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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump has directed members of his Cabinet to review the administration’s expanded use of waivers exempting small refineries from the nation’s biofuel policy, after hearing from farmers angry about the issue during his recent Midwest tour, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
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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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by Clare Pennington, Izham Ahmad, Steven McGinn (ICIS) Trans-shipments of ethanol from the US to China are taking place in renewed efforts to thwart US-China tariffs, including ship-to-ship transfers, several sources in Asia and Europe have confirmed. Importing US ethanol into China carries a penalty of up to 70%, one of a
March 28, 2019
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) — The Green New Deal resolution sunk in the Senate on Tuesday. Now Senate Democrats will unveil their own Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, while House Republicans press ahead with their own push for a floor vote on the resolution. … The Senate may
March 27, 2019
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by John Siciliano and Josh Siegel (Washington Examiner) The Trump administration is quietly negotiating an energy partnership with Brazil, the largest economy in South America, to encourage more oil and natural gas production by tapping the expertise of U.S. energy firms, with the ultimate goal of lowering energy prices across the Western
March 22, 2019
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by Scott Waldman (E&E News) President Trump’s top economic adviser is not backing away from his belief that a carbon tax would be an effective way to address greenhouse gas emissions. Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, has expressed support for a carbon tax for years. In
March 21, 2019
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by Gerald F. Seib (Wall Street Journal) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce isn’t exactly a hotbed of pro-tax sentiment. So when the chamber advocates for a tax increase, it’s worth sitting up to take notice. That’s what’s happening now. Chamber President Thomas Donohue told Congress this month that the chamber advocates
March 21, 2019
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, MercoPress reports that the US won’t budge on allowing Brazil to export more limes that are facing phytosanitary trade barriers until the issue of the ethanol import quota and tariff is dealt with. When US ethanol exports pass 150 million liters per quarter, a 30%
March 19, 2019
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by Art Cullen (The Guardian) Here in farming country we have the opportunity to rethink our approach to renewable energy and food production — … Meanwhile, we’re losing our precious topsoil and polluting our rivers – killing the Gulf of Mexico in the process – as we chase ever-higher corn yields in
March 15, 2019
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by Ron Kotrba (Biomass Magazine) U.S. EPA retroactively granted five new small refinery exemptions for 2017, releasing them from their obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The five new small refinery exemptions reduced the 2017 renewable volume obligation (RVO) for biomass-based diesel by an additional 48 million gallons. Previously granted exemptions
March 15, 2019
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by Josh Siegel (Washington Examiner) The Trump administration won’t be returning to the negotiating table with California before finalizing a plan to roll back Obama-era fuel efficiency standards, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Monday. Wheeler, in an interview with the Washington Examiner, said the Trump administration won’t compromise on its final
March 12, 2019
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by George Cahlink (E&E News) … The decision means EPA would face a 31 percent cut over current spending, DOE an 11 percent reduction and Interior a 14 percent decrease, budget documents show. … The White House released only the broad outlines of its spending plans for agencies today; the more detailed appendix
March 12, 2019
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by Jeremy Martin (Union of Concerned Scientists) … The largest source of pollution in Washington state is transportation, which is another way to say burning petroleum-based fuels like gasoline and diesel. Tackling emissions from transportation requires policies that focus on vehicles and transportation fuels. Broad economy-wide measures like carbon pricing or
March 9, 2019
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by Meghan Gordon (S&P Global Platts) Even if the Trump administration completes a policy change allowing year-round sales of higher ethanol blends in time for this summer’s driving season, any major increase in demand may not materialize until summer 2020 because fuel stations saw the promised policy change as too uncertain
March 8, 2019
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by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis (Washington Post) As the Trump administration races to roll back Obama’s most ambitious climate rule, it lobbies to get industry on board — Trump officials thought they were doing the auto industry a favor when they decided to freeze gas mileage standards. But automakers aren’t so sure. To
March 8, 2019
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Mark Pomykacz, from Federal Appraisal LLC and a member of Lee Enterprises Consulting offers this illuminating overview of the U.S.-China trade war impacts, cash flows, and values in the biofuels industry, and more. READ MORE U.S./China Trade Deal Could Be a Big and Fast Boost to
March 7, 2019
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(US Department of Agriculture) The federal Biomass Research and Development (BR&D) Board today unveiled a multi-agency strategy to accelerate innovative technologies that harness the nation’s biomass resources for affordable biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. The Bioeconomy Initiative: Implementation Framework was developed by the B&RD Board – an interagency collaborative which is co-chaired by the
March 5, 2019
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(Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)) Today (February 27, 2019), U.S. Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Chuck Grassley of Iowa introduced the Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act of 2019(S.581), legislation that would remove burdensome regulations on domestic energy production. “The Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act provides new economic opportunity for Kentucky farmers
March 1, 2019
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg) CVR Energy Inc., backed by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, saved $189 million under the U.S. biofuels mandate last year. That’s largely thanks to a campaign he helped ignite to lower costs for compliance. CVR Energy, an independent oil refiner majority owned by Icahn Enterprises
February 26, 2019
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by Ron Lamberty (American Coalition for Ethanol) Retailer interest in E15 increased over the past few months, with many retailers believing President Donald Trump “signed something” making E15 legal year-round at an event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in October. We’ve explained there wasn’t any law or rule put into place at the
February 26, 2019
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by Jennifer A Dlouhy and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) EPA will propose several options, including position limits; Effort aims to quash speculation and boost transparency — The Trump administration is planning to propose an overhaul of the opaque market for trading biofuel compliance credits amid complaints of hoarding and wild price swings, according to
February 21, 2019
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by Steve White (NTV-ABC) Nebraska’s a world leader in ethanol, but global politics have the industry treading on thin ice. “Tougher together” is Chris Vincent’s motto these days. The CEO of Aurora Cooperative stands behind ethanol, even as the profitability has disappeared. … The co-op is a partner with Pacific Ethanol in
February 20, 2019
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by Juliet Eilperin and Missy Ryan (Washington Post) The White House is working to assemble a panel to assess whether climate change poses a national security threat, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, a conclusion that federal intelligence agencies have affirmed several times since President Trump took office. The proposed
February 20, 2019
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by Ryan Beene (Bloomberg) Trump administration seeking to roll back Obama-era standards; Cars are a flashpoint in tension between Trump, California — Talks between California and federal officials on vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards have broken down without a deal, three people familiar with the matter said. The Environmental Protection Agency and
February 20, 2019
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by Ben Jacobs (The Guardian) … Tim Gannon, the Democratic nominee for Iowa secretary of agriculture in 2018, told the Guardian the idea of ethanol as a dealbreaker in the state was “very much a stereotypical thing because of The West Wing and the big issue with Ted Cruz four years
February 18, 2019
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by Doug Sombke (South Dakota Farmers Union and Farmers Union Enterprise/Biofuels Digest) … The reality is that the RFS is going backwards, we have effectively capped the use of corn ethanol in the United States, and the EPA continues to play lip service to the President they work for and the public
February 13, 2019
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by John Poston MN(R) District: 09A (Brainerd Dispatch) … Over the past five years, farm income has fallen by 46 percent. One thing that all Americans can do to help is use a biofuel that we make and sell right here at home. E15, a 15 percent ethanol blend, is made from
February 12, 2019
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(Convenience Store News) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) launched an awareness campaign in support of E15 fuel with the launch of a new consumer-facing website and digital ads in The Washington Post. The campaign’s goal is to educate consumers and policymakers about the benefits of the fuel ahead of this year’s summer driving
February 12, 2019
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by Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering releasing its draft proposal to expand sales of higher ethanol blends of gasoline without including simultaneous measures it promised the oil industry to curb biofuel credit speculation, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The move would help the agency
February 12, 2019
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by Josh Siegel (Washington Examiner) Republicans who want to combat climate change say their party should avoid the temptation of rejecting the progressive “Green New Deal” without proposing an alternative. “If the Green New Deal goes down in flames and gets totally discredited, the climate issue is still out there,” said
February 11, 2019
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by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For the National Association of Convenience Stores, selling E15 is a matter of giving consumers plenty of fuel options. “We like the optionality of being able to have lots legal choices and really sell what the consumer wants to buy,” said Paige Anderson, NACS’s director
February 7, 2019
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by Chris Prentice and A. Ananthalakshmi (Reuters) In June, the High Seas tanker ship loaded up on ethanol in Texas and set off for Asia. Two months later – after a circuitous journey that included a ship-to-ship transfer and a stop in Malaysia – its cargo arrived in China, according to shipping data
February 7, 2019
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by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) … “While we have fought against this administration’s efforts to gut protections for clean air and water, roll-back efforts to address climate change and lease public lands for oil drilling and mining, infrastructure is an opportunity for everyone in Washington to work together to achieve the
February 6, 2019
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) FUELING DEBATE: ConservAmerica Chairwoman Nan Hayworth urged National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow to “avoid or soften the negative impacts” from upcoming international rules requiring cleaner-burning shipping fuels. The Feb. 4 letter warned that “hasty deadlines” for the International Maritime Organization rule to reduce
February 6, 2019
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by Jeff Cosman (Morning Consult/Attis Industries Inc.) … And in November, a letter from the Department of Energy, the EPA and the United States Department of Agriculture to Congress laid out a plan to encourage the use of efficient and carbon-neutral products made from woody biomass. In particular, it highlighted how
February 6, 2019
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(Associated Press/Washington Post) The European Union has approved U.S. soybean exports to be used in the production of biofuels in an effort to boost such imports following last summer’s trans-Atlantic meeting between President Donald Trump and his EU Commission counterpart Jean-Claude Juncker. The summit meeting was able to stave off a
February 5, 2019
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by John Siciliano (Washington Examiner) Ethanol producers are preparing for major action at the federal level in the months ahead, both in terms of litigation against Trump administration actions on the nation’s renewable fuel mandate and lobbying to finalize rules regarding the ethanol mandate. “You know, 2019 is going to be
January 29, 2019
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by Jeff Barber (Opis Biofuels News) The U.S. ethanol industry, which spent most of 2018 dealing with the fallout from EPA’s decision to allow a record number of small refineries to escape their Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance obligations, believes the agency will take a more measured approach to exemption requests
January 29, 2019
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(Renewable Fuels Association) E15. Clean. Affordable. Domestic. Fuel. There’s been a lot of talk recently about “E15,” a biofuel blend of gasoline that contains 15 percent ethanol, a product that comes from crops grown by American farmers. E15 burns cleaner and cooler than gasoline, lowers gas prices, and reduces oil imports. Unfortunately,
January 19, 2019
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by Gino Grandoni (Washington Post) … Nominally, the hearing was convened to consider the nomination of former coal lobbyist and ex-Senate aide Andrew Wheeler to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. … In the past six months alone the EPA under Wheeler has proposed relaxing emission limits on power plants and freezing them for
January 18, 2019
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(Renewable Fuels Association) With the government shutdown threatening to further delay approval of year-round sales of E15 (gasoline containing 15% ethanol), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to focus strictly on year-round E15 provisions in its forthcoming proposed rule and address RIN reform measures in a separate
January 18, 2019
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) Executives at the major U.S. automakers are pressing the Trump administration and California to agree on standards for fuel efficiency and carbon emissions through 2025, as risks increase that a deadline for setting national standards will pass without a deal. Automakers are already entering the time frame when
January 16, 2019
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(Bergeson & Campbell) On January 10, 2019, Representative Roger Williams (R-TX) introduced a bill (H.R. 431) that would repeal the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. CAFE standards are set by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and EPA. President Trump last year proposed to freeze CAFE standards at
January 16, 2019
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by Jonathan Lemire (Associated Press/Washington Post) President Donald Trump urged farmers Monday to stick with him even as many grapple with the impact of his trade war with China and the partial government shutdown. … Trump said the wall was needed to cut down on illegal immigration, even though border crossings have
January 15, 2019
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by Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it would complete a rule to boost sales of higher-ethanol blends of gasoline by the summer driving season, despite a partial government shutdown. The statement from the environmental regulator came after the agency warned at least two
January 9, 2019
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by Pete Ricketts (Office of Governor of Nebraska/Star Herald) As we enter the new year, I have put together a list of goals for our state in 2019. I am sharing a few of them here. … Year-Round E15 – In October, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and I joined President Trump in
January 4, 2019
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by David Kruse (The CommStock Report/Spencer Daily Reporter) From a subscriber: “I asked my local Cenex manager why the price of E85 was still high. E10 has dropped 43 cents in the last couple of months and E85 hasn’t changed from $1.94. He told me that the RIN price has often been close
January 4, 2019
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by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Year-round 15% ethanol-gas blend by summer now seen at risk; Shutdown could join trade war in limiting farmer income — … The government shutdown that Trump says could last “a long time” without funding for a border wall may hurt farmers by delaying the administration’s
January 4, 2019
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by Wesley Swift (S&P Global Platts) The market for Renewable Identification Numbers looked for relief in 2019 after a tumultuous 2018. Uncertainty over the nation’s renewable fuel policy created a volatile market for RINs, the credits used by refiners and fossil fuel importers to prove compliance with federal renewable fuel blending
January 3, 2019
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) An executive order on forest management issued by President Trump in late December addresses how rural economies can benefit through the utilization of byproducts created by forest restoration efforts. Trump issued the executive order on Dec. 21. It is officially titled “Promoting Active Management of America’s
January 2, 2019
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by Brian Jennings (American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Looking back to one year ago, ethanol renewable identification numbers (RINs) were fetching nearly 70 cents (a valuable incentive for ethanol blending), exports were swelling to record volumes, and EPA was promising to consider granting Reid vapor pressure (RVP) relief for E15.
January 2, 2019
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by Emily Skor (Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … We expect a proposed rule in February, followed by a public hearing and comment process. President Donald Trump’s administration has clearly stated its intention to have a rule in place by June 1—when the 2019 summer driving season begins. Our opponents will try
January 2, 2019
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by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … A waiter in a Cedar Rapids restaurant, for instance, recently asked Shaw (Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association) about Trump’s E15 waiver, upon hearing that Shaw advocates for biofuels and ethanol through the IRFA. “So here’s a waiter in the
January 2, 2019
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by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) Producers hopeful Chinese ethanol purchases are coming next; Biofuel, made from corn, helps support farm-belt growth — A little love from China in the U.S. ethanol market during the trade-war detente between Washington and Beijing could go a long way in soothing the ailing American farm economy. That’s according
December 24, 2018
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Eleven years ago today, President George W. Bush signed into law what has become the single most successful clean fuels policy in the United States–the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). The RFS2, included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, requires petroleum refiners and importers to
December 19, 2018
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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
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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South Dakota Farmers Union: Say No to E15 Rule; Farmer Leader Says We Can Do Better
(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