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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “EPA Reneges on Trump’s Biofuels Deal”, said the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association in reacting to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s new plans for fulfilling federal renewable fuel requirements. EPA released a proposed supplemental rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard today, and the bioeconomy is up in arms, and
White House
October 16, 2019
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by Nadja Popovich and Denise Lu (New York Times) Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the United States today and the bulk of those emissions come from driving in our cities and suburbs. The (interactive) map … shows a year’s worth of CO2 from passenger and freight traffic
October 10, 2019
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) First and foremost, the group asked Trump to expedite any new rulemaking process aimed at the waivers issue. … As part of the biofuels announcement last week, the Trump administration also directed EPA and USDA to take steps to address barriers to the use
October 10, 2019
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) A group of large investors is calling on GM to join a voluntary emissions deal struck between California, Ford and three other automakers — a deal that’s currently the subject of a Trump administration antitrust investigation, Pro’s Alex Guillén reports. “Joining the agreement with California
October 9, 2019
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by Tristan R. Brown (Seeking Alpha) Summary — The “giant package” that President Donald Trump had promised to the U.S. biofuels sector back in August was finally unveiled late last week. While the plan’s details continue to be scarce, those that have been provided suggest that the plan won’t do
October 8, 2019
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(Biofuels International) A new nationwide US survey conducted by Morning Consult has found strong support for ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Support for the latter has reached its highest level since the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) began polling on RFS support in 2016. The survey additionally found that
October 7, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In today’s Digest, the 4-Point Agreement, the backstory, the Glad Tidings, the Unfinished Business, and reaction from the stakeholders as we parse out the impact on future volumes, waivers, backfills, RINs, E15, blender pumps and more, …. The 4-Point Agreement The Administration announced that the
October 7, 2019
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by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) The White House removed language calling climate change a “serious challenge” from a proposal that limits California’s ability to set tougher vehicle emissions standards, according to reporting from E&E News. A draft of the document obtained by E&E shows the White House striking the phrase “while global climate
October 4, 2019
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(Environmental Protection Agency) Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue issued the following statements after President Donald J. Trump successfully negotiated an agreement on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): “President Trump’s leadership has led to an agreement that continues to promote
October 4, 2019
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Registered voters oppose the Trump administration’s actions to exempt oil refineries from renewable fuel blending obligations by a margin of nearly two to one, according to new polling data released today by the Renewable Fuels Association. The nationwide survey, by Morning Consult, also found strong support for ethanol
October 3, 2019
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) Two small refiners not receiving exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard in EPA’s latest round of waivers announced on Aug. 9, continue to fight the agency’s rejection in federal court. At the same time, agriculture and biofuel interests continue to wait for a potential biofuels
October 2, 2019
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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) A series of unfortunate events this summer—all caused by U.S. government action or inaction—has led to a precarious situation in the biodiesel sector, but there may be a silver lining. — … The volume of SREs (small oil refinery exemptions) granted has exploded during the
October 2, 2019
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by David J. Lynch (Washington Post) … After two decades, Siouxland (Energy Cooperative) this month halted operations following the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to exempt 31 small oil refiners from a federal law requiring them to blend ethanol in their gasoline. The waivers, which the Trump administration has approved almost
October 2, 2019
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by Scott Waldman and Benjamin Storrow (E&E News) Ukraine, now at the center of a rapidly accelerating impeachment inquiry against President Trump, has been central to the president’s efforts to increase U.S. exports of fossil fuels. The Eastern European nation sits at the crossroads of Europe and Russia. Today, roughly
October 1, 2019
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(Safe Gasoline Campaign) In a wide-ranging interview on a popular South Dakota Business Radio program, Sombke and Daschle stressed that moving to high octane gasoline is a way to build on the success of the Renewable Fuel Standard. The path to get there is through the Safe Affordable Fuel Efficiency (SAFE) rule currently
September 30, 2019
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by Ben Lefebvre (Politico) At a closed-door meeting this summer, oil and gas industry lawyers criticized the Trump administration’s failure to recruit enough qualified people to secure policy victories that would outlast this presidency, according to a recording of the gathering. The audio from an Independent Petroleum Producers of America meeting
September 30, 2019
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by Dave Blower Jr. (The News Gazette) The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and the Indiana Corn Growers Association (ICGA) along with 12 other Indiana farm, ethanol and biodiesel plants and allied industries wrote to Indiana’s congressional delegation expressing frustration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to compel the
September 27, 2019
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by Ken Anderson (Brownfield Ag News) Leaders in the renewable fuels industry say it’s urgent that President Trump fix the demand destruction and “economic crisis” created by RFS waivers. Ron Heck of Perry, Iowa, secretary of the National Biodiesel Board, says there’s no time to wait. “Many farmers are losing patience with
September 27, 2019
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by Mario Parker (Transport Topics/Bloomberg News) … Japan will reduce tariffs in stages on U.S. farm goods, such as beef and pork, USTR said in a statement Sept 25. The country will eliminate tariffs on $1.3 billion of U.S. agriculture products, including almonds, blueberries, sweet corn and sorghum, it said.
September 26, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Renewable Fuels Association sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler Sept. 25 criticizing statements he made during a Sept. 19 congressional hearing where he claimed small refinery exemptions (SREs) are not impacting the ethanol industry. Wheeler appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives
September 26, 2019
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(Sierra Club) Today, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that New Mexico will join 14 other states in adopting clean car standards requiring new cars sold in the state to emit fewer greenhouse gases. They also mandate an increasing percentage of cars sold in the state to be zero emissions. The governor
September 25, 2019
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(Our Daily Planet) Looking to take further action against the State of California, the Environmental Protection Agency under the guise of enforcing the state’s non-compliance with the Clean Air Act (CAA) says it will take away billions in federal funds provided to the state of California to implement low carbon transportation
September 25, 2019
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by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Projections for E15 have been inconsistent since the May 31 Reid vapor pressure waiver. Ethanol Producer Magazine explores some of the factors that will influence the blend’s trajectory in the coming years. … Before the waiver, retailers selling E15 had already planned to increase
September 24, 2019
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) With a reported big deal for biofuels in flux, an economist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign put forward a plan on Thursday to account for more than 4 billion gallons of biofuels exempted to small refineries from the Renewable Fuel Standard from 2016
September 23, 2019
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by Tim Mullaney (CNBC) President Trump is planning an ethanol deal to please U.S. farmers angry that many oil refiners have been freed from obligations to use oil-based fuel. The deal, still not yet reduced to a written bill, is likely to make oil companies that have been given permission
September 23, 2019
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by Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Thursday discussed biofuels policy with senators from U.S. oil states, including Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who said the president was engaged on the issue that has pitted Big Oil and Big Corn against each other. The oil industry is opposed to the
September 20, 2019
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(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) President Trump promised the American people that his Administration would address and correct the current fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, and today (September 19, 2019), his Administration is taking steps to fulfill this promise. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
September 20, 2019
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by Dino Grandoni and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) 22 other states, plus D.C., Los Angeles and New York City, joined in the lawsuit — California and 22 other states filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday against the Trump administration, challenging its decision to revoke the most-populous state’s right to
September 20, 2019
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by Miranda Green (The Hill) President Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will be removing California’s tailpipe emissions waiver under the Clean Air Act, a decision likely to face fierce backlash in courts. Trump made the announcement via Twitter while touring California for private fundraisers and a visit to the
September 18, 2019
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“I’ve been hoodwinked so many times, not just by the EPA on this issue, but by other bureaucracies as well, so I’m going to see if what we talked about is the end product,” Senatory Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told reporters on September 17 referencing enforcement of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
September 18, 2019
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by Stephanie Batchelor (Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)/Biofuels Digest) As we speculate on the details and implications of the administration’s renewable fuels deal, the future of an entire green industry hangs in the balance. The debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has become muddied with rhetoric about special interests and government
September 18, 2019
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by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis (Washington Post) The Trump administration will revoke California’s right to set stricter air pollution for cars and light trucks on Wednesday, according to two senior administration officials, as part of a larger effort to weaken an Obama-era climate policy curbing greenhouse gas emissions from
September 17, 2019
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by Amy Mayer (Iowa Public Radio) The national average price for corn this season is back to $3.60 a bushel, about where it’s been most of this year except for an early-season spike ($4.16 in July) before the size and quality of the crop was known. That’s not great news for corn growers,
September 16, 2019
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Drone attacks Saturday in Saudi Arabia destroyed oil fields and caused a record spike in oil prices overnight, again calling into question claims that increased U.S. oil production has made America energy independent. The following is a statement from Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper: “The
September 16, 2019
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) The White House is considering a plan that could limit the number of small refinery exemptions to the RFS, increase the volumes of biofuels that must be blended into gasoline and boost the spread of 15 percent ethanol fuels, four industry and other sources
September 16, 2019
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by Donavan Lim and Yi Jeng Huang (S&P Gobal Platts) US ethanol exports are forecast to fall around 100 million gallons year on year to 1.5 billion gallons in 2019 as trade flows redirects away from China toward Southeast Asia and India, according to industry executive in an interview at
September 13, 2019
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by Jon Chavez (The Blade) Members of Ohio’s oil refining industry will rally in Toledo Thursday at One Government Center downtown to urge President Trump not to tamper with laws regulating U.S. biofuels policy, because doing so could put smaller refineries, including the Toledo Refining Co. operation in Oregon, at risk
September 12, 2019
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg/Investors Business Daily) Discussions aimed at breaking logjam over biofuel plan; Friday deadline issued for ideas on potential compromise — Trump administration officials are squeezing biofuel and oil refining executives to agree to a plan to bolster corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. In
September 12, 2019
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Trump administration officials are set to meet with renewable fuel producers on Wednesday, as they seek to entice industry endorsements for a plan to bolster corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. The meeting is slated to include executives from Louis Dreyfus Co., Renewable Biofuels
September 11, 2019
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by P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek (Reuters) … Many farmers are angry, and some are directing their anger not at the Republican president, but at Washington’s bureaucracy. Trump has faced backlash from agricultural groups, ethanol producers and Midwestern politicians upset that his trade war with China has slashed export sales
September 10, 2019
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by Ty Rushing (NWestIowa.com) … During his town hall, King addressed multiple topics including immigration, trade negotiations and the struggles of the agricultural renewable fuels community. POET Biorefining, the nation’s largest ethanol producer, has a plant south of Ashton, which King made reference to when questioning a recent decision by the
September 9, 2019
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by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Washington Post) California has been a leader in the fight to clean our air since one of my heroes, Ronald Reagan, was our governor. The Trump administration, for some reason, is hellbent on reversing decades of history and progress. Whether it is political pettiness, shortsightedness or just plain jealousy,
September 9, 2019
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by Chris Prentice, Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) U.S. agricultural trade groups on Friday told the Trump administration a proposed biofuel reform package falls short of expectations, four sources familiar with discussions said, complicating plans the administration had for presenting the proposal to President Donald Trump. … The plan
September 8, 2019
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Justice Dept. Launches Antitrust Probe of Automakers over Their Fuel Efficiency Deal with California
by Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson (Washington Post) The Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation of four leading automakers over an agreement they forged with the state of California to maintain higher fuel efficiency standards than those sought by the Trump administration, escalating the stakes in the long-running battle between
September 6, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) At a closed-door meeting at the White House on Aug. 19, President Donald Trump looked increasingly alarmed as his top envoy to China delivered evidence of rising Farm Belt frustration over his biofuel policy along with a stark warning: You’ve got a problem in
September 6, 2019
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(Bloomberg) Trump officials honing plan to benefit ethanol, biodiesel; Latest initiative would spike 2020 quotas by 1 billion gallons — Top administration officials have developed plans to give a 5% boost to U.S. renewable fuel-blending quotas in 2020, as President Donald Trump seeks to temper farm-state criticism he has undermined U.S.
September 6, 2019
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) California and the Trump administration will duke it out in court today over EPA’s initial decision to undo Obama-era auto emissions standards. … It’s California vs. Donald Trump today at the D.C. Circuit in an early test of the clash between the state and federal
September 6, 2019
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by Dave Boyer (The Washington Times) A leading trade group for the petroleum industry warned President Trump on Tuesday to ditch his plan to boost ethanol production, saying it would be a “disastrous political decision.” … He (Frank Macchiarola, a vice president of the American Petroleum Institute) said the petroleum industry
September 5, 2019
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by Matt Carr (Biofuels Digest/New Energy America) … President Trump has repeatedly buckled under pressure from fossil fuel interests and their Wall Street backers, giving an unprecedented number of “small refinery waivers” to oil refiners that have reported record profits year over year, significantly undermining biofuel production by destroying nearly 4
September 4, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Jersey, Senator Cory Booker announced that, if elected as US President, he would “Immediately end the granting of unwarranted RFS small refinery waivers to big oil companies, and substantially increase funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Booker became the second US
September 3, 2019
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by Luciano Costa and Jake Spring (Reuters) Brazil has renewed and increased the size of its tariff-free quota for ethanol imports, but the new allotment will last only one year instead of the two years allocated to the former quota that expired on Saturday, according to the country’s official gazette. The
September 3, 2019
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by Scott Richman (Renewable Fuels Association) On Wednesday, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute sent a letter to President Trump in response to reports that the administration is considering measures to mitigate the harm that the renewable fuels industry has experienced as a result of the
September 1, 2019
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by Doug Sombke (The Hill/Farmers Union Enterprises and the South Dakota Farmers Union) … I recently wrote a letter to the president suggesting a pathway out from under the proverbial rock. I urged him to direct the EPA to enforce the mandatory provision of the Clean Air Act that requires it to reduce the toxic
September 1, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) President Donald Trump issued a tweet Aug. 29 suggesting his administration is working on a “giant package” to boost demand for ethanol. He did not indicate what the timeframe for the release of that package might be. Trump’s tweet followed weeks of outrage by
September 1, 2019
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by Tal Axelrod (The Hill) The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) blasted the Trump administration on Tuesday, saying the government has put it in “one hell of a bad situation.” The trade association hammered President Trump for approving what it called 31 “unjustified” refinery waivers tied to ethanol, along with his year-plus trade war
August 28, 2019
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by O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa) Governor Kim Reynolds and Midwest governors are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. to talk with President Trump about unrest in farm country. “Let him know first-hand what’s happening on the ground,” Reynolds said this morning. The Trump Administration recently granted waivers to oil companies,
August 28, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Klobuchar says “I will stop the oil refinery waivers”: In Iowa, US Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said that, if elected President in 2020, would in her first 100 days in office order a moratorium on oil refinery waivers issued under the Renewable Fuel Standard, restore the
August 28, 2019
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In China, Reuters reports that as part of another $75 billion in tariffs on US imports in the latest round of the on-going trade war, as of December 15 US-origin ethanol will face an additional 10% import duty on top of existing duties that already make
August 27, 2019
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Documents obtained by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) show that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ignored strong recommendations from within the Trump Administration to redistribute Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending obligations lost to small refinery exemptions in the proposed rule for 2020 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs). According to
August 27, 2019
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by Jennifer A Dlouhy and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) 2021 quotas will jump to make up for oil refinery exemptions; Move could alienate Rust Belt refinery workers in Pennsylvania — President Donald Trump, seeking to tamp down political fallout in U.S. farm states essential to his re-election, has ordered federal agencies
August 26, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) President Donald Trump, faced with mounting anger in the farm belt over policies that allowed oil refineries to use less corn-based ethanol, is set to meet with cabinet members on Thursday to discuss ways to boost biofuel demand, four sources familiar with the matter said.
August 22, 2019
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by Brian Dabbs (National Journal) Democratic presidential candidates are exploiting a controversial White House ethanol policy to try to generate support among President Trump’s staunchest backers. The Environmental Protection Agency waived ethanol blending requirements for more than 30 petroleum refiners earlier this month, in a move that continues to infuriate
August 22, 2019
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by Alex Guillén (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Trump administration is considering reallocating the volumes of ethanol that were reduced when it allowed dozens of refineries to waive their Renewable Fuel Standard requirements to blend the biofuel with gasoline, four industry sources with knowledge of the discussions told Pro’s Eric Wolff.
August 22, 2019
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by Michael McGrady (Inside Sources) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a legal challenge from a coalition of biofuel and agriculture industry groups regarding the agency’s proposal for reduced renewable fuel volumes. According to a press release from the coalition, the organizations filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
August 21, 2019
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by Alex Guillén (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA’s internal watchdog is being asked to determine how the agency decided to grant the vast majority of exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard that oil refiners have requested. EPA approved 31 petitions for waivers from the 2018 requirements, while rejecting just six, and
August 21, 2019
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by Robert Rapier (Forbes) … My proposed solution is for the Midwestern states to band together to provide sufficient state incentives to develop a major Midwest corridor where E85 — a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline — is the primary fuel of choice for consumers. There is enough
August 19, 2019
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by By Todd Neeley and Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) …The president sided with oil refiners over ethanol producers and corn farmers, just two months after reiterating his support for ethanol at a rally held at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to celebrate the approval of year-round
August 19, 2019
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by Andy Knight (The Herald Bulletin) Officials with POET Biorefining in Alexandria are monitoring the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China, which has resulted in significant tariffs on U.S. ethanol shipments to that country. POET employs more than 40 people in Madison County and, according to the company’s
August 16, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters) A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump last week ended a nearly two-month-long review of the nation’s biofuels program, three sources familiar with the matter said, with the White House siding in favor of oil refiners over corn growers. Trump gave Andrew Wheeler, head of the U.S.
August 16, 2019
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by John McCormick and Jesse Naranjo (Wall Street Journal) … “He’s doing the right thing,” said Leo Balk, a fifth-generation farmer who raises corn, soybeans, oats, beef and dairy cows on about 300 acres near New Hampton, Iowa. “It hurts, but his concept is absolutely right.” One of the reasons farmers
August 15, 2019
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) EPA might have a new name in some circles – Exemptions for Petroleum Agency – thanks to the 31 small refinery waivers issued on Friday which has the biofuels and agriculture industries reeling after promises made by President Trump to look into why big oil
August 12, 2019
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(GreenTechMedia) An analysis published Wednesday by clean energy advocacy group Energy Innovation found that if the administration does eliminate California’s waiver, costs from the rule change would total $400 billion in 2018 dollars by 2050. By 2035, Energy Innovation projects that transportation emissions will be at least 10 percent higher than
August 8, 2019
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by Hallie Gu and Tom Daly (Reuters/Zawya) Beijing is honouring its pledges to buy U.S. agricultural products, state media cited China’s state planning body saying, dismissing an accusation from U.S. President Donald Trump that it had not met purchasing promises in the sector. Trump had said on Thursday that Beijing had
August 7, 2019
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by Rachel Gamarski and Fabiana Batista (Bloomberg) Decision may be taken before tax-free quota expires end-August; Any tariff on U.S. ethanol would hurt bilateral trade talks — As China turns its back on American ethanol in a lingering trade spat, Brazil is considering opening its doors to U.S. biofuel. — Brazilian authorities are
August 6, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA submitted its final Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Aug. 2. OMB review marks a final stage before the public release of the
August 6, 2019
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by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) Thirteen states filed suit against the Trump administration Friday, arguing it was breaking the law by cutting penalties for automakers that do not meet Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. The suit, led by California’s and New York’s attorneys general, goes after a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule that
August 5, 2019
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by Dennis Lundell (The Cap Times) Dear Editor: With the recent move to lift restrictions on E15 by President Trump, the agricultural community has an opportunity to build America’s economy with more renewable biofuels. And that means less reliance on foreign oil, cleaner air and more income in rural communities.
August 2, 2019
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by Sean Pratt (Western Producer) An analyst doesn’t think China will delay implementing its E10 policy until there is adequate domestic capacity because the policy is being driven by a desire to clean up the country’s air before hosting the 2022 Olympics. Moving to a 10 percent gasoline blend by 2020
August 2, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defended his agency’s expanded use of waivers exempting refineries from the country’s biofuel law during a closed-door meeting with farm state senators last week, arguing the program has had no negative impact on ethanol demand, according to
July 31, 2019
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by Jarrett Renshaw, Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) The U.S. ethanol industry is about to break under the weight of the Trump Administration’s trade war with China and the surge in the number of small refineries exempted from the nation’s biofuel laws, said Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains (GPRE.O). The U.S. ethanol industry
July 29, 2019
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by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis (Washington Post) The agreement could have vehicles hit 50 miles per gallon on average by 2026 — Four automakers from three continents have struck a deal with California to produce fleets that are more fuel-efficient in coming years, undercutting one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive climate policy
July 25, 2019
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(Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)) Contrary to assertions by the EPA, the Energy Department confirmed in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that the EPA has issued so-called “economic hardship” exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to small refineries, often owned by billion-dollar oil companies, even when the Energy Department
July 24, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk (National Post/Reuters) Small U.S. refineries plan to sue Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 60 days, if the agency by then fails to issue its decisions on 2018 petitions for waivers from the nation’s biofuel laws, refiners said in a letter on Wednesday. … Since Trump took office, the EPA
July 19, 2019
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(DTN Progressive Farmer Washington Insider) The notice of proposed rulemaking for the reset of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is still a ways off as there are now additional meetings scheduled on the topic at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which is currently reviewing the EPA proposal on the
July 16, 2019
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by Chris Hubbuch (Wisconsin State Journal) … “There’s (a) civil war within the Republican Party,” said Scott Irwin, chairman of agricultural marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “It’s pitting two significant Republican constituencies of the president and neither one is now in a position to issue any kinds of
July 15, 2019
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by Jessica Campisi (The Hill) The Trump administration announced late Friday that it will formally suspend an Obama-era regulation that penalized automakers that didn’t meet fuel-efficiency requirements, Reuters reports. After Congress ordered federal agencies to adjust existing penalties in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued rules that more than
July 15, 2019
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by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) Republicans on Wednesday launched an environment-minded conservation caucus aimed at battling the perception that their party doesn’t care about climate change. Dubbed the Republican Roosevelt Conservation Caucus after National Park Service founder President Teddy Roosevelt, the bicameral group lists public land access, water quality and ocean
July 12, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump’s request for a review of the administration’s expanded use of biofuel waivers for oil refiners is holding up its decisions on 2018 applications, according to three sources familiar with the matter, two of whom said Trump may soon host a meeting on the
July 11, 2019
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by Tara Golshan (Vox) Climate activists around the world are pushing governments to treat global warming as an emergency. — … On Tuesday, they got three prominent progressive allies in the United States to publicly join their cause: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). The lawmakers
July 10, 2019
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by Hiroko Tabuchi (New York Times) The opposition to one of President Trump’s most consequential regulatory rollbacks — a plan to weaken pollution standards for automobiles nationwide — widened on Tuesday when 24 governors, including three Republicans, urged the president to abandon his plan. The governors’ plea adds to a chorus of criticism from an unlikely mix
July 10, 2019
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(American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers) Today (July 8, 2019), AFPM launched an advertising campaign asking President Trump to keep his promise to protect U.S. refiners from unchecked ethanol mandates that threaten to kill our jobs. This campaign comes on the heels of increasing calls from the ethanol industry to eliminate small
July 9, 2019
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by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) The future of an exemption shielding oil refining companies from a federal mandate that they blend corn-based ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply is looking increasingly uncertain amid increasing political pressure on the Trump administration ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Months after the Environmental Protection Agency,
July 8, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In line with today’s top story on the EPA’s RVOs proposal for 2020, here’s the Advanced Biofuels Association’s take from ABLC 2019 on it all from a history perspective. Mike McAdams, President of Advanced Biofuels Association, looks back at the history of EPA’s small refinery exemptions going
July 8, 2019
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(Associated Press) California picked up an important partner its long-running dispute with the Trump administration over vehicle emissions and fuel economy by announcing a deal with Canada to work on pollution reductions. The agreement comes as the state is in a standoff with its own federal government on the same issues,
July 3, 2019
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by Ed Lotterman (Bismarck Tribune) Unless National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo manage to gin up a war with Iran, the terrible crop conditions across much of the Midwest this year means that some fuel ethanol distillers will be shutting down operations. Quibbles about the
July 1, 2019
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by Dino Grandoni (Washington Post) Democratic contenders for president are trying to make climate change a top electoral issue. But one Trump appointee who recently left the Environmental Protection Agency wants to make sure it is a winning issue for her former boss instead. Since leaving the EPA in February, Mandy Gunasekara formed what
June 20, 2019
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by @AmyForAmerica (Medium.com) U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar released a plan outlining the more than 100 concrete steps she will take in her first 100 days as President of the United States to take on the biggest challenges we face at home and abroad. … Through executive action, Senator Klobuchar will begin to
June 19, 2019
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by Emily Moon (Pacific Standard) It could be years before farmers see any gains from the rollback of E15 restrictions—or before oil interests and environmental groups see any losses. — … For ethanol’s biggest opponents, the deregulation could usher in a whole host of plagues, including environmental hazards and falling oil profits. While
June 13, 2019
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Ethanol, the intoxicating alcohol found in beer, wine and liquor, has been powering automobiles in the U.S. since the era of the Model T more than a century ago. Since the 1970s, when oil became more expensive and subject to international disputes — and
June 12, 2019
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by Brittany De Lea (Fox Business) President Trump is in Iowa on Tuesday, just weeks after he lifted restrictions on ethanol – which could be a boon to both farmers and some drivers. At the end of May, the Trump administration announced it would allow for the year-round sale of gasoline with higher concentrations
June 12, 2019
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by Miranda Green (The Hill) President Trump gave rallygoers in Iowa on Tuesday a sign of what might come in 2020, speaking to them about ethanol while taking hard jabs at Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Speaking in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to celebrate his administration’s decision to allow 15 percent of ethanol to be mixed
June 12, 2019
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by Miranda Green (The Hill) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) is recommending a review of the agency’s decision to roll back a prominent Obama-era policy on auto emissions. The independent group made up of researchers and scientists wrote in a May 18 memorandum first obtained by Bloomberg that the department’s justification for
June 12, 2019
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by Meghan Gordon (S&P Global Platts) EPA says on track to release final volumes on time; Trump to tour Iowa ethanol plant Tuesday; Warren criticizes small refinery waivers — The US Environmental Protection Agency is close to releasing its proposal for how much biofuel refiners must blend into the US transportation fuel supply next
June 11, 2019
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) Joe Biden may have an ethanol problem. The former U.S. vice president has pledged support for advanced biofuels as part of his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. But Biden, who leads the crowded Democratic field in opinion polls in Iowa and nationally, faces lingering questions in the
June 11, 2019
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by Richard Valdmanis (Reuters) The main U.S. refining industry association said on Monday it sued to block the Trump administration’s effort to expand sales of higher ethanol blends of gasoline, arguing the move exceeded the administration’s authority. The legal challenge from the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) association escalated a
June 11, 2019
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by Marianne Lavelle (Inside Climate Today) The rule opened new ways for the fossil fuel industry to challenge science-based policy. One group is using it to try to shatter the foundation of climate policy. — … The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank and steadfast ally of the
June 7, 2019
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by John Bowden (The Hill) Many top-selling automakers around the world sent a letter to President Trump on Thursday urging the Trump administration to scrap plans to roll back fuel efficiency standards set during the Obama administration. In a letter signed by 17 major automakers including General Motors, Ford and Toyota, the companies wrote that
June 7, 2019
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by Eric Pfeiffer (Hoosier Ag Today) The EPA announced Friday morning that they have met the deadline for the summer driving season to allow year-round sales of E15, a fuel blended with 15 percent ethanol. “Corn farmers have been long-time advocates of higher blends of ethanol such as E15, touting its benefits to
May 31, 2019
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by Jennifer A Dlouhy and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) Agency initially planned to bar some traders and cap positions; Rush to propel high-ethanol fuel by June 1 complicated effort — The Environmental Protection Agency is poised to jettison proposed trading restrictions on a $5.2 billion market for biofuel compliance credits in a coming rule, casting aside
May 29, 2019
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by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) … While we are struggling to export corn, there is a market that is ready buy U.S. corn just in a different form. Ethanol exports have been booming and could expand even more if the EPA would allow more ethanol production. Its slow pace on
May 28, 2019
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by James Hohmann (Washington Post) … Trump proceeded to tout initiatives he’s taken to help corn growers. He noted that he directed the EPA to make it easier to sell more ethanol in vehicle fuel, lifting summertime fueling restrictions on E15 gasoline, which means it contains as much as 15 percent
May 28, 2019
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Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to unveil a narrowed-down version of its proposed biofuel credit market reform this month after regulators concluded many of the agency’s initial ideas required more time to study, according to four people briefed on the matter. … It
May 24, 2019
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(DTN Progressive Farmer) EPA has sent its proposed plan for a reset of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), one of the final stages before the plan will be released. There are no indications regarding levels EPA is proposing at this stage for 2020,
May 23, 2019
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer Jacobs (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump is considering visiting an ethanol refinery in Iowa in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, a signal that the administration will fulfill a pledge to permit the year-round sale of high-ethanol gasoline sought by corn farmers in the state.
May 23, 2019
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by Katy Siddall (River Cities’ Reader) New York Mayor Bill de Blasio toured the POET Biorefinery in Gowrie, Iowa and discussed the benefits of value-added agriculture in rural America. De Blasio was joined by Secretary Tom Vilsack, who served both as Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture under President Obama and as
May 21, 2019
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(Argus Media) Higher US biofuel blending mandates cannot make up for lost export trade opportunities, according to farm groups caught in the crossfire of the country’s trade war with China. US independent refiners show little concern that the administration will blunt sharply lower exports to China by pressuring more renewable fuels
May 21, 2019
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) Taxes and Bans: That was the threat California’s top air regulator leveled Thursday in the ongoing war over the future of the state’s aggressive auto efficiency rules. The Trump administration is seeking to dramatically roll back Obama-era greenhouse gas standards for vehicles, but California
May 17, 2019
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by Ayenat Mersie (Reuters) The U.S.-China trade war is hurting the U.S. ethanol industry “badly,” Mike Dwyer, chief economist of the U.S. Grains Council, said on Wednesday at an event at New York Sugar week: * “Without the tariff protection we would probably supply 90-plus percent of all (ethanol) import needs
May 17, 2019
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The Trump administration made it easier for oil refineries to get waivers from the nation’s biofuel law at least four months before a 2017 court decision it often cites to justify the move to the corn lobby, and the move was motivated by a desire to save
May 16, 2019
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(Raymond James & Associates) … The EPA is moving forward on year-round E15, while concurrently reforming RINs. As a long-standing political matter, federal ethanol policy (under the umbrella of the Renewable Fuel Standard) involves divisions not along party lines but rather regional lines. This is why, for example, Sens. Ted Cruz from Texas
May 14, 2019
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In China, Bloomberg reports that additional tariffs on US biodiesel imports are among the latest retaliation measures in the ongoing US-China trade war. Even though China imports very little biodiesel from the US, it will still increase the tariff to 25% from the current 10%. China also
May 14, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … (C)onsider this for now a Digested summary of the (Washington, DC) news you can use, as short as we can make it so that we return you to the business of building the bioeconomy that will, increasingly in the now and surely in the
May 14, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk, Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed increasing the volume of biofuels refiners must blend into their fuel annually to 20.04 billion gallons in 2020, from 19.92 billion gallons in 2019, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The proposed mandate, now under review
May 10, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA has delivered a proposed rule to set 2020 renewable blending obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The proposed rule also includes the 2021 RVO for biomass-based diesel and “other changes” to the
May 8, 2019
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(Growth Energy) Growth Energy, the nation’s leading association of ethanol producers and supporters, filed comments with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of a proposed rule allowing year-round sales of E15 – gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol. “Unless the EPA acts quickly, the summer market for E15 will be
May 3, 2019
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(Office of Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said today the Trump Administration’s plan to go back on its promise to name which U.S. oil refineries are allowed to avoid requirements to blend renewable fuels into the nation’s fuel supply could ultimately contribute to job losses across rural
May 3, 2019
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(USA Today) It’s not as bold as the Green New Deal but House Democrats on Thursday are poised to adopt the most significant climate legislation in a decade: A bill that would prevent the Trump administration from exiting the international Paris Agreement aimed at global warming. The Climate Action Now Act “is a first step to get Congress off
May 2, 2019
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by Jennifer Rubin (Washington Post) A new report confirms that President Trump is causing the most pain in areas of the country that were the most supportive of his 2016 campaign. Personal income for farmers fell by the most in three years in the first quarter, as losses to U.S. agriculture mount
May 1, 2019
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by Jarrett Renshaw, Chris Prentice, Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has suspended work on its plan to publish the names of refineries securing exemptions from federal biofuels law after receiving blowback from the White House and parts of the oil industry, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
May 1, 2019
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by Curtis Ellis (WND) … Last week, members of the International Union of Operating Engineers stood alongside President Trump at a union job-training center as he signed executive orders to expedite the construction of oil and gas pipelines and energy infrastructure projects, including Keystone XL, Dakota Access, Line 3 in Wisconsin and
May 1, 2019
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(Urban Air Initiative) The Urban Air Initiative submitted comments to the EPA supporting the agency’s proposal to make E15 available year round. While this is a critical step forward and needs to happen, UAI asked EPA to not stop at E15 and provided detailed analysis as to why the law allows higher
May 1, 2019
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by Jarrett Renshaw, Chris Prentice and Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has suspended work on its plan to publish the names of refineries securing exemptions from federal biofuels law after receiving blowback from the White House and parts of the oil industry, according to four sources familiar with the
April 30, 2019
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by Miranda Green (The Hill) … Asked who she (Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board (CARB)) thought would benefit the most from the Trump rule change, which she has argued automakers are largely opposed to, Nichols points to the fossil fuel industry. “It has been said, and I believe
April 30, 2019
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by John Siciliano and Josh Siegel (Washington Examiner) The deadline for comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed plan to allow year-round sales of 15% ethanol fuel closes at midnight, but neither side in the fight — that is, the oil and renewable fuel industries — wants the plan to move ahead
April 30, 2019
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by Zack Budryk and Miranda Green (The Hill) Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) on Monday announced a sweeping new sustainability plan touted as the city’s version of the Green New Deal. The plan calls for 80 percent of the city’s electricity to come from renewable resources and 80 percent of its cars
April 30, 2019
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(MENAFN) The ethanol market is splitting in two, which is having a big impact on the crops used to make the biofuel: corn in the US, and sugar in Brazil. There’s a massive ethanol glut in the US. That’s helping to drive corn prices lower. July futures are trading at a record
April 29, 2019
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by Alan Guebert (Beatrice Daily Sun) … “U.S. farmers, particularly cornbelt farmers, have gotten a really bad deal from the Trump Administration on the biofuels front.” Both statements are true, according to Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois who, word-for-word, offered the latter one. On April
April 26, 2019
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … ABLC 2019 kicked off on Wednesday with about 540 delegates in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Agriculture building complete with secret service protection and escorts for some big-name super star speakers, with a pretty exciting vibe in the room. In ABLC terms,
April 8, 2019
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by Bob Egelko (San Francisco Chronicle) California’s Air Resources Board sued the Trump administration Friday for information that might support the federal government’s claim that its proposed weakening of auto emissions standards would save lives. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced regulations last August to roll back fuel-efficiency standards adopted under
April 8, 2019
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by Cindy Zimmerman (AgWired.com) Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was honored at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) in Washington DC this week with the Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in Bioenergy. Accepting the award, Grassley said he was honored, but noted that his “work’s not done yet.” The Iowa senator, who has been
April 5, 2019
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by Jordan Godwin (Oil Price Information Service) With about two months to go before the start of the summer driving season, ethanol advocates are growing increasingly worried that EPA’s decision to combine in the same proposed rulemaking changes to how Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits are trading and a volatility waiver for
April 2, 2019
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by J.D. Scholten (The Hill) … To win back the White House, Democrats can’t just rely on “Whole Foods” districts of educated, affluent suburbanites. Democrats can do well in “Dollar General” districts if they show up and address the issues. No one gave me much of a chance when I ran against Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), but
April 1, 2019
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(Ag News Wire) The Environmental Protection Agency held a hearing Friday on proposed regulatory changes related to retail sales of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) and the renewable identification number (RIN) compliance system Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Biofuels advocates, organization representatives and company officials testified at the hearing about the proposal
March 29, 2019
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by David Kruse (The Daily Reporter) I was told by a director of the Iowa Corn Growers that at a meeting they discussed my recent reports where I had noted that the National Corn Growers Association is dropping the ball in pushing back against President Donald Trump personally on renewable identification
March 29, 2019
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by Merrill Matthews (The Hill/Institute for Policy Innovation) … President Trump wants to roll back unattainable Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards imposed by President Obama. And he wants those revised fuel efficiency ratings to apply nationwide, including California, according to The Hill. But environmentalists and the Golden State are rejecting the change. They
March 28, 2019
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(South Dakota Farmers Union) On the eve of a public hearing to receive comments on the long awaited ruling to allow year round rvp relief for E15, the South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) called the rule a backdoor effort to limit ethanol blends. In a call with supporters today, SDFU President
March 28, 2019
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Science and Technology Policy Office Request for Information on the Bioeconomy DEADLINE: October 22, 2019
(Federal Register) The Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) requests input from all interested parties on the U.S. Bioeconomy. The Bioeconomy represents the infrastructure, innovation, products, technology, and data derived from biologically-related processes and science that drive economic growth, promote health, and increase public benefit. Through this Request for