by Jeannine Otto (AgriNews) Defend, expand, export. ... “We need to make sure that people understand this entire standard is under attack. Folks in Congress, some folks in Congress, would like to do away totally with the entire Renewable Fuels Standard and
renewable volume obligation (RVO)
Back TO HOMEWorld-Herald Editorial: Wait Is Ending for Cellulosic
(Omaha World-Herald) ... The first commercial production of cellulosic ethanol began in 2013, and this year biomass plants in Iowa will be taking the lead in expanding capacity. The facilities will take crop waste and non-edible plants and convert them into
April 01, 2014 Read Full Article
Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Proposed Changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard Through 2022
by Brent Erickson, Matt Carr, and Paul Winters (Industrial Biotechnology) The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a significant change to the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2014 and beyond, which will have an impact on greenhouse gas (GHG)
March 26, 2014 Read Full Article
Moving Toward a Clean and Renewable Future
by Bob Dinneen (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Renewable Fuels Association) The success of cellulosic ethanol is critical to the success of all renewables. We will continue fighting to keep the renewable fuel standard at the levels Congress intended to maintain market stability
March 18, 2014 Read Full Article
National Biodiesel Day Celebrates Growth in America's Advanced Biofuel
(National Biodiesel Board) Biodiesel Offers Renewable Alternative to Fuel Economy You wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t for diesel power. Diesel engines are responsible for moving the majority of goods, including electronics, from manufacturer to consumer. And more than ever
March 18, 2014 Read Full Article
Ethanol Backers Tout Fuel’s Many Benefits for Nebraska
by Jerry Oster (WNAX, Yankton/Nebraska Radio) ... Todd Becker, president of the Omaha-based Green Plains Renewable Energy, says corn-based ethanol is continuing to have an enormous impact on the state’s economy. Becker says the value-added by-products are of great value, too,
March 18, 2014 Read Full Article
It’s Not a Sprint: Achieving Biofuel Goals Requires the Effort of a Marathon
(25 x '25) EPA’s release this week of the latest rule governing vehicle emissions and fuel standards is a reminder that while regulations can raise the profile of biofuels, there are no “silver” policy bullets that absolutely assure the growth of biofuels
March 07, 2014 Read Full Article
Biodiesel's Added Value: Time to Get Back on Message
by Michael Devine (AMERIgreen Energy/Biodiesel Magazine) ...As a veteran of biodiesel marketing and distribution over the past decade, my first suggestion for the current state of the biodiesel industry is to “get back on message.” Looking forward as we move into
March 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Finds Allies at Commodity Classic
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) ...Joe (Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board) is really perplexed at the cut to the share of biodiesel in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) considering how biodiesel is able to make up a lot possible shortfalls
March 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Will the EPA Reverse Itself on the Write Down of the Renewable Mandate for 2014? The Message from the RINs Market
by Scott Irwin (FarmDocDaily/University of Illinois) ... The purpose of today's post is to show that the recent behavior of prices in the RINs market suggests the odds of the EPA reversing the proposed write down of the renewable mandate for
March 04, 2014 Read Full Article
POET-DSM Says Iowa Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Running by June
by Michael Hirtzer (Reuters) An Iowa ethanol plant that will be one of the first producers of biofuels made from crop waste will be operating by June, a general manager of the plant said in an interview on Tuesday. POET-DSM, a
March 04, 2014 Read Full Article
'There Needs to Be a Market'
by Donnelle Eller and Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register) The future of the cellulosic ethanol industry depends on convincing investors that the market for its product will grow. The EPA has proposed cutting separate requirements for how much renewable fuel, mostly
February 24, 2014 Read Full Article
Square Pump, Round Fuel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Flash-forward to today: the American Petroleum Institute rallies the Panzers to repel the landing of renewable fuels — bringing alternative choices for consumers at affordable prices, via a counter-assault on the Renewable Fuel Standard. And some
February 24, 2014 Read Full Article
Mark Dayton and Terry Branstad: Don’t Mess with the RFS
by Mark Dayton and Terry Branstad (Winona Daily News) We are governors from neighboring states and different political parties. We don’t agree on everything, but we stand united in our belief that our nation needs a robust Renewable Fuel Standard
February 24, 2014 Read Full Article
US EPA to Finalize 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard by June 20: Official
by Herman Wang (Platts) The US Environmental Protection Agency will finalize the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard in about four months, a top official said Wednesday. "Our goal was to finalize [the rule] by spring," said Chris Grundler, who heads the EPA's
February 20, 2014 Read Full Article
Big Oil to Ethanol: Build Your Own Dang Distribution, If You Think E85 Has Blend-Wall Busting Potential
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Reform, repeal or compete: the options laid out for ethanol by Big Oil by Marathon’s Product Supply & Optimization Director in a frank keynote at the National Ethanol Conference. The RFA’s Geoff Cooper and ISU’s
February 20, 2014 Read Full Article
EPA's New Ethanol Proposal Could Affect Local Farmers
by Samantha Jeffreys (WREX) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to reduce the amounts of ethanol that must be blended with gasoline could have a big effect on local farmers. ... "Locally, it will affect a number of us if this standard is
February 18, 2014 Read Full Article
American Ingenuity Will Help Meet Climate Goals
by Adam Monroe (Novozymes/The Hill) ...In our view, the fuels of the future are biofuels and they are already here. There’s only one problem: The very institution that set the wheels in motion to create the biofuels industry is now
February 18, 2014 Read Full Article
Corn Growers Worry about Price Decline if RFS Is Reduced
by Mikkel Pates (Agweek) Crop farmers in the northern corn belt who have benefited from ethanol targets are putting on a push to save the current renewable fuel standard (RFS) from proposed cuts by the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposal would cut the
February 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Iowa Corn Growers Says Informa Study Backs Higher RFS Volumes
(WNAX) A new study by Informa Economics shows the original intended RFS level for 2014 blending of 14.4 billion gallons can be reached through increased consumption of E 85 and E 15. Iowa Corn Growers President Roger Zylstra of Lynneville
February 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Don’t Go Backward on Biofuels
by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) (The Hill) ... Now is not the time to slam the brakes on 21st century alternative, domestic energy breakthroughs that would increase U.S. productivity, opportunity and prosperity. ... Congress established the RFS as
February 13, 2014 Read Full Article
Powerful, Personal, Pro-RFS Comments to EPA
(Renewable Fuels Association) As of today, approximately 40,000 Americans from all walks of life have submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voicing their opposition to the Agency’s proposed cut to the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Meanwhile, the
February 13, 2014 Read Full Article
DuPont: “Future Fuel” Cellulosic Ethanol Here Today
by John Davis and Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Cellulosic ethanol is not just a fuel of the future; it’s here today. And at the recent 8th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit held in Altoona, Iowa, Steve Mirshak from DuPont’s cellulosic division talked with
February 13, 2014 Read Full Article
Vets Group Says EPA Should Stand up to Big Oil, Stand up for US Military
by Jon LeSage (AutoBlogGreen) Hundreds of thousands of people are waiting for the US Environmental Protection Agency to issue its final ruling on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Over 110,000 signatures were collected by the group VoteVets.org (often politically
February 11, 2014 Read Full Article
Attorney General Says EPA Action on Ethanol Not Legal
by Matt Kelley (RadioIowa) Legions of people lately have pleaded in public hearings for the federal Environmental Protection Agency to maintain the amount of ethanol required to be blended into gasoline, but Iowa’s top lawyer says there’s another better tactic. Iowa
February 05, 2014 Read Full Article
Answers to Your Questions about the Renewable Fuel Standard: Your Guide to the Comments Received by EPA
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... More than 15,000 comments were received by EPA. What is the problem that led to a waiver petition? Why does EPA propose to act and how, and when, and in what way? Today, in the
February 05, 2014 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels USA Submits Comments on EPA's RFS RVO Proposed Rule
by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) In regard to the determination of the Applicable Volume of ethanol and other biofuels allowed for Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits in 2014, Advanced Biofuels USA finds that EPA has disregarded the intent of
January 20, 2014 Read Full Article
Evaluating EPA's Arguments for RFS Waiver Authority
by Jonathan Coppess (FarmDocDaily) ...The heart of the matter is whether the waiver authority Congress provided to the EPA allows it to waive the specific RFS requirements on the basis of the infrastructural challenges posed by the E10 blend wall. EPA's
January 20, 2014 Read Full Article
Low-Cost Biodiesel Production
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) As federal biodiesel policy uncertainty rises, low-cost biodiesel production with new technologies to allow processing of cheaper, lower quality feedstocks, is paramount. Biodiesel Magazine provides a cross-section of new technologies being deployed. ... If the final (EPA
January 15, 2014 Read Full Article
The Time Is Now for Farmers to Comment
by Meghan Grebner (Browfield Ag News) There’s just a few weeks left for farmers to submit comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed cuts to the Renewable Fuels Standard. The Indiana Corn Growers Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance are making
January 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Record Corn Crop Gets Little Reaction
by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) For all the media melodrama displayed at this time last year when the USDA released its tally on the drought-suppressed 2012 corn crop, there’s been predictably little ado over last week’s news that the
January 14, 2014 Read Full Article
New University Analysis: No Changes Needed to 2014 and 2015 Renewable Fuel Requirements
(KTIC Blogs) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to slash 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending requirements is unwarranted and economically irrational, according to a new analysis released today by Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD).
January 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Top Five Energy Stories for 2013
by Laura Barron-Lopez (The Hill E2Wire) ... 5. Retreat on Ethanol -- The debate over the country's renewable fuel mandate, which determines how much ethanol and biofuels refiners must blend into the nation's fuel supply, raged in 2013. All the way
January 02, 2014 Read Full Article
Troubling Advanced RIN Carryover Scenario under RFS Proposal
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) In a recent farmdocDaily post, Nick Paulson, assistant professor in the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, addresses renewable identification number (RIN) stocks and the implications of the U.S. EPA’s proposed 2014 volume requirements for
January 02, 2014 Read Full Article
Brazil’s Ethanol Sector, Once Thriving, Is Being Buffeted by Forces Both Man-Made, Natural
by Juan Forero (The Washington Post) ... The allure for these giants is Brazil itself, where most cars are built to run on the biofuel. An even bigger, largely untapped market awaits in the United States, where environmental standards favor cane-based ethanol
January 02, 2014 Read Full Article
Ethanol Loses Friends and Influence as Reform Movement Grows
by Javier E. David (CNBC) Ethanol requirements for U.S. gasoline appear to be losing friends and influencing the wrong people, with calls growing to reform or scrap the government mandates altogether. The Environmental Protection Agency in November proposed reducing the amount
December 30, 2013 Read Full Article
EPA’s Christmas Gift to the Oil Refiners
by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/Biofuels Digest) The Obama administration appears ready to give the oil refining industry the perfect gift this Christmas. If left unchanged, EPA’s proposed RFS rule for 2014 could result in codifying the so-called blend wall
December 30, 2013 Read Full Article
EPA Agrees to 'Take Another Look' at Biofuel Blending Rules - Harkin
by Cezary Podkul (Reuters) * 16 farm-state Senators urge agency not to cut biofuel blending quotas; * Despite EPA administrator's assurances, major changes unlikely - expert; * EPA seeks to put biofuel blending program on "manageable trajectory" The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
December 26, 2013 Read Full Article
KiOR Provides Operational Update on Columbus Facility
(MarketWatch/KiOR) KiOR, Inc., provided today (December 23, 2013) an update on the operations at its Columbus, Mississippi, facility. KiOR expects that, given current and anticipated operations through the remainder of the year, the Columbus facility will produce approximately 410,000 gallons of
December 26, 2013 Read Full Article
Branstad, Five Other Governors Lobby President for Higher Ethanol Mandate
by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) Six Midwestern governors sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing their support for the Renewable Fuel Standard, which his administration has proposed scaling back in 2014. In a letter to the president, Environmental Protection
December 23, 2013 Read Full Article
CoBank Report Considers Implications of 2014 RFS Proposal
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) CoBank, a national cooperative bank serving rural American industries, has published a report predicting that the U.S. EPA’s proposed 2014 renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume requirements will have little impact on U.S. ethanol production
December 23, 2013 Read Full Article
A Concern with the EPA
by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (Marshall Democrat News) ... I am very concerned with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent decision to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirement for next year. It would be lowered by almost 3 billion gallons in 2014,
December 18, 2013 Read Full Article
Corn Plummeting Spurs Talk of ’80s U.S. Farmland Bust: Mortgages
by Kathleen M. Howley (Bloomberg) ... Now, as corn prices start to decline, bankers and agricultural economists are predicting a slowdown in farmland prices that could turn into a bust. “I can see the fear in farmers’ eyes when they think of
December 18, 2013 Read Full Article
54 U.S. Representatives Call for Continued Biodiesel Growth
(National Biodiesel Board) Bipartisan Group Signs Letter Calling for Strong RFS Fifty-four members of Congress representing 24 states called on the Obama Administration Wednesday to boost its proposal for biodiesel production under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) next year. Biodiesel – made
December 18, 2013 Read Full Article
Analyst Offers Sobering Ethanol Outlook
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) AgResource Company president Dan Basse looked at the year in review for grain markets and gave his outlook for the future at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS 2013 and Seed Expo last week in
December 17, 2013 Read Full Article
Iowa Officials Seek Hearing on Renewable Fuel Standard Changes
by James Q. Lynch (Quad City Times) Citing national security as well as benefits for clean air, the economy and consumers, Iowa political leaders are urging the Obama administration to travel to Iowa to learn more about the effect of its
December 16, 2013 Read Full Article
RFS Proposals to Increase GHG Emissions?
(EnergyGlobal) In light of the proposed rule for the 2014 RFS, BIO have utilised the GREET 1.2013 model to estimate the changes in petroleum demand and the associated CO2 equivalent emissions from both 2013 and the statutory RFS levels for 2014. Proposals,
December 13, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Makers Looking for Export Boost
(St. Louis Post Dispatch/Omaha.com) U.S. ethanol makers will be looking to boost exports of the fuel if the federal government, as expected, scales back the amount mandated for use in the domestic market. With low corn prices, thanks to a record
December 11, 2013 Read Full Article
Ad Campaign Aims to Recruit Speakers against RFS Proposal
by Chris Hanson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Americans United for Change launched an advertising campaign to urge farmers, ethanol industry workers, related industries and American consumers to voice their concerns on the U.S. EPA’s renewable fuel standard proposal. The campaign, which directs
December 10, 2013 Read Full Article
EPA Caves to the Petroleum Industry, Could Cost Taxpayers
by Laura Sesana (The Washington Times) The petroleum industry’s renewed campaign against Congressionally mandated increasing levels of ethanol in gasoline appears to be working. The result, however—EPA’s proposal to reduce ethanol requirements for 2014—could cost taxpayers and secure petroleum’s hold on
December 09, 2013 Read Full Article
This Is No Time to Cut Back on Ethanol Targets
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/The Boston Globe) letter to editor: ... But oil companies, as the Globe’s editorial acknowledges, “never wanted the hassle” of renewable fuels. Indeed, that’s exactly why the RFS was necessary in the first place. Rolling back
December 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Save The RFS Ad Debutes in Iowa
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) A new “Save the RFS” television ad is now running throughout Iowa, a key state in Presidential elections. The ad was produced by Americans United For Change (AUFC) who says while Big Oil is advertising to elites
December 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Dinneen: RFS Not for Big Oil’s Convenience
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) The case for keeping the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as-is is being made today at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing in Arlington, Va. Our friends from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) have shown up in
December 06, 2013 Read Full Article
Another Battle Looms in the Endless Ethanol War
by Clare Foran (National Journal) The debate over the renewable-fuel standard flared up again this week ahead of a hearing the Environmental Protection Agency will hold on Thursday to solicit feedback on a proposal to lower the 2014 production mandate.
December 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Nightmare Scenario: Renewable Fuels’ Defenders Pull out the Stops to Persuade EPA to Continue the War on Imported Oil
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Today, the EPA has scheduled a day of testimony on its proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel volume targets — and a proposed 40 percent slash in the advanced biofuels category to 2.2 billion (ethanol equivalent) gallons,
December 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuel Standard; Petitions for a Waiver Published in Federal Register
(Federal Register/Environmental Protection Agency) EPA has received a number of petitions for a waiver of the renewable fuel standards that would apply in 2014. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) submitted a joint
December 02, 2013 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuel Standard Program; 2014 Standards Proposed Rule Published in Federal Register
(Federal Register/Environmental Protection Agency) Under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set the renewable fuel percentage standards each November for the following year. Today's action proposes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic
December 02, 2013 Read Full Article
“We The People” Support of the RFS
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ... Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) along with Representative Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) have written a letter for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gina McCarthy expressing concern over the proposed rule regarding the RFS. The proposed 2014 rule reduces the
November 27, 2013 Read Full Article
It Isn’t Only Corn: Brazilian Sugar Cane Ethanol Worries about Changes in RFS
by Herman Wang (Platts) Much of the rhetoric surrounding the US Renewable Fuel Standard centers around the notion of home-grown fuels enhancing American energy security and independence. That puts Leticia Phillips in a bit of a delicate situation, as she advocates
November 25, 2013 Read Full Article
Big Oil Reaps $23 Billion Windfall - In One Day
(Americans United for Change) What a difference a day makes for Big Oil. The oil industry scored a big victory on Friday, November 15 as the U.S. EPA released a draft rule that – if allowed to stand – rolls
November 25, 2013 Read Full Article
Lewinsky’s Dress Syndrome and the EPA Biofuels Debacle
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) So, the EPA hands down cruel cutbacks in renewable fuel targets as the Administration reels under Obamacare pressure. What happened to biofuels, why is “everyone’s friend” biodiesel getting the shaft, what’s next? And what is
November 25, 2013 Read Full Article
Examining EPA’s Authority to Reduce RFS Volume Requirements
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Renewable Fuels Association held a media teleconference Nov. 21, to address the issue of whether the U.S. EPA has the statutory authority to lower the total renewable fuel standard (RFS) numbers, as reflected
November 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Many Have Stake in Maintaining RFS Certainty
(25 x '25) Disappointment, outrage, confusion, “betrayal,” “punch to the gut,” “pulls the rug out,” “huge step backwards” – all are characterizations of the reactions from the renewable energy sector over the administration’s proposal announced last week to slash biofuel
November 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Examines Implications of Record Corn Crop
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The record corn supply has multiple implications for the ethanol industry. The USDA’s Nov. 8 supply/demand report pegged the 2013 corn crop at 13.989 billion bushels, a new record at more than 700
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
CARD Report: Altering RFS Would Have Modest Effect on Corn Prices
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new paper from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University indicates that if the U.S. EPA does significantly reduce the renewable fuel standard (RFS) renewable volume obligations, it would mean only
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
32 US Senators Urge Administration to Support Biodiesel Growth
(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) A bipartisan group of 32 U.S. senators from across the country sent a letter Nov. 14 asking the Obama administration to support reasonable growth in the biodiesel industry next year under the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
The Biofuels Renewable Fuel Standard at a Crossroads
by Wallace E. Tyner (PennEnergy/Purdue University) ... So what is behind the differences in both my suggested values and the EPA proposal? The biggest difference in my original post and EPA is in the level of the corn ethanol mandate. EPA
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Proposed Rules for 2014 RFS - A Volume of Uncertainty
by Seth Meyer and Rob Johansson (US Department of Agriculture/FarmDocDaily) ...Alternatively, if the EPA's estimates of the potential for E85 consumption are too high and the actual blend wall is lower than the estimated13 billion gallons, then the potential use of domestic
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Editorial, 11/20: Ethanol a Key Part of Energy Mix
(Journal Star) ... There’s little doubt the industry is under attack by a misguided and misinformed alliance of tea party Republicans and erstwhile environmentalists. Better for ethanol supporters to save their energy for the renewed attacks that are sure to come
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
FEATURE: US Ethanol Producers Look to Exports, if 2014 RFS Caps Domestic Demand
by Herman Wang (Platts) Even before the US Environmental Protection Agency signaled last week that it planned to cut its biofuels mandate for 2014, US ethanol makers were already bullish on the prospects of growing exports, banking on what looks
November 21, 2013 Read Full Article
Continued Biodiesel Growth Jeopardized by EPA's 2014 RFS Proposal
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The U.S. biodiesel industry has grown significantly this year, but if the U.S. EPA’s final 2014 renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume obligation for biomass-based diesel looks anything like its proposal released Nov. 15, significant setbacks could
November 20, 2013 Read Full Article
Veterans Enter Fight for RFS
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Two new organizations have entered the fight for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) today as concerns about the future of the RFS deepen with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)proposed 2014 renewable fuels volumes going south. VoteVets.org and Americans United
November 20, 2013 Read Full Article
Branstad Launches a New Website to Support Ethanol, Biodiesel Use in Fuel Supply
by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today launched a new website to oppose the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to roll back the amount of renewable fuels that must be blended in
November 20, 2013 Read Full Article
Vilsack Defends EPA’s Slashing of RFS
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is defending the Obama Administration’s proposal to cut the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the amount of renewable fuels to be blended
November 19, 2013 Read Full Article
Obama Messes with the RFS
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the EPA released its 2014 proposed standards and volumes for renewable fuels. The volumes, as widely expected, include substantial reductions from the statutory standards in the original Energy Independence & Security Act. The announced proposed volumes
November 18, 2013 Read Full Article
EPA Authority to Reduce the RFS
by Jonathan Coppess (FarmDocDaily) ... The statute provides EPA with the authority to waive a requirement for an individual calendar year by "reducing the national quantity of renewable fuel required." The RFS is housed in the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
November 08, 2013 Read Full Article
Reduction to 2014 RVOs Would be a Financial Windfall for Big Oil
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) Big Oil has developed a laundry list of excuses for failing to break through its self-imposed “blend wall” and refusing to embrace the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Among the red herring arguments for its
November 08, 2013 Read Full Article
Biofuel Groups Seek to Intervene in Latest Legal Challenge to RFS
(Agri-Pulse) The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the Biotechnology Industry Organization filed Friday a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the oil industry in September challenging
November 05, 2013 Read Full Article
Fuel-From-Soy Makers Mount Last-Ditch Lobby Push on EPA
by Mark Drajem (Bloomberg) Companies that make biofuels from corn husks, soy and other materials are mounting a last-ditch lobbying campaign to prevent a weakening of the U.S. renewable-fuel mandate, saying a lower requirement would set back an industry that is
November 05, 2013 Read Full Article
The DIY Renewable Fuel Standard
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biobutanol, ethanol, renewable diesel, renewable gasoline and biodiesel — five renewable fuels. By what combination could they meet the titanic US target of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022? Try your own ideas?
November 01, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol, Oil Groups Blitz White House as Biofuel Rule Nears
by Cezary Podkul (Reuters) Biofuel and oil industry lobbyists have raced to the White House over the past two weeks in a last-ditch effort to sway controversial ethanol blending rules for next year, fueling talk of that a decision may be
October 31, 2013 Read Full Article
Journey to the Center of the Renewable Fuel Standard
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The pressure has risen to 30 atmospheres and the temperatures are rising into the hundreds of degrees. You think: “I’m in a dream, on a journey to the center of the earth.” But, in fact,
October 30, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Refutes AAA Claims
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The American Automobile Association (AAA) is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to “lower the amount of ethanol required to be blended into gasoline for 2014″ in order to “protect drivers by preventing a possible surge in gas
October 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Releases E15 Sales Data, Declares E10 Blend Wall Dead
(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) On the heels of surging E15 and E85 sales, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has declared the so-called E10 blend wall dead. Recent calls to gut the federal renewable fuel standard have centered on
October 28, 2013 Read Full Article
Businesses Flock to White House ahead of Biofuel Rule
by Julian Hattem (The Hill Reg Watch) Officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have been busy meeting with chemical and energy companies in recent days, ahead of the expected release of new biofuel standards. This week, the
October 28, 2013 Read Full Article
US EPA's 2014 RFS Volume Draft Proposal Misses the Boat
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) The U.S. EPA’s 2014 renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume obligation proposal is under review by the Office of Management and Budget, according to David Korotney with U.S. EPA. While EPA has not released a draft of
October 23, 2013 Read Full Article
EPA Considers U.S. Ethanol Mandate Cut Amid Complaints
by Mark Drajem & Lucia Kassai (Bloomberg) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering scaling back legal requirements on the use of ethanol next year amid complaints from refiners that statutory mandates would exceed their ability to blend it into fuels without putting