ethanol
EPA site reveals info on RFS exemptions
On Thursday, after months of complaints about undue secrecy, the EPA unveiled a modified website on the Renewable Fuel Standard that shows its decisions to exempt small-volume refineries from the mandate to mix biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel.
‘Looking for the right balance’ on ethanol, says Perdue
In the No. 1 corn and ethanol state, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a friendly farm audience on Wednesday that the Trump administration is looking to balance the needs of ethanol makers and oil refiners so that it can allow year-round sales of E15.
Wheeler ‘working very hard’ on year-round E15, says Grassley
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is “working very hard to find a solution” for the year-round sale of E15, said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley on a conference call with reporters Wednesday. Grassley also said that an earlier proposal that would allow refiners to earn the credits called RINs for exports is “no longer on the table” at the EPA.
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.
Pruitt resigns at EPA, a deregulator brought down by scandal
President Trump announced the resignation of scandal-plagued Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator on Thursday but said that the agency’s No. 2 official, Andrew Wheeler, “will continue with our great and lasting EPA agenda.”
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 signals ethanol decision to Iowa senator: ‘I did you a good favor for the farmers’
President Trump confirmed in public what was being whispered in private — that he would not allow ethanol exports to count toward meeting U.S. biofuel targets — in greeting Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst at a bill-signing ceremony on Wednesday.
Perdue hits one-year mark at USDA as ethanol warrior
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue celebrated his first year in office by testifying at a Senate hearing on the rural economy on Tuesday, where he said he would defend the ethanol mandate. "We are very concerned about the waivers" that EPA has granted to some refiners from having to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard," said Perdue. "We believe that is adequate compensation for the RIN prices."
Farm bill? Rural America doesn’t have the time.
The farm bill was the missing topic during a 45-minute session recently with farmers in southwestern Missouri, recalls Sen. Roy Blunt. "The farm bill never came up." Instead, growers talked about threats to farm exports, over-regulation and the need for rural broadband. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says low commodity prices, the slump in farm income, attacks on corn ethanol and, most of all, anxiety about a possible trade war are the top concerns in farm country. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Corn Belt senators ask EPA, who got the RFS waivers?
Pointing to reports that big oil companies have received RFS waivers intended for small-volume refiners, 13 Corn Belt senators asked EPA administrator Scott Pruitt for an accounting of the waivers and their impact on the ethanol mandate. The bipartisan group said the waivers "clearly undermine the president's long-standing support of the RFS."
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.
Five senators call for halt to EPA ethanol waivers
In a letter to President Trump, five Corn Belt senators said on Monday the EPA "is currently undermining your commitment of a 15 billion-gallon RFS." The Republican senators sent the letter on the same day White House officials were scheduled to discuss possible revisions to the ethanol mandate, which requires oil refiners to blend in the corn-based fuel.
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.
EPA’s five-month examination of year-round E15 sales
Last October, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency would investigate whether it has the authority to allow year-round sales of E15, a goal of the ethanol industry. It's still doing the research five months later and may find the answer soon, Pruitt told AgDay TV, when asked about possible changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard.
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.
USDA executive Bill Northey to be sworn into office in Des Moines
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue plans to be at the Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner in Des Moines this evening to give the oath of office to Undersecretary Bill Northey, who will oversee the crop subsidy, crop insurance and land stewardship programs. He will be fifth Trump nominee to go to work at USDA out of 13 senior positions subject to presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. "I expect to see him on Wednesday," said Deputy Secretary Steve Censky during remarks at a school nutrition conference. Censky is in charge of day-to-day operation of the USDA.
After two meetings, a pause in the White House focus on biofuels
The White House is taking a break from biofuels policy, at least temporarily, after two meetings with President Trump at the table failed to find consensus between the oil and ethanol industries. The only agreement, according to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who was part of both meetings, "was to look at economic studies" about the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard and possible changes.
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.