Renewable Fuel Standard
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.
Alternatives to RIN price cap stirring in Washington
Oil-state Sen. Ted Cruz captured President Trump's attention two weeks ago with his dramatic proposal to ease the cost of the ethanol mandate on refiners: A price cap on RINs, the credits that refiners buy if they don't blend enough biofuel into gasoline. Farm groups and ethanol makers say Cruz's idea would be a disaster for them, and now some alternative ideas are getting a hearing.
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.
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.”
Perdue says he stands with the RFS; Grassley says some schooling is needed
A farm convention audience cheered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as he declared his unequivocal support for biofuels. His speech came just a day after he participated in a White House discussion of possible revisions to the Renewable Fuel Standard.
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.
Midwestern senators try to force vote on Northey for USDA post
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz thwarted an attempt by midwestern senators for an immediate vote on the nomination of Bill Northey of Iowa to be the No. 3 official at the USDA, in charge of farm support and land stewardship programs.
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)
Iowa senators see deadlock over Northey and ethanol
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is sitting on the nomination of Bill Northey for USDA undersecretary in hopes of winning destructive changes in U.S. ethanol policy, said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley during a telephone news conference.
Report: Biodiesel driving deforestation and host of other problems at home and abroad
An investigation by activist groups Mighty Earth and ActionAid USA challenges the notion of biodiesel as the environmentally responsible fuel of the future. Burned: Deception, Deforestation and America’s Biodiesel Policy claims that growing demand for biodiesel in the U.S. contributes to a host of problems, from deforestation in Argentina and Indonesia to algae blooms in Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone.
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.
An RFS compromise? No, says Grassley. Maybe, says Perdue.
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said that he doubts there is room for a compromise with oil-state senators over the Renewable Fuel Standard, and that there had been no discussion among senators about one.
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."
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.
Serious oversupply looms for renewable diesel
The boom in renewable diesel is driving U.S. production capacity far above the market for the fuel, said agricultural economist Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois on Thursday. “It’s going to be a very ugly 2024” for refiners, said Irwin during a webinar.