“This is one piece of legislation upon which all Americans depend, urban as well as rural,” stated the letter. “With limited time remaining before the expiration of current program authorities, time is of the essence.”

The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 passed the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on April 26 by a 16-5 vote. The broad range of the 125 cosigners emphasizes the expansive reach and impact of the farm bill.

“This strongly bipartisan bill ensures that agriculture does its part to reduce the deficit, cutting spending by $23 billion, while still maintaining a safety net that family farmers and ranchers need,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Some farm bill programs have already expired, and the rest expire on Sept. 30. It is critical to pass a farm bill as soon as possible so that Americans have the agriculture, conservation, environmental, forestry, hunger, and rural development programs that they need. While many of us will continue to work for improvements in the bill, we all agree that we need a farm bill this year.”   READ MORE   Read LETTER

…Because there is no mandate requiring the sale of E15, it remains to be determined how quickly retailers across the nation will move to sell E15 once infrastructure compatibility issues are resolved. However, in some Midwest states, retail stations that have installed blender pumps are expected to begin offering E15 to customers driving 2001 and newer vehicles any day. Blender pumps are approved for use with any ethanol blend up to E85 and so are not constrained by the same compatibility issues facing owners of conventional retail dispensers.  READ MORE

In written testimony submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures for a hearing on expiring tax provisions, NBB Vice President Anne Steckel emphasized that the biodiesel industry achieved record production of nearly 1.1 billion gallons last year before the $1-per-gallon tax incentive expired on Dec. 31. She urged lawmakers to pass an extension as quickly as possible to prevent a drop in production and potential layoffs.  READ MORE

First, most East Coast refineries cannot process the lower-cost types of crude oil that are increasing in supply in North America. As a result, oil acquisition costs for East Coast refineries are substantially higher than for refineries in other regions.

Second, due to record high crude oil prices in recent years, demand for gasoline and other finished refinery products has fallen precipitously. Consumers have responded to record high oil and gasoline prices by driving less and purchasing more fuel efficient vehicles. Lower demand for refined products has led to significant refinery overcapacity in the East Coast region.

As reported recently by CNN Money, refineries in the Northeast “…are losing money because they are old and cannot process the cheaper, heavier types of oil that are increasingly in supply from Canada’s oil sands, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and elsewhere.”

Dinneen also pointed to the fact the companies closing the refineries did not mention ethanol or the RFS. “It is telling that the owners of the shuttered refineries themselves—Sunoco and ConocoPhillips—didn’t mention ethanol or the RFS as precipitating causes of their economic difficulties when they announced the closures,” wrote Dinneen.

…  “Despite Mr. O’Malley’s false assertion that ethanol is ‘more expensive than the product coming from refineries,’ data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange clearly show that ethanol is selling for $1 per gallon less than gasoline at the wholesale level today.”  READ MORE and MORE (Renewable Fuels Association) and MORE (Aviation Week on Delta’s purchase of PA refiinery)

Motorists driving up to pumps for the new, higher-ethanol “E15″ will see government-mandated orange-and-black signs that say the new fuel blend is approved for use in all 2001 and newer cars and light trucks.

Two of the biggest carmakers offer puzzling or contrary messages, right on their gasoline caps. Toyota warns on its 2012 model gas caps not to use E15. Ford offers less-explicit advice.

…Most automakers, including General Motors and Chrysler, have not placed explicit E15 warnings on their gas caps. Still, the auto industry is part of a broad legal challenge to stop E15.

…”Our vehicles aren’t backward compatible with E15, and we didn’t know when it was going to hit the market,” said Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight. “We don’t want customers to damage their vehicles. It would not be covered under warranty.”

Ford’s ethanol message on its gas portal — its vehicles don’t have caps — dates to 2006. The idea was to warn motorists not to fill up with high-ethanol blends of E20 to E85 at pumps meant for flexible-fuel vehicles, said Cynthia Williams, Ford’s environmental policy manger.

…Earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments by the oil industry, carmakers and others that have challenged the EPA’s E15 decision. If the court rules against the EPA, it could derail the introduction of E15.   READ MORE and MORE (Greeley Tribune) and MORE (Missourian)

…Yesterday, Senators Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Richard Lugar of Indiana led the way in carrying an amendment that put the mandatory funding into the bill. According the Advanced Biofuels Association president Michael McAdams, they were part of a broad, bipartisan coalition that has come together to support biofuels and the Farm Bill, including Republican Senators Grassley of Iowa, Thune of South Dakota, Cochran of Mississippi and Hoeven of North Dakota, and Democratic Senators Harkin of Iowa, Klobuchar of Minnesota, Casey of Pennsylvania, Brown of Ohio, Bennet of Colorado, and Stabenow of Michigan.

…In other Capitol Hill news, the Department of Energy is now receiving Senate approval to move $100 million in previously authorized funding to support its advanced biofuels partnership with the US Navy, and the US Department of Agriculture, which pledged $510 million last year under the Defense Production Act to invest directly in commercial-scale biofuels facilities to assure a supply of military biofuels at affordable prices.

…There is still considerable doubt as to whether a Farm Bill will proceed forward, during the 2012 election season. Reportedly, Senate Agriculture chair Debbie Stabenow is working with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to schedule time for the Farm Bill before the July 4th recess.  READ MORE and MORE (Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) and MORE (Senator Richard Lugar)    Download Lugar/Conrad amendment

McAdams began his testimony, “Let me start today by sharing some of the biggest success stories which have occurred over the last year. The Air Force has flown the F-16/Thunderbirds on a mixture of advanced biofuels, the navy has tested advanced biofuels in ships and vehicles, and the commercial sector has flown the first cross country flight on a blend of renewable jet fuel.”

“We have one member, Dynamic Fuels, producing a million gallons of renewable jet and renewable diesel a week, and have five members who have gone public. In addition, two Colorado member companies are preparing to deploy their innovative technologies in the near term.”

“Gevo, which will produce an isobutanol, a drop in, fungible fuel, will commission its 18 million gallon plant in June of this year in Luverne, Minnesota. While Sundrop Fuels is on target to break ground to build a 50 million gallon cellulosic gasoline plant in Louisiana this year.”

McAdams also noted, “the single most important policy component is the Renewable Fuels Standard, passed overwhelmingly in 2007 by a bipartisan Congress and signed into law by President Bush. Although it is not perfect, it is fundamentally important that the Congress continue to send a strong bipartisan signal of support for this policy if we wish to continue the remarkable progress and grow an advanced biofuels industry.”

He concluded his testimony, “We believe we can and should be a fundamental part of an American energy policy that adopts a portfolio approach. As I have shared with you this morning, we are already starting to see advanced biofuels delivering on its promise of creating new jobs, and helping to strengthen our nation’s economic and energy security.”  READ MORE

The letter follows:

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye

Chairman

Senate Committee on Appropriations

U.S. Senate

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Thad Cochran

Ranking Member

Senate Committee on Appropriations

U.S. Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Inouye and Ranking Member Cochran:

In advance of the scheduled mark up of the Fiscal Year 2013 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act on Thursday, the members of the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), Airlines for America (A4A), the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) urge you to support the inclusion of language to allow for the transfer of funds from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) accounts to the Defense Production Act (DPA) fund. This transfer that would further DOE’s mission is a top priority for our industries because it would serve as a catalyst to the development of a commercial supply of alternative fuels and reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and a volatile global oil market.

The language, requested by DOE, would support an interagency initiative to ramp up commercial production of domestic renewable fuels for commercial and military use in ground, maritime and aviation systems. Advanced, drop-in biofuels offer a viable alternative to conventional petroleum-based fuels for defense applications and have been demonstrated in myriad weapon systems. The U.S. Air Force has already completed certifying its entire aircraft fleet to operate on a blend of 50 percent synthetic jet fuel and is moving to certify other alternatives. The U.S. Navy is in the process of approving hydrotreated renewable jet fuels, synthetics and other alternatives.

As these certifications have shown, advanced biofuels and other alternatives can replace military fuels derived from crude oil without disruptions or changes to existing equipment or infrastructure while reducing dependence upon oil imports. DOE’s ability to direct funds to this initiative will further its mission to “ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.” It will also build on past DPA successes that have resulted in domestic production capacity for valued defense materials, such as silicon carbide ceramics (used in nuclear reactors), indium phosphide and gallium arsenide (used in lasers and semiconductors), as well as aluminum and titanium, which are ubiquitous in nearly all major weapons systems.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please feel free to contact us with any questions and please know that the members of our organizations stand ready to do their part to increase our nation’s energy independence and security.

Sincerely,

Michael J. McAdams

President

Advanced Biofuels Association

Sharon L. Pinkerton

Senior Vice President Legislative and Regulatory Policy

Airlines for America

Mary Rosenthal Executive

Director

Algal Biomass Organization

Bob Stallman

President

American Farm Bureau Federation

James C. Greenwood

President and CEO

Biotechnology Industry Organization   READ MORE

… “These programs have unlocked private capital for construction of biorefineries, put more than 150,000 acres of underutilized farmland into production of next-generation energy crops, and ignited an explosion of biomanufacturing innovation, demonstration and early commercialization,” said (Brent) Erickson (of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)). “In the short time that these programs have operated, they’ve achieved a high rate of return in supporting the start up of renewable chemical, advanced biofuel and biomanufacturing companies, as a timeline of the programs demonstrates.”  READ MORE

Dinneen is testifying in support of the Domestic Fuels Protection Act, a bill designed to help ease the regulatory burden on fuel retailers seeking to offer consumers a wider range of fuel choices beyond petroleum-based fuels.

“[T]he current regulatory structure provides no pathway to certify existing equipment for anything other than fossil fuels, even when test data demonstrates its safety,” Dinneen testified. “The Domestic Fuels Protection Act allows EPA to create such a process, thereby providing new fuels access to the marketplace without having to expend time and resources on new infrastructure unnecessarily.”

The Domestic Fuels Protection Act rests on a simple premise: if a new fuel has been approved by EPA, if equipment used by retailers to store and dispense a new fuel meets specifications, and if retailers properly inform customers regarding the approved uses of a new fuel, then retailers, fuel producers, and other stakeholders should not have to be concerned about defending meritless lawsuits. The legislation is narrowly tailored to achieve this goal. It addresses only liability protection and does not alter the Renewable Fuel Standard or otherwise impact fuels that have been sanctioned by EPA as legal to offer for sale. Importantly, the legislation is not a prerequisite to the introduction into commerce of E15, which was approved by EPA after rigorous testing by the U.S. Department of Energy and others and which was recently registered as a legal fuel under the Clean Air Act.

Expanding market access for ethanol and other renewable fuels is critical to both expanding America’s renewable fuel industry and achieving the goals of the RFS. “I can say without hyperbole or reservation that the RFS has been the most successful energy policy this nation has ever implemented. It should be vigorously defended and maintained, and allowed to reach its full potential of 36 billion gallons of clean burning, renewable fuel,” said Dinneen.

Dinneen continued, “The RFS is entering a critical period, however. The volumes of renewable fuel refiners are required to meet can no longer be met by just 10% ethanol. Greater volumes of ethanol and a greater diversity of biofuels and feedstocks will be necessary to meet the increasing volumes required by the RFS. Critically, these fuels will be attempting to enter the marketplace amidst a complicated regulatory structure that favors incumbent technologies and discourages market access. Gasoline marketers deserve the certainty that they will not be penalized for utilizing a new fuel or fuel blend that has been approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”

Earlier this week, the RFA released poll results showing that 61% of American adults support the RFS and 58% of Americans would use more domestically-produced renewable fuel when available.

The Domestic Fuels Protection Act was introduced in the House by Representatives John Shimkus (R-IL), Mike Ross (D-AR), John Sullivan (R-OK) and Collin Peterson (D-MN). A Senate counterpart, the Domestic Fuels Act, has also been introduced by Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mike Crapo (R-ID).

Dinneen’s full testimony is available here.  READ MORE and MORE (DomesticFuel.com)