ethanol
EPA pushing biofuel use through the 10 percent blend wall
The EPA proposal for the 2017 biofuels mandate would drive consumption of renewable fuels by at least half-a-billion gallons above the traditional rate of a 10 percent blend into the gasoline supply, say U-Illinois economists Scott Irwin and Darrel Good. The petroleum industry has argued the fuel market is saturated at the 10 percent rate.
Trump says he’ll ask Iowa governor for ethanol advice
Businessman Donald Trump says he will look to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad for advice on ethanol, a favorite fuel in farm country but under perennial attack as a boondoggle, reported the Des Moines Register. Branstad "is a tremendous guy and a friend of mine, and we're going to talk about it," Trump said at a news conference in North Dakota ahead of a speech on energy policy.
EPA proposes 5-percent increase in biofuels mandate
In a step that pleased no one, the EPA proposed a small increase in the biofuels share of the gasoline market for 2017. The overall target for biofuels would rise to 18.8 billion gallons, up by 700 million gallons from this year, with corn ethanol earmarked for 14.8 billion gallons, a 300 million-gallon increase.
Contested primary is all about ethanol, says Rep. King
Seven-term U.S. Rep. Steve King says ethanol is the root cause of the challenge he faces in the Republican primary election to represent northwestern Iowa in the U.S. House. During the "Iowa Press" program on Iowa Public Television, King said it was a "a fair statement" that he attracted opposition because he supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the presidential caucuses.
Iowa company builds first large-scale corn ethanol plant in Brazil
Summit Agricultural Group, based in north-central Iowa, is building a 60 million-gallon corn ethanol plant in Mato Grosso, the largest corn and soybean producing state in Brazil, says DTN.
Iowa congressman, backer of ethanol critic Cruz, draws primary challenge
Seven-term Rep. Steve King, a rock-ribbed Iowa conservative, is being challenged in the Republican primary by state Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City in a contest where ethanol may be the elephant in the room.
Ethanol still an export winner thanks to biofuels mandates
Thanks to the prolonged decline of petroleum prices, gasoline costs less than ethanol nowadays. But the upside-down situation is not likely to impair exports, says Good in an article at farmdoc daily.
At ethanol industry meeting, it’s all about the octane
The U.S. produced a record 14.7 billion gallons of corn ethanol last year, notwithstanding the dispute over the federal biofuels mandate and perennial jostling with the oil industry for market share.
Rural Iowans helped Cruz win Republican caucus
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican winner of Iowa's presidential caucuses, drew a larger share of the vote from rural counties than billionaire Donald Trump or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, reports the Daily Yonder.
Cruz wins Iowa caucus with ethanol as backseat issue
With the support of evangelical conservatives, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won Iowa's Republican presidential caucus with a plurality of 28 percent despite the efforts of the ethanol industry to help a friendlier candidate to victory.
Abengoa may sell U.S. ethanol plants
The Spanish energy company Abengoa "will seek to sell its biofuel business as part of a debt restructuring plan to avoid bankruptcy," reports Bloomberg.
‘The trouble with Iowa’
Leading into the Feb. 1 precinct caucuses that begin the presidential nomination process, Harper's says in a cover story that "it seems to defy reason" that Iowa, a farm state with a population of 3 million, "should play such an out-sized role. But Iowa is not over. In fact, it may be more relevant than ever."
Challenge to biofuel mandate in the offing
Farm, biofuel and biotech groups petitioned the U.S. appeals court in Washington to hear a challenge to the EPA's relaxation of the renewable fuel mandate for this year, reports DTN.
Biggest food and farming stories of 2015 will roll into next year
Looking back on 2015, editors at FERN listed more a dozen newsworthy stories from the year that could have lasting effects. Here's a look at them, starting with half a dozen top-tier developments, including the FDA's approval of the first genetically engineered animal.
Iowa Republicans like the oil industry as much as ethanol
A Des Moines Register survey of people planning to attend the Iowa precinct caucuses on Feb 1 found strong support for the ethanol mandate - not a surprising result considering that Iowa is No 1 in corn and ethanol production. When asked if they supported the Renewable Fuels Standard, which requires use of ethanol and other biofuels, 77 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans said yes. Republicans were just as supportive of the oil industry.
Ethanol makers ask EPA for rules change to aid E15
An ethanol trade group says the EPA can open the door to year-round sales of E15 - a 15 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline - and the eventual use of even higher blends such as E20 or E25 if it would "eliminate an arcane regulatory barrier."
Cellulosic ethanol plant shuttered in biofuels setback
Spanish energy company Abengoa, caught in a financial crisis, has shut down its cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas, after little more than a year of operation, reports Kansas Agland.
U.S. ethanol output down 5 percent in a week
The Energy Department said ethanol production fell by a record-matching 5.2 percent, to 956,000 barrels a day last week, a far larger decline than expected by traders, said Agrimoney.
USDA grant money to boost sales of higher-blend biofuels
The Biden administration awarded $90.3 million in grants to projects in 26 states, from California to Connecticut, to install blender pumps, storage tanks, and other equipment for the sale of fuels, such as E15, with higher-than-usual blends of biofuels, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. With the grants, the USDA has used $221 million of the $500 available through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program.