Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters)  Top officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy and Agriculture plan to meet on Thursday to hammer out details of President Donald Trump’s planned changes to the nation’s biofuel laws, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

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Trump has told some lawmakers he wants to do so by expanding sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, counting ethanol exports toward mandated biofuels volumes and scaling back the number of waivers that the EPA can provide to small refiners to free them from the regulation – a set of proposals that includes concessions to both sides.

The White House was expected to release the plan last week but was delayed, the sources said, and Thursday’s meeting is expected to focus on hashing out any remaining legal and political obstacles to the proposals.

The meeting will include EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Energy Department Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette and Agriculture Department Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky, the sources said. Whether EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue or Energy Secretary Rick Perry will attend is unclear.

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Conversely, expanding the sales of higher-ethanol blends of gasoline known as E15 during the summer months is seen as a big win for the biofuel industry and a setback for refiners – because it will boost seasonal demand for corn and displace petroleum in Americans’ gas tanks.

Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa said she was eager to see that change implemented: “Pruitt has been dragging his feet,” she said in a statement Wednesday.  READ MORE

The White House’s Ethanol Compromise Comes To A Head (Seeking Alpha)

WHEN WE LAST LEFT OUR HEROES: (Politico’s Morning Energy)

Trump administration hails ‘productive’ talks with California on fuel-efficiency rules (Washington Examiner)

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS: (Politico’s Morning Energy)

Excerpt from Politico’s Morning Energy:  Top deputies across the Trump administration — including EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky — will meet today to try to resolve long-standing tensions over the Renewable Fuel Standard. The group will pick up where the president left off during his meeting on the topic last month, including the unfinished business of whether to allow biofuel exports to receive Renewable Identification Numbers, and whether to reallocate the gallons small refiners were exempted from blending under economic hardship waivers from EPA. A refining source previously told Pro’s Eric Wolff the USDA is trying to capitalize on the controversies surrounding EPA and has been pressing the agency to move quickly on allowing year-round sales of 15 percent ethanol fuel.

And with small refinery exemptions on the table, ME will be looking to see how Wednesday’s news that Marathon Petroleum asked EPA for an exemption plays out. Ahead of today’s meeting, the ethanol and biofuel trade association Growth Energy released a statement that called out the “flood of illegitimate waivers” and their resulting “‘demand destruction’ for U.S. farmers at a time when rural communities can least afford it.”   READ MORE

Excerpt from Washington Examiner:  But the only thing Mary Nichols, the head of the air board, agreed to was more talks, said a spokesman for the California agency.

“They agreed to have additional meetings in the future,” spokesman Stanley Young said.

Nichols, with senior CARB staff, met with Trump’s new energy adviser, Francis Brooke, and representatives of the Department of Transportation and the EPA, Young said.  READ MORE