ethanol
At White House meeting, biofuels bloc promotes E15 as RFS solution
President Trump sat down with oil and ethanol leaders for the second time this week without resolving a battle over the federal mandate to mix biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley later said that “an emerging solution appears to be year-round E15.”
No deal on RFS revisions, Trump asks to meet industry officials
President Trump could meet with oil and ethanol industry officials as early as Thursday, as the White House tries to resolve complaints about the federal requirement to blend biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel. There was no agreement during a head-to-head session with four Republican senators at the center of the dispute, so the White House will "continue having conversations," said press secretary Sarah Sanders.
For second time, Trump referees oil-vs-ethanol squabble
Nearly three months ago, President Trump told oil-state and farm-state senators to find a mutually acceptable resolution to their fight over the Renewable Fuel Standard — the requirement that oil refiners mix biofuel, usually corn-based ethanol, into gasoline and diesel. Now the squabble is back in the president’s hands with a familiar set of proposals on the table for a group of senators who found them unpalatable in the past.
Cruz urges Trump to overhaul biofuels mandate
At a bankrupt Philadelphia oil refinery, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called on pro-ethanol President Trump to protect blue-collar jobs by reforming the federal biofuels mandate.
Biofuels mandate doesn’t harm refiners, says Grassley, so stop ‘misleading rhetoric’
A Philadelphia oil refinery went bankrupt due to management decisions that backfired rather than the federal biofuels mandate, which requires refiners to blend ethanol and biodiesel into the gasoline and diesel supply, says a memo written by energy policy staffers working for Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a bulldog defender of corn ethanol. The bankruptcy filing has been cited as a reason for changing the Renewable Fuel Standard, or biofuels mandate.
Pruitt says year-round E15 hinges on authority, not policy
Last fall, the EPA said it would investigate whether it has the authority to allow year-round sales of E15, a higher blend of ethanol and gasoline than the traditional 10 percent ratio. Administrator Scott Pruitt said there has been no decision yet, reported DTN/ProgressiveFarmer.
EU votes to ban biodiesel made from palm oil
The European Parliament passed a Renewable Energy Directive on Wednesday that would ban the use of biodiesel made from palm oil by 2021, citing the environmental damage caused by the fuel. Malaysia, a major palm oil producer, called the decision a trade barrier, and said it was a form of “crop apartheid” because the EU will still allow other oilseeds to be used for biofuels. (No paywall)
Biofuels groups turn thumbs down on Cruz control for RINs
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz proposed a fixed-price ethanol credit that EPA would sell at 10 cents a piece, and that refiners could use to satisfy the Renewable Fuel Standard. Biofuel makers and farm groups responded with a letter to President Trump that said there are ways to handle problems with the credits, called RINs, "without undercutting the RFS and rural America," reported DTN/Progressive Farmer.
Biofuels compromise continues to elude senators
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz “just keeps moving the goalpost and moving the goalpost,” said Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst after an inconclusive meeting between Senate and White House staff workers on the Renewable Fuel Standard, reported DTN/Progressive Farmer.
After oil-patch pitch, administration talks to Iowa senators about ethanol mandate
The Trump administration sounded out Iowa's Republican senators about a meeting to discuss the biofuels mandate and its impact on oil-producing states, says Reuters. "The effort is the clearest sign yet (President) Trump is seeking to mediate the long-running dispute between the U.S. oil industry and corn growers over the Renewable Fuel Standard, a law requiring refiners to blend increasing volumes of biofuels like corn-based ethanol every year into the nation's fuels."
U.S. attorney wants info on Icahn role in ethanol policy
The holding company Icahn Enterprises was subpoenaed for information about its founder’s attempts to change U.S. biofuel policy while he was an informal White House advisor, reported Bloomberg.
Trump tells oil-patch senators to look for a biofuel compromise
President Trump, a staunch supporter of corn ethanol, told nine senators from oil-producing states to take their complaints about federal biofuel mandates to their farm-state colleagues and find a mutually acceptable solution.
DowDuPont becomes second company to shut down a cellulosic ethanol plant
In another sign of trouble for so-called advanced biofuels, the newly created giant corporation DowDuPont stopped operations at its $225 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa, and hopes to find a buyer for the plant with a 30-million-gallon-a-year capacity, said the Des Moines Register. Last December, Abengoa Bioenergy sold its cellulosic plant in Hugoton, Kan., for pennies on the dollar as part of a bankruptcy liquidation of assets.
Trump to meet oil industry and lawmakers on biofuels mandate
President Trump will meet oil industry leaders and their congressional allies for a discussion of the biofuels mandate, reported Reuters, based on two sources. The meeting "could set the stage for negotiations to overhaul the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard," said the wire service; the industry has pressed for years to eliminate the mandate or revise its requirement to blend biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel.
ADM chief sees opportunity for U.S. ethanol in China
China's plan to move to a 10 percent blend of ethanol into its gasoline supply will be a boon for U.S. ethanol exports, said ADM chief executive Juan Luciano. Agrimoney says that Luciano told investors that China could need imports of 8 million tons a year by 2020 to satisfy the E10 target because of the nation's longer-term fuel strategy.
As expected, EPA denies change in ethanol rule sought by Icahn
The EPA rejected a petition by oil refiners to relieve them of the responsibility for blending biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel, "dealing a blow to billionaire investor Carl Icahn and oil companies that had sought the change," reports Bloomberg. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt told farm-state lawmakers a few weeks ago that the agency was unlikely to change the "point of obligation," based on its preliminary analyses.
Biofuels groups say EPA has to do more for biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt quelled midwestern protests over a potential change in course by the Trump administration, saying there would be no additional cuts in the biofuels mandate proposed for 2018. But two groups, the National Biodiesel Board and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said the government ought to raise the target for biodiesel.
Cruz says he’ll block USDA nominee until White House calls ethanol meeting
The winner of the 2016 Iowa presidential caucuses, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said he will block a confirmation vote on a key USDA nominee until President Trump convenes a meeting to hash out oil-state complaints about the Renewable Fuel Standard.