Domestic Fuel

The 25th annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop was the first for Growth Energy, the ethanol industry organization formed late last year, and CEO Tom Buis was impressed with the turnout at the conference despite current economic conditions.

“I think everyone is really interested in moving forward,” Buis said. “Obviously we are going through some rough spots, economically, but I think people are optimistic and at the end of the day we will all win.”

Buis has only been on the job with Growth Energy for three months, but like the ethanol industry, his roots are in agriculture, operating a grain and livestock farm with his brothers in Indiana before moving to Washington DC and spending the past ten years with the National Farmers Union. His agricultural background allowed him to see the importance of the ethanol industry to the nation as a whole. “What we do in this industry is right,” he says. “Whether it’s creating jobs in rural America, or providing a profitable market for farmers, or revitalizing our rural communities, protecting our national security or reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Buis is very excited about the announcement made at the FEW that the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) has united with Growth Energy to become Growth Energy Market Development. “They’ve spent well over a decade working on the marketing components of ethanol, the flex-fuel vehicles and E85 pumps,” he said. “We have to deal with the legislative and policy front, but we have to deal with the marketing component as well.”

Listen to Chuck Zimmerman’s interview with Tom Buis from FEW here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.7MB)

Gen. Wesley Clark, Growth Energy, provided the keynote speech this morning at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop. He gave a very “rouse the troops” speech which shows his ability to motivate our military troops when he was in active duty.

I would characterize the theme of his remarks as targeting the importance of ethanol for our national security. He also hammers home the idea that the whole issue of food vs. fuel is nonsense and that imported foreign oil is distorting our foreign policy.

2009 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

You can listen to Gen. Clark’s opening remarks below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (13.9MB)

At the 2009 Fuel Ethanol Workshop, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) announced that it intends to unite with Growth Energy and become Growth Energy Market Development. In that role, they will continue in their 13-year mission to increase the availability of higher ethanol blends and flex fuel vehicles (FFVs). The additional resources will bolster Growth Energy’s aggressive goals to proliferate blender pumps across the country.

“For more than a decade, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition has been carrying on the important mission of increasing the availability and use of ethanol,” said Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, Co-Chairman of Growth Energy. “We are excited that they decided to join forces with us and continue that work as a part of Growth Energy.”

In existence since 1996, the NEVC has assembled a broad coalition of like-minded industry and government leaders, environmentalists and consumers, and many other organizations and individuals interested in reducing oil imports, stimulating the economy, and improving the environment. The non-profit group had 1,600 members and their employees now become part of the Growth Energy team.

Phil Lampert, who was executive director of NEVC since 1997 and is now Vice President of Market Development for Growth Energy, said, “In 1995, the year before NEVC was founded, there were 10 E85 pumps and 500 FFVs in the United States. Today, we have more than 2,000 E85 and blender pumps and more than 8 million FFVs. As part of Growth Energy, I look forward to working with a wide variety of supportive groups and individuals to double or triple those numbers in the next few years.”

NEVC is the second ethanol association to become part of Growth Energy. The first was the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council which combined with Growth Energy late last year.

Representatives from ethanol organizations and companies testified before the House Agriculture Committee this morning on proposed low carbon fuel standards.

The heads of three ethanol trade associations all presented basically the same message when it comes to using indirect land use changes (ILUC) to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions of renewable fuels – it is unproven theory that should not be used.

"The architect of the ILUC theory is Mr. Tim Searchinger," said American Coalition for Ethanol executive director Brian Jennings. "Mr. Searchinger is not a scientist or an economist. He is an attorney, who for most of his career worked at the environmental organization Environmental Defense, consistently attacking American farmers and ranchers and the public policies that ensure our stable supply of food, fiber and fuel."

Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, said they would support ILUC if it were done correctly. "First, it should apply equally to all transportation fuels. Second, it should be based on universally accepted science and economic modeling. Third, the international land use requirement should be eliminated," Buis said. "The low carbon fuel standard proposals at the state and federal level that we have reviewed do not meet these two requirements. Oddly, science and parity have not been part of the equation – which makes us seriously question the motivation."

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says the modeling being used to determine indirect land use is simply not good science. "The tremendous uncertainty and inherent lack of transparency associated with analysis of international indirect land use changes makes it extremely difficult for regulators to legitimately use these results to assign penalties for international indirect effects to the carbon score of various biofuels," Dinneen said. "Models should be seen as learning tools, not truth machines."

Dinneen also said they believe the EPA’s lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis of ethanol is not what Congress intended in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) which specifically limited such consideration of indirect emissions to those "related to the full fuel lifecycle, including all stages of fuel and feedstock production and distribution" – not food production.

Testimony also centered on the impact ILUC calculations could have on the future development of advance biofuels. "In my view, there are not, and will not be, any “significant” indirect impacts from advanced biofuels production – the literal test required by the terms of EISA," said Verenium president and CEO Carlos Riva. "Because there is zero commercial-scale production of such fuels today, and there are only trivial quantities of advanced biofuels production in prospect in the immediate 3-5 year time horizon. We have the time to get this right, and we must get it right." He encouraged the panel to recommend modifications to EPA's proposed rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency is allowing another 60 days for comments on the proposal to allow an increase in the amount of ethanol that can be blended into regular gasoline.

The original public comment period was to end on May 21 and will now end on July 20. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said, "We are aware of over 10,000 Americans who have already voiced their support for a higher blend of ethanol in our fuel supply and this extension makes it possible for thousands more to participate."

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Bob Dickey said the extension will give farmers behind on planting more time to get comments submitted. "Because of the importance of this issue to America’s farmers and the pressing need to get our crops in the ground, we asked EPA to extend the time for comments from 30 to 90 days. Our growers need this extra time to be full participants in this important public policy process," he said.

The current limit on the amount of ethanol that can be blended into a gallon of gasoline is at ten volume percent ethanol (E10) for conventional (non flex-fuel) vehicles. Growth Energy and 54 ethanol manufacturers submitted the E15 waiver application on March 6, and EPA must make a decision by December 1, 2009.

Corn growers and ethanol producers have joined forces for a new ad campaign stressing how corn-based ethanol gets biofuels right. The campaign includes a full-page ad running in Politico, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

The print ad stresses important facts about corn and ethanol, such as the increase in yields over the last 20 years, the decrease in the amount of energy used to produce corn and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions, and that using ethanol helps cut GHG by up to 59 percent.

Collaborating with the National Corn Growers Association on the advertisement are Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

See the ad here.

Growth Energy Co-Chairman Gen. Wesley Clark will present the keynote address at the 25th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) & Expo. Clark is expected to follow Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, who has been invited to give the FEW welcome address.

The FEW conference will take place June 15-18 in Denver, Colorado. The focus of the conference will be on commercial-scale ethanol production, new technology, and near-term research and development. FEW expects more than 700 booths at their expo and boasts that they are the world’s largest, longest-running ethanol conference.

After opening remarks and a welcome, the conference will be in full swing. A few of the sessions will include the following: The Future of Ethanol Production in America — Part 1: The Next Three Years; The Future of Ethanol Production in America — Part 2: 2012 and Beyond; and Cellulosic Ethanol Project Development.

For more information on FEW, go to http://www.fuelethanolworkshop.com/.

Ethanol seems to have hit a bit of wall. While it has been great for mixing with regular unleaded gasoline at a 10 percent blend, the industry wants to up that amount to 15 percent, overcoming what is being called a “blending wall” that is keeping the green fuel from growing beyond its current levels.

While some might worry what 15 percent ethanol would do to their engines, ethanol advocates, such as Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy… an advocacy group for ethanol… says America’s drivers can rely on higher blends of ethanol even in non-flex fuel vehicles without worrying about damage to engines and pipes.

The federal government is considering changing the rules to allow the higher blend. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed raising the amount to 15 percent and is looking for comments about that idea. The comment period is currently until May 21st, but several ethanol groups are asking to extend that for 60 days. The American Coalition for Ethanol has a petition here that you can sign to encourage the upping of the ethanol blend.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel podcast, you’ll hear from several of these groups pushing for the change, including Bob Dinneen, President of the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association first vice president Darrin Ihnen and Jessica Bennett, Director of Public Policy at NCGA, Buis with Growth Energy, as well as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Pretty interesting conversation and you can here it hear: DFCast-5-08-09.mp3

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

You can find more information about the proposed rule change at the Growth Energy Web site.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.6MB)

Corn ethanol seems to have made out better than expected in the proposed rulemaking for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) announced this week by the Obama administration, mainly because it allows the industry to provide more input regarding indirect land use impacts.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is pleased with President Obama’s commitment to the biofuels industry by the creation of the Biofuels Interagency Working Group and they hope that will help to inject more reason into the indirect land use debate.

“In our conversations with the Environmental Protection Agency, we understand that there is a great deal of work that needs to be done on modeling and a great effort that needs to be put into using current and correct data regarding indirect land use,” said NCGA President Bob Dickey. “NCGA will be working closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and EPA to ensure scientific data is used.”

Making the announcement about the RFS Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated that corn ethanol will continue to play a role in the development of renewable fuels for the nation. “EISA calls for investments in corn based ethanol, much of it grown in rural America and the Midwest, as well as a swift transition to advanced cellulosic ethanol,” said Jackson. “Working together we can have true energy independence, put billions of dollars back into our communities and create green jobs for rural communities across the nation.”

When pressed by reporters for details about how corn ethanol fits into the RFS, Jackson noted that 15 billion gallons of ethanol production are “grandfathered in” under EISA, most of which is corn ethanol. “Corn based ethanol is a bridge, it’s an extraordinarily important bridge, but it is a bridge to the next generation of biofuels,” said Jackson. In answer to another question, Jackson said, “This proposal lays out a number of pathways for us to include corn based ethanol” and she noted that EPA’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions calculations indicate that ethanol is “16 percent better than gasoline.”

Regarding indirect land use analysis, Jackson said they are specifically seeking scientific peer review on a number of factors, including “the satellite data used to project future land use changes, the land conversion greenhouse gas emissions factors, the estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from foreign crops, the methods to account for variable timing of greenhouse gas emissions, and the issue of how our models are used together to provide overall lifecycle greenhouse gas estimates.”

The ethanol industry is unanimous in its praise for the actions announced today by the Obama administration with regard to the future development of biofuels under the Renewable Fuels Standard and the creation of a Biofuels Interagency Working Group.

During a press conference immediately following the announcement, Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen said, “The president has sent an incredibly important signal today that biofuels are going to be a key component in his strategy to address energy, economic and environmental challenges. This is a positive step forward for the industry.”

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the comprehensive plan announced today will decrease dependence on foreign oil, create American jobs and cut greenhouse gas emissions. “America’s ethanol producers stand ready to help the president, and his working group, meet their ambitious goals,” said Buis.

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Executive Vice President Brian Jennings said they are grateful to President Obama for outlining how biofuels will continue to play an integral role in our nation’s economic and energy security policy. “Importantly, the President’s directive will ensure that science – not politics – determine the future of biofuels, which will surely disappoint opponents of ethanol whose PR campaign has been designed to destroy public policy support for ethanol,” Jennings said.

All groups were also pleased that EPA committed to further study the controversial theory of indirect land use change before finalizing the greenhouse gas emissions scores for biofuels. Dinneen says “just comparing apples to apples” the direct effects of ethanol production show a better than 60 percent better improvement over petroleum. “Trying to evaluate indirect effects, particularly international indirect effects, is highly dependent on assumptions used and data available and there is a great deal of uncertainty about this,” said Dinneen.

Furthermore, Buis said that indirect land use change as currently proposed doesn’t allow an accurate comparison of fuels because it doesn’t include the indirect effects of other fuels. “To include indirect effects in regulations without even considering the indirect effects of other fuels would unfairly bias those regulations against biofuels,” said Buis.

Jennings said they encourage the Interagency Working Group to require fossil fuels undergo the same lifecycle analysis that has been imposed on biofuels, “an evaluation which will show that future sources of oil are going to have some serious consequences for the environment, while future sources of biofuel are going to be even better and more sustainable than they are already.”

See EPA’s proposed rule for the RFS here.

Ethanol interests are expressing their disappointment in this week’s ruling by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to adopt a low carbon fuel standard that uses controversial methods to determine indirect land use changes attributable to biofuels.

“Adopting this standard sets a dangerous precedent about the application of unproven science to industries across the country,” said Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. “This standard is based on flawed analysis and selectively enforced penalties against biofuels only. In unfairly penalizing ethanol, ARB is relegating California to more petroleum use as biofuels are the only viable alternative liquid fuel.”

General Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy agrees. “This was a poor decision, based on shaky science, not only for California, but for the nation. It is unfair to selectively single out the indirect effects of one fuel pathway while ignoring the significant indirect effects of all other fuels, including petroleum. (This) decision puts another road block in moving away from dependence on fossil fuels and stifles development of the emerging cellulosic industry.”

In issuing the decision, RFA notes that the Board also voted to form an expert work group which may still provide an opportunity to improve the standard. “Forming such a group is a clear signal that several important questions regarding the science and methodology used to develop and implement this standard remain unanswered,” said Dinneen.

A press release by Growth Energy highlights a new study that shows greenhouse gas emissions of gasoline from foreign oil are at least twice what was previously thought when the indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to military operations in the Middle East are taken into account. The study is published in “Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining”.

The study comes as indirect GHG emissions has been made a major issue by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) as it prepares to approve regulations for its Low Carbon Fuel Standard. In a CARB staff report submitted to the board for adoption, biofuels are the only fuel that has indirect effects included in their carbon accounting. Despite this new study, no indirect effects are included for petroleum-based fuels. Critics of California’s regulations have argued that applying an indirect penalty to biofuels is unfair as it sets different standards for determining a fuel’s carbon intensity. California currently imports more than 45 percent of its oil from foreign sources.

“This research is the latest example of significant indirect sources of greenhouse gas emissions that the ARB has either overlooked or ignored. It is incomprehensible that ARB staff would suggest penalizing biofuels for indirect effects, when it is clear gasoline – ethanol’s primary competitor – has a whole host of indirect effects that have not been accounted for,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “In light of this important research, ARB has to delay the adoption of an indirect penalty for biofuels until the indirect effects of all other fuel pathways have been determined so that the Low Carbon Fuel Standard is fair and equitable.”

To view the entire study, click here.

All eyes in the ethanol industry are on California today as the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) is hearing arguments and preparing to vote on a controversial staff proposal for the state’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS).

Hundreds of scientists, biofuel producers, including both current and next generation companies, and petroleum interests have all cautioned that ARB’s approach is far outpacing the available science to support their recommendations.

There is a glimmer of hope that all the input being provided is being heard by officials making the decision, according to a letter received this week by Growth Energy from board chairperson Mary Nichols.

Regarding concerns that the proposed LCFS is biased against corn ethanol, Nichols wrote that the ARB “firmly believes that corn ethanol will play an important role in helping California achieve the goals of the LCFS.” The letter also stated:

The LCFS supports the market for corn ethanol in California over the next decade at least. In the next few years, based on representations from the renewable fuels industry and others, we expect the market to shift to lower carbon biofuels produced from new materials using advanced production technologies. I also wanted to make you aware that I am asking the Board to take the following three additional steps to ensure that low-carbon biofuels, including low-carbon corn ethanol can continue to contribute to California’s economy, and in helping fuel suppliers reach the standard.

The board is expected to issue a ruling on Friday after hearing arguments.

On the eve of Earth Day 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency began accepting public comment on the waiver request to raise the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline from 10 percent to up to 15 percent.

Citing the Earth Day connection, waiver petitioner Growth Energy urged Americans to support the increased use of clean, green ethanol by submitting comments supporting the request. According to Growth Energy, moving from the current ten percent blend up to a 15 percent blend could reduce an additional 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year – a reduction equal to removing 3.5 million vehicles from the road.

“As citizens and policymakers alike work to green our planet, ethanol represents among the best solutions to fuel our country’s environmental sustainability, economic growth and energy independence,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “Growth Energy encourages all Americans to stand with us in support of ethanol by making your voice heard to the EPA.”

Written comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0211, must be received within 30 days of today’s publication date. More information can be found on-line from EPA.

Nine cellulosic ethanol companies have sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in support of the Green Jobs waiver that would increase ethanol used with gasoline from 10 percent to up to 15 percent.

The companies – Edenspace Systems Corporation, ICM, LanzaTech Inc., POET, Qteros, Inc., Range Fuels, Red Shield Acquisition LLC, and ZeaChem – assert that removing the regulatory cap of 10 percent “will ensure the product market necessary to encourage continued investment in the commercialization of advanced biofuels.”

Ethanol offers a practical solution to fuel our country’s environmental sustainability, economic growth and energy independence. As we invest in the near term deployment of advanced biofuels, grain-based ethanol production is an important foundation upon which scientists and producers have begun to build. As we move from making ethanol from corn, to also producing it from agricultural waste, wood chips and other biomass materials, ethanol will continue to be a sustainable and effective energy solution for the U.S. and the world.

Read the full letter here.