by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) As the battle over the biodiesel tax credit structure heats up, the National Biodiesel Board sent a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Ranking Member Sander Levin Oct. 28 urging
Blenders Credit
Back TO HOMESupport, Opposition Grow Over Proposed Changes to Biodiesel Tax Credit
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On October 21, the Advanced Biofuels Association, along with the Petroleum Marketers Association and other retail fuel groups, expressed opposition to changing the biodiesel and renewable diesel blenders' tax credit. In July, the Senate Finance
October 23, 2015 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Producers Oppose Grassley Tax Credit Change: Amendment Could Hurt Consumers
(Advanced Biofuels Association) During the Senate Finance Committee’s July markup, Senator Charles Grassley offered an amendment, co-sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell, which would extend the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax credit for two years. However, starting in 2016 it would
October 23, 2015 Read Full Article
Neste Oil Braces for Continued Uncertainty in US Biofuels Market
by Patrick McLoughlin (Platts) Renewable fuels in the US will continue to be dogged by uncertainties while awaiting decisions from the environmental authorities on some key issues, Neste Oil said Friday. The Finnish refiner, which specializes in renewable biofuel diesel production from
April 29, 2014 Read Full Article
GRAY: Critics Driving Spurious Campaign against Ethanol
by C. Boyden Gray (The Washington Times) ANALYSIS/OPINION: A media campaign is underway to malign a cleaner, cheaper challenger to gasoline’s virtual monopoly on transportation fuel. If it succeeds, this campaign will deprive American drivers of the next generation of high-octane,
August 28, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Blending Margins, RFS2 Compliance, and the Price of Gasoline
by Scott Irwin and Darrel Good (FarmDocDaily) ...We concluded that the buying and selling of RINs within that supply chain results in something close to a zero-sum game in terms of profitability for the industry. The result is that high RINs
April 05, 2013 Read Full Article
I Have a Ream: Biofuels Digest’s 60-Second Guide to this Week’s DC Overload
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week in Washington, it has been one for the record books, emailwise and biofuelswise. Reams and reams of emails attest to the seriousness of the stakes — as NGOs, trade associations and Congress paper
March 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Update: Valero Says Ethanoll Blending Costs to Double or Triple this Year
by Alison Sider (Dow Jones Newswire/Lloyds) Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) said it will have to spend two or even three times as much as it did last year to comply with the federal ethanol blending requirement due to the high
March 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Hot Sauce! 5 Lessons Louisiana Can Teach Us about Advanced Bayoufuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Louisiana — hot as cayenne pepper in biofuels capacity development, but some cautionary tales there in the sauce. When it comes to the first generation of ethanol and biodiesel-based biofuels, Louisiana didn’t figure much into the
March 07, 2013 Read Full Article
By the Numbers: Trends and Patterns in the Ethanol Industry
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...The arrival of the blend wall and expected increase in E85 prices due to the lapse of VEETC are two factors that have complicated the future outlook of ethanol use, (Bob) Wisner says. Analyzing
March 14, 2012 Read Full Article
Get Ready To Pay More For Gas
(TheIndyChannel.com) Analysts Predict Higher Prices Ahead ...AAA said Monday that both gasoline and crude oil prices are at historic highs for this time of year. The national average for regular gas climbed four cents a gallon last week to $3.39, an increase
January 17, 2012 Read Full Article
Oil Prices to Reach All-Time High
(Farm Futures) Even without VEETC ethanol is still making gasoline cheaper In its monthly short-term outlook, the Energy Department expects U.S. benchmark crude oil prices to average over $100 a barrel in 2012 and touch an all-time high amid rising demand
January 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Editorial: Uncle Sam and Ethanol -- Small Steps toward a Genuine Market
(Chicago Tribune) ...Congress and the federal agencies responsible for managing the biofuel industry need to stop trying to artificially create a market for a high-tech product that may never exist on a commercial scale. ...At current market prices, ethanol doesn't need
January 12, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Remains a Bargain
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) ...In recent weeks, many headlines have trumpeted the argument that gas prices will be higher as a result of expiration of the VEETC. As is often the case, a quick review of the facts
January 12, 2012 Read Full Article
After Three Decades, Tax Credit for Ethanol Expires
by Robert Pear (New York Times) ...“We are in a fairly prosperous period for agriculture,” said Dean C. Taylor, a former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. “Agriculture has not been as much of a touchstone for presidential candidates this
January 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Makers Shrug off Expiration of Key Tax Credit
by Chris O'Malley (Indianapolis Business Journal) ...But it looks like motorists, rather than ethanol makers, stand to feel the pain. The reason is the survival of another federal measure, known as the Renewable Fuels Standard. It requires that an increasing amount
January 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Forging Ahead: Enterprising Retail Operators Install E85 Pumps Despite Pricing Uncertainties
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Retailers are concerned about increasing E85 prices as a result of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit’s expiration, says Todd Garner, CEO of Boca Raton, Fla.-based ethanol marketer and distributor Protec Fuel Management LLC.
December 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Looking at Life Without an Ethanol Subsidy
(Farm Futures) Failure to renew the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit will create a new world for the industry. ...What many consumers don't realize is that the tax credit didn't go to ethanol plants, it went directly to oil companies as
December 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Expiring Ethanol Credit to Add to Gas Price Jump
(WRAL) Lack of action by state lawmakers and Congress is expected to raise gas prices in North Carolina by more than 8 cents a gallon, starting Sunday. Half of the increase comes from the state. North Carolina's gas tax is linked
December 29, 2011 Read Full Article
U.S. Ethanol Tax Break Ends, Brazil Sees an Opening
by Charles Abbott and Reese Ewing (Drovers Cattle Network) A U.S. ethanol tax credit costing roughly $6 billion a year will expire on Dec. 31, with the U.S. industry declaring itself ready to stand on its own and Brazil hoping for
December 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Our View: On VEETC, We Won
by Garry Niemeyer (National Corn Growers Association) Back in August, the Green Scissors Project identified ways the federal government could shave $380 billion from the federal budget over five years. But their $380 billion in proposed cuts included a major
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Refiners Warn Marketers of Imminent End of Ethanol Tax Break
(NACS Online) Refiners are starting to warn marketers to prepare for the end of the 4.5 cts/gal ethanol tax credit, which is set to expire at month's end, absent last-minute action by Congress. Chevron notified its jobbers on Dec. 1 that
December 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Margins to Fall: Blender Credit Will Expire at Year's End
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Ethanol producers will lose about 25 to 30 cents per gallon on operating profits when the tax credit for blenders goes away after Dec. 31. ...(Walt) Wendland, who also is president of the Iowa Renewable Fuels
November 29, 2011 Read Full Article
EU Votes in Favor of Hiking Import Taxes for High Ethanol Blends
(Platts) The EU's Customs Code Committee approved Wednesday a draft regulation to raise import taxes for high ethanol blends, a source close to the matter told Platts. The decision could result in increased domestic prices for renewable fuels as it would
October 14, 2011 Read Full Article
RFA Urges Super Committee to Look at Oil Subsidies
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In a letter to the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the so-called “super committee” assigned to find ways to cut the deficit, the Renewable Fuels Association today urged them to “focus on comprehensive
September 28, 2011 Read Full Article
The Future of Biorefining Policy
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) ...While some in the industry doubt that a Congress so focused on debt reduction will extend VEETC and the biodiesel tax credit, Greg Jenner, a partner in Stoel Rives LLP’s tax practice, offers a unique
September 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Fixing A Broken Biofuel Incentive Program
by Robert Rapier (Forbes) ...My Plan: Award Direct Per Gallon Subsidies for Oil Displacement Instead of offering grants and loan guarantees for cellulosic ethanol producers — and forcing blenders to pay when they can’t purchase product — simply change the system
September 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Tax Credits to Expire
by Sarah Gustin (KXMB TV Bismark) ...(Jeff Zueger / Blue Flint Ethanol) "We really need blender pump infastructure, we need flex fuel vehicle infastructure, so we can get to those higher level blends so consumers can choose if they want
September 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Future Ethanol Policy Changes
by Kent Theisse (Corn and Soybean Digest Blogs and Opinions) ... Many people are very excited about producing ethanol from woodchips, switchgrass, algae and other substances; however, most of this type of ethanol production is still in the early research and
September 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Seeking the Blending Sweet Spot
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For years, in coffee shops and grain elevators across the upper Midwest, independent thinkers have voiced their opinions on the benefits of midlevel ethanol blends. Tales of fueling the old Buick, or otherwise unapproved
August 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Woodside Says Ethanol Industry Willing to Give Back Tax Break for Debt Reduction
by Lori Potter (Kearney Hub) The ethanol industry is willing to immediately give up $1.3 billion in tax breaks for federal debt reduction. However, that probably can’t happen unless authorizing legislation is attached to a successful debt ceiling-budget reduction bill, said
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Klobuchar, Thune Announce Bipartisan Compromise on Renewable Energy
(Office of Senator Amy Klobuchar) Agreement would put savings toward deficit reduction, infrastructure U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Thune (R-SD), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today announced that a bipartisan agreement has been reached that allows for a transition to a
July 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Study: Ethanol Subsidies Boost Output, Corn Cost
by Jacob Barker (The Columbia Daily Tribune) Policies fueled the boom in industry. Federal subsidies for ethanol push up ethanol production and the price of corn, according to a report released today (June 27, 2011) from the University of Missouri’s Food
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Reforming Ethanol in a Responsible Way
by Senator Mike Johanns (York News-Times) ...Ethanol helped keep $34 billion of our money at home last year instead of going to other countries for foreign oil. ...Though these benefits are significant, today's fiscal realities require us to rethink our approach
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Santorum Tells Iowa Farmers He Would End Ethanol Subsidies
by William Petroski (Des Moines Register) ...Santorum, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, said he advocates phasing-out the existing tax incentive for ethanol production, commonly known as the blenders’ credit, by reducing the credit 9 cents annually over each
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Editorial: Cut the Ethanol Subsidy, But Be Fair
(StarTribune) Why is one fuel being targeted but another -- oil -- isn't? ...The best way to pay down the nation's $14.3 trillion debt? "Reducing wasteful spending a billion dollars at a time,'' Coburn said. Coburn has a point about the ethanol
June 27, 2011 Read Full Article
US Senate Defeats Coburn Amendment: Industry Reaction
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, on a cloture vote in the Senate to proceed to an amendment that would end the current ethanol tax incentive immediately, Senator Coburn’s amendment lost 40-59, falling 20 votes short of the sixty votes needed to
June 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Senate Vote to Repeal Ethanol Tax Credit Fails, But Some in GOP Break Ranks
by Lori Montgomery (The Washington Post) A majority of Senate Republicans appeared to break Tuesday with two decades of GOP orthodoxy against higher taxes, voting to advance a plan to abruptly cancel billions of dollars in annual tax credits for
June 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Tom Coburn Forces Tuesday Ethanol Vote
by Darren Goode (Politico) Sen. Tom Coburn has pulled the trigger and is forcing a long-sought vote on an amendment repealing billions in annual tax incentives for ethanol. The Senate will vote Tuesday afternoon on Coburn’s motion limiting debate on his amendment
June 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Should Government Keep Financially Supporting Ethanol? (The Debate 5/23-5/27)
(Minnesota Public Radio News) The Assertion: The state and federal government should continue subsidizing ethanol Ethanol's promise as America's path to energy self-sufficiency once seemed strong. But in recent years, that attraction has been tempered. Even supporters of ethanol, such as
May 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Groups Welcome Bill Transforming Current Ethanol Tax Policy
(Renewable Fuel Association) The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today praised the legislation offered by a bipartisan group of senators, led by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley,
May 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley-Conrad Bill Boosts Domestic Energy Production
(Senator Chuck Grassley) Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Kent Conrad of North Dakota today introduced bipartisan legislation to update ethanol tax policies in an effort to boost domestic energy production and increase America’s energy independence and security. The bill also has
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Government Hands May Be Tied on Ethanol: USDA Official
by Ayesha Rascoe (Reuters) ..."The fact is the industry has pretty much been built," USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber told reporters on the sidelines of a Commodity Markets Council conference. "This isn't a question of just saying 'cut it off.'
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Blender Pumps Fuel Ethanol Growth
by Candace Krebs (AgJournal.com) Since Stratton Equity Co-op installed Colorado’s first “blender pump” offering a range of ethanol based fuels last April, interest has slowly been rising, right on track with national ethanol usage overall. “We’ve had a gradual increase in
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
The Time to Plan for Ethanol’s Future is Now
by Porter J. Martin and Gregory J. Lynch (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... Can ethanol survive without these supports? I believe the answer is yes, if we take steps to plan now. Why? Because we have seen ethanol producers start to
January 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Faces High Corn Prices
by Todd Neeley (The Progressive Farmer) ...(P)ressure from rising corn prices at the start of 2011 is expected to test ethanol producers' ability to manage risk. ...Rabobank said ethanol would remain profitable with corn prices above $7 a bushel.
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Farm Bureau Supports Change in Biofuels Policy
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The American Farm Bureau Federation is supporting a new direction in biofuels policy away from the blenders tax credit and toward increasing infrastructure. “The whole discussion has been evolving within the industry and within the Congress,” said AFBF President
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
A Better Ethanol Policy
by Robert Rapier (Consumer Energy Report/R Squared Energy Blog) ...Reader Paul Nash came up with a specific plan... Specific Recommendations Scrap the VEETC (since there is a mandate already and it expires at the end of 2010). Maintain a producer’s credit for cellulosic
August 17, 2010 Read Full Article
New York Times Misses the Mark on America’s Fuel
(Growth Energy) The New York Times’ July 29th Editorial “Energy Subsidies – Good and Bad,” mischaracterizes Growth Energy’s proposal to open the American transportation fuels market and fails to acknowledge the technological advancements that have made ethanol production cleaner and more
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
It's a Critical Time for Ethanol
by Joe Ruff (Omaha World Herald) It's time for the federal government to move beyond offering tax credits to companies that combine ethanol with gasoline, said the CEO of the fourth-largest ethanol producer in the country. Instead, he said, government incentives are
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Fueling Freedom Plan Will Redirect Government Support to Create Open Fuels Market
(Growth Energy) Growth Energy, a coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters, today called for the redirection and eventual phasing out of government support for ethanol in return for a level playing field – infrastructure investments that will create competition in the fuels
July 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Get off the Dope: Supporting Biofuels Prices without Taxes or Subsidies – a Biofuels Digest Special Report
(Biofuels Digest) ... (A)n overview by Digest special correspondent Tim Sklar, "Supporting Biofuels Prices without Taxes or Subsidies," which examines the potential of subsidy-free programs to achieve the same price normalization goals as biofuels subsidies which will absorb more than 95
June 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Approaches the Blending Wall - Cellulosic Ethanol Investments Severely Threatened
Dr. Robert Wisner (AgMRC) A fuel ethanol blending wall has been anticipated for the last three years. When reached, it would halt growth of the ethanol industry or initially would cause demand growth to fall short of the rate of
May 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Fumes
by Patrick Westhoff (Washington Times letter to editor) The editorial "Stop 'Big Corn' " (Opinion, Monday) did not accurately describe the analysis of ethanol policy conducted by our institute. The editorial says we at the University of Missouri's Food and Agricultural
April 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Government Earns 400% ROI on Ethanol Blender’s Credit
by Mark (Corn Commentary) ...The next issue can already be seen on the horizon and it can be seen clearly because it is not a “new” criticism. It is called the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). This is the