biofuels
Largest ethanol maker closes Indiana plant, blames EPA waivers
At the same time that POET, the largest U.S. ethanol maker, said it was forced to shut down an Indiana plant due to EPA “mismanagement” of the ethanol mandate, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said that “farmers feel the government isn’t keeping its word” on biofuels.
Farm and ethanol groups ask Trump to intervene on RFS waivers
President Trump, who campaigned for election as a friend of corn ethanol, ought to stop the EPA from issuing "hardship" waivers that free refineries from complying with the so-called ethanol mandate, said ethanol and farm groups. The EPA approved 31 waivers for small-volume refineries on Friday without comment.
IPCC report warns that climate change threatens food supply
A United Nations climate report on Thursday warned that the world’s unsustainable use of land is boosting greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change, and threatening future food production. But the report also said that land use, farming, and food consumption can shift in important ways that could help mitigate climate change. (No paywall) <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
EPA approves year-round sale of E15
The EPA pointed to “President Trump’s promise” in ending its summertime ban on the sale of E15, a richer blend of corn ethanol into gasoline than the traditional blend of 10 percent. The oil industry, in response, hinted at a possible lawsuit.
Wildlife group says ethanol mandate should be lowered
The Renewable Fuel Standard, which guarantees biofuels such as corn ethanol a share of the gasoline market, has prompted farmers to plow under wildlife habitat and has contributed to agricultural runoff, said the National Wildlife Federation on Thursday.
Ethanol exports set a record of 1.7 billion gallons
Roughly 11 percent of U.S. corn ethanol was exported in 2018, a record 1.7 billion gallons worth $2.7 billion, said ethanol trade groups on Wednesday. Exports were nearly 25 percent higher than the previous record of 1.4 billion gallons, set in the preceding year, said the groups.
Grassley wants a solo regulation for E15 by summertime
The EPA says it will approve sale of E15 — which contains 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline — before the start of the summer driving season, as promised by President Trump. To make sure the agency meets its goal, Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley said on Tuesday the EPA should propose a stripped-down regulation devoted solely to the corn-based biofuel.
A road map to feed the world and cut emissions by 2050
What will it take to feed 9.7 billion in 2050 and prevent catastrophic climate change? The short answer: a lot of work. If today's system of food production and consumption continues unimpeded, the results will be disastrous for the climate, land use, biodiversity, equity and food access, according to a report produced Wednesday by the World Resources Institute and other institutions.
EPA dropped plan to require refiners to blend more ethanol
In late June, days before it proposed a target of 15 billion gallons for U.S. consumption of corn ethanol, the EPA was ready to force refiners to blend a larger volume of biofuels into the gasoline and diesel fuel supply, reported Reuters on Wednesday.
EPA: One denial among 53 requests for waivers from biofuel mandate
On Thursday, the EPA refused to disclose to senators the names of oil companies that received “hardship” waivers that exempt small-volume refineries from having to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Farm and biofuel groups scoff at EPA’s ethanol mandate
The Renewable Fuel Standard would be set at 19.88 billion gallons in 2019, up 3 percent from this year and all for cleaner-burning "advanced" biofuels, under a proposal unveiled by Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday.
Report: EPA to propose mild increase in biofuels targets
The EPA will keep its mandate for use of corn ethanol as a gasoline additive at 15 billion gallons in 2019, while proposing higher targets for biodiesel and other advanced biofuels, said Reuters, based on two sources who were briefed on the proposal. The agency was expected to unveil within days its proposal for the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2019.
Trump okays E15, will mull whether to count ethanol exports as part of RFS
President Trump resolved two persistent questions about biofuels on Tuesday, allowing the year-round sale of higher blends of ethanol in gasoline, which will benefit corn farmers, and saying he will consider whether ethanol exports should be counted as part of the government's target for biofuels use, a step that would relieve pressure on oil refiners.
EPA: Breaking Trump’s promise or playing by the rules?
President Trump "promised to support home-grown biofuels and Administrator (Scott) Pruitt is breaking that promise," said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday following reports the EPA issued a "hardship" waiver exempting an oil refinery owned by billionaire Carl Icahn from complying with the ethanol mandate. The biofuels group Growth Energy said the waiver was "just one more example" of EPA "giving refineries everything they want."
Trump backs year-round sale of E15
President Trump outlined an initiative to help both the ethanol and petroleum industries on Thursday that includes the year-round sale of E15, a gasoline blend richer in corn ethanol than the traditional 10 percent blend.
Ethanol, ag groups raise alarm ahead of White House meeting on biofuels
Administration officials will hold their first White House meeting in a month on the Renewable Fuel Standard, as ethanol makers and corn growers fear an attack on the ethanol mandate. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said if the White House weakens the RFS, it "will be viewed as nothing less than a declaration of war on rural America and a complete abdication of [President Trump's] repeated promises to protect the RFS."
EPA could shave the RFS by a billion gallons with waivers to small refineries
The biofuel group Growth Energy called on the EPA to stop handing out waivers it says oil refiners are using to avoid complying with the federal mandate to mix corn ethanol into gasoline.
Midwest senators warn Trump against ethanol poison pill
Five corn-state senators want to meet President Trump face to face to warn him against the oil industry's proposal of a cap on the price of RINs, the credits that refiners must buy if they don't blend enough ethanol into gasoline. Oil-state senators, led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, say the cap is needed to preserve jobs at oil refineries; midwesterners say it would destroy the market for corn ethanol.