent target leaving the status quo, conventional oil, as the biggest winner. And it strikes a blow to equity and development. Shall we continue to import oil from rich countries so they can become richer rather than taking the opportunity to import biofuels from poor countries? Wild, rapid policy shifts like this have costs. They disrupt markets, stifle innovation and undermine the EU’s credibility.Read More

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Government, International, News, Opinion

ISU Seeks Input on DDGs

Joanna Schroeder

cattle eating distillers grainsIowa State University is conducting a survey of livestock producers use of feed-related co-products from ethanol production (distillers grains). The survey is focused on the beef, dairy, swine and poultry sectors. It is being funded by a coalition consisting of the Renewable Fuels Association, the Distillers Grains Technology Council and the Corn Utilization Councils from Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.

“The feedback gained from the survey will be used to help improve co-product quality, which can help livestock producers with their feed costs and livestock performance,” said Kurt Rosentrater, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, who is leading the effort.

Livestock producers are invited to take the survey online until June 19, 2013.

Agribusiness, Distillers Grains, Ethanol