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by Marc Heller (E&E News) Making tractors burn with less pollution has long posed a trade-off: cleaner air, but less power to drag heavy equipment. Now manufacturers say they’re making strides to help close the gap. The latest entrant is a biomethane- and electric-powered tractor from the AUGA Group, a Lithuanian organic
Federal Regulation
by Amy R. Sisk (Bismarck Tribune) North Dakota regulators granted several approvals Tuesday for what’s expected to become the first carbon dioxide storage project in the state at an ethanol plant near Richardton. The project at Red Trail Energy aims to capture the facility’s carbon emissions for underground storage. The
October 20, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) In response to media reports that the White House has been meeting with oil industry officials to discuss solutions to recent higher gas prices, the Renewable Fuels Association has reminded President Biden that efforts to encourage more use of high-carbon fossil fuels, including imported oil, to stem higher gasoline
October 14, 2021
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by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) According to the EPA, corn ethanol produced via Kansas Ethanol’s dry mill process achieves a GHG reduction of 45.6 percent, while its grain sorghum ethanol process will achieve a 50 percent reduction. — The U.S. EPA recently approved fuel pathway petition submitted under the Renewable
October 13, 2021
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by Gene Lucht (Iowa Farmer Today) Things are looking up, but they are also very much up in the air when it comes to ethanol this year. While ethanol production facilities have benefited from an improved national economy as the U.S. emerges from the economic doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry experts
October 12, 2021
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(LanzaTech) Visit highlights the potential of rural America to create domestic supplies of sustainable fuels and chemicals. — LanzaTech and LanzaJet welcomed Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Senator Jon Ossoff to the Freedom Pines Biorefinery in Soperton, Georgia. The site is a center of research, development and scale-up
October 12, 2021
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by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Whether on private property or moving down the track, even small errors can be costly. Meanwhile, the ethanol industry’s transition to DOT-117 rail cars is on schedule. … Rail transportation is a significant part of day-to-day operations for most of the ethanol industry,
October 8, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it is seeking public comments on a new initiative designed to create revenue streams for agricultural producers through market opportunities for commodities produced using climate-smart practices. “Through extreme weather, drought and fire, our agriculture producers are on
October 8, 2021
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by David Shepardson and Allison Lampert (Reuters) U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration should exceed global standards designed to curb emissions from flights, as pressure mounts to limit the sector’s greenhouse gases, five states told the White House in a letter seen by Reuters. Major plane and engine makers joined airlines this week in
October 6, 2021
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by Jacqui Fatka (Farm Progress) Growth Energy files petition to take fight of whether E15 legal to U.S. Supreme Court. –Ethanol and corn producers continue to claim 15% ethanol fuel is safe for year-round use. However, courts have overturned a waiver of limits on Reid Vapor Pressure. In its last legal
October 5, 2021
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(Office of Congresswomen Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17)) Congresswomen Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Cindy Axne (D-IA-03), Angie Craig (D-MN-02) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led a bicameral group of Congressional members spanning seven states in a letter urging the Administration to increase biofuels usage and reject any reduction in biofuel blending requirements. After recent reports that the
September 29, 2021
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(American Coalition for Ethanol/GrainNet) The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) set forth recommendations today (Sept. 27) on how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards can and should place much greater emphasis on improving the quality of liquid fuel and the role low-carbon, high-octane ethanol can play
September 28, 2021
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) A group of 21 state attorneys general, the District of Columbia, and several major U.S. cities urged the Biden administration to finalize significantly stricter vehicle emissions rules than it has proposed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in August called for reversing the Trump-era loosening of vehicle
September 28, 2021
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by Anna Simet (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … While “accelerate” was the theme of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s 34th annual conference—market growth being vital—the myriad policy, investment and operational issues explored at the event orbited largely around the industry’s overarching low-carbon ambitions. And with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs)
September 25, 2021
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by Melissa Anderson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Defour Group’s Dean Drake, a former GM public policy analyst, says liquid fuels have a shared future with electric vehicles if ethanol blending methods, engine technology and policy can align. His plan involves match blending mid-level blends. … Drake, however, says we should
September 25, 2021
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(Common Dreams/Center for Biological Diversity) Coalition blasts EPA delays on replacing do-nothing Trump rule. —One hundred environmental, community and public-health groups called on the Biden administration today to set strong standards to cut airplane pollution and avoid industry-promoted biofuel greenwashing. As today’s letter notes, the Biden administration has yet to announce any efforts to
September 23, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is considering big cuts to the nation’s biofuel blending requirements, according to a document seen by Reuters, a move triggered by a broad decline in gasoline demand during the coronavirus pandemic. If adopted, the proposal would be
September 22, 2021
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(Growth Energy) During Growth Energy’s virtual fly-in, 87 Growth Energy members sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to stand behind his promise to take clear action on climate change by supporting low-carbon biofuels and upholding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) through strong biofuel blending targets. The signers represent Growth Energy’s diverse membership of
September 22, 2021
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(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) The OIG plans to begin fieldwork on an audit of the EPA’s oversight of the Renewable Fuel Standards Renewable Identification Number, known as RINs, market. READ MORE The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to begin fieldwork on an audit of
September 21, 2021
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The key to cleaner and more affordable energy for American consumers lies not in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Russia, but in the farm fields of our nation’s heartland. Our leaders in Washington should be looking to American farmers for
September 21, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Democratic members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation are calling on the Biden administration to alter the Renewable Identification Number credits markets to protect union jobs at independent refineries, who typically purchase the credits to meet biofuel obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. They write that current
September 20, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The White House Office of Management and Budget has now scheduled 16 meetings with interested parties to discuss a proposed rule to set renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard, up from 12 meetings that had been scheduled as of Sept. 7.
September 17, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) The EPA is proposing to revise the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for light-duty vehicles for 2023 and later model years to make the standards more stringent. As part of an executive order issued in January by President Biden, the EPA has been ordered to consider whether to suspend,
September 16, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The U.S. EPA on Sept. 8 issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comments to assist in the potential development of regulations for pyrolysis and gasification units that are used to convert solid or semi-solid feedstocks into useful products, such as energy, fuels
September 15, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuel Standard’s compliance credit market mechanism does not have any impact on retail gasoline prices, according to a new analysis released today by the Renewable Fuels Association. The analysis finds that while RFS compliance credits—known as RINs, or Renewable Identification Numbers—are a factor in wholesale gasoline prices, there
September 13, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration on Aug. 30 announced it is seeking public comments to help inform development of its U.S. Clean Technologies Export Competitiveness Strategy. The strategy aims to identify key issues influencing the deployment of clean technology goods and services, highlight
September 10, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association on Aug. 27 issued open letters to Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The letter to Sanders urges him to rethink his support for the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act, while the letter to Cruz asks him to revisit his
September 10, 2021
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by Tom (KOWA Radio) A key Senate ethanol backer says the Biden EPA’s threat to lower 2020 biofuel volume requirements on top of rumored cuts to levels for this year and next, would severely damage biofuel and corn producers. Senate Ag Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa says any move to further
September 10, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday denied a petition for rehearing regarding the recent American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA decision, in which the court vacated a 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of a fifteen percent ethanol fuel blend (E15). Petitioners the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy
September 10, 2021
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(Blue Biofuels/Globe Newswire) Blue Biofuels, Inc. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it filed two more patents that follow on the granted patent and three previously filed patents pending to its Cellulose-to-Sugar (“CTS”) technology system. One filed patent pertains to the production of lignin from the CTS process; the second
September 10, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The White House Office of Management and Budget has scheduled 12 meetings with interested parties to discuss a proposed rule to set renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The U.S EPA on Aug. 26 delivered a proposed rule to set RFS RVOs to the
September 8, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Last night, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) motion to remand but not vacate the 31 small refinery exemptions (SREs) the Trump Administration granted in August 2019. The
September 8, 2021
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(S&P Global Platts/PR Newswire) New prices offer granular look at actual costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with biofuels — S&P Global Platts, the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, today announced it has launched a suite of 36 new daily prices to
September 8, 2021
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by Will Thurmond (Emerging Markets Online/Biofuels Digest) A new study titled Renewable Diesel and Sustainable Aviation 2030, Vol 2 (September, 2021) has discovered some surprising answers and useful insights to key questions regarding feedstock availability, scale up, partnerships and from 2020 to 2030 where many states and nations have targets. For example,
September 8, 2021
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(BioCycle Magazine) The City of Longmont has five bays and 16 fueling positions for its current fleet of RNG-fueled collection vehicles. — In 2018, the City of Longmont, Colorado began construction of a renewable natural gas (RNG) project at its Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) to make fuel to utilize in
September 6, 2021
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(NGVAmerica/NGV Journal) NGVAmerica President Dan Gage provided testimony at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) hearing on the Biden administration’s notice of proposed rulemaking to revise the greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles for Model Year 2023 and later. The much-expected action proposes to restore emission standards back to levels that
September 6, 2021
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by Camila Domonoske (NPR) The final holdout, Algeria, used up the last of its stockpile of leaded gasoline in July. That’s according to the U.N. Environment Programme, which has spent 19 years trying to eliminate leaded gasoline around the globe. “The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a
August 31, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) With Hurricane Ida impacting the nation’s liquid fuel supply and distribution, the Renewable Fuels Association today urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take two quick and simple steps that can extend fuel supplies and reduce price spikes expected at the retail fuel pump. The requested actions relate to pump
August 31, 2021
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(Inside EPA) EPA is asking a federal appeals court to voluntarily remand Trump-era decisions that granted 31 small refinery waivers from renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance and denied a smaller number of waiver requests, opening the door for the Biden administration to overhaul the agency’s waiver policies in light of
August 30, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended retroactively lowering biofuel blending mandates for 2020, two sources familiar with the matter said, after the agency on Thursday sent a proposal on the mandates to the White House for review. The move could provide immediate
August 27, 2021
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by Jeff Barber (OPIS) After four years of the Trump administration’s often-chaotic approach to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), many in the biofuels industry were hoping President Joe Biden would bring a level of stability and support to the program. While the new administration has provided renewable fuel producers with some
August 26, 2021
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by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) The release of the highly anticipated revision of the Safe Affordable Fuel Efficient Vehicle (SAFE) proposed rule this month was, for the biofuels industry, yet another poke in the eye as the EPA totally ignored reality and continued their long history of taking
August 26, 2021
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(Inside EPA) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has accepted EPA’s request to further delay litigation against the agency’s renewable fuel standard (RFS) for 2020 while the agency decides whether to reconsider the rule in the light of a recent high court ruling, rejecting biofuels
August 26, 2021
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by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) After years of battles over oil pipelines, two companies are pitching carbon dioxide pipelines that would crisscross six states and combine to sink as much as 24 million metric tons of carbon emissions into geologic formations — if they can convince landowners and others their
August 25, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today, Growth Energy’s Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley testified before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during its hearing on the proposed rulemaking, Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. Earlier this month, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed greenhouse
August 25, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) In a hearing today on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for 2023-2026 light-duty vehicles, the Renewable Fuels Association is spotlighting the role high-octane, low-carbon fuels like ethanol can and must play in increasing fuel efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. “If our nation is to reach
August 25, 2021
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(Office of Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)) U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and 16 of his colleagues sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging the EPA to mitigate the harm imposed on consumers and refiners by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)’s unachievable mandates. In their letter, the
August 25, 2021
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“Here’s what the future-of-fuel narrative should be: petroleum industry vs. electric vehicles and renewables, including biofuels. For obvious political reasons, Republicans want to keep ethanol tethered to the dying petroleum industry in the public debate. But with the political will, there is a future for biofuels independent of the petroleum
August 23, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters/Capital) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to recommend to the White House reducing federal biofuel blending mandates for 2021 to below 2020 levels in what would be a blow to the biofuels industry, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
August 23, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) Earlier this month, the EPA published in the Federal Register a rule proposing its Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. Seeking public comment through Sept. 27 (a public hearing is set for next Wednesday, Aug. 25), the agency aims to reverse the weakened emissions requirements adopted
August 20, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA published updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data on Aug. 19, reporting that there are currently 59 SRE petitions pending under the Renewable Fuel Standard, down from 64 that were pending as of mid-July. The data shows EPA has not acted on any
August 20, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Biden administration is considering applying higher fines to car makers who missed fuel economy targets for model years 2019 to 2021, potentially reversing one of Trump’s midnight regulations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration increased the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) penalties from
August 19, 2021
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, Koole Tankstorage Botlek B.V. (Koole) and Neste Oyj (Neste) asked the Envrionmental Protection Agency to approve a pathway for the generation of biomass-based diesel (D-code 4) renewable identification numbers (RINs) for renewable jet fuel and renewable diesel bottoms produced from renewable diesel through a fractionation process,
August 19, 2021
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(Aemetis/Globe Newswire) Engineering and Permitting in Process for Two CO2 Injection Characterization Wells related to Aemetis Keyes and Riverbank Biofuels Plant Sites — A new study concluded that more than 2 million metric tonnes (MT) per year of CO2 can be removed from the atmosphere and injected safely into the earth
August 18, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association filed a petition for rehearing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the recent American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA decision, in which the court vacated a 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of a fifteen percent
August 17, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) In response to this week’s announcement by the White House calling on OPEC+ member countries to increase oil output, the Renewable Fuels Association today sent a letter to President Biden supporting the Administration’s call for an investigation into the true causes of recent higher gas prices. The letter also underscored
August 13, 2021
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(American Coalition for Ethanol) The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) today called on U.S. President Joe Biden to set the maximum statutory volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard in the 2021 and 2022 Renewable Volume Obligation rulemaking and pursue all options to ensure uninterrupted market access for E15. In a letter to President
August 13, 2021
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(Strategic Biofuels/Business Wire) Successful sequestration test well significantly de-risks the project while demonstrating carbon dioxide can be safely stored underground–Strategic Biofuels LLC, the leader in developing negative carbon footprint renewable fuels plants, announced today that its Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Test Well Program was successfully completed at the company’s
August 12, 2021
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by Ron Kotrba (Biobased Diesel Daily) CVR Energy is waiting to complete its hydrocracker conversion for renewable diesel production in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, due to high feedstock prices, CEO David Lamp said in a second-quarter conference call on the company’s earnings. The company had originally announced the project would be complete in
August 10, 2021
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by Patrick O’Brien (Opportune LLP/Biofuels Digest) Find out why knowing the difference between renewable diesel and biodiesel can go a long way in understanding the benefits of each. Fuel standards programs such as the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) and California’s Low-Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) have incentivized fuel producers to innovate
August 10, 2021
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(Dakota Ag Energy) Speaking to the 14th Annual Bioenergy Conference hosted by Brazilian government and industry stakeholders, the founder of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) charged U.S. EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) bureaucrats with a “shocking miscarriage of their environmental justice responsibilities” and for defying a
August 10, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is behind schedule in reviewing the Trump administration’s delay of a congressionally mandated increase in the penalties for missing fuel efficiency targets under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, program. (Reg. 2127-AM32) “Review of the interim final
August 9, 2021
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(Gevo) Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), is extremely pleased to announce today that its wholly-owned dairy manure-based renewable natural gas (“RNG”) project company located in northwest Iowa, Gevo NW Iowa RNG, LLC (“NW Iowa RNG”), has signed binding, definitive agreements with BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and BP Products North America Inc.
August 9, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) President Biden on Aug. 5 signed an executive order that sets a target to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles. Representatives of the ethanol industry, however, say biofuels can make meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions now. … Zero-emissions vehicles
August 6, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA on Aug. 5 released a proposed rule to set light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards through 2026. Despite calls from government officials and industry trade groups, the rule does not address biofuels or a high-octane standard. The proposed rule aims to
August 6, 2021
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(Environmental Protection Agency) Today (August 5, 2021), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to set robust federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks to secure pollution reductions through Model Year (MY) 2026. The proposal, which revises standards set by the previous administration, also outlines the Agency’s
August 6, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) President Biden today announced a plan to greatly expand the production of clean cars and trucks, including a goal for electric vehicles to comprise 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030. The following is a statement from Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper: “We agree with the Biden
August 5, 2021
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by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) The president will sign an executive order to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 “zero-emission” vehicles, including battery, fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The executive order also will set new long-term fuel-efficiency and emission standards “to save consumers money, cut pollution,
August 5, 2021
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by Ben Foldy and Katy Stech Ferek (Wall Street Journal) General Motors, Ford and Stellantis executives with union leaders are expected to join President Biden in announcing voluntary targets — Auto makers including General Motors Co. , Ford Motor Co. and Jeep maker Stellantis NV will aim to make electric
August 5, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The recent D.C. Circuit Court decision overturning EPA’s approval of year-round E15 sales could have a strongly negative impact on the rural economy and environment in the coming years unless action is taken to allow unimpeded sales of E15 all year long, the Renewable Fuels Association reported in a new analysis
August 5, 2021
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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) For the US agricultural community, having a field day gives farmers and others in the agricultural products value chain the opportunity not only for hands-on learning about new crops and new technologies or about old problems and improving solutions, but also for networking and
August 4, 2021
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by Adam Willis (Forum News Service/Twin Cities Pioneer Press) For some of North Dakota’s legacy industries, like coal power, the future could depend on the capacity of companies to deliver on bold promises around carbon capture. The pricey and so far sparsely used technology has nonetheless elevated the ambitions of North
August 3, 2021
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by Sarah Main and Shailesh Sahay (Foley Hoag) … On July 16, 2021, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision that resolved several challenges to its 2019 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) rulemaking. … Renewable fuel producers challenged the volume requirements set in the 2019 RVOs as too low; petroleum groups challenged the 2019
August 3, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today marks the four-year anniversary of the July 2017 ruling in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA. The 2017 ruling required EPA to address its improper waiver of 500 million gallons for 2016 renewable fuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). To date, EPA has failed to reconsider the 2016 RVO and
July 30, 2021
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(Office of Senator John Thune R-SD) U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today led several of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden requesting a meeting with him and representatives of his cabinet to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard and promote biofuels as a key solution for America’s energy and climate agenda. The
July 29, 2021
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by Juliet Eilperin and Dino Grandoni (Washington Post) When it comes to meeting President Biden’s climate goals, the math is clear: Half of all cars and SUVs sold in 2030 need to be electric. Next week, the president, major carmakers and the nation’s largest auto union plan to promise to
July 29, 2021
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by Byron Dorgan (InForum) … The current year is already half gone and the Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t proposed Renewable Fuel Standard volumes yet. News reports indicate that oil refiners are demanding the Biden administration slash RFS volumes below what the law requires. The reports offer a number of theories for the delay.
July 28, 2021
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by Representative Angie Craig (D-MN 2nd) (The Hill) … I’m a supporter of biofuels. Biofuels offer predictability for farmers, drive economic growth and investment in rural America and decrease the carbon intensity of our transportation sector. These benefits are why I am pushing for immediate policy and budget changes to
July 28, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech’s Dr. Laurel Harmon shared this illuminating slide guide at the BETO Peer Review on jet and diesel fuel production from industrial waste gases, commercialization of ethanol-to-jet technology by building a standalone Alcohol-to-Jet pre-commercial demonstration facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and diesel, the
July 27, 2021
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(American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE)) The Biden administration can soon undo the damage of President Trump’s clean car rollback, but only by setting more stringent standards to make up for lost progress. In the face of recent climate change-related extreme heat and flooding events, the administration can’t afford to lose this
July 26, 2021
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(Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) High-Octane Ethanol Should Replace Carcinogenic Gasoline Aromatics — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem sent a letter to the Biden Administration pointing out the role that higher-octane ethanol could play in meeting the Administration’s climate and public health goals. Governor Walz is the chair and Governor
July 23, 2021
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(Blue Biofuels) Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc., DBA Blue Biofuels, (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it filed 3 additional patents that follow on the granted patent to its Cellulose-to-Sugar (“CTS”) technology system. In the process of testing and perfecting towards commercialization, the Company has developed additional unique technology related to
July 23, 2021
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(Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-I)) Prepared Floor Remarks by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Setting the Record Straight on Renewable Fuels — Many bills that get introduced in the Senate won’t go anywhere. They are simply messaging documents. I usually do not care to comment on these bills. It simply isn’t
July 23, 2021
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(Biomass Power Association/Biomass Magazine) The Biomass Power Association on July 17 expressed concern over a D.C. Circuit decision allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to delay crediting cellulosic fuel in a challenge to the agency’s 2019 Renewable Volume Obligation rule. The case is Growth Energy v. EPA, No. 19-1023. The RFS Power
July 21, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly, Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The White House has delayed an annual process meant to decide how much ethanol and other biofuels U.S. oil refiners need to blend into their fuel each year, as it seeks a solution for an issue that pits refinery workers against corn farmers, two sources
July 21, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The Renewable Fuels Association is planning to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a rehearing of an E15 case that could jeopardize the year-round sale of the 15% ethanol blend of gasoline starting next year. The RFA may be
July 21, 2021
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(Office of Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)) … The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, which I reintroduced with Sen. Amy Klobuchar in response to the ruling, offers a common-sense solution to this problem. Our bill would reinstate the waiver that allowed high-ethanol blends like E15 to be sold all year.
July 20, 2021
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(South Dakota Farmers Union) South Dakota Farmers Union is among a coalition of agriculture and biofuel groups urging the administration to propose a higher octane fuel standard as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updates its greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger vehicles and light duty trucks. “It’s been a long-standing position
July 19, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday denied a biofuels group’s challenge to EPA’s inaction on restoring 4.3 billion gallons to the Renewable Fuel Standard lost to small-refinery exemptions between 2016 and 2018. The court, however, sent back the
July 19, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today welcomed the D.C. Circuit Court’s outright rejection of arguments from oil refiners that the Renewable Fuel Standard causes them economic hardship and therefore the Environmental Protection Agency should have waived their 2019 RFS obligations. The court’s rebuke of the refiners’ arguments was part
July 19, 2021
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by Jerry Perkins (Successful Farming) … After years of research into the data about farming’s contribution to carbon emissions, that’s the conclusion reached by Ron Alverson, a South Dakota corn farmer and ethanol plant director, who spoke Wednesday at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo (FEW), which wraps up today at
July 16, 2021
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Georgia, Platts reports that Delta Air Lines said in a quarterly earnings call that the company refuses to spend cash willy nilly on a RIN marketplace that it sees as non-transparent. He confirmed that the company has accrued the RINs required for the Monroe Energy
July 16, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA released updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data on July 15, reporting that six SRE petitions have been withdrawn in the past month. There are now 64 SRE petitions pending, down from 70 in June. One SRE petition was withdrawn for each of the
July 16, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Low-carbon ethanol’s “brightest and sunniest days remain ahead” despite recent judicial setbacks and a growing policy push on electric vehicles, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in keynote remarks today at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo. Even after two recent disappointing court decisions, “The ethanol
July 15, 2021
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(Office of U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN 2nd) Craig and Smith’s Legislation has been endorsed by Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association — Today, U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) led Co-Chairs of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus in introducing the Year-Round Fuel Choice
July 14, 2021
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(Clean Fuels Development Coalition) Dozens of agricultural, ethanol, automotive, and manufacturing organizations are calling for higher octane in gasoline to help automakers increase vehicle fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gases. In a letter to President Joe Biden, signed by a range of agriculture and ethanol interests, they pointed to the
July 14, 2021
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by Stuart Parker (Inside EPA/Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) A coalition of biofuels and farm groups, led by former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), is poised to press White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) officials to include a high-octane standard to boost fuel economy in EPA’s upcoming light-duty vehicle rules
July 13, 2021
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by D’Arce McMillan (Western Producer) … Aside from weather and crop conditions, grain market traders are also keeping an eye on the debate playing out in the U.S. capitol over renewable biofuel blending regulations. The oil industry, refinery workers and some state governments do not like the blending requirements. They were
July 12, 2021
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by Josh Siegel (Washington Examiner’s Daily on Energy) Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stressed the importance of strict fuel economy standards to clean up the transportation sector because, even as the U.S. shifts to more electric vehicles, gas-powered cars will still be on the roads for some time. “No matter how good we get
July 12, 2021
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(AgWeek) Coming up on AgweekTV, we will discuss the ethanol industry hitting another devastating court decision. We will tour an award winning regenerative farming operation in east central South Dakota. We will visit two ag businesses that are dedicated to staying in rural North Dakota. We will discuss the number
July 12, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The nixing of EPA’s E15 rule that allowed year-round sales has in many respects taken the ethanol industry back to square one. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week tossed out the Trump administration’s rule that had been widely celebrated
July 9, 2021
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by Mike Stoll (Austin Daily Herald) … During the tour, Klobuchar (Senatory Amy Klobuchar D-MN) learned of the Institute’s research into the role biofuels play in reducing the risk of cancer. A recent study, which was a collaboration between The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, and the Energy Resources Center, University
July 9, 2021
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(National Association of Farm Bureaus/NewsDakota.com) Last week’s D.C. federal court ruling does not mean retailers must stop selling 15-percent ethanol-blended gas immediately. The court ruling was another setback for the ethanol industry, discouraging future blending pump investments if it sticks, and coming on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling also unfavorable
July 8, 2021
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by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) Despite losing two high-profile cases in seven days, the ethanol industry says the future is bright for the corn-based biofuel that it promotes as a low-carbon alternative to gasoline and a tool to slow global warming. “We view both decisions as only temporary setbacks but neither
July 7, 2021
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(Growth Energy) The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2019 rule by the Environmental Protection Agency that lifted outdated restrictions on the sale of a fifteen percent ethanol fuel blend (E15). The case, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA, was a challenge by oil refiners to the rulemaking
July 2, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA and the Transportation Department soon will propose a rule boosting federal tailpipe standards almost to Obama-era levels, with an eye toward more aggressive requirements later this decade to goose electric vehicle sales, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed sources. The proposal, anticipated
July 2, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) he Renewable Fuels Association today thanked Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Angie Craig (D-MN) for introducing legislation that reinforces the intended meaning of the term “extension” as it relates to the Renewable Fuel Standard’s small refinery exemption provisions. The bill stipulates that a small refinery may petition for an exemption
July 2, 2021
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by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) … Farm and ethanol groups said they were confident the EPA will approve few exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard, but they urged the agency on Monday to state how it will run the program in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling on waivers.
June 30, 2021
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by Larry Lee (Brownfield Ag News) Biofuels supporters remain opposed to President Biden considering relief for oil refiners from biofuel blending requirements. Jonathan Gibbs with the Wisconsin Soybean Board tells Brownfield Biden’s planned Tuesday visit in Wisconsin would be a good opportunity for the President to show farmers he still supports
June 29, 2021
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by Neal Kemmet (Wisconsin State Farmer) President Biden is expected to discuss the farm economy during a trip to Wisconsin this week. It’s an exciting visit that will showcase the state’s leadership in the field and across the broader agricultural supply chain. It’s also a rare opportunity for our state’s leaders
June 28, 2021
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by Andrew Chung and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters/Yahoo!) The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday bolstered a bid by small oil refineries to win exemptions from a federal law requiring increasing levels of ethanol and other renewable fuels to be blended into their products, a major setback for biofuel producers. The 6-3
June 25, 2021
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by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) Commends Daschle HOLC Alliance Fight for National Higher Octane Gasoline Standard in SAFE-2 Rule — The Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) called a recent letter from automakers in support of high octane low carbon fuels further validation that ethanol has a key
June 25, 2021
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by Carol Werner (Morning Call) A June 7 column criticized the Renewable Fuel Standard, reflecting arguments we’ve heard from oil refiners since the program launched in 2005. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. Renewable fuels are a boon for consumers, who saved an average of 22 cents per
June 24, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Biden administration has signaled its intent to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to develop post-2022 Renewable Fuel Standard regulations before the end of 2021. A proposed rule to set annual RFS renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2021 and 2022 is expected to be
June 22, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor participated in the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy hearing titled “Renewable Energy – Growth and Opportunities for our Rural Economies”. In the hearing, Skor spoke on biofuels’ ability to drive economic growth using data from a
June 22, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Senate Agriculture Rural Development and Energy subcommittee meets today on renewable energy opportunities in rural areas. Subcommittee Chair Tina Smith plans to use the hearing to highlight biofuels’ role in emissions reductions, particularly in hard-to-electrify industries like aviation, according to a copy of her opening remarks shared
June 22, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) The Farm Futures Business Summit being held this week in Iowa featured corn farmers and ethanol industry leaders on the first day of the program to shed light on the future of ethanol. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) sponsored the panel with Iowa corn farmer and NCGA Ethanol Action Team
June 18, 2021
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by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) … The decision by a Louisiana federal judge Wednesday requiring the Department of Interior to end its pause on oil and gas leasing came as the administration’s plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on electric vehicle charging stations and tax credits was looking
June 18, 2021
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(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) While welcoming federal support for domestic SAF on par with support for biodiesel and renewable diesel, the NBB wants Congress and the Biden Administration to understand how all three fuels support the nation’s climate and clean air priorities. The Biden administration delivered some positive news to
June 17, 2021
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(Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)) U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) led a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging the Biden administration to address languishing applications under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program, including moving forward with allowing renewable electricity made from biomass to
June 17, 2021
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by Paul Winters (National Biodiesel Board/Public Opinion) Jim Snell’s argument against the Renewable Fuel Standard needs fact checking (“Op-Ed: Renewable Fuel Standard makes us more reliant on foreign oil,” June 4). Of the East Coast oil refineries that closed since 2005, according to the Energy Information Administration, five were converted to storage
June 16, 2021
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by Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Kim Chipman (Bloomberg/Yahoo!) The Biden administration is developing targets for biofuel that are likely to be relatively flat or even lower as it seeks to balance the interests of blue-collar refining workers and advance a clean-energy agenda. The Environmental Protection Agency is set to propose renewable
June 16, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA air officials said Tuesday they’re in the early stages of additional regulations related to conventional and greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes. The agency says it is on track to propose new federal light-duty standards sometime next month to replace the Trump rollback, but the
June 16, 2021
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by Mikkel Pates (AgWeek) Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., talks about corn ethanol opportunities in the Biden administration and reflects on the recent passing of Orrie Swayze, a farmer and former Marine fighter pilot from Wilmot, S.D., who Daschle described as a “mentor” in his passion for an
June 15, 2021
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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) President Biden is going to prop up petroleum oil refineries? Really? Shouldn’t he be using every tool in his box to convince them to use as many renewables as possible in their products? To transition to renewable fuels as some are slowly doing already?
June 11, 2021
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by Anthony Adragna (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA announced Thursday it would take another look at one of the agency’s most sweeping and important public health regulations that the Trump administration opted to leave alone last year, Pro’s Alex Guillén reports. The agency said it’s reconsidering the National Ambient Air Quality
June 11, 2021
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(Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing a request for information (RFI) to understand the current barriers and actions needed to make its funding opportunities and innovation and entrepreneurship activities more inclusive, just, and equitable, in line with the Administration’s climate goals. DOE is committed to developing
June 10, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) A recent poll found that voter support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has hit its highest levels in at least five years. Meanwhile, the tracking poll shows support for the use of biofuels like low-carbon ethanol has remained consistently high, with a bipartisan majority of voters expressing
June 10, 2021
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by Chet Thompson (Real Clean Energy/American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers) … AFPM members make approximately 10 percent of the ethanol produced in America, and over the last year U.S. refiners announced eight new renewable diesel projects. This focus on sustainability is also why for several years AFPM has advocated for
June 8, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A notice published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology states that the 106th annual meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures will address a proposal related to E15. The event is scheduled for July 18-23 in Rochester, New York, and will be
June 8, 2021
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by Dave VanderGriend (Urban Air Initiative/Biofuels Digest) … Carbon emissions include not just CO2 but a range of unburned hydrocarbons that are criteria pollutants that form ground level ozone, or summertime smog. Fine and ultra-fine particulates from toxic aromatics in gasoline present a host of negative health impacts as they enter
June 8, 2021
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by Matthew Daly (Associated Press) Officials from California, New York and other states urged the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday to allow California to set its own automobile tailpipe pollution standards, an action that would reverse a Trump administration policy and could help usher in stricter emissions standards for new passenger
June 3, 2021
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by Rod Nickel and Karl Plume (Reuters) … Botanists, businessmen, farmers and federal lawmakers, they all gathered to peer at the waist-high plant usually considered a pest and uprooted on sight because of its foul odor, toxicity and the grim taste it leaves in the milk of grazing cattle. This was
June 2, 2021
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by Sean Hill and Matthew French (U.S. Department of Energy Energy Information Administration) The prices of renewable identification number (RIN) credits—the compliance mechanism used for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—sharply increased through April of this year, and they are now higher than at any
June 2, 2021
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Las Vegas Review-Journal) In response to your May 23 editorial: The increased use of ethanol resulting from the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act has lowered — not increased — prices at the pump for American drivers. That’s because high-octane ethanol costs less at the wholesale
June 1, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Things move faster these days, and in the past 24 hours, we’ve had 10 different Worlds shaken to their foundations by events taking place around the world and within the Circular Economy. 1. United States announced as Chair of multilateral Biofuture Platform In Brazil, the United
May 27, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Reps. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa; Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa; and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, sent a letter to President Biden on May 25 urging him to uphold his promise to support biofuels. The letter urges the Biden administration to include
May 26, 2021
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Potential Future Regulation Addressing Pyrolysis and Gasification Units Public Comments DEADLINE: November 8, 2021
(Federal Register) A Proposed Rule by the Environmental Protection Agency — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting information and requesting comments to assist in the potential development of regulations for pyrolysis and gasification units that are used to convert solid or semi-solid feedstocks, including solid waste (e.g., municipal solid waste,