(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
renewable volume obligation (RVO)
Back TO HOMEAnalyst 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