Federal Regulation – Advanced BioFuels USA

‘Very Engaged’ Trump Talks Biofuels Policy with U.S. Oil-State Senators

by Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Thursday discussed biofuels policy with senators from U.S. oil states, including Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who said the president was engaged on the issue that has pitted Big Oil and Big Corn against each other. The oil industry is opposed to the

September 20, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Administration Announces One National Program Rule on Federal Preemption of State Fuel Economy Standards

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) President Trump promised the American people that his Administration would address and correct the current fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, and today (September 19, 2019), his Administration is taking steps to fulfill this promise. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

September 20, 2019 Read Full Article

California Sues Trump Administration over Revoking Authority to Limit Car Pollution

by Dino Grandoni and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) 22 other states, plus D.C., Los Angeles and New York City, joined in the lawsuit — California and 22 other states filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday against the Trump administration, challenging its decision to revoke the most-populous state’s right to

September 20, 2019 Read Full Article

Market Outlook for Low Carbon Fuels

by Nora Goldstein (BioCycle Magazine) Overall, demand for RNG is strong in spite of an oversupply of D3 RINs in 2018. — In 2018, cellulosic biofuel producers, including those making renewable natural gas (RNG), outperformed the annual Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) quantity for D3 RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers) set by

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Davis Introduces Pro-Ethanol Legislation

(The Telegraph) Local ethanol officials are lauding the Small Refinery Exeption Fairness Act of 2019 introduced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville. Davis introduced the bill after the EPA continues to increase the number of small refineries exempted from the Renewable Fuel Standard. Davis’ bill would require the EPA administrator to use

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

New Study Stresses Ethanol’s Benefits for Energy Security

(Renewable Fuels Association) A new study shows that the Renewable Fuel Standard not only saves drivers money at the gas pump every day, but also enhances energy security by greatly reducing or even eliminating the blow to our nation’s drivers when global oil production is disrupted. The analysis confirms that the growing supply

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

NBB Member Testifies on Biodiesel’s Clean Energy Contribution

(Biofuels International) A member of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has testified to the House Small Business Committee on Rural Development on the contribution of biodiesel to the clean energy economy. Thomas Brooks, general manager of Western Dubuque Biodiesel, spoke at a hearing on ‘Growing the Clean Energy Economy’, in

September 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Tweets He’s Revoking California’s Tailpipe Emissions Waiver while Visiting State

by Miranda Green (The Hill) President Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will be removing California’s tailpipe emissions waiver under the Clean Air Act, a decision likely to face fierce backlash in courts. Trump made the announcement via Twitter while touring California for private fundraisers and a visit to the

September 18, 2019 Read Full Article

QUOTE OF THE WEEK — Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

“I’ve been hoodwinked so many times, not just by the EPA on this issue, but by other bureaucracies as well, so I’m going to see if what we talked about is the end product,” Senatory Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told reporters on September 17 referencing enforcement of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

September 18, 2019 Read Full Article

Will the RFS Deal Protect Innovation and Our Planet?

by Stephanie Batchelor (Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)/Biofuels Digest) As we speculate on the details and implications of the administration’s renewable fuels deal, the future of an entire green industry hangs in the balance. The debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has become muddied with rhetoric about special interests and government

September 18, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Administration to Revoke California’s Power to Set Stricter Auto Emissions Standards

by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis (Washington Post) The Trump administration will revoke California’s right to set stricter air pollution for cars and light trucks on Wednesday, according to two senior administration officials, as part of a larger effort to weaken an Obama-era climate policy curbing greenhouse gas emissions from

September 17, 2019 Read Full Article

Forest Products Industry Barriers to Producing Biofuels

(Biorenewable Deployment Consortium) BDC is a 501c3 organization focused on education and brokering partnerships in order to accelerate the deployment of economic bioprocesses and assist the forest products industry to get the most value from the tree. BDC membership represents bioprocess companies and the major forest products companies. BDC believes

September 16, 2019 Read Full Article

USDA Numbers Confirm Declining Demand For Ethanol

by Amy Mayer (Iowa Public Radio) The national average price for corn this season is back to $3.60 a bushel, about where it’s been most of this year except for an early-season spike ($4.16 in July) before the size and quality of the crop was known. That’s not great news for corn growers,

September 16, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Weighs Boosts to Biofuels

by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) The White House is considering a plan that could limit the number of small refinery exemptions to the RFS, increase the volumes of biofuels that must be blended into gasoline and boost the spread of 15 percent ethanol fuels, four industry and other sources

September 16, 2019 Read Full Article

Biodiesel Manager Says EPA’s Waivers “Ironic”

by Julie Harker (Brownfield Ag News) An Iowa biodiesel business manager has testified at a House subcommittee hearing that his business is contributing to the clean energy economy, saying strong consistent federal policy is needed, “It’s ironic that the EPA has such concern for the economic hardships facing small (oil)

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Cooperative Relies on RFS Waivers: CountryMark Sits on Both Sides of Small-Refinery Waiver Controversy

by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The farmer-owned CountryMark cooperative and fuel refinery is caught in the middle of the small-refinery exemption controversy. The company operates in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky — most of its customers at more than 100 retail stations are farmers and rural communities that have

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Science and Technology Policy Office Request for Information on the Bioeconomy DEADLINE: October 22, 2019

(Federal Register) The Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) requests input from all interested parties on the U.S. Bioeconomy. The Bioeconomy represents the infrastructure, innovation, products, technology, and data derived from biologically-related processes and science that drive economic growth, promote health, and increase public benefit. Through this Request for

September 13, 2019 Read Full Article

Oil Refining Representatives to Rally in Toledo against Trump Biofuels Policy

by Jon Chavez (The Blade) Members of Ohio’s oil refining industry will rally in Toledo Thursday at One Government Center downtown to urge President Trump not to tamper with laws regulating U.S. biofuels policy, because doing so could put smaller refineries, including the Toledo Refining Co. operation in Oregon, at risk

September 12, 2019 Read Full Article

White House Presses Biofuel, Oil Executives for Compromise

by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg/Investors Business Daily) Discussions aimed at breaking logjam over biofuel plan; Friday deadline issued for ideas on potential compromise — Trump administration officials are squeezing biofuel and oil refining executives to agree to a plan to bolster corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. In

September 12, 2019 Read Full Article

Landfill, Skyfill and the Opportunities, Dangers Within

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Many have asked, why do we need mandates for renewable fuels, carbon prices, and all that. Isn’t that a government subsidy, a hand-out for politician-friendly technologies that can’t make it in the marketplace? Well, that depends, my friend, how you think about the community landfill. About landfills

September 12, 2019 Read Full Article

White House to Meet With Biodiesel Producers in Quest for a Deal

by Mario Parker and Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Trump administration officials are set to meet with renewable fuel producers on Wednesday, as they seek to entice industry endorsements for a plan to bolster corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. The meeting is slated to include executives from Louis Dreyfus Co., Renewable Biofuels

September 11, 2019 Read Full Article

Many U.S. Farmers Fume at Washington, Not Trump, over Biofuel, Trade Policies

by P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek (Reuters) … Many farmers are angry, and some are directing their anger not at the Republican president, but at Washington’s bureaucracy. Trump has faced backlash from agricultural groups, ethanol producers and Midwestern politicians upset that his trade war with China has slashed export sales

September 10, 2019 Read Full Article

Ethanol Advocate & Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle Meets with Farmers Union Members in D.C.

(South Dakota Farmers Union) It’s a critical time for the ethanol industry said former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle today, Sept. 9, 2019, when he met with more than 300 farmers, ranchers and agriculture supporters in D.C. as part of the National Farmers Union Fly-In. “It’s a critical time, not only for agriculture,

September 10, 2019 Read Full Article

Political Pollster Plugs E85

by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) Political consultant, pollster, and “public opinion guru” Frank Luntz gave a surprising plug for the use of E85 (85 percent ethanol blended fuel) and the need for more flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) during an appearance on FOX News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle with Laura Ingraham last Thursday. “There’s

September 9, 2019 Read Full Article

King Willing to Debate Feenstra, Taylor

by Ty Rushing (NWestIowa.com) … During his town hall, King addressed multiple topics including immigration, trade negotiations and the struggles of the agricultural renewable fuels community. POET Biorefining, the nation’s largest ethanol producer, has a plant south of Ashton, which King made reference to when questioning a recent decision by the

September 9, 2019 Read Full Article

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Trump Can’t Erase a Decade of Clean Air Progress with a Sharpie

by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Washington Post) California has been a leader in the fight to clean our air since one of my heroes, Ronald Reagan, was our governor. The Trump administration, for some reason, is hellbent on reversing decades of history and progress. Whether it is political pettiness, shortsightedness or just plain jealousy,

September 9, 2019 Read Full Article

Biofuel Plan Faces Fresh Backlash from U.S. Agricultural Trade Groups

by Chris Prentice, Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) U.S. agricultural trade groups on Friday told the Trump administration a proposed biofuel reform package falls short of expectations, four sources familiar with discussions said, complicating plans the administration had for presenting the proposal to President Donald Trump. … The plan

September 8, 2019 Read Full Article

QUOTE OF THE WEEK — Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters)

According to Reuters‘ reporters Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw, Terry Branstad, the former Iowa governor and now U.S. ambassador to China, showed a map of counties that had flipped in Trump’s favor in 2016 but were now considered at risk in the November 2020 election. Branstad also listed quotes from

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump in High-Stakes Balancing Act between Oil and Corn ahead of 2020 Bid

by Humeyra Pamuk and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) At a closed-door meeting at the White House on Aug. 19, President Donald Trump looked increasingly alarmed as his top envoy to China delivered evidence of rising Farm Belt frustration over his biofuel policy along with a stark warning: You’ve got a problem in

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

White House Weighs Biofuel Quota Boost Amid Appeals From Iowa

(Bloomberg) Trump officials honing plan to benefit ethanol, biodiesel; Latest initiative would spike 2020 quotas by 1 billion gallons — Top administration officials have developed plans to give a 5% boost to U.S. renewable fuel-blending quotas in 2020, as President Donald Trump seeks to temper farm-state criticism he has undermined U.S.

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

California, Trump Clash over Cars

by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) California and the Trump administration will duke it out in court today over EPA’s initial decision to undo Obama-era auto emissions standards. … It’s California vs. Donald Trump today at the D.C. Circuit in an early test of the clash between the state and federal

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

National Chicken Council Submits Comments to EPA on the RFS Program Standards for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021

(Biobased and Renewable Products Update) On August 30, 2019, the National Chicken Council submitted a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing concerns with the proposed required volume obligations (RVO) for 2020 combined with the recent waiver that will increase the use of ethanol-15 (E15) under the Renewable Fuel Standard

September 6, 2019 Read Full Article

Petroleum Industry Warns Trump It Will Fight Ethanol Moves

by Dave Boyer (The Washington Times) A leading trade group for the petroleum industry warned President Trump on Tuesday to ditch his plan to boost ethanol production, saying it would be a “disastrous political decision.” … He (Frank Macchiarola, a vice president of the American Petroleum Institute) said the petroleum industry

September 5, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump, Biofuels, 2020 and the Prospect of a Farmer Flip

by Matt Carr (Biofuels Digest/New Energy America) … President Trump has repeatedly buckled under pressure from fossil fuel interests and their Wall Street backers, giving an unprecedented number of “small refinery waivers” to oil refiners that have reported record profits year over year, significantly undermining biofuel production by destroying nearly 4

September 4, 2019 Read Full Article

Circuit Court Rejects Challenges to EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standards

by Tim Ryan (Court House News) The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s renewable fuel standards in the face of challenges from energy companies, biofuel producers and industry groups. Under longstanding EPA policy, the burden of introducing more renewable fuel into the U.S. market falls on fuel

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

View from a Former Fed: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Multi-Slide Guide to Policy Nexus Advisors’ Federal Programs

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) There’s nothing like a former fed to give a unique perspective on federal programs and policy. Paul Argyropoulos, President of Policy Nexus Advisors, gave this illuminating overview of what he thinks the future holds, influencing factors and drivers that can change the whole planes, trains

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

Booker: We Will Stop the Oil Refinery Waivers, as Part of $3 Trillion Clean Energy and Infrastructure Plan

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New Jersey, Senator Cory Booker announced that, if elected as US President, he would “Immediately end the granting of unwarranted RFS small refinery waivers to big oil companies, and substantially increase funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Booker became the second US

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

What’s the Plan to Increase Ethanol Use? Low Carbon Octane Standard Could Be the Way to Increase Ethanol Use beyond E15.

by Brian Jennings (Ethanol Producer Magazine/American Coalition for Ethanol) … Are we simply going to play defense on the RFS and hope the E15 market develops quickly, or can we turn the page, go on offense and initiate a new legislative or regulatory strategy to increase ethanol use far beyond

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

E15 Rewards For Hopkins Drivers

(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Biofuels) and KS95 FM teamed up today to reward consumers who fueled up with Unleaded Plus (E15) at Hopkins Express Minnoco. During the hour-long promotion from 12 pm to 1 pm, consumers who fueled up with E15 were rewarded with prizes that

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

EPA’s Final 2020 Volume Obligations Must Restore Lost Gallons

(Renewable Fuels Association) In formal comments submitted today (August 30, 2019) in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed 2020 renewable volume obligations, the Renewable Fuels Association called on the EPA to follow the law and make up for the lost blending volumes resulting from the numerous secretive refinery waivers

September 3, 2019 Read Full Article

Renewable Natural Gas: The Climate Change Solution with Limited Awareness of Its Potential

by Michael Bakas (Utility Dive/Ameresco) When it comes to addressing climate change, we must pursue the many diverse approaches for reducing carbon emissions. One of the most overlooked opportunities in our arsenal today is renewable natural gas (RNG). It’s simply not getting enough attention in relationship to its potential for major impact.

September 2, 2019 Read Full Article

QUOTE OF THE WEEK — American Petroleum Institute

In a February 2018 letter to the EPA from the American Petroleum Institute: “…RIN costs are largely recovered by refineries, both large and small, through the increased value of gasoline and diesel fuel they supply to the market.” … “These points make clear that small refinery exemptions are unnecessary as

September 1, 2019 Read Full Article

Five Reasons Why Big Oil Is Wrong

by Scott Richman (Renewable Fuels Association) On Wednesday, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute sent a letter to President Trump in response to reports that the administration is considering measures to mitigate the harm that the renewable fuels industry has experienced as a result of the

September 1, 2019 Read Full Article

A Farmer’s Plea to the President: Fix our Fuel

by Doug Sombke (The Hill/Farmers Union Enterprises and the South Dakota Farmers Union) … I recently wrote a letter to the president suggesting a pathway out from under the proverbial rock. I urged him to direct the EPA to enforce the mandatory provision of the Clean Air Act that requires it to reduce the toxic

September 1, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Teases Work on Policy Package to Boost Ethanol

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) President Donald Trump issued a tweet Aug. 29 suggesting his administration is working on a “giant package” to boost demand for ethanol. He did not indicate what the timeframe for the release of that package might be. Trump’s tweet followed weeks of outrage by

September 1, 2019 Read Full Article

Costs Inhibit Government Purchases of Electric Vehicles: GAO

by Maxine Joselow (E&E News) Federal agencies have been reluctant to buy electric vehicles because of high prices and a lack of charging infrastructure, the government’s internal watchdog said in a report released yesterday. READ MORE FEDERAL VEHICLE FLEETS: Agencies Have Continued to Incorporate Alternative Fuel Vehicles into Fleets, but

August 29, 2019 Read Full Article

Iowa Governor Planning DC Meeting over ‘Short Term Crisis’ in Ethanol Industry

by O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa) Governor Kim Reynolds and Midwest governors are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. to talk with President Trump about unrest in farm country. “Let him know first-hand what’s happening on the ground,” Reynolds said this morning. The Trump Administration recently granted waivers to oil companies,

August 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Klobuchar: In First 100 Days as President, Pledges Moratorium on Oil Refinery Waivers, Restoration of Renewable Fuels Tax Credit and More

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Klobuchar says “I will stop the oil refinery waivers”: In Iowa, US Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said that, if elected President in 2020, would in her first 100 days in office order a moratorium on oil refinery waivers issued under the Renewable Fuel Standard, restore the

August 28, 2019 Read Full Article

Internal White House Documents: EPA Ignored Trump Administration Recommendations to Redistribute Small Refinery Waived Volumes

(Renewable Fuels Association) Documents obtained by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) show that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ignored strong recommendations from within the Trump Administration to redistribute Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending obligations lost to small refinery exemptions in the proposed rule for 2020 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs). According to

August 27, 2019 Read Full Article

ACE Conference: An Update on Litigation Affecting the Industry

by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Bryan Stockton gave attendees of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s annual conference in Omaha, Nebraska, an update on some of the litigation affecting the ethanol industry. Stockton is an attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is working on behalf of the industry to

August 26, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Orders Biofuel Boost in Bid to Temper Farm State Anger

by Jennifer A Dlouhy and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) 2021 quotas will jump to make up for oil refinery exemptions; Move could alienate Rust Belt refinery workers in Pennsylvania — President Donald Trump, seeking to tamp down political fallout in U.S. farm states essential to his re-election, has ordered federal agencies

August 26, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Set to Discuss Biofuels Thursday with USDA, EPA: Sources

by Humeyra Pamuk and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) President Donald Trump, faced with mounting anger in the farm belt over policies that allowed oil refineries to use less corn-based ethanol, is set to meet with cabinet members on Thursday to discuss ways to boost biofuel demand, four sources familiar with the matter said.

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

2020 Dems Aim to Capitalize on Trump’s Ethanol Policy

by Brian Dabbs (National Journal) Democratic presidential candidates are exploiting a controversial White House ethanol policy to try to generate support among President Trump’s staunchest backers. The Environmental Protection Agency waived ethanol blending requirements for more than 30 petroleum refiners earlier this month, in a move that continues to infuriate

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

EPA Mulling Ethanol Reallocation, Sources Say

by Alex Guillén (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Trump administration is considering reallocating the volumes of ethanol that were reduced when it allowed dozens of refineries to waive their Renewable Fuel Standard requirements to blend the biofuel with gasoline, four industry sources with knowledge of the discussions told Pro’s Eric Wolff.

August 22, 2019 Read Full Article

Biofuel Lobby Sues EPA Over Renewable Fuel Standard Exemptions

by Michael McGrady (Inside Sources) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a legal challenge from a coalition of biofuel and agriculture industry groups regarding the agency’s proposal for reduced renewable fuel volumes. According to a press release from the coalition, the organizations filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the

August 21, 2019 Read Full Article

Governors Ask EPA to Clarify Biogenic CO2 Not Regulated under CCA

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) Governors representing Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska and North Dakota recently sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging the agency to clarify biogenic CO2 is not a pollutant subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act. “We respectively request that you prioritize regulatory reform

August 21, 2019 Read Full Article

Wound up over Waivers

by Alex Guillén (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA’s internal watchdog is being asked to determine how the agency decided to grant the vast majority of exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard that oil refiners have requested. EPA approved 31 petitions for waivers from the 2018 requirements, while rejecting just six, and

August 21, 2019 Read Full Article

Addressing Two Objections to My Midwest Ethanol Plan

by Robert Rapier (Forbes) … My proposed solution is for the Midwestern states to band together to provide sufficient state incentives to develop a major Midwest corridor where E85 — a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline — is the primary fuel of choice for consumers. There is enough

August 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Report: Trump Ordered Waivers: Ongoing Court Challenges May Be Only Avenue Left for Biofuels

by By Todd Neeley and Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) …The president sided with oil refiners over ethanol producers and corn farmers, just two months after reiterating his support for ethanol at a rally held at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to celebrate the approval of year-round

August 19, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Intervention Triggered EPA’s Surprise Biofuel Waiver Decision: Sources

by Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters) A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump last week ended a nearly two-month-long review of the nation’s biofuels program, three sources familiar with the matter said, with the White House siding in favor of oil refiners over corn growers. Trump gave Andrew Wheeler, head of the U.S.

August 16, 2019 Read Full Article

How to Fix the Ethanol Industry

by Robert Rapier (Forbes) …In this model, the entities that control the model are the same as those that benefit from it: The Midwestern states that produce essentially all of the nation’s ethanol. The key goal here is to get the federal government out of the position of strongly impacting the market for

August 15, 2019 Read Full Article

Small Refinery Waivers: Is EPA Breaking The Law?

by Anna-Lisa Laca (Farm Journal’s Ag Pro) For the past two years the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been issuing small refinery hardship waivers, which allow the awarded refiners to forgo blending ethanol with their fuels. Is EPA breaking the law by issuing such waivers? It depends on who you

August 15, 2019 Read Full Article

O’Brien: Retailers, Prime the Pump Set the Stage for E15 Adoption

by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For retailers who are still looking to add E15 to their product mix, Growth Energy’s vice president of market development, Mike O’Brien believes there’s no better place to learn about and ask questions than the Prime the Pump program. Retailers who have already made the

August 14, 2019 Read Full Article

Jobsites and Machines of the Future: Diesel, Hybrid, Renewable, Connected, Autonomous and Electric

by Allen Schaeffer (Construction Executive/Diesel Technology Forum) … Achieving the U.S. EPA Tier 4 emissions requirements means near-zero particulate matter (PM 2.5) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. This performance is accomplished through a combination of strategies, ranging from selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters to advanced catalysts. No matter

August 14, 2019 Read Full Article

Innovate AND Implement: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to ICM’s Ethanol and Biorefining

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Innovation is great but without implementation, the story ends there. Not so for ICM, a Kanasas-based company that took its small business roots in a farming community and an idea and turned it into 1/3 of the world’s ethanol produced every year by ICM technologies. With

August 14, 2019 Read Full Article

City in Colorado Develops Innovative Biogas Plant & CNG Station Project

(City of Longmont/NGV Journal) Steel rising on a site at the northwest corner of the city of Longmont’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a sign of the future. The steel provides the frame for an approximately 23,000-square-foot building for Longmont’s Biogas Treatment and Renewable Natural Gas Fueling Station Project, which will

August 12, 2019 Read Full Article

Coalition Pushes EPA to Reconsider Limits on Higher Ethanol Blends

(Urban Air Initiative) In a joint petition filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals, a broad alliance of ethanol, agriculture, and clean fuel organizations requested judicial review of a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking that would limit ethanol blending and restrict the use of blender pumps. The Urban Air Initiative

August 12, 2019 Read Full Article

The Problem with the Ethanol Industry

by Robert Rapier (Forbes) … The ethanol industry would argue that if refiners weren’t being forced to blend ethanol, they wouldn’t. That’s mostly true. Ethanol has a significantly lower energy content than gasoline, but ethanol is used to increase octane. Thus, refiners would still use it even if they weren’t forced to, but at

August 12, 2019 Read Full Article

The Real Fuel Issue

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Washington Post) I was surprised to see in Catherine Rampell’s July 26 op-ed, “The Grand Old Socialist Party,” a line about “big fat federal government subsidies for corn ethanol.” The last tax credit for ethanol, the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, expired in 2011, and it’s

August 12, 2019 Read Full Article

EPA Strikes Icy Blow to Ag & Biofuels: 31 Waivers Hit Heart of American Farmers and Biofuels

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) EPA might have a new name in some circles – Exemptions for Petroleum Agency – thanks to the 31 small refinery waivers issued on Friday which has the biofuels and agriculture industries reeling after promises made by President Trump to look into why big oil

August 12, 2019 Read Full Article

Managing LCFS Credits and Risk in Uncertain Times

by Michael Newman (Parhelion Underwriting Inc./Biofuels Digest) Trading in the climate finance market – the systems designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – sometimes create areas of uncertainty. The risk of invalidation of credits worry market participants – but insurance risk capital can be used to mitigate these concerns and in

August 8, 2019 Read Full Article

Trump Administration Moves to Finalize Weakening of Car Efficiency Standards: The White Houes’s Rule Would Cost the Economy $400 Billion by Midcentury, According to a New Analysis from Energy Innovation.

(GreenTechMedia) An analysis published Wednesday by clean energy advocacy group Energy Innovation found that if the administration does eliminate California’s waiver, costs from the rule change would total $400 billion in 2018 dollars by 2050. By 2035, Energy Innovation projects that transportation emissions will be at least 10 percent higher than

August 8, 2019 Read Full Article

EPA’s Final SAFE Vehicles Rule under OMB Review

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA submitted its final Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Aug. 2. OMB review marks a final stage before the public release of the

August 6, 2019 Read Full Article

A ‘Golden Triangle’: In Nebraska, Ethanol, Cattle and Agriculture Are Intertwined, with Major Impacts on the State’s Economy.

by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) It’s fitting that the Cornhusker State should be an important player in the nation’s ethanol industry. Second only to Iowa in production, Nebraska’s ethanol industry has a big impact on the state’s economy. In addition to a strong corn-growing contingent, Nebraska has an impressive cattle

August 6, 2019 Read Full Article

RNG Stakeholders Speak out on EPA’s 2020 Renewable Fuel Proposal

by Betsy Lillian (NGT News) More than two dozen representatives from the renewable natural gas (RNG) industry spoke at Wednesday’s public hearing in Michigan to provide feedback on 2020 biofuel volumes proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. “The RNG Coalition is the

August 6, 2019 Read Full Article

States Sue Trump Administration for Reduced Penalties on Fuel Efficiency

by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) Thirteen states filed suit against the Trump administration Friday, arguing it was breaking the law by cutting penalties for automakers that do not meet Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. The suit, led by California’s and New York’s attorneys general, goes after a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule that

August 5, 2019 Read Full Article

Fact Sheet: Fossil Fuel Subsidies: A Closer Look at Tax Breaks and Societal Costs

by Clayton Coleman and Emma Dietz (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) A recent analysis published in Nature Energy found that continuing current fossil fuel subsidies would make it profitable to extract half of all domestic oil reserves. This could increase U.S. oil production by 17 billion barrels over the next few decades and emit

August 2, 2019 Read Full Article

Dennis Lundell: Ethanol Is Vital to Rural America

by Dennis Lundell (The Cap Times) Dear Editor: With the recent move to lift restrictions on E15 by President Trump, the agricultural community has an opportunity to build America’s economy with more renewable biofuels. And that means less reliance on foreign oil, cleaner air and more income in rural communities.

August 2, 2019 Read Full Article

South Dakota Farmers Union Meets with EPA Director to Discuss E30

(South Dakota Farmers Union/Farm Forum) South Dakota Farmers Union, together with leaders from 13 South Dakota agriculture organizations, sat down with Gregory Sopkin, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional administrator for District Eight to discuss challenges facing South Dakota farmers and ranchers, as well as opportunities to be found through expanded

August 2, 2019 Read Full Article

Letter: Protect Renewable Fuels

by Jim Lykam (Quad City Times) I respectfully disagree with Kerry Etringer’s July 18 letter in which he described homegrown ethanol as a “sop” to farmers rather than a “good renewable source of energy.” The truth is that Iowa farmers deserve credit for leading the charge on clean energy. The biofuels we

August 2, 2019 Read Full Article

Biofuel Industry Testifies on Proposed RFS Levels — Small Refinery Exemptions Still Main Point of Contention with Renewable Fuel Producers.

by Jacqui Fatka (Feedstuffs) The Environmental Protection Agency hosted an annual hearing in Ypsilanti, Mich., on next year’s biofuel targets under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Many members of the biofuel industry pushed for higher levels and for the agency to correct demand lost from previous small refinery exemptions. … In his

August 1, 2019 Read Full Article

New York Publishes Proposed Rule to Allow E15 Sales

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets published a proposed rule July 24 to allow E15 sales within the state. The move will soon open the nation’s fourth largest gasoline market to sales of the fuel blend. The rulemaking comes nearly a nine years

August 1, 2019 Read Full Article

SAF Update: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to FAA

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Federal Aviation Administration is a governmental body of the United States with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation in that nation as well as over its surrounding international waters and have been working on replacing petroleum jet fuel with drop-in renewable alternatives. Dr.

August 1, 2019 Read Full Article

Coalition Seeks Court Action Forcing EPA to Account for Lost Biofuel Volumes

(Renewable Fuels Association) An agriculture and biofuels coalition has petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to lift a stay it placed on a joint 2018 petition asking the court to protect the renewable fuels industry from undue harm caused by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.