(WNAX Radio)  Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Texas has negatively impacted the nation’s oil refining capacity. Renewable Fuel Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says the ethanol industry has the fuel to fill that supply need …

by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post)  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Wednesday expanded the scope of an emergency waiver of Clean Air Act restrictions on motor fuel requirements, saying the waiver would apply …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization called on the US EPA to “improve its implementation of RFS,” and noted six key improvements.

issue its annual Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) under the …

by Anthony Adragna (Politico’s Morning Energy)  EPA got caught in a cross-fire of skepticism at the D.C. Circuit Monday over its use of general waiver authority to lower RFS volumes for 2016, Pro’s Eric Wolff reports …

by Michael Schneider (Oil Price Information Service)  Supporters and opponents of biofuels expressed predictably contrasting viewpoints during a teleconference held today by EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR).
The call was held to solicit input on …

(National Biodiesel Board)  Americans for Clean Energy, et al., v. Environmental Protection Agency  —  Today the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit regarding the …

(Office of Congressman Adrian Smith) Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) reintroduced legislation today to broaden fuel choices for retailers and consumers by expanding the existing waiver of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …

by Todd Neeley (DTN The Progressive Farmer)  The Governors’ Biofuels Coalition on Monday asked President Donald Trump to support a number of changes to federal law to support biofuels production.
In a letter signed by Nebraska …

by Andy Eubank (Hoosier Ag Today)  Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly (D) joined Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to introduce the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act last week, a bill that would …

by Rachel Gantz (Renwable Fuels Association) Today (February 17, 2017), five Senators, led by Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, asking him to address EPA’s volatility regulation that makes it more …

by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The ethanol industry sees one-pound waiver for E15 as a no-brainer.  —  Perplexed about why E15 does not get a one-pound waiver? That’s a sign you clearly understand the …

by Robert Rapier (Forbes)  …  Trump’s pick to head the EPA — Scott Pruitt — has repeatedly fought against the RFS. As EPA Administrator, Pruitt would have the authority to invoke a waiver to lower …

by Anthony Adragna (Politico’s Morning Energy)  During the second half of more than six hours of questioning for Scott Pruitt, the EPA pick said he saw no reason to review the agency’s 2009 endangerment finding, …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  On Dec. 1, the Senate Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management held a hearing to discuss the U.S. EPA’s management of the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and two Government …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The U.S. EPA recently published a notice to its website setting the cellulosic waiver credit (CWC) price for 2017 at $2.00. The CWC price for 2016 was set in …

by Rebecca Chillrud (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  September 22 marks the autumnal equinox and the official end of summer. But for approximately 330 gas retailers, the season ended last week, on September 16—a day …

(Biotechnology Innovation Organization)  The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), on behalf of its member companies, … submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standards for 2017, and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2018. …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The comment period on the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set 2017 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the renewable fuel standard (RFS), along with 2018 RVOs for biomass-based diesel, has …

(Renewable Fuels Association)  The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments today to EPA on its proposed 2017 Renewable Fuel Standard renewable volume obligations (RVO), urging the agency to raise the requirement for conventional renewable fuel …

(Fuel Marketer News)  The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the proposed blending volumes for 2017 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). ACE’s full comments can be …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  On June 22, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The event featured testimony from government officials, …

(Biotechnology Innovation Organization)  EPA’s new methodology for setting annual Renewable Fuel Standards continues to chill investment in advanced biofuels, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) finds in a new analysis released today. Investment patterns clearly demonstrate …

by Chris Clayton (DTN The Progressive Farmer)  … Ethanol also remains stuck in a battle with EPA over vapor pressure with 15% ethanol over the summer months. 10% ethanol, E10, has such a waiver so it …

by Jonathan Coppess (Farm Doc Daily)  The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been a hot topic of late given the release of the final rule and its rather prominent feature leading up to the recent Iowa …

by Jonathan Coppess (University of Illinois/AgFax) Today’s article completes the discussion of EPA’s final rule for the RFS. The previous articles in this series provided background on the RFS, a general review of the final rule and …

by Jonathan Coppess (Farms.com/Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois)  This article looks specifically at EPA’s interpretation of the word ‘supply’ in the waiver provision ‘inadequate domestic supply’ and what Congress intended it to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Heard dire comments like “POET expects to stop all future U.S. cellulosic investments if EPA’s proposed base renewable fuel requirements are not strengthened.”  Want to understand the substantive concerns on …

by Brent Erickson (Biofuels Digest/Biotechnology Industry Organization)  … Stakeholders are all well aware of the RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard) waiver provision that allows EPA to rewrite the statutory volumes after 2016, if it is required to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments today to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing support for a proposed legal agreement that sets specific deadlines for establishing …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  On Oct. 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied a petition of review filed by the American Petroleum Institute and other groups challenging the …

(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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

by Cezary Podkul  (Reuters)  The fate of a landmark U.S. requirement to blend increasing amounts of biofuels into the nation’s gasoline pool rests on the meaning of three words tucked into a mammoth law: unless …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) …Slashing the “renewable fuel” portion of the RFS from 14.4 BG to 13.0 BG could have the following impacts:
1.       Corn Prices Sink and Farm Income Falls
Cutting the requirement by 1.4 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  For industry observers, there is much that is mystifying in the EPA’s draft 2014 production targets for the US 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard.    But nothing more mystifying than the …

by Darrel Good and Scott Irwin  (University of Illinois/FarmDocDaily)  Corn prices continue the long retreat from the peak of September 2012, declining to the lowest level since late August 2010. The most recent price weakness …

by Cezary Podkul and Fabiola Gomes  (Reuters)  U.S. imports of Brazilian sugar cane ethanol could be cut by more than half if a draft proposal to reduce next year’s U.S. biofuel blending mandate is enacted.
While …

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 …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association)  EPA’s proposed rule establishing 2014 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is expected to be published soon. Many believe the 2014 RVO will, for the …

by Mario Parker (Bloomberg/Fuel Fix)  Valero Energy Corp., the world’s largest independent refining company, called on the Obama administration to waive the country’s biofuel target immediately, saying the cost to reach it has skyrocketed.
“We need …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Today, we look at 2013-14, should Congress elect not to act — but leave the EPA and the markets to govern implementation of the existing law.
2014 Mandate
The EPA will ultimately …

by Ben Goad (The Hill E2Wire)  A key industry group is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ratchet back this year’s volume requirements for biofuel production, arguing the proposed standards are unrealistic.
In formal comments submitted Monday, …

by Scott Irwin and Darrel Good (University of Illinois/FarmDocDaily)  …The suggestion to waive the mandate assumes that ethanol production and blending is motivated only by the RFS and that a lower mandate would result in less …

(PR NewsWire/American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers)  American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Charles T. Drevna issued the following statement following the withdrawal of its Petition for Waiver of the 2012 Cellulosic Biofuel Volumetric Requirements:
“We appreciate the …

(American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers/PR NewsWire)    The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today to waive the 2012 cellulosic biofuel mandate, citing a lack of domestic supply available …

by Tadd Nicholson  (Chillicothe Gazette)   …Blending corn ethanol into gasoline reduces our reliance on foreign oil, helping to meet our nation’s goal of energy independence. In 2011, thanks in part to corn ethanol, the …

by Jeff Caldwell (Agriculture.com)  …Though Friday’s ruling, on paper, should keep ethanol production chugging along, that doesn’t mean the sector — which has itself been under pressure from drought-fueled higher corn prices — will see choppy …

by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/Biofuels Digest)  The biofuel industry breathed a big sigh of relief last month when the EPA declined several governors’ petitions to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard. Then, after a herculean …

by J.B. Smith (WacoTrib.com)  …“It’s farmers vs. ranchers,” said McLennan County Farm Bureau president and delegate Kevin Huffman in an interview.
Huffman, who raises cattle, corn, wheat and cotton near McGregor, opposed both amendments but said …

by Daryll Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer (Southwest Farm Press/University of Tennessee)  …On November 16, 2012, the EPA denied the request of Governor Perdue and others. The short story is that while the EPA recognizes …

(25 x ’25) In response to the EPA decision today upholding volume requirements of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, 25x’25 Co-chairmen Read Smith and Bart Ruth issued the following joint statement:
“EPA’s decision today finding no evidence that …

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)  In August 2012, Governors from several States requested a waiver of the national volume requirements for the renewable fuel standard program (RFS) pursuant to Section 211(o)(7) of the Clean Air Act. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … United States   Concerns over the price impacts of a devastating US drought have led to call for a waiver in the US Renewable Fuel Standard volumetric targets. Proposed waivers have …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As drought, recession, and capital starvation form a perfect storm, will advanced biofuels be thrown under the bus?  Industry leaders say that dropping biofuels production targets will not reverse impacts …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  An October report from the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute concludes that a reduction in the renewable fuel standard wouldn’t greatly reduce corn prices in the 2012/’13 crop …

(Renewable Fuels Association)   Waiving the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2013 could actually result in higher net feeding costs for livestock and poultry producers, according to a new analysis conducted by Cardno-ENTRIX and commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Association …

by Bruce Dale (Star Tribune) Commentaries: Considered in context, it’s clear that ethanol has an important role to play.
A commentary about corn ethanol published in the Star Tribune this summer was disappointing (“Too much corn is …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  This summer’s drought in the farm belt raised real fears about food supplies and prices. But some in the livestock, poultry and meat processing industries are using …

(Corn and Soybean Digest)  A full waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) conventional biofuel requirement might reduce corn prices by just 0.5% (4¢/bu.) in 2012-2013, according to a new analysis conducted by the Food and Agriculture …

by Roy Roberson (Southeast Farm Press)  • Sounds like a good deal for grain growers and a bad one for livestock producers and consumers, but are such high prices really good for any of us?
• …

by Ned Stowe (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) In the wake of the devastating heat wave and drought which covered much of the United States this year, it has become clear that there will be less …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  About EPRINC: EPRINC is a non-profit group funded by Big Oil, staffed by former oil company employees, and directed by a board of trustees that is a veritable who’s-who …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a 15 day extension of the comment period on the requests for a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), who filed for …

by Marlo Lewis (GlobalWarming.org)  The Governors of Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, and North Carolina have petitioned EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to waive the mandatory ethanol blending requirements established by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The petitioners hope thereby to lower and stabilize corn prices, which recently hit record …

by Christine Stebbins  (Reuters) …”Ethanol demand is the linchpin of the current pricing model that we have,” said Michael Swanson, agricultural economist at Wells Fargo, the largest commercial bank lender to U.S. farmers. “It’s a …

by Mario Parker (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)  Ethanol, the best-performing energy commodity this year, is cheaper than gasoline, encouraging refiners to use the biofuel even if President Barack Obama’s administration ends a requirement to do so.
A 49 …

(Platts)  Eight groups representing a cross section of the US biofuels industry asked the White House on Monday to keep the ethanol mandate in place, despite governors’ calls to shrink it in response to a …

by Adam Monroe (News Observer)  Last week Gov. Beverly Perdue filed a waiver request for the Renewable Fuel Standard, one of the nation’s most successful energy policies and of critical importance to North Carolina’s economy, …

by Zack Coleman (The Hill/E2Wire)  …Monte Shaw, executive director with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, credits the uptick in gubernatorial and congressional interest to oil groups viewing 2013 as the last chance to nix the …

by Bertha Coombs (CNBC)  Calls are growing to suspend the federal ethanol production mandate next year, as the worst drought in more than half a century has devastated the corn crop in the U.S. The …

(Environmental Protection Agency)  On August 20, 2012, EPA issued a request for comment on letters seeking a waiver of the volume requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Governors of Arkansas and North Carolina …

by Janet McGurty  (Reuters) Renewable fuel credit prices fell across the board on Tuesday as fears of an ethanol waiver roiled the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) market.
Benchmark E12 RINS, referring to RINs created in 2012, …

(Reuters)  * EPA to gather public comment for 30 days
* EPA must make decision on ethanol waivers by November
* Petitioners must show mandate causing severe economic harm
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …Talk of a possible renewable fuel standard (RFS) waiver request became a reality in mid-August, when the U.S. EPA was officially petitioned. The clock starts on a 90-day deadline …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  In June, the U.S EPA issued its proposal to reduce the coming year’s cellulosic biofuels volume target for the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The RFS goals set by Congress …