Domestic Fuel

A widely respected public opinion research firm had some good news for the ethanol industry at the National Ethanol Conference Wednesday.

In a poll commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and conducted by American Viewpoint, 64 percent of adults polled said they supported the RFS, while just 25 percent are opposed.

Presenting her findings during a luncheon address at NEC, American Viewpoint president Linda DiVall said, “The ethanol industry has a compelling narrative to advance to consumers — it significantly reduces greenhouse gases, lowers our dependence on foreign oil, creates quality jobs, reduces fuel costs for Americans, and is serving to advance further innovations in renewable fuels.”

DiVall came up with four positive message components for the ethanol industry to utilize – green energy (targeting women and younger adults), oil companies still receive subsidies, ethanol creates jobs and reduces gas prices, and finally – call it a biofuel instead of ethanol. “Biofuel is seen as a more futuristic energy source than saying the word ethanol,” she said. “There are very positive images associated with biofuels.”

Listen to DiVall explain in this interview: Linda DiVall at NEC 2013

2013 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

2013 NEC Golf Tournament Photo Album

The mantra of the U.S. ethanol industry should be “Don’t Mess with the RFS,” according to Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen.

Addressing 1,100 participants in the National Ethanol Conference in Las Vegas today, Dinneen said, “The state of the ethanol industry can be summed up in five words: under siege and fighting back.”

“American ethanol is engaged in a Battle for the Barrel,” said Dinneen. “The stakes are high; our adversaries are well-funded; and our challenges are legion.”

Expressing optimism for the future of American biofuels, Dinneen said, “The nay-sayers keep writing obituaries for cellulosic ethanol. But the real news is that, in 2012, the first commercial cellulose plant was completed and several others began construction. Ineos in Florida is producing cellulosic ethanol today. From Abengoa in Kansas to ZeaChem in Oregon, the future of the ethanol industry can now be seen.”

“The real story of 2012 isn’t that, sometimes, we got knocked down. The real story is that we kept on bouncing back,” said Dinneen.

Read his speech here, listen to or download below.
RFA CEO Bob Dinneen at NEC 2013

2013 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

2013 NEC Golf Tournament Photo Album

A new face at the National Ethanol Conference this year is Wade Hunt, student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was the winner of this year’s NEC scholarship award, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF), which offers college students the opportunity to attend the conference each year.

“I’m definitely using this conference to learn more about the opportunities in the industry,” said Hunt, who will be graduating this May with a degree in chemical engineering. “Alternative energy and renewable fuels have always been big interests of mine.” His senior project is to develop a packed bed reactor for the production of biodiesel.

Hunt is pictured here with Mike Jerke, chairman of the RFF and general manager of Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Minnesota. “What we look for is somebody who has a passion, an interest for some facet of the industry,” said Jerke, who says that includes a variety of areas such as research, management and communications. “It’s just a reflection of the broad array of career possibilities in our industry.”

The Renewable Fuels Foundation was created in 1981 as the education and research arm of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). This is the fourth consecutive year the scholarship has been available to students in higher education with a focus on renewable fuels and intending to pursue a career in the industry.

Listen to my interviews with Wade and Mike below:

RFF Chairman Mike Jerke

2013 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

2013 NEC Golf Tournament Photo Album

The weather is fabulous here in Las Vegas for the 18th National Ethanol Conference.

About 100 of the attendees took part in the annual golf tournament under blue skies with the mountains as a backdrop. Pictured are Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen, Big River Resources general manager Jim Leiting, and Chris Standlee with Abengoa Bioenergy.

The conference officially kicks off this evening with the opening reception, with general sessions tomorrow and Thursday. Domestic Fuel is covering both the ethanol and biodiesel conferences this week in Vegas – first time the two have been held at the same time.

Golf tournament photos have been uploaded and are now available for viewing or downloading here.

2013 NEC Golf Tournament Photo Album

USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager is optimistic about the future of biofuels.

“When faced with an economic challenge, rural Americans came up with an economic solution and developed a biofuels industry,” Tonsager said in an interview after speaking to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. “My belief is, as time goes along and we’re faced with challenging circumstances again, people will come up with solutions again.”

Tonsager sees success coming in the cellulosic biofuels world which should begin to demonstrate its economic viability as well. “We’ve got a lot of challenges in ethanol,” he said. “But the industry is stepping up and fighting and I think that is an extremely positive sign.”

Listen to an interview with Tonsanger here: USDA Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager

IRFA Renewable Fuels Summit Photo Album

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis told attendees at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week that the biofuels industry needs to meet the challenges ahead and keep moving forward.

“We have our challenges, but we have our opportunities,” Buis said in an interview after his speech, noting that the industry can expect continued attacks on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “We’re not just doing to play defense, we’re going to go on the offense.”

That includes the industry coalition Fuels America, which is working to combat the weekly assaults on the RFS by detractors. Buis says the RFS is the “best energy policy this nation’s passed in the last 40 years and we shouldn’t give up on it the fifth year into a 15 year program.”

Listen to interview with Buis here: Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis

IRFA Renewable Fuels Summit Photo Album

The American Petroleum Institute hailed today’s circuit court ruling to “vacate the 2012 cellulosic biofuel standard” as a “decision to end mandate for non-existent biofuels.” Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says it is not.

“The mandate for cellulosic ethanol is not ended by this decision by any way shape or form,” said Dinneen, calling API’s characterization “the height of deception.”

Dinneen explains that the court decision simply means that EPA has to have better justification for cellulosic biofuel target numbers under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “They couldn’t create an incentive for investment,” he said. “All they can do is make a clear headed decision on what is likely to be produced.”

In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Dinneen talks about how the petroleum industry is very afraid of the potential of cellulosic biofuels to take over a greater percentage of the gasoline market. “They’re not happy about having lost 10% of the barrel,” Dinneen says. “They are apoplectic about the potential of losing even more of it to cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels.”

Listen to or download the Ethanol Report here: Ethanol Report on Cellulosic Court Ruling

Subscribe to “The Ethanol Report” with this link.

The ethanol by-product and livestock feed known as distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is now officially recognized as a non-hazardous cargo by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The official IMO classification became final and mandatory under the code of the International Maritime Organization on Jan. 1, 2013, after action by the U.S. Grains Council on behalf of its member organizations like the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

“While DDGS have effectively been shipped as a non-hazardous cargo for years now, the final classification by the IMO is an important success which will benefit corn farmers across the country,” said NCGA President Pam Johnson. “This status provides additional assurance that DDGS buyers and producers can access the lower freight rates assessed for non-hazardous cargo. U.S. farmers work diligently to ensure at every point in the process that we continue to provide the stable, consistent, quality product that our export markets expect.”

The classification provides savings in the form of lower freight costs which, in turn, increase the return to ethanol plants producing the high quality feed ingredient. Exports of DDGS from the United States have increased tremendously in recent years.

If you want to spend a day next week with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, author and energy security expert Anne Korin, Growth Energy President Tom Buis and USDA Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager – today is the last day of pre-registration for the 7th Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on January 30 in Altoona.

Registration is free and you can register on site, but Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Managing Director Lucy Norton says it’s good to know about how many people will be attending. “It’s open to the general public,” said Norton. “We encourage everyone to come out and hear more and learn more about renewable fuels.”

Much of the summit is focused on the importance of renewable fuels to Iowa, one of the leading states in the production of both ethanol and biodiesel. “The summit is the way that the renewable fuels industry gets the word out on renewable fuels and what it means to the state economy, for the federal economy,” Norton said, noting that both Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will be at the event this year.

Norton says the Iowa RFA will be encouraging attendees to sign a letter to Chrysler. “We are asking Chrysler to follow suit with General Motors and Ford and approve their vehicles for the use of E15,” she said.

Find out more about what is in store at the 2013 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in this interview: Lucy Norton with Iowa RFA

Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit information and registration.

The Agriculture Energy Coalition (AgEC) today urged Congress to begin work on a new five-year Farm Bill with strong mandatory funding for energy programs.

The coalition notes that programs included in the farm bill Energy Title including the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP) and Biobased Markets Program (Biopreferred) have helped create jobs and economic growth in rural America, develop new agricultural markets, and improve farmers’ and ranchers’ energy self-sufficiency.

“Farm energy programs have paid a tremendous return for rural Americans, in terms of new jobs, investments in new energy efficiency and bioenergy technology, and new biobased products,” said Lloyd Ritter, Agriculture Energy Coalition co-director. “Economic growth and job opportunities in rural America are at risk without a renewal of funding for these effective programs.”

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the 2008 Farm Bill without funding for energy title programs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) re-introduced the five-year farm bill passed by the Senate last year, calling it a “revolutionary piece of legislation.” The House failed to pass a farm bill last year.

Delegates for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) last week voted overwhelmingly to support continuation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), despite the fact that membership in the organization includes a substantial percentage of livestock producers.

“The livestock guys still have concerns about high feed costs, and I’m one of them, I’m a beef producer,” said AFBF president Bob Stallman. “On the other hand, we have this renewable fuels infrastructure that’s in place, a very large industry that employs lots of people and provides a market for a lot of products, so we need to be very careful not to have policies trying to dismantle that.”

There were 362 voting delegates at the 94th AFBF Annual meeting in Nashville last week representing every crop and livestock sector in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. The policies approved at the annual meeting will guide the nation’s largest general farm organization in its legislative and regulatory efforts throughout 2013.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has joined forces with a group of Iowa businesses and organizations to form a coalition supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Representatives of the newly-formed Iowa RFS Coalition sent a letter to President Obama today thanking him for his unwavering support of the RFS and asking him to continue supporting agriculture and renewable fuels throughout his second term.

“The Iowa RFS Coalition will stand with your Administration and the Iowa Congressional delegation to defend the RFS from false attacks,” the letter reads. “With your support, this vital policy will continue to thrive for the next decade unlocking cleaner, cheaper domestic fuel choices for American consumers.”

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Policy Director Grant Menke stated, “With efforts to eliminate the RFS at peak intensity, the Iowa RFS Coalition looks forward to working with the President and the Iowa delegation to protect the RFS in 2013. Together, we will move forward for fuel choice.”

Current members of the Iowa RFS Coalition are DuPont, Iowa Biodiesel Board, Iowa Biotechnology Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Iowa Soybean Association, Monsanto and Syngenta. The Iowa RFS Coalition will continue to welcome new members throughout 2013.

Read more from Iowa RFA.

As the world’s Agriculture Minister’s gather in Berlin at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is calling on ministers to include biofuels for agricultural investment and to improve food security in the world’s most impoverished areas.

“It has been shown that developing a biofuels industry can attract significant agricultural investment to the countries that need it most.” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance. “Unlike crude oil nations who are prosperous because of their geographic location, a biofuels industry can be developed anywhere because of the wide array of feedstocks. This means any state, especially developing countries, can advance their economy by becoming a biofuel capital.”

The GFFA is an international political event that includes high level discussions focused on the central issues regarding the future of the global agri-food industry. This year’s topic for the International GFFA Panel Discussion is “Responsible investment in the food and agriculture sectors – A key factor for food security and rural development.”

The ethanol industry will help Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack kick off his second term in the Obama administration when he visits the 18th Annual National Ethanol Conference of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) next month in Las Vegas. Vilsack was also the keynote speaker at the 2012 ethanol conference.

“We congratulate Secretary Vilsack as he begins his second term. He is a well-spoken, highly credible voice for the Obama Administration and for American renewable fuels. As only a former Governor and current Secretary could do, he speaks eloquently about the importance of energy independence from foreign oil, investment in the next generation of biofuels, and the powerful role the ethanol industry plays in rural economic development. We are honored to host him at the National Ethanol Conference,” said Bob Dinneen, RFA President and CEO.

The National Ethanol Conference will be held February 5-7 in Las Vegas and a $100 discount on early registration is still available until January 19.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today denied petitions for rehearing in the case of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, et al. v. EPA, which challenges the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to allowing commercial sales of 15% ethanol (E15).

“Today’s order leaves in place an earlier decision by the Court denying challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to allow for E15 to enter the U.S. market,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis of the action, which he calls a “major victory for the renewable fuels industry and opens the door for further investment in new fueling technology to offer E15 to consumers.”

In January 2011, EPA approved E15 for use in cars and trucks made in 2001 or later. The Grocery Manufacturers and other groups, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), challenged the approval contending the E15 will cause harm to motor vehicle engines. The organizations also continue to challenge the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). During a media conference call today, officials with API called the RFS “unworkable” and said they would “like to see complete repeal” of the law.

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen refuted those comments in a statement calling the RFS “a proven success.”

“It is a highly flexible, effective, proven energy policy,” said Dinneen. “API knows this to be a fact which is why they are continually running to the courts and Congress to kill it. The RFS is stimulating investment in next generation ethanol which is coming to fruition before our eyes. The RFS is also driving the marketplace beyond ethanol’s use as an ‘additive’, which was a fundamental objective of the program. Higher ethanol blends, from E15 to E85, will be key to providing consumers the choice at the pump they want and the relief for the wallet they need. E15 and E85 are available right here, right now and Big Oil doesn’t like it.”