Clean Fuels Welcomes MO Biodiesel Tax Incentive

Cindy Zimmerman

Clean Fuels Alliance America representatives this week joined Missouri Governor Mike Parson as he signed legislation creating new incentives for biodiesel consumption and production in the state. Missouri’s new law will help drive biodiesel demand in the state, add value to Missouri-grown soybeans, and provide Missouri citizens with a domestically made fuel that helps lower fuel prices.

“The biodiesel industry is an important partner for farmers and entrepreneurs in Missouri and across the Midwest,” Governor Parson stated. “We are proud to support this industry that helps create good-paying jobs, while ensuring our nation benefits from homegrown fuels that provide energy security and environmental benefits.”

The bill passed by the Missouri legislature during a special session called by Governor Parson to focus on extending agriculture incentives, provides a $0.02 per gallon retail incentive for B5 to B10 and a $0.05 per gallon retail incentive for B11+ sold at Missouri fuel retailer locations. The bill also establishes a $0.02 per gallon incentive for biodiesel produced in the state. The Legislature provided a total of $20 million to fund the program.

The legislation was spearheaded and guided through the legislative process by the Missouri Soybean Association partnering with Clean Fuels Alliance America and several of its member companies.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, Clean Fuels Alliance, Soybeans

Higher Ethanol Blends Fuel the Cure in Nebraska

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s October so that means many fuel retailers in Nebraska are turning pink to raise money for cancer research and educate drivers about higher ethanol blends.

The Nebraska Corn Board, Nebraska Ethanol Board, and Renewable Fuels Nebraska sponsor Fuel the Cure in conjunction with retail stations each October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Nearly 50 Nebraska gas stations are donating 3 cents for every gallon of higher ethanol blends (E15-E85) sold this month to support work at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in Omaha.

Since 2018, Nebraska’s Fuel the Cure campaigns have raised nearly $30,000 for cancer research. Drivers will be able to identify which retailers are supporting this important cause by looking for pink signage at the pump, on the windows and at the counter.

Find a list of participants at www.fueledbynebraska.com/pink.

E15, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News

RFA Files Motion in Lawsuit Against EPA over RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association has filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency in a suit brought against the agency by the Center for Biological Diversity over the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The environmental organization’s suit seeks a court review of EPA’s renewable volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard for compliance years 2020 through 2022, and RFA is seeking to intervene on behalf of EPA, “to protect its substantial interest in the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard program and the investments RFA’s members have made in renewable fuels to support the program,” the motion states.

“We are seeking to intervene in this case to ensure EPA can continue its work to put the RFS back on track and restore integrity to the program. We will do all we can to make sure the law and Congress’s intent are upheld,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

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

Ethanol Report on YPN Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

Several ethanol industry veterans have retired lately after serving in the business for some 30-40 years. But right behind the old guard there is a new guard taking shape and the Renewable Fuels Association’s Young Professionals Network is helping them get involved for the future of the industry.

In this episode of the Ethanol Report, we hear from Janet Fisher with YPN sponsor Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS) about how the program is growing and why it’s so important.

Ethanol Report 10-6-22 (14:47)

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

Danforth Center to Lead Research on Sorghum for Bioenergy

Cindy Zimmerman

The Danforth Plant Science Center with principal investigator Andrea Eveland will lead a multi-institutional project to study sorghum as a versatile bioenergy crop, and its response to drought. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Genome-Enabled Plant Biology program supports the three-year $2.7 million project for the Determination of Gene Function program.

Sorghum is the fifth most widely grown cereal crop worldwide and the third largest in the U.S. It has natural resilience to drought stress and excessive heat, which is attractive for developing bioenergy feedstocks for production on marginal lands. Eveland’s project explores the gene networks underlying this remarkable stress resilience in sorghum and seeks to define the functions of critical genes and how they are regulated. Drought tolerance is a complex trait and understanding its regulation in the broader context of the whole plant and its environment will require advanced approaches in genetics, genomics, phenotyping and gene editing.

bioenergy, biofuels, Research, sorghum

Truth About Ethanol and Carbon Emissions

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper sets the record straight on ethanol and carbon emissions in a commentary on the RFA Blog

There’s been a lot of talk—and a lot of confusion—recently about corn ethanol’s carbon footprint. Before being retracted due to “flawed interpretation of data” and “inaccurate estimates of carbon emissions,” a September 8 Reuters article initially asserted that the carbon emissions related to making ethanol are worse than the emissions from making gasoline.

How could that be? How could Reuters possibly reach that initial conclusion before withdrawing their story? What’s the truth?

Unfortunately, Reuters took the same flawed and misleading approach to examining ethanol’s carbon footprint that many other biofuel critics and opponents have taken in the past. Like other erroneous attacks on ethanol’s carbon benefits, the Reuters article failed to look at the full carbon lifecycle for ethanol, while also failing to make appropriate comparisons amongst different fuel types.

Read the entire commentary.

Commentary, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Ethanol Top Priority for New NCGA President

Cindy Zimmerman

Minnesota farmer Tom Haag is the new president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), starting his term on October 1. Haag farms corn and soybeans in Eden Valley with his son Nathan and has been farming for over 40 years. He has has served on the Minnesota Corn Growers Association board since 2010 and on the NCGA board since 2016.

One of Haag’s biggest priorities as NCGA president is advancing higher ethanol blends through legislation like the Next Generation Fuels Act, which is in both the House and Senate. “So the ball is rolling and I think there’s a great opportunity for that,” said Haag. “If we can get a 30 percent blend (and) use the science behind our technology, I think we can compete with electric vehicles.”

Haag touched on multiple topics important to the nation’s corn growers during a news conference Tuesday, including ethanol, crop insurance, exports, transportation, and negotiations on the next farm bill.

New NCGA President Tom Haag 23:06

Audio, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Gilbarco Veeder-Root Adds New Features to Encore® 700 S

Cindy Zimmerman

Gilbarco Veeder-Root has added two new premium features for the Encore 700S Series: 6-Grade Select option and the 15.6” touchscreen. These features are designed to provide convenience store operators with enhanced flexibility and an improved customer experience.

As the alternative fuels market grows towards biofuels and other blended fuel types, adding a 6th-Grade Select empowers retailers to leverage those trends by enhancing their own blending strategies. The 6-Grade Select allows retailers to blend any two of four inlets, with up to four hoses and six fuel grades at the same fueling position – allowing the most fuel flexibility possible. Examples of how retailers may implement this feature include blending ethanol fuels with gasoline for FlexFuel grades or offering additional variety such as ethanol-free fuel along with diesel and traditional grades.

Both premium upgrade options will be available to order October 7th.

Biodiesel, biofuels, blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Retailers

Renewable Diesel Projected to Boost US Biofuel Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

A new report from the CoBank Knowledge Exchange indicates the surge of investments in renewable diesel production capacity is becoming a turbo-charged game changer for the U.S. biofuels industry.

“The outlook for biofuels is favorable as the U.S. and other leading developed countries embrace renewable liquid transportation fuels as a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kenneth Scott Zuckerberg, lead grain and farm supply economist for CoBank. “Renewable diesel offers the most intriguing opportunity in the biofuels space, given the extraordinary growth potential.”

As major oil companies have begun embracing renewable diesel, U.S. production is expected to increase exponentially. Several industry stakeholders have announced plans for new soybean crush and refinery facilities over the last two years. Soybean oil is the feedstock most commonly used for producing renewable diesel. Combined, the proposed crush and refinery projects would increase U.S. renewable diesel production capacity six-fold by 2030 to 6.5 billion gallons annually. However, the expected growth in soybean oil-based renewable diesel requires considerably more soybean bushels for domestic crush. CoBank estimates that U.S. soybean acreage would need to increase by 17.9 million acres to fill the supply gap created by the additional crush and refinery projects that have been announced. Additionally, the U.S. would need to stop exporting whole soybeans.

Alternatives to a massive shift of acres from corn to soybeans would include growing other oilseeds like canola and sunflower on a larger scale, importing other vegetable oils, or using other feedstocks such as beef tallow to produce renewable diesel fuel.

Biofuel production has grown nearly 8% every year over the past 15 years, driven by tax credits and targeted government programs, including the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will increase usage of renewable energy in general, and biofuels in particular.
Biodiesel and renewable diesel are 50%-55% less carbon-intensive than traditional petroleum diesel. Although renewable diesel and biodiesel have similarly low carbon scores, renewable diesel offers the additional benefit of being used as a “drop-in” fuel. That means it does not require additional blending with petroleum diesel, which is required before biodiesel can be used by commercial engines. As a drop-in fuel, renewable diesel does not require any modifications to older engines, a key attribute for increased adoption.

Read the full report.

Biodiesel, biofuels, renewable diesel, Soybeans

Iowa On-Farm Biodiesel Program Funding Triples

Cindy Zimmerman

Funding has more than tripled for Iowa’s new statewide On-Farm Biodiesel Credit Program to give back to farmers using biodiesel on their farms.

The program, launched in August by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, refunds farmers up to 50 cents per gallon for buying biodiesel blends. Originally funded at $10,000, the Iowa Soybean Association and Iowa Biodiesel Board have joined as partners, providing another $10,000 to the program. In-state biodiesel producers Western Iowa Energy, Western Dubuque Biodiesel and Chevron Renewable Energy Group have each contributed $5,000, bringing total available funds to $35,000.

Under the program, farmers can earn 25 cents-per-gallon for filling up with B11 (11 percent biodiesel) and 50 cents-per-gallon with B20 (20 percent biodiesel), up to a maximum credit of $500.

To be eligible, farmers must purchase blends for an on-farm tank in Iowa actively used for an agricultural operation.
The groups note that the majority of farm equipment manufacturers support up to B20 biodiesel blends while some manufacturers, such as John Deere and Caterpillar, support up to B100 depending on the model year of the equipment.

Program funding is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Program eligibility and rules can be found here.

Biodiesel, Farming