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by Barbara Moran (WBUR News) There’s more proof that greenhouse gases are dangerous to human health. That’s the conclusion of a study published Thursday in the journal Science, for which researchers reviewed hundreds of scientific papers on climate change published since 2009. The study supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” which labeled six greenhouse gases
White House
December 14, 2018
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by Hiroko Tabuchi (New York Times) When the Trump administration laid out a plan this year that would eventually allow cars to emit more pollution, automakers, the obvious winners from the proposal, balked. The changes, they said, went too far even for them. But it turns out that there was a hidden
December 14, 2018
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by Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The White House is delaying additional payments from a $12 billion aid package for farmers stung by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China because it expects Beijing to resume buying U.S. soybeans, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move comes despite
December 14, 2018
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by P.J. Huffstutter and Mark Weinraub (Reuters) … Federal economists have calculated that the nation’s losses in corn – its largest crop by harvest and export volume – amount to just a penny per bushel, a pittance farmers call absurd. That’s in stark contrast to the substantial $1.65 per bushel the
December 7, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Iowa, white smoke has emerged from the REGI conclave: Tesoro EVP and former Sapphire Energy CEO C.J. Warner has been named chief exec of Renewable Energy Group, at a pivotal moment for biodiesel in Washington and around the world and amidst a boom for renewable diesel
December 7, 2018
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by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … “There’s a very tight window between today and June 1,” says Brian Jennings, CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol. “The big-picture goal is for the proposed rule to be out for public comment and for EPA to wrap up a final rule prior
December 6, 2018
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by Lisa Gibons (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Tariffs in China and Brazil have deeply affected U.S. ethanol exports, but other markets remain, new ones are opening and opportunities still abound for the world’s lowest-cost octane. Despite a 20 percent tariff rate quota implemented in 2017, Brazil has continued to purchase significant amounts
December 6, 2018
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by Megan Keller and Timothy Cama (The Hill) White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Monday the Trump administration will seek to end subsidies for electric cars and renewable energy sources, according to reports. Kudlow said he expected subsidies for electric cars would end by 2020 or 2021. …
December 4, 2018
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by Brady Dennis and Chris Mooney (Washington Post) Scientists are more certain than ever that climate change is already affecting the United States — and that it is going to be very expensive. The federal government on Friday released a long-awaited report with an unmistakable message: The effects of climate change, including deadly wildfires,
November 23, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose new targets for the final three years of the nation’s renewable fuel program in January, replacing ambitious decade-old goals set by Congress with volumes closer to the industry’s current output, two people familiar with the matter said. The planned reset
November 21, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted oil major Chevron Corp a 2017 hardship waiver from U.S. biofuel laws for its Utah refinery earlier this year, according to a source familiar with the company’s operations. Chevron, which reported a net income of $9.2 billion in 2017, becomes the
November 21, 2018
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(Sierra Club) New Standards Mean Cleaner Air and Less Money Spent at the Gas Pump — Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) voted unanimously to adopt the Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) Program standards for cars and trucks. Vehicle emissions are among the largest contributors to carbon pollution in Colorado and contribute to
November 17, 2018
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by Srijan Kanoi (S&P Global Platts) China has switched to importing US ethanol via alternative routes since the US-China trade war erupted in April, the country’s General Administration of Customs data indicated Tuesday. … In a surprise to the market, the data showed that China imported ethanol from Indonesia and Malaysia,
November 15, 2018
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(Omaha World-Herald) A recent report from Iowa State University offers sobering findings that show why our country needs to resolve its tariff wars with China and other nations. The university researchers found that over the next year, the disruptions and loss of market share will cost the Iowa economy between
November 14, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw, Michael Hirtzer (Reuters) U.S. ethanol producers drew a bleak picture of their industry in quarterly filings and analyst calls this week, detailing how the critical farm belt business has been devastated by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and biofuels management policies that they say have tilted toward oil
November 12, 2018
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by Jesse Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) And while the bioeconomy – biofuels, biobased products, chemicals, and more – enjoy bipartisan support, the new political landscape means that the biobased sector and stakeholders still need to be on their toes. With one of the largest freshmen classes ever, and
November 10, 2018
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) California clean air regulators will hold talks next Tuesday with their federal counterparts and the White House over Trump administration efforts to stop Sacramento from adopting tighter vehicle emissions rules than Washington, a spokesman for the state confirmed on Thursday. The video conference meeting will be the
November 9, 2018
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by Dan Looker (Success Farming) When President Donald Trump told a campaign rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, last month that his administration will approve year-round sales of E15, farmers and the ethanol industry were pleased. They looked forward to more sales of the gasoline blend with 15% ethanol as early as
November 6, 2018
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by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) With the EPA anticipated to release a proposed rule to allow year-round E15 sales, agricultural cooperative company GROWMARK Energy has started offering pre-blended E15 at its terminals to serve gasoline retailers across the Midwest. The company has started offering E15 at terminals in Amboy,
November 5, 2018
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(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, along with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry, sent a letter to the House and Senate Committee on Appropriations. The letter describes the agencies’ work to
November 2, 2018
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by Humeyra Pamuk and P.J. Huffstutter (Reuters) … Some of the nation’s 3.2 million farmers and ranchers, traditionally staunch Republicans, are wavering in this election because of the trade dispute with China, the main buyer of U.S. soybeans and pork, interviews with nearly two dozen farmers showed. Those interviews and a survey
November 2, 2018
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(National Farmers Union) Throughout his campaign for and tenure as president, Donald Trump has consistently pledged to support American-grown biofuels. However, his administration has too often failed to follow through on those promises in a timely fashion. In the most recent of such instances, President Trump announced his intentions to allow
November 1, 2018
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(Urban Air Initiative) … South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke and Urban Air Initiative President Dave VanderGriend said an update to the master list of future federal regulatory actions called the Unified Agenda does not include a previously proposed rule that would make any blends above E15 illegal to use in
October 31, 2018
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by Mark Fitton (Tribune-Star) U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly stopped Saturday in Terre Haute to tout the use of E15, a gasoline blend containing 15 percent alcohol. … Donnelly, a Democrat and member of the Senate’s agriculture committee, said he’s been a champion of the fuel because it expands the market for Indiana
October 29, 2018
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(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Biofuels) and KS95 FM rewarded drivers who fueled up with Unleaded Plus (E15) during an hour-long promotion at Bona Brothers Minnoco in Fridley today. From 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, MN Biofuels and KS95 rewarded 20 drivers who made the switch to E15.
October 29, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … More recently in 2011, E15 was approved by the EPA for all vehicles 2001 and newer – nearly 9 out of 10 cars on the road today, or about 92 percent of all registered cars and trucks. In fact, according to Growth Energy, “E15 is the most
October 29, 2018
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Company acquired Andeavor this month to become largest refiner; Trump promised to allow year-round sales of E15 gasoline — Marathon Petroleum Corp., the largest U.S. oil refiner following its $23.3 billion acquisition of rival Andeavor this month, is weighing a plan to start sales of high-ethanol
October 26, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The Trump Administration has released estimated timelines for the development of three U.S. EPA rulemakings that pertain to the Renewable Fuel Standard and year-round E15 sales, including one that includes a “reset” of statutory blending targets. The administration released a summary of its Fall 2018 Unified
October 25, 2018
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by Jim Talent (The Hill/Americans for Energy Security and Innovation) Following the mysterious death of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Washington was hit with a stark reminder that America remains glaringly vulnerable to economic threats from the oil oligarchs of the world. Saudi Arabia quickly issued a warning that any sanctions will be met with
October 24, 2018
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(WNAX) This week, the Environmental Protection Agency published its rule making agenda for 2019 and in it said they’’ll start the rulemaking process for year-round use of E15 in February of next year. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says they wanted to see the rulemaking start sooner than
October 22, 2018
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by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) Historically, India and Brazil have been two major export destinations for ethanol produced in the United States. All the while, both India and Brazil are stepping up efforts to produce more ethanol. In India this week, stocks in sugarcane companies spiked in anticipation of
October 20, 2018
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by Meghan Gordon (S&P Global Platts) The US Environmental Protection Agency aims to adopt final rules for fuel economy standards by March and year-round sales of higher ethanol blends by May, according to a fall regulatory agenda released Wednesday by the Trump administration. The fuel economy rule is expected to increase
October 18, 2018
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(Renewable Fuels Association) On October 9, President Trump announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon begin a rulemaking process to allow year-round sales of E15 (gasoline containing 15% ethanol) in conventional gasoline markets, which account for nearly 70% of total U.S. gasoline consumption.[1] Much of the media coverage surrounding
October 15, 2018
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by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) … After Tuesday’s announcement, the oil industry and some environmental groups were quick to claim that increasing the volume of ethanol in the fuel supply would worsen air quality. However, the evidence suggests otherwise. An obscure piece of air quality regulation—Reid Vapor Pressure
October 15, 2018
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(Washington Post) For more than a decade, the United States has pursued the foolhardy energy policy known as the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS. Thanks to legislation passed by a Democratic Congress and signed into law by a Republican president, George W. Bush, in 2007, the RFS illustrates the sad-but-true principle
October 15, 2018
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(Urban Air Initiative) It didn’t take long. Minutes after President Trump announced he wanted to see E15 sold year round, the anti ethanol messages started. As President Trump himself said“ethanol makes the air cleaner”, Big Oil was spreading lies that ethanol hurts our cars and the environment. This is simply not true.
October 12, 2018
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(Attis Industries/NewMediaWire/FuturesTradingCharts.com) … Jeff Cosman, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, explains, “The increased inclusion allowance plays a vital role in the expansion of renewable fuel production. The timing couldn’t be better for Attis as we plan to build our first of many biorefineries that will produce cellulosic ethanol and biobased materials. Without the
October 10, 2018
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by Chris Clayton and Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer) Leading into President Donald Trump’s trip to Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Tuesday, a senior White House official said Tuesday that the president has directed the Environmental Protection Agency to create a new rule allowing year-round sales of 15% ethanol blends. Monte
October 9, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … USGC data shows the U.S. exported nearly 332.63 million gallons of ethanol to Canada during the 2016-’17 marketing year, up from 313 million gallons during the 2015-’16 marketing year. The U.S. also exported 27.6 million gallons of ethanol to Mexico during the 2016-’17 marketing
October 3, 2018
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(WNAX) Sources says the Trump administration is considering limits on trading biofuel credits. The goal is to discourage speculation and reduce costs for oil refiners to comply with U.S. biofuels policy. Renewable Fuels Association Executive Vice President Geoff Cooper says at this point, that’s just speculation, but his group is monitoring
October 3, 2018
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by Cassidy Walter (The Gazette/Iowa Renewable Fuels Association) As an outspoken libertarian in favor of open markets, it is unfortunate that in a recent column, Adam Sullivan did not look closer at the history of U.S. energy policy before disregarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) while blindly repeating every discredited claim about biofuels
October 1, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, D.C., leaders of the United States and Japan, one of the largest U.S. grain customers and second largest buyer of U.S. corn after Mexico, announced that the two countries would pursue trade talks. The impact on agriculture is to be determined in the talks. The
October 1, 2018
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by Darius Dixon (Politico’s Morning Energy) The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved a rule warning automakers that they will have to meet the current greenhouse gas emissions standards in California and its allied states, even after the Trump administration rolls back the federal rules. The so-called “deemed to
October 1, 2018
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by Wayne Madsen (State Journal-Register) When federal environmental standards are under assault from an administration that appears bent on rolling back the clock to an era of smog and air pollution caused by the use of dirty fossil fuels, now is not the time to abandon national clean fuel mandates. …
September 29, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The White House is considering imposing restrictions on trading of biofuel credits, hoping to discourage speculation and reduce costs for oil refiners to comply with U.S. biofuels policy, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. … The move would be part of a widely anticipated deal to
September 29, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new study by researchers at Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development has determined current trade disruptions are having a significant impact on the state’s economy, including its ethanol industry. The study examined different scenarios. Overall, the study shows losses to Iowa’s
September 26, 2018
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Gradual drop seen as refiners, farmers debate White House deal; Icahn owns 82% stake in independent oil refiner CVR Energy — The biofuel compliance credits used by refiners and criticized by billionaire Carl Icahn have tumbled to pennies from nearly a dollar when Donald Trump won
September 26, 2018
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(Argus Media) President Donald Trump’s administration will within weeks renew efforts to allow the year-round sale of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, according to multiple sources in biofuels and refining industries. The administration will announce changes to allow the year-round sale of 15pc ethanol gasoline in October, according to sources familiar with the
September 25, 2018
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(National Biodiesel Board) Allowing year-round use of E15 is a positive step for ethanol, but doesn’t support biodiesel — Today, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) wrote President Donald Trump asking that he “provide additional help to the nation’s farmers and rural communities by supporting policies that
September 21, 2018
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by Chris Prentice, Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new data detailing how it drastically expanded a biofuels waiver program for oil refiners since President Donald Trump’s administration took office, responding to pressure from the corn lobby to boost transparency over the opaque program. The details published on
September 21, 2018
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by Bob Bowman (Clinton Herald) The ethanol industry is critical to the Midwest, supporting thousands of jobs and adding billions of dollars to our economy. It also drives corn demand at a time when Iowa farm family income is at the lowest level in over a decade. However, the sale of
September 20, 2018
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Minnesota, Reuters reports that Green Plains is mothballing its ethanol production plants in Superior, Iowa and Lakota, Iowa as well as running its Fairmont, Minnesota plant at half capacity as President Trump’s trade war takes a bite out of demand from China. Together, the three facilities produced
September 18, 2018
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by Chris Clayton (DTN The Progressive Farmer) Just a few blocks from the commotion and crowds at the Global Climate Action Summit, biofuel advocates gathered Thursday to champion more low-carbon fuel standards that could take the country’s biofuels industry in new directions. While the climate summit focused on all the various
September 17, 2018
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by Jesse McCurry (Wichita Eagle/Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission & Producers Association) … Our grains reach markets around the world and feed production at a dozen Kansas ethanol plants that produce nearly 500 million gallons of clean, renewable biofuel each year. Ethanol production alone supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the
September 14, 2018
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) : Incoming RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper addresses the small refiner exemptions issued by the U.S. EPA last year, and how they affect the ethanol market — The U.S. EPA remains committed to meeting the statutory deadline for finalizing the 2019 Renewable Fuel
September 7, 2018
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by Eric C. Evarts (Green Car Reports) Just as the Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards, a new survey shows that Americans are dissatisfied with the fuel economy their cars already get. The American Customer Satisfaction Index survey for cars was released Tuesday, and among the 10 attributes the
September 5, 2018
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by Brian Jennings (American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Consider this a blueprint for restoring the trust EPA has broken with farmers and rural America. 1. Make good on the president’s promises to allow E15 use year-round. Trump has made three or four public promises to allow E15 use year-round and
September 3, 2018
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by Robert Rapier (Forbes) … To recap, gasoline must meet a specific requirement called the Reid vapor pressure (RVP). If the vapor pressure of gasoline is too high, it evaporates too quickly and contributes more to smog formation. … Pure ethanol has an RVP of 2 psi. If the mixing was
September 3, 2018
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by Nick Sobczyk (E&E News) Democrats have long billed themselves as the party of climate science, and if they take back the House in November, they want to put global warming back on the congressional calendar. “It’s the 800-pound gorilla,” said Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), co-chairman of the Safe Climate Caucus.
September 3, 2018
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(National Corn Growers Association) The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today said plans unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide aid to farmers negatively impacted by trade tariffs and ongoing trade uncertainty would be insufficient to even begin to address the serious damage done to the corn market
August 31, 2018
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by Helena Bottemiller Evich, Catherine Boudreau and Liz Crampton (Politico) The Trump administration on Monday detailed how it will dole out $6.3 billion in aid to assist farmers stung by retaliatory tariffs — and it’s already sparking backlash from some sectors where industry leaders say growers won’t get their fair share.
August 28, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On Aug. 17, the owners of nearly 60 anaerobic digestion (AD) projects sent a letter to President Trump asking him to tell the U.S. EPA to prioritize the development of an electric pathway under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The letter cites efforts by members of
August 28, 2018
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by Maxine Joselow and Benjamin Storrow (E&E News) … First came the rollback of clean car rules, an aggressive effort to unravel former President Obama’s program to reduce tailpipe pollution. Then came the Clean Power Plan replacement, another muscular move that dismantles Obama’s signature initiative for curbing emissions from the power sector.
August 24, 2018
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by O. Kay Henderson (RadioIowa) Republican Congressman Steve King today said the best thing the Trump Administration could do to alleviate farmers’ angst about the trade war would be to allow higher percentages of ethanol to be blended into gasoline year-round. “Let the market determine what that blend could be It could
August 17, 2018
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by Patty Judge (Des Moines Register/Focus on Rural America) … Many of the political elites on the coasts have argued that progressives should simply write off the rural Midwest because it is too white, too old and too conservative to ever support a progressive national candidate. In 2017 Focus on Rural
August 16, 2018
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(Urban Air Institute) A paradigm shift is needed in Washington, and it’s up to Rural America to push for change. “We need to join together and demand access to cleaner burning ethanol, which will help American farmers and improve the air our entire nation breathes,” according to Urban Air President Dave VanderGriend.
August 16, 2018
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by Seth Boyes (Dickinson County News) Steffes Company in Milford played host to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday Aug. 6. … “If you’re a member of Congress, you can’t keep your mouth shut if you think the president’s hurting your people,” he said. He went on to say the president seemed
August 15, 2018
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by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) … On top of that, a senior Senate aide close to the pro-ethanol camp led by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said “there is debate” over whether it will take legislation to enact the changes Trump seeks. “We view it as a technical correction,” the aide
August 14, 2018
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by O. Kay Henderson (RadioIowa) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s acting administrator met privately with Iowa commodity group leaders at the Iowa State Fair today — but Andrew Wheeler told reporters afterwards there is no decision yet on regulations that would allow a higher blend of ethanol to be sold year-round.
August 14, 2018
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by Donnell Rehagen (National Biodiesel Board/Real Clear Energy) … The ethanol industry wants EPA to remove a regulatory barrier to higher ethanol blends. In exchange, the refining industry wants to sunset the Renewable Fuel Standard. Late in July, President Trump announced in Iowa that he was “very close …to pulling off” the ethanol industry’s
August 13, 2018
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by Rod Boshart (Sioux City Journal) Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred Hubbell called out Gov. Kim Reynolds Saturday for not taking a more-aggressive public stance on behalf of Iowa farmers and rural interests being hurt by President Trump’s trade war with China rather than “towing the party line” in the trade dispute.
August 13, 2018
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by Dan Looker (Successful Farming) Lawsuits and EPA petitions are in the works. — … “I would say the status quo right now is unacceptable for the industry,” says Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “If he’s (President Donald Trump) supportive of year-round E15, let’s do it. Let’s see it.” These
August 10, 2018
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by David R. Baker (San Francisco Chronicle) A California program to fight climate change may now add more to the cost of gasoline than the state gas-tax increase that many voters want to repeal. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from fuel, now adds 12 to 14 cents per
August 10, 2018
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by Zack Colman and Scott Waldman (E&E News) The last time carbon dioxide levels hit the mark the Trump administration envisions for the end of the century, crocodiles roamed the poles and palm trees existed where glaciers are today. In fact, there were no glaciers — not even in Antarctica. Although the
August 9, 2018
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by Andy Banker (KPLR11) Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill spent the primary election day visiting biofuel plants in Missouri. “Happy Primary Day,” McCaskill said while getting off her campaign bus to tour MidAmerica Biofuels in Mexico, Missouri. It was her last stop before heading to Columbia to thank supporters for their help
August 8, 2018
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by Chuck Abbott (Fern’s Ag Insider) One-in-seven farmers who voted for President Trump in 2016 would not vote for him today, according to a poll released on Monday. The escalating trade war was the leading cause of erosion for Trump among a staunchly Republican group. But a majority still back him:
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Poltico’s Morning Energy) Does the world have enough oil to go around if 2.5 million barrels of Iranian petroleum is put behind a wall of U.S. sanctions? That’s the questions oil traders are trying to answer after the Trump administration said it would be resuming sanctions on
August 7, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The European Court of Justice has ruled that organisms altered via genome editing are GMOs and subject to GMO regulation in Europe, including warning labels for foods. And in the US, President Trump announced $12 billion in relief for farmers impacted by the Administration’s trade policies
August 6, 2018
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by Timothy J. Rudnicki (Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) … Let’s be clear here. There are legitimate complaints from the biofuel industry because (acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew) Wheeler’s predecessor turned over the agency to Big Oil. How else can you explain the 2.25 billion gallons of ethanol that were lost via
August 1, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The USDA has announced it will authorize up to $12 billion in aid to assist farmers who have been impacted by retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods. The ethanol industry also called on the Trump administration to provide Reid vapor pressure (RVP) relief for E15
August 1, 2018
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(Bergeson & Campbell) On July 20, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on its audit of EPA’s implementation of the OIG recommendations for the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA) Program. The PGCCA Program is sponsored by the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and
July 31, 2018
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by Roberta Rampton and Lisa Lambert (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration is very close to granting a waiver that would allow the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol year-round. “I’m very close, I have to tell you, to pulling off something you have been looking forward to
July 30, 2018
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by Anthony Bush (Marion Star) … Most urgently, (Agriculture) Secretary (Sonny) Perdue must follow the president’s directive to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to end harmful sales regulations on higher ethanol blends like E15 and above. These regulations restrict the sale of higher blends during the summer months when travel
July 30, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This is the first of a two-part series in which we look at strategic shifts in global commodity prices and policies that could dramatically impact the outlook for biofuels, In this part, we look at grain markets and the emerging US-China trade war. As most know
by Damian Paletta and Caitlin Dewey (Washington Post) The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday plans to announce a $12 billion package of emergency aid for farmers caught in the midst of President Trump’s escalating trade war, two people briefed on the plan said, the latest sign that growing tensions between the
July 24, 2018
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by AJ Taylor (KIOW) Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) stressed the importance of biofuels to rural communities and the need to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the nomination of Mary Bridget Neumayr to be a Member of the Council on Environmental Quality
July 23, 2018
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by Niv Elis (The Hill) The White House is expressing concerns that a funding bill set for a vote Thursday in the House does not make deep enough cuts for agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The House is debating a package of two spending bills, one for Financial
July 19, 2018
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(Associated Press/The Vindicator) … The threat of counter-tariffs on U.S. farm goods and the impact of President Donald Trump’s other policies on immigration and biofuels, though, have some farmers more worried than ever about their ability to continue eking out an existence in agriculture. … Don Bloss, who grows corn, soybeans,
July 16, 2018
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by Tristan R. Brown (Seeking Alpha) The worsening state of America’s trade relations with Canada has raised the risk that U.S. ethanol will be targeted with import tariffs due to its political importance. China and Brazil have both already imposed tariffs or tariff increases on U.S. ethanol. Canada is a major destination for
July 12, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ditched a detailed plan that would have forced refiners to blend more biofuels into their gasoline and diesel in 2019 to compensate for volumes likely to be exempted under the agency’s small refinery hardship waiver program, according to newly released EPA documents.
July 12, 2018
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by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court could be good news for the ethanol industry and clean energy programs where adherence to the law is often challenged. Trump said Kavanaugh, in his twelve years as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,
July 10, 2018
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by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) … The EPA also jettisoned a plan to incorporate an additional 1.5 billion gallons of biofuel requirements in last week’s proposal to make up for the potential waivers granted to small refineries. The agency said that it wouldn’t be taking public comments on the issue. ‘Negotiating Room’
July 9, 2018
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) In a Q&A with The Washington Post on Friday, (EPA Acting Administrator Scott) Wheeler showed he differs from Pruitt in at least one major way. He said he considers an endangerment finding that is the agency’s basis for regulating carbon dioxide emissions to be “settled law.”
July 9, 2018
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by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahoma attorney general who relentlessly pursued President Trump’s promises of deregulation at the Environmental Protection Agency, resigned Thursday after controversies over his lavish spending, ethical lapses and management decisions eroded the president’s confidence in one of his most ardent Cabinet
July 5, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Yes, Virginia, there is cant, pettifoggery, self-dealing, obfuscation, and downright dirty pool when it comes to the deployment of biofuels, chemicals and advanced biomaterials — but there are also some mysteries which can unraveled and resolved. … The mechanism that the EPA uses to enforce
July 3, 2018
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by Berkeley Lovelace Jr. (CNBC) Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says President Trump has told him to assure American farmers that they won’t suffer from the U.S. trade fight with China. Perdue says he is calculating the potential impact of trade disruptions on a weekly basis, and making it known to the Trump
June 29, 2018
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by Robinson Meyer (The Atlantic) A new justice will likely weaken the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. — … With Kennedy gone, a more conservative Supreme Court could overhaul key aspects of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, legal scholars
June 29, 2018
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by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) Rumors of USDA’s Tariff Easing Strategy Not Confirmed — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is giving himself a couple of months – until around Labor Day – before deciding whether to proceed with President Trump’s promise of shielding farmers from “China’s unfair retaliation.” For tactical reasons, Perdue
June 28, 2018
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by Patrick Springer (West Fargo Pioneer) … “It’s not a protest against President Trump,” said Pam Musland, marketing and communication supervisor for the North Dakota Farmers Union. “Our hope is to grab some media attention with all the media in town” to cover Trump’s appearance. … Those at what’s billed the
June 27, 2018
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On June 26, the U.S. EPA released a proposed rule that aims to require 19.88 billion gallons of biofuels to be blended into the U.S. fuel supply in 2019, up from 19.29 billion gallons in 2018. The proposed volume allows for up to 15 billion
June 26, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has consistently ignored recommendations from the Department of Energy to reject or limit waivers to oil refiners seeking exemptions from nation’s biofuels law, according to five sources familiar with the matter. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard requires the firms
June 26, 2018
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(The Courier) … Yet (Iowa Senator Joni) Ernst’s recent attack against Pruitt at a Washington energy forum was triggered over Pruitt’s “lies” about the Renewable Fuel Standard: not expanding year-round sales for the 15 percent corn-based ethanol fuel blend, while making ethanol exports figure into RFS compliance. The EPA banned
June 25, 2018
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by Tristan R. Brown (Seeking Alpha) Three major policy developments by the White House have had a large impact on U.S. biofuel producers over the past week. The EPA was initially reported to be on the verge of effectively reducing the U.S. volumetric biofuels mandate before making a surprise direction reversal
June 22, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering delaying its widely anticipated announcement on Friday on 2019 renewable fuel volumes as it re-examines plans to force larger refineries to make up for gallons exempted at smaller plants, according to two sources familiar with the
June 22, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice (Reuters/Successful Farming) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose reallocating biofuel blending obligations waived under its small refinery exemption program to other refiners, in an announcement that could come as early as Friday, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s plans. … Under the proposed reallocation, refiners that do
by Suzanne Danforth and Jim Venhof (Genscape) U.S. domestic ethanol demand suffered this spring relative to 2017, despite consistently favorable blending values and increasing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements. The decline, following a period of historically low ethanol prices this winter, forced the ethanol industry to diversify and seek new demand opportunities
June 20, 2018
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by Christine Siantar (Platts) China’s ministry of commerce said the import duty on US-origin denatured ethanol will rise to 70% on July 6 from 45%, as part of a wider retaliation to the US imposing import tariffs on Chinese goods. Other agriculture products such as sorghum, soybeans and wheat were
June 19, 2018
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(Platts) 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 year, a spokeswoman said Friday. The policy will include 2019 blending requirements for ethanol and advanced biofuels and 2020 requirements for biodiesel. “The interagency review
(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) New polling shows that voters across three Midwestern states are disappointed with Trump administration decisions they view as broken promises of support for local agriculture and renewable fuels industries. In a survey of voters in Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota, respondents overwhelmingly say they support federal policies to
June 18, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it will not reallocate exempt biofuel obligations under the small refinery waiver program without an act of Congress, setting the stage for a new clash with lawmakers in corn producing states. The agency has issued a record number of small
June 18, 2018
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) President Donald Trump will campaign with GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer next week — a trip that could extinguish any lingering tensions between the White House and the Senate hopeful, after the president has treated Cramer’s opponent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp with seeming warmth. Trump’s planned
June 18, 2018
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by Timothy Cama (The Hill) President Trump is nominating a Department of Energy (DOE) official who previously fought against policies meant to promote renewable energy to lead the agency’s renewable energy office. Dan Simmons has been serving since May 2017 as the acting head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and
June 15, 2018
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) White House officials will have a new round of meetings with an automakers trade group and California’s “clean air” agency next week before unveiling a proposal to reverse rules aimed at increasing fuel efficiency, participants said on Thursday. The rules, negotiated with automakers by President Barack Obama’s
June 15, 2018
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by Chris Prentice (Reuters) A week after the White House suspended its bid to reform the nation’s biofuels policy to aid oil refiners, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday dangled a tantalizing prospect to Midwest corn farmers, saying the agency has the power to expand sales of higher
June 14, 2018
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is expected to travel to Kansas this morning, where he’ll stop by East Kansas Agri-Energy’s ethanol plant in Garnett. The trip comes a week after the White House quashed the release of a plan to change the Renewable Fuels Standard amid
June 12, 2018
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(Wisconsin Ag Connection) A day after a tentative agreement to overhaul U.S. biofuel policy appeared to collapse amid farm-state concerns, EPA chief Scott Pruitt met to discuss the issue with the lead senator pushing for the changes: Ted Cruz. Pruitt had dinner with Cruz, a Texas Republican, at a Washington steakhouse
June 12, 2018
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) ASSUME DEAL DEAD: Sen. Joni Ernst’s decision to lay into embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt over his alleged about-face on ethanol appears to have paid off. Ernst spoke to President Donald Trump Tuesday night, she wrote on Twitter, and he “just assured me he ‘won’t sign a deal
June 6, 2018
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by Alan Bjerga and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) EPA chief seen as betraying Trump’s promises on biofuels; Trade tensions put demand for agricultural goods at risk — Even as Donald Trump tweets his support for U.S. agriculture, farmer loyalty for the president looks like it’s starting to waver over moves that may undermine corn-based ethanol and
June 5, 2018
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) The White House is expected to release its final proposal on revisions to the Renewable Fuel Standard today. Pro’s Eric Wolff is hearing from two industry sources that the proposal will include reallocating some of the volumes from exempted small refiners to larger refiners, as well
by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) … The ethanol industry could provide a home-grown, energy source that lessened our dependence on foreign imports, replaced a cancer-causing chemical as the octane portion of gasoline, and reduced tail pipe emissions. It would also provide a new source of demand for corn and raise
June 4, 2018
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(Growth Energy) Tomorrow (June 1, 2018) marks the beginning of the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) restriction on E15 sales across most of the country during the summer driving season – June 1 to September 15. The ban on E15 comes at a time when American drivers would most benefit from relief
June 4, 2018
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(Growth Energy) Coalition Petitions EPA to Revise the Way It Calculates Annual Renewable Fuel Obligations; EPA Is Failing to Comply with Statutory Mandate — Today a coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change its regulations to account for lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from the
June 4, 2018
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(Solutions from the Land) One of the three pillars of climate-smart agriculture is actions that farmers can take to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and simultaneously improve profitability. A principal means by which the agriculture sector can help governments around the world reach global emission-reduction goals is through the production
May 31, 2018
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by Abby Smith (Bloomberg) Lawsuits seek to force consideration of prior data in fuel economy proposal; Automakers expect fuller analysis, data to back up agencies’ proposed options — Lawsuits over the EPA’s April fuel economy determination are more than just a preemptive strike, challengers say: They’re an effort to force the agency to
May 24, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) Top officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy and Agriculture plan to meet on Thursday to hammer out details of President Donald Trump’s planned changes to the nation’s biofuel laws, according to two sources familiar with the matter. … Trump has told
May 24, 2018
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by Tom C. Doran (AgriNews Publications) It was good news and bad news for corn growers and ethanol proponents after President Donald Trump met with legislators to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard. A White House meeting with Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., resulted
May 23, 2018
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by John Tsitrian (Rapid City Journal) … And forgetting about soybeans for a minute, there’s the matter of Trump administration policy on the ethanol mandate, aka the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a major matter for corn producers. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has been “chipping away” at RFS,
May 23, 2018
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(National Farmers Union/Wallaces Farmer) NFU President Roger Johnson says year-round use of E15 would have significant benefits for farmers and the economy. — NFU President Roger Johnson wrote to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on May 22, urging EPA to immediately institute a waiver for summertime sales of E15. Johnson noted that
by Heesu Lee (Bloomberg) Fuel efficient engines to cut oil demand by 7.5m b/d by 2040; Demand from cars to peak in 2022 before falling to 15.9m b/d — Oil demand is set to face an even bigger threat from fuel-efficient engines than from electric vehicles over the next two decades, according to
by Scott DiSavino (Reuters) China’s interest in reducing its trade surplus with the United States through increased energy imports could advance plans for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and ethanol sales, analysts and energy executives involved in developing new LNG facilities said. Washington and Beijing stepped back from the brink
May 23, 2018
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(WBIW) Following reports that gas prices are on the rise, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly today urged President Trump to take an important step towards addressing the price surge by reducing regulatory burdens around the blending of biofuels. Current regulations on Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) prevent most retailers from selling American-made fuels
May 22, 2018
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by Robert Rapier (Energy Today) … As U.S. exports increase, high oil prices are turning into less of an economic negative for the country. If the current trends continue, high oil prices may turn into a net positive for the U.S. economy. … First off, it is no longer true that
May 21, 2018
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by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) The Environmental Protection Agency is meeting with California officials this week in Washington to negotiate the creation of a national fuel efficiency standard after the state sued the Trump administration over its proposed easing of the rules. “We think changes need to be made, and we
May 17, 2018
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to submit a series of options for softening fuel efficiency standards to the White House for approval in the coming week, two officials briefed on the matter Tuesday said. The U.S. Transportation Department has drafted a proposal likely to be
May 16, 2018
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Mario Parker and Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg) The Environmental Protection Agency plans to ask for advice on whether — and how — to boost the transparency of an opaque $9 billion market in biofuel compliance credits amid allegations of manipulation, said two people familiar with the move. The EPA will seek
May 16, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Trump in a pickle: support his beleaguered EPA Administrator over oil refinery bailouts, or rally his Midwestern farm-state base? — In Washington, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa tweeted: “I’ve supported Pruitt but if he pushes changes to RFS that permanently cut ethanol by billions of gallons he
May 16, 2018
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by Meghan Gordon (Platts) The US Environmental Protection Agency has sent its proposal for the federal biofuel mandate’s 2019 ethanol volumes and 2020 biodiesel volumes to the White House, according to Office of Management and Budget records. The notice did not contain any details from the proposal, but the status gives
May 15, 2018
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by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The Trump administration will scale back the use of biofuels waivers for small refineries and count ethanol exports toward federal biofuels usage quotas as part of a broad overhaul of the nation’s renewable fuel policy, a source briefed on the plans said on Friday. The
May 14, 2018
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) … Simply put, allowing exported ethanol to count toward compliance with an oil company’s RFS obligation would lead to further demand destruction for U.S. ethanol producers and corn growers who are already suffering the consequences of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s exuberant issuance of “economic hardship”
May 14, 2018
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by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) … First of all the export RIN issue does raise trade questions but if RINS go back to pennies then it would be hard for anyone to consider it a subsidy. And how do you get RINS to go back to pennies? Put a
May 11, 2018
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by Tom Krisher and Ken Thomas (Associated Press/Chicago Tribune) President Donald Trump told leaders of the world’s top automakers on Friday that he wants to see more cars built in the United States as his administration weighs plans to reduce gas mileage and pollution requirements enacted during the Obama administration. Trump said in
May 11, 2018
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by Chris Mooney (The Washington Post) Executives from top car companies arrived at the White House on Friday amid a looming legal conflict between the Trump administration and primarily Democratic-led states over climate rules for automobiles. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last year and a half,” President Trump said
May 11, 2018
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California Urges Trump Administration to Abandon Fuel Rule Plan
by David Shepardson (Reuters) California’s top air regulator urged the Trump administration on Sunday to abandon a plan to freeze fuel efficiency standards through 2026, as automakers urged state and federal regulators to reach agreement to extend nationwide rules. Mary Nichols, who chairs the state’s Air Resources Board, asked the U.S.