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EIA: Ethanol Production Expected to Increase Slightly in 2018

Ethanol Producer Magazine

January 13, 2017

By Erin Voegele

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released the January edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting ethanol production will average approximately 1 million barrels per day in 2017, increasing slightly to 1.02 million gallons per day in 2018. In 2016, production averaged 1 million barrels per day. In its December STEO, the EIA predicted ethanol production would average only 990,000 barrels per day in 2016, increasing to 1 million barrels per day in 2017.

On a quarterly basis, ethanol production is expected to average 1 million barrels per day during the first and second quarters of 2017, increasing to 1.02 million barrels per day during the third quarter, and falling to 1 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter. In 2018, ethanol production is expected to be at 1.03 million barrels per day during the first quarter, falling to 1.02 million barrels per day during the second and third quarters, and falling to 990,000 barrels per day during the fourth quarter.

Ethanol consumption averaged approximately 940,000 barrels per day last year, and is expected to be maintained at that level in 2017. In 2018, ethanol consumption is expected to increase to 950,000 barrels per day. According to the EIA, this level of consumption results in the ethanol share of the total gasoline pool averaging approximately 10 percent in both 2017 and 2018. Only marginal increases in higher-level ethanol blends are assumed to occur during the STEO forecast period.

Biodiesel production averaged 99,000 barrels per day in 2016 and is expected to increase to an average of 104,000 barrels per day this year and 111,000 barrels per day next year. Net imports of biomass-based diesel are expected to increase from 47,000 barrels per day in 2016 to 51,000 barrels per day in 2017 and 57,000 barrels per day in 2018.

Within the STEO, the EIA predicts U.S. regular gasoline retail prices will increase from an average of $2.25 per gallon in December to $2.31 per gallon during the first quarter of 2017. Overall, gasoline prices are forecast to average $2.38 per gallon this year, increasing to $2.41 per gallon in 2018.

The EIA’s most recently weekly ethanol production data shows a new record was set the week ending Jan. 6, with production reaching an average of 1.049 million barrels per day. The most recent monthly import data shows the U.S. imported only 31,000 barrels of ethanol in September, all from Brazil. In October, the U.S. exported nearly 3.14 million barrels of ethanol, with top export destinations of Brazil, Canada and India.

Read the original story: EIA: Ethanol Production Expected to Increase Slightly in 2018

New UN Report Shows Food vs Fuel Fallacy

January 16, 2017

By Cindy Zimmerman

A new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) finds that food prices declined for the fifth year in a row in 2016, down 1.5 percent from 2015. That included a steady decline in cereal prices- which includes maize or corn – which fell 9.6 percent from 2015 and were down 39 percent from their 2011 peak.

At the same time last year, the U.S. ethanol industry set records for both production and exports, and the final 2016 corn harvest is estimated at 15.1 billion bushels, 11% higher than 2015.

“The FAO news clearly demonstrates that increased ethanol and corn production has not driven up food prices,” said Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen, who notes that U.S. ethanol production will use just 2.95% of global grain supplies, the lowest in six years. “As yet another analysis has found, it’s time to put an end to the demonstrably false ‘food vs fuel’ myth that our opponents inexplicably continue to pass off as fact. There is more than enough corn to both feed and fuel the world.”

Dinneen said the FAO report backs up findings of a recent analysis commissioned by the RFA, which found that retail food prices were “not impacted in any demonstrable way by expansion of U.S. grain ethanol production under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) over the past decade.”

Read the original story: New UN Report Shows Food vs Fuel Fallacy

Gevo Releases Operational Update, Achieves EPA Pathway Approval

Biomass Magazine

January 10, 2017

By Erin Voegele

On Jan. 9, Gevo Inc. published an update describing fourth quarter operations at its Luverne, Minnesota, biorefinery. The U.S. EPA also recently released a notice approving a fuel pathway for the plant regarding the production of butanol from corn and sorghum.

In its update, Gevo indicated the Luverne plant produced approximately 190,000 gallons of isobutanol during the final three months of 2016, achieving the highest quarterly production level in the company’s history. Based on results measured across the final six weeks of the quarter, Gevo said it demonstrated an isobutanol production capacity of approximately 1.5 million gallons per year. For the full year 2016, isobutanol production reached approximately 440,000 gallons.

According to Gevo, it also produced a record number of batches during the quarter since switching the plant to the side-by-side model of production, achieving its targeted back-to-back five-day turnaround batch times over much of the three-month period. In addition to butanol, 2.8 million gallons of ethanol was produced during the fourth quarter.

Gevo also noted it surpassed production cost targets for butanol and demonstrated variable costs of production of less than the targeted $3:00-3:50 per gallon.

In its statement, Gevo announced the Luverne plant was taken offline on Dec. 21 to perform unplanned necessary repairs and maintenance on certain components of the plant’s regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO). As of Jan. 9, the plant remained offline, as the company said it decided to make further upgrades to the RTO, which was installed approximately 10 years ago. The facility is expected to be back online within the next two weeks.

Also in early January, the EPA posted a notice to its website announcing the agency has approved a fuel pathway filed by Gevo for the production of butanol from corn starch and grain sorghum. The pathway approval applies to both D5 advanced biofuel and D6 renewable fuel renewable identification numbers (RINs).

Within the approval, the EPA states that Gevo’s butanol produced from corn starch feedstocks appears to already qualify under an existing pathway for the production of D6 RINs, assuming the company satisfies the pathway specifications and other requirements specified in the Clean Air Act and regulations. The EPA also said it has determined that butanol produced by the Luverne facility from grain sorghum feedstock can also qualify for D-code 6 RINs, and butanol produced by the Luverne facility from corn starch and grain sorghum feedstock can qualify for D-code 5 RINs if the fuel meets the conditions and certain associated regulatory provisions.

Documents published by the EPA notes corn starch butanol produced at the Luverne plant achieves a 50.3 percent lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction when compared to baseline gasoline, while grain sorghum butanol produced at the plant achieves a 54.6 percent lifecycle GHG reduction when compared to baseline gasoline.

A full copy of the pathway approval can be downloaded from the EPA’s website.

Read the original story: Gevo Releases Operational Update, Achieves EPA Pathway Approval

USDA : Corn Ethanol Reduces GHG Emissions By 43%

Heartland small

United States Department of Agriculture

January 12, 2017

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the release of a report studying the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of corn ethanol. The report, A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Based Ethanol, finds that GHG emissions associated with corn-based ethanol in the United States are about 43 percent lower than gasoline when measured on an energy equivalent basis. Unlike other studies of GHG benefits, which relied on forecasts of future ethanol production systems and expected impacts on the farm sector, this study reviewed how the industry and farm sectors performed over the past decade to assess the current GHG profile of corn-based ethanol.

"This report provides evidence that corn ethanol can be a GHG-friendly alternative to fossil fuels, while boosting farm economies" said Vilsack.

This report found greater lifecycle GHG benefits from corn ethanol than a number of earlier studies, driven by a variety of improvements in ethanol production, from the corn field to the ethanol refinery. Farmers are producing corn more efficiently and using conservation practices that reduce GHG emissions, including reduced tillage, cover crops and improved nitrogen management. Corn yields are also improving—between 2005 and 2015, U.S. corn yields increased by more than 10 percent.

Between 2005 and 2015, ethanol production in the U.S. also increased significantly—from 3.9 to 14.8 billion gallons per year. At the same time, advances in ethanol production technologies, such as the use of combined heat and power, using landfill gas for energy, and co-producing biodiesel helped reduce GHG emissions at ethanol refinery plants.

By 2022, given current trends, the GHG profile of corn-based ethanol is expected to be almost 50 percent lower than gasoline primarily due to improvements in corn yields, process fuel switching, and transportation efficiency.

The report also examines a range of factors that could enhance the GHG benefits of corn ethanol production and provides estimates of how those factors change ethanol's lifecycle GHG emissions. For example, the report examined the benefits of improving the efficiency of ethanol refinery plants and adoption of additional conservation practices on corn-producing farms. In a scenario where these improvements and practices are universally adopted, the GHG benefits of corn ethanol are even more pronounced over gasoline, about a 76 percent reduction.

There are several reasons this report found greater lifecycle GHG benefits from corn ethanol than a number of earlier studies. Previous estimates anticipated that growing corn to produce ethanol would result in "indirect land use change"—in other words, land would be converted from grasslands and forests to commodity production as a result of increased demand for corn used in ethanol production. But based on new data and research, there is compelling evidence that while land use changes have occurred, the actual patterns of changes and innovation within the farm sector have resulted in these indirect emissions being much lower than previously projected.

Recent studies of international agricultural land use trends show that that the primary land use change response of the world's farmers from 2004 to 2012 has been to use available land resources more efficiently rather than to expand the amount of land used for farming. Instead of converting new land to production, farmers in Brazil, India and China have increased double cropping, expanded irrigation, reduced unharvested planted area, reduced fallow land and reduced temporary pasture. Much of the international attention on supply of corn for ethanol has focused on Brazil, where earlier estimates anticipated conversion of rainforests to commodity production. But between 2004 and 2012, at the same time U.S. corn ethanol production increased more than 200 percent, deforestation in Brazil's Amazon decreased from 10,200 to 2,400 square miles per year.

The report also demonstrates the added GHG benefits of on-farm conservation practices like reduced tillage, nitrogen stewardship, and cover crops—the same practices outlined in USDA's Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry strategy, which aims to reduce GHG emissions by over 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2025.

Continuing to support adoption of these practices on farms will further reduce GHG emissions associated with agriculture—as well as benefiting the positive trends in lifecycle GHG balance of corn-based ethanol.

For a summary of the report findings see the USDA Factsheet: Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Based Ethanol.

Read the full USDA study here

Read the original release: USDA Releases New Report on Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Balance of Ethanol

US Ethanol Industry Opens 2017 with Record-Setting Production

Ethanol Producer Magazine

January 11, 2017

By Erin Voegele

The U.S. ethanol industry opened 2017 with a new weekly production record. Production reached an average of 1.049 million barrels per day the week ending Jan. 6, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The new record replaces one set the final week of 2016, when ethanol production reached an average of 1.043 million barrels per day the week ending Dec. 30.

The U.S. ethanol repeatedly broke records for ethanol production in 2016. Prior to Dec. 30, the record was set the week ending Dec. 9, when production averaged 1.04 million barrels per day.

The U.S. ethanol industry has surpassed the 1 million barrel per day mark only 25 times, all since November 2015. Prior to November 2015, the ethanol production record sat at 994,000 barrels per day, which was set the week of June 19, 2015.

Read the original story: US Ethanol Industry Opens 2017 with Record-Setting Production

Bushmills Ethanol Plans Expansion Pending MPCA Review

West Central Tribune

January 10, 2017

By Tribune News

Pending the outcome of an environmental review, Bushmills Ethanol Inc. near Atwater will expand its facilities and increase annual production of denatured ethanol from 65 million gallons a year to 100 million gallons.

Public comments on the project will be accepted until Feb. 8.

Bushmills, a cooperative comprised of 415 farmers, owns a dry mill plant about 1½ miles west of Atwater that began operating in December of 2005.

The proposed expansion, which includes four new 730,000-gallon fermenters and several smaller above-ground storage tanks to be built on the plant's nearly 81-acre site, would add 3.3 acres of new impervious surface to the facility site.

According to the worksheet, the existing ponds on the Bushmills property are large enough to handle additional stormwater runoff.

The amount of corn processed at the plant would increase from 25 million to 38.5 million bushels per year and the amount of water used at the plant would go from 216 million gallons to 225 million gallons per year.

Besides increasing local demand for corn and production of ethanol by 35 million gallons a year, the proposed project would also increase production of dried distillers grain and wetcake that would benefit local livestock farmers, according to Bushmills.

As required by state rules, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency prepared an environmental assessment worksheet on the proposal that provides basic information about how the project could potentially affect the environment.

The worksheet also helps determine whether a more comprehensive environmental review is needed.

The worksheet for the project is available on the MPCA's environmental assessment worksheet web page; at the MPCA Willmar office, 1601 U.S. Hwy. 12 E.; at the Willmar Public Library, 410 Fifth St. S.W.; or by calling Kevin Kain at 651-757-2482.

The public may submit written comments on the project until 4:30 p.m. Feb. 8.

Written comments may be sent via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or mailed to him at the MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN 55155-4194.

Read the original story: Bushmills Ethanol Plans Expansion Pending MPCA Review

Syngenta Grows Enogen® Corn Footprint, With Total Ethanol Production Capacity Now Approaching 2 Billion Gallons

January 6, 2017

Press Release

MINNETONKA, Minn., USA – Syngenta today announced that it has reached agreements with ethanol plants, from Arizona to Ohio, with a combined total capacity of nearly 2 billion gallons.

According to Dr. Miloud Araba, head of Enogen^® technical services at Syngenta, the robust alpha amylase enzyme found in Enogen corn hybrids helps an ethanol plant dramatically reduce the viscosity of its corn mash and eliminate the need to add a liquid form of the enzyme.

“This breakthrough viscosity reduction can lead to unprecedented levels of solids loading, enabling increased throughput and yield, as well as significant cost savings from reduced energy, water, natural gas and chemical usage in ethanol plants,” Araba said.

Golden Harvest^® and NK^® Corn growers who plant Enogen corn benefit as well – they can earn up to 40 cents per bushel when contracted Enogen grain is delivered to the ethanol plant.

“This is particularly significant given current commodity prices,” said Marcos Castro, Enogen marketing manager at Syngenta. “We expect the total premiums earned by Enogen growers to be approximately $32 million in 2017, creating real advantages for growers and rural economies.”

Improved ROI potential on ethanol acres

Approximately 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is used to produce ethanol.¹ Syngenta offers the Ethanol Grower Advantage program to help increase potential for a better return on investment on ethanol acres, help increase grower profitability and help plants produce more ethanol per bushel. “The Ethanol Grower Advantage program incentivizes and rewards agronomic best practices, helping growers to achieve consistently higher yields and earn premiums while delivering higher-quality, locally sourced grain to participating ethanol plants,” Castro added. “Participating growers are eligible to receive up to a 10-cent premium for each bushel of Golden Harvest, NK and/or Enogen corn delivered to a participating ethanol plant. This complements the existing premiums that can be earned by Enogen growers and further demonstrates our commitment to ethanol.”

Growers as enzyme suppliers

Enogen is rapidly gaining popularity because of the value it delivers and the opportunity it provides corn growers to be enzyme suppliers for their participating local ethanol plants. Numerous trials have shown that Enogen hybrids perform equal to or better than other high-performing corn hybrids.²

“The agreements we have in place with a steadily increasing number of plants will enable them to source alpha amylase directly from growers and keep enzyme dollars in those local communities,” said Ron Wulfkuhle, head of Enogen at Syngenta. “This is what truly sets Enogen corn apart from other technologies designed to enhance ethanol production. It adds significant incremental value at the local level for communities that rely on their ethanol plant’s success.”

The future of fuel

Looking ahead, Wulfkuhle added that the combination of Cellerate^™ process technology and Enogen corn will help ethanol plants increase efficiency even further. Cellerate converts corn kernel fiber into cellulosic ethanol and can help plants produce more ethanol from the same kernel of corn, increase total yield of distillers corn oil and improve the protein content of feed co-products. Trials at Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) demonstrated as much as a 26 percent increase in in production when Cellerate process technology and the use of Enogen corn were combined.³

“We believe that not only will Cellerate process technology help make advanced and cellulosic ethanol a reality, but the combination of Cellerate and Enogen could represent the next step forward for ethanol production,” Wulfkuhle said.tent of feed co-products. For more information about Enogen corn enzyme technology, visit www.EnogenCorn.com. To inquire about incorporating Enogen into an ethanol plant, contact Tim Tierney, head, Enogen business accounts, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 612-801-9775. Join the conversation online – connect with us at social.SyngentaUS.com.

About Syngenta
Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS.

Read the original story: Syngenta Grows Enogen® Corn Footprint, With Total Ethanol Production Capacity Now Approaching 2 Billion Gallons

Prospects for Corn Consumption from Ethanol Production in 2017

January 9, 2017

By Debra Levey Larson

The U.S. ethanol industry ended 2016 on a high note. Ethanol production for the week ending Dec. 30 set a new ethanol production record with an average of 1.043 million barrels per day. The March futures price for corn moved higher last week to close at $3.58 in large part due to strength in the ethanol sector. Ethanol production and exports returned strong numbers over the first quarter of the marketing year. Currently, the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report forecast for corn consumption for ethanol production is 5.3 billion bushels. According to University of Illinois agricultural economist Todd Hubbs, when taking into account an increase in projected gasoline consumption in 2017 and robust ethanol export levels, the ability to surpass this projection is a strong possibility.

“Domestic ethanol consumption in 2017 will be influenced by domestic gasoline consumption, due to the ethanol blending requirement and the biofuels volume requirement associated with the Renewable Fuels Standard,” Hubbs says. “The EPA final rulemaking for the Renewable Fuels Standard for 2017 was released on Nov. 23 and is discussed in greater detail in the farmdoc daily article posted Nov. 30. In brief, the renewable fuels volume requirement is set at 19.28 billion gallons for 2017, which is up from the 18.11 billion gallons required in 2016.

“The conventional ethanol requirement is set at 15 billion gallons for 2017, 500 million gallons larger than 2016 and equal to the statutory requirement level,” Hubbs says. “If the gasoline consumption forecast used by the EPA is correct, the E10 blend wall will be 14.36 billion gallons in 2017. The EPA believes an ethanol supply of 14.56 billion gallons is reasonably attainable in 2017. Within the 14.56 billion gallons, E15 and E85 blends are expected to be 107 and 204 million gallons respectively. The ability to attain the E15 and E85 blend levels remains to be seen, but the increase in ethanol requirements provides support for greater corn usage in 2017.”

U.S. retail gasoline prices averaged $2.14 per gallon in 2016, which is 12 percent less than the price experienced in 2015 and is the lowest price since 2004. The December Energy Information Agency Short Term Energy Outlook projected an increase in gasoline prices for 2017 to $2.30 per gallon. Despite the projection of higher gasoline prices, gasoline consumption is forecast at 143.60 billion gallons in 2017, which is up from the 142.72 billion gallons consumed in 2016. Ethanol production is forecast to be 1 million barrels per day.

“If the EIA projection is correct, approximately 15.3 billion gallons of ethanol will be produced in 2017,” Hubbs says. “When considering the robust ethanol export trade currently in process, the U.S. ethanol industry is expected to produce a record level of ethanol in 2017.”

Ethanol export numbers are available from U.S. Census trade data for 2016 through November. U.S. exports of ethanol thus far are at 948 million gallons, which is up almost 27 percent from the similar period in 2015.

According to Hubbs, for 2016, the prospect of ethanol exports exceeding 1 billion gallons is not unreasonable.

Canada, China, and Brazil imported approximately 67 percent of the ethanol shipped from the U.S. through November. “The increase in ethanol exports is driven largely by increased volumes sent to China and Brazil,” Hubbs says. “China imported 179 million gallons through November, which far exceeds the 73.8 million gallons imported during the entirety of 2015. Brazil imported 224 million gallons through November, which is almost double from 2015. As we progress into 2017, the increases are expected to persist in Brazil because high sugar prices are expected to decrease ethanol production as mills allocate cane for sugar production in 2017. There is concern that China could raise ethanol tariffs and reduce ethanol imports in 2017 due to a possible trade dispute with the new administration.”

Hubbs says the implications for corn consumption during the 2016-17 marketing year can be seen in the USDA Grain Crushing and Co-Product Production report released on Jan. 3. Grain crushing for fuel alcohol is available through November. For the first three months of the marketing year, 1.34 billion bushels of corn has been processed for ethanol. This is up 3.2 percent from 2015 processing numbers.

“If corn used for ethanol production maintains this pace, 5.37 billion bushels will be processed in the marketing year,” Hubbs says. “Using EIA weekly ethanol production numbers, December ethanol production averaged over 1 million barrels per day. These production levels place corn use for ethanol production in a range of 455 to 460 million bushels for the month if corn use maintains the pace of the three previous months. With a conservative estimate of corn crush in December, total corn consumption for ethanol production through the first third of the marketing year would be above the current WASDE projection.

“Lower corn prices, strong ethanol exports, and greater blending requirements combine to make 2017 appear to be a strong year for corn consumption in ethanol production,” Hubbs concludes. “If the U.S. ethanol industry produced over 1 million barrels per day for the entire year, the ability to blend at requirement levels under an expanded gasoline consumption scenario and meet potential export market demand bodes well for corn use in the sector for 2017.”

Read the original story: Prospects for Corn Consumption from Ethanol Production in 2017

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Ethanol Increasingly a Stabilizing Factor for Iowa Farmers' Income

The Daily Nonpareil

January 8, 2017

By Jon Leu

At a time when Iowa farmers produced a second consecutive record corn crop amid falling prices for their commodity, the state’s growing ethanol industry remains a stabilizing factor.

National crop production reports released in mid-December showed Iowa corn production in 2016 at 2.69 billion bushels, up from 2.51 billion bushels in 2015. But average statewide corn prices fell from $3.37 to $3.01 per bushel from November 2015 to November 2016.

Brian Cahill, president and general manager of the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy ethanol plant south of Council Bluffs, said that without SIRE and the 42 other ethanol plants in Iowa, prices would be even lower.

“Without ethanol,” he said, “farmers would be hurting. We’re a steady buyer.”

SIRE purchases 40 million to 50 million bushels of corn annually, more than 125,000 bushels daily – roughly 40 percent of the corn produced within a 75-mile radius of the Council Bluffs plant. Now paying about $3.20 per bushel, Cahill said SIRE pays between 10 to 15 cents more per bushel than offered by most elevators.

Kelly Nieuwenhuis has been farming near Primghar in northwest Iowa’s O’Brien County for nearly 40 years.

He said that for 23 of his first 25 years farming, the cost of producing corn was greater than was being paid for the commodity. That changed with the coming of ethanol production in Iowa.

Currently a member of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Board, Nieuwenhuis said the state’s growing ethanol industry has created a firm base for corn prices.

“Before ethanol, $1.50 to $1.80 corn was the norm,” he said. “Ethanol has been a boon for farmers. I sell 100 percent of the corn I produce to the ethanol plants around me, which pay 12 to 14 cents above the market price.

“Those plants need a constant source of corn. During the harvest season, they were pushing 30 cents above the market price.”

Cahill echoed Niewenhuis’s remarks.

“The amount of corn being produced is more than the demand,” he said. “Without ethanol, the price farmers could get for their corn would be lower.”

Last year, Iowa’s 43 ethanol plants produced 4.1 billion gallons of ethanol, slightly less than 30 percent of the entire U.S. production. The 43 plants employed 9,000 workers, supported 43,000 additional jobs in associated industries, added more than $4.6 billion to Iowa’s gross domestic product and generated more than $2 billion of income for Iowa households.

The state board to which Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Nieuwenhuis currently oversees the distribution of some $3 million annually. The money, appropriated by the Legislature through June 30 of this year, is distributed through grants to fuel retailers to ensure that they have the equipment necessary to offer higher blends of ethanol now and in the future.

But, with this year’s Legislature facing the task of dealing with a $100 million shortfall in the state budget, some – perhaps all – of the $3 million allocated annually for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program could be on the chopping block.

That would come at a time when most vehicle manufactures are approving the use of a 15 percent ethanol blend – up from 10 percent – in vehicles manufactured since 2001. Two manufacturers have approved the use of a 25 percent ethanol blend.

The impact of those changes in the percentage of ethanol that can be used in vehicles would be significant for farmers in Iowa and throughout the country.

“As you move up from the widely available 10 percent ethanol blend, every 1 percent increase in the amount of ethanol blended requires 500 million additional bushels of corn,” Nieuwenhuis said.

As was the case with Iowa’s record corn crop in 2016, the combined 4.1 billion gallons of ethanol produced by the state’s 43 ethanol plants was also a record.

Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said his organization’s top state policy priority for 2017 is securing funding for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program to ensure more retailers have the equipment needed to offer higher blends of ethanol.

“Iowa has the resources, both in corn and plant capabilities, to do much more,” Shaw said in a release. “In order to unlock this wealth of untapped potential, we need to move beyond E-10 and ensure that all consumers have access to higher blends of ethanol at the pump, like E-15.

“The federal government needs to break down regulatory barriers to higher blends that serve no purpose other than to protect petroleum.”

Read the original story: Ethanol Increasingly a Stabilizing Factor for Iowa Farmers' Income

Grassley Welcomes Positive Statement on Renewable Fuel Standard, Rule of Law from EPA Nominee

Senator Chuck Grassley

January 5, 2017

Press Release

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today convened a meeting among several senators from biofuels-producing states and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Grassley organized the meeting because he wanted to convey the importance of biofuels to job creation, energy security, the environment and meeting the country’s significant energy needs. He has been disappointed by the Obama Administration’s lack of strong support in implementing the congressionally mandated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Grassley made the following comment after the meeting.

“We got a very positive response on Mr. Pruitt’s support not just for the RFS but more importantly, for the rule of law. The rule of law is that what Congress passed, the EPA is supposed to follow and not undermine it, the way the current administration has done with the RFS. The purpose of the meeting was to convey the contributions that Iowa and other renewable energy-producing states contribute to the economy and otherwise. From the standpoint of what President-elect Trump wants to accomplish, renewable energy supports a high number of jobs, 43,000 jobs in Iowa just with biofuels and another 7,000 jobs in wind energy. We have to import less oil from the Mideast because we have a very vibrant ethanol industry. As far as whether I’ll support the nomination, I tend to wait for nomination hearings before making up my mind. We got a positive comment that the law’s going to be followed, and that’s very, very important.”

Read the original release: Grassley Welcomes Positive Statement on Renewable Fuel Standard, Rule of Law from EPA Nominee

Weekly Ethanol Production is Higher

January 5, 2017

By Renewable Fuels Association

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production averaged an unprecedented 1.043 million barrels per day (b/d)—or 43.81 million gallons daily. That is up 15,000 b/d from the week before and a record high to end a banner year for ethanol production. Weekly production averaged more than 1 million b/d for ten straight weeks to finish the year. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at a record 1.037 million b/d for an annualized rate of 15.90 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol remained unchanged at 18.7 million barrels.

Imports of ethanol were nonexistent for the 19th straight week.

Gasoline demand during the holiday week averaged 355.5 million gallons (8.465 million barrels) daily, the lowest since the week ended 1/29/2016. Refiner/blender input of ethanol averaged 845,000 b/d, a 48-week low.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 12.32%–a new record high.

Read the original story: Weekly Ethanol Production is Higher

Grassley to Host Meeting with Pruitt, Midwest Senators

Ethanol Producer Magazine

January 4, 2017

By Erin Voegele

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has announced plans to host a meeting on Jan. 5 with Scott Pruitt, President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. EPA, and senators from states with significant jobs and investments in biofuels.

In early December, Trump nominated Pruitt to serve as administrator of the EPA. The nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Pruitt currently serves as the attorney general of Oklahoma, a position he has held since 2010. Prior to his election as attorney general, Pruitt served eight years in the Oklahoma senate. His biography posted to the Oklahoma Office of Attorney General website states he is a “leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.” Pruitt has been criticized by the environmental community for being a climate change denier and has fought implementation of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

According to Grassley’s office, confirmed attendees to the meeting include Sens. John Thune, R-S.D.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa’ Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Deb Fischer, R-Neb.; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; and Pat Roberts, R-Kan. Grassley is expected to issue a statement after the meeting.

Read the original story: Grassley to Host Meeting with Pruitt, Midwest Senators

Activist Investor Wrong to Attack Homegrown Biofuels

Des Moines Register

January 3, 2017

By Delayne D. Johnson

Refinery owner Carl Icahn has been pressing the incoming administration to turn its back on homegrown biofuels, like those produced here in Iowa. Normally, that wouldn’t matter much, because President-elect Donald Trump campaigned and won on the promise of supporting ethanol and other biofuels. Unfortunately, Icahn has just been named as President-elect Trump’s new special adviser on regulation, an unofficial position that shields Icahn from legal requirements designed to curtail conflicts of interests.

It’s a sad state of affairs that threatens to derail President-elect Trump’s core of support in America’s heartland and turn Midwestern senators against cabinet picks like Scott Pruitt, Trump’s nominee to oversee the Environmental Protection Agency. As someone who wants to see Trump succeed, my hope is that he’ll maintain a healthy skepticism about Icahn’s motives and keep the new administration focused on fulfilling its promise to revitalize rural economies, support agriculture and create jobs.

Step one will be for Pruitt to publicly reject the changes that Icahn is demanding to the Renewable Fuel Standard, America’s most successful domestic energy program for 11 years.

As currently structured, the RFS ensures that oil companies give biofuels a chance to compete at the pump, which creates competition and offers consumers more affordable fuel options. It does so by setting minimum targets for the volume of biofuels that refiners and importers must include in the fuel supply.

Refiners can meet their obligations by investing in renewable energy blending, and major players like Tesoro have called this the “rational, business-oriented” approach. But a handful of refiners allied with Icahn have elected to buy credits from other blenders, and now they are demanding a bailout from the EPA. Their plan would exempt select refineries and place new obligations onto fuel marketers and gas station owners.

The market for biofuels is strong. As a result, consumers have access to better fuel options at a lower price. Ethanol blends like E15 (15 percent ethanol) deliver more octane at a cost typically 10 to 15 cents less per gallon (saving consumers $15 to $22 billion annually) than standard E10. Mid-level blends, like E30, could save drivers twice as much. Even better, a new report from the Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows how increased octane in mid-level ethanol blends can boost mileage and acceleration.

These homegrown fuels also support hundreds of thousands of energy jobs across the country, including those at Quad County Corn Processors, where we produce up to 110,000 gallons of ethanol per day. And they reduce our reliance on nations like Iraq and Venezuela.

Rather than incentivize retailers to offer consumers lower cost fuels like E15, E30 and E85; Mr. Icahn’s plan would put those savings into his own pocket, stifle market growth for renewable energy and decimate rural America. With farm income declining for the third straight year and a massive surplus of grain threatening to stagnate rural growth, we can’t afford for the administration to go back on its promise to support the RFS.

Delayne D. Johnson is chief executive officer of Quad County Corn Processors in Galva.

Read the original story: Activist Investor Wrong to Attack Homegrown Biofuels

Iowa Energy Plan Includes Role Ethanol Can Play in State's Future

Ethanol Producer Magazine

December 29, 2016

By Ann Bailey

Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds has released to the public the Iowa Renewable Energy Plan, which establishes priorities and provides strategic guidance for Iowa’s energy future.

The plan was created to provide a “clear path to ensure Iowans have access to affordable, reliable clean energy, while recognizing energy’s strategic importance to the Iowa’s economy,” according to the plan’s executive summary.

“IRFA appreciates Lt. Gov. Reynold’s recognition of the role biofuels have played in powering Iowa’s economy,” Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said. “And we commend the Iowa Energy Plan for seeking to build on this foundation, as there is much more biofuels and biomass can do for Iowa in the future.”

Development of the comprehensive state energy plan began in 2015. Since then, six forums, attended by hundreds of Iowa residents, have been held to get input for the plan and 48 Iowa residents were members of working groups which helped identify strategies that could be important parts of Iowa’s energy future. The plan is made up of 15 objectives and 45 strategies which, together, propose a balanced approach to Iowa’s energy sector while emphasizing sustainable practices, statewide economic development and support the research and development required to keep the state on the cutting edge of innovation, the Iowa Energy Plan executive summary said.

One of the themes identified as key in the plan is alternative fuel vehicles. The plan notes that increasingly more stringent fuel economy standards have enhanced the need for auto makers to embrace diversification of transportation fuels and vehicles. Iowa, which has a plentiful supply of ethanol and biodiesel, has an opportunity to help the auto industry meet its fuel economy targets while increasing economic gain, the executive summary said. The executive summary notes that customers and businesses continue to benefit from expanded access to higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel at affordable prices and that diversification of transportation fuels results in energy security, economic advantages and environmental benefits.

Strategies that help grow Iowa’s biofuels industry will lead to higher diversification in available fuel sources for consumers and businesses and also result in more affordable distribution of the biofuels which will mean savings for customers and operators of fueling infrastructure. Continued growth in the use of alternative fuel vehicles requires strategic collaboration with the renewable fuels industry, utilities, auto manufacturers, fuel retailers and related industry shareholders, the executive summary said. That includes giving incentives for alternative fueling infrastructure such as blender pumps. It is key to fostering successful business models the regulatory barriers which have an impact on infrastructure development are addressed. Collaborating with the ethanol industry and auto makers to produce the next generation of highly efficient vehicles to run optimally on ethanol is a critical factor for sustaining the industry’s growth, the executive summary said.

“Optimizing vehicles for biofuels and empowering consumers to choose higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel will be keys to unlocking this potential,” IRFA said. “We look forward to working with Lt. Gov. Reynolds to put this plan in action for the betterment of Iowa farmers, consumers and workers.”

Read the original story: Iowa Energy Plan Includes Role Ethanol Can Play in State's Future

Call to Action

Ethanol Producer Magazine

December 22, 2016

By Dave VanderGriend

Last November, I flew to India, a country suffering with some of the worst air pollution in the world. You can see smog hanging over cities like a blanket. I was there because India wants to increase its ethanol blending from E2.5 to E22. I thought about the hurdles it will encounter moving toward that goal, but, I realized if India wants to make it happen, it can be done, as it has in Brazil, Paraguay, Thailand and other countries using the same cars that we drive right here at home.

The United States, fortunately, has cleaned up much of its visual smog, but just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean many pollutants aren’t there. So, I started to think, what would it take to get the U.S. back to a leadership position in biofuel blending instead of just being an E10 follower? The simple answer is: to be able to put any ethanol blend into any car, from any pump.

Now, I know saying it is much easier than getting it done. But it does take us out of the box everyone tries to put us in and allows us to ask the question, why not? Every regulation, every rule making, every warning sticker is a made-up box that we find ourselves struggling to get out of.

The U.S. EPA finally allowing corn ethanol to meet the maximum of 15 billion gallons annually is certainly good news. At the same time, it is somewhat sobering, as this is as good as it will get in terms of what the renewable fuels standard (RFS) can provide as a demand driver. By 2022, when the RFS enters its next phase, the ethanol industry could be at 130 percent of current production, with supply exceeding demand. This could cause RIN and ethanol pricing to decline, if we are trading only in a fixed market.

It is no secret I have been ringing the alarm bell that we need to look beyond the RFS. Our blueprint for long-term success requires us to develop a future in which ethanol is given full access to the market and, in so doing, receives its full value for being a quality fuel.

This is where we may be able to capitalize on the new administration and a new attitude in Washington. Removing the dozens of unnecessary and burdensome regulations that thwart higher blends and infrastructure investment is a message that is well-received. Ethanol’s tried and true benefits of local job creation, agricultural benefits, energy independence, engine performance, low carbon and cleaner air have never been better positioned to flourish in a free market.

If you are like me, you want to see a plan to make this happen. I wrote a white paper in 2015 in which I offered a number of specifics. But as Urban Air gets deeper into the issues of ASTM, terminals, retailers, certification fuels, lifecycle analysis, emission testing and fuel studies, our list of unnecessary regulations has grown significantly. Then the question I ask myself is what does a free market look like and how do I know I’m there?

I look at our industry groups at the national and state levels and see so much talent. I am committed in 2017 to continue working with each of these groups and call us to action around creating an extensive list of all the roadblocks limiting a free market. We can then prioritize them, split them up according to our talents and eliminate them.

I have been in the situation many times, where politicians will ask what they can do for the industry. But I have yet to be able to hand them a comprehensive plan coming from a unified industry on how to get ethanol to a free market. Frankly, get us onto a level playing field, then the government can get out of the way and let us compete.

2017 is the year for the industry to pull together and grow beyond our dependence on D.C. We can take control of our own destiny by truly gaining access to a free market in which the consumer can choose the best fuel. If we are allowed to compete, ethanol will win.

Read the original article: Call to Action

Pellet Made from Distillers Grain Packs Protein, Not Fat

Tri State Neighbor

December 27, 2016

By Janelle Atyeo

A new company in South Dakota is looking to optimize the nutrition cattle get from dried distillers grain.

Novita Nutrition will open a $95 million processing plant east of Brookings, S.D., early next year.

The plant will use distillers grain – a byproduct created when processing corn into ethanol. It will remove indigestible oil from the grain and create a pelletized feed called NovaMeal.

Making a better quality feed from distillers grain is something that Novita Nutrition CEO and President Don Endres came up with when working in the ethanol industry. Endres founded VeraSun Energy, an ethanol producer that grew rapidly in the 2000s but quickly went bankrupt when corn prices fell and the company was left with contracts it bought high.

Endres has seen other business ventures of his be successful. While the ethanol industry didn’t work out for him, it gave Endres the idea for his next big venture.

VeraSun, like other ethanol plants, sold distillers grain to cattle producers for use in the feed mix. Endres noticed, though, that after a few years, dairy farmers stopped buying their products.

He learned that oil in the grain – unsaturated fat – was an issue for the dairy cow diet. The cows already were getting unsaturated fat from silage and other grains in their diets. The amount of fat in the distillers grain varied depending on the ethanol production process, so it was difficult for dairy nutritionists to keep tabs on how much their cows were getting.

“If you put any amount of unsaturated fat in the diet, you can really throw them off,” Enders said.

Too much can cause milk fat levels to go down, he said, and milk fat is what dairies get paid for.

Distillers grain still packs nutritious protein and fiber, and Novita Nutrition has found a way to deliver those nutrients with less fat. NovaMeal is made by removing oil from distillers grain in the same way oil is extracted from soybeans, sunflowers and canola.

“It improves the digestibility of the protein,” Endres said.

Dairy nutritionists are concerned with the amount of protein that cows get after feed passes through the rumen. The amount that’s left is known as rumen undegradable protein, or RUP. In NovaMeal, the amount of protein left for the cows to absorb in the small intestine, where they can use it most, is 63 percent – more than soybean meal or canola, according to studies done by South Dakota State University.

NovaMeal also has more digestible fiber than common distillers grain, cottonseed, canola or soybean meal. Higher nutrient values means cows are getting more out of their feed.

“They’re able to absorb more of those nutrients rather than having it go out the tail end,” Endres said.

Novita Nutrition is preparing to process distillers grain on a large scale. The site near Aurora, S.D., was busy with construction crews on a cold November morning. The plant – located just west of the former VeraSun ethanol plant, now owned by Valero Energy – has been under construction since the summer of 2015.

Come next year, the plant will employ 40 people, and another 10 will continue working at the Novita Nutrition offices in nearby Brookings. Distillers grain will come in by truck and rail from ethanol plants in South Dakota, Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.

The raw material will wait for processing in a flat storage building that’s able to hold 5,100 tons.

The plant will be capable of processing 13 rail cars’ worth of distillers grain in a day, or 1,300 tons. That will mike 1,200 tons of NovaMeal pelletized feed and 100 tons of separated oil for used in biofuel or poultry feed.

A massive round bin will store the finished pellets, up to 6,000 tons.

Endres envisions selling 5 percent to 10 percent of their product to local customers along the Interstate 29 corridor. Much of it will go to dairy markets in central California, Washington, southern Idaho, western Texas and New Mexico.

Novita recently partnered with the Omaha, Neb.-based feed supplier Gavilon to deliver NovaMeal to western states.

Dairy markets are the primary focus for Novita Nutrition for now. Dairies are very focused on nutrition and often work closely with nutritionists, Endres said, but he added that it would be a nutritious meal in any kind of cattle feeding.

“It’s a very high-quality protein and fiber,” he said.

Endres grew up around Herefords on a farm east of Watertown, S.D., the son of Jim Endres and Teresa Endres. He wanted to raise Herefords like his parents, he said, and he went to South Dakota State University in Brookings to get a degree in animal science.

His career path led him in other directions, though, and he relied more on his minors in computer science and economics.

The first companies he helped start dealt with online payment platforms and electronic equipment. He helped build up both companies and saw them through successful mergers. He entered the ethanol industry in 2001 and soon afterward started brainstorming the idea that would become NovaMeal.

Nearing the opening of the plant in Aurora, Endres already is looking forward to building a second plant soon. He said he’s open as to where to build: “Anywhere with ethanol production and a base of livestock.”

Read the original story: Pellet Made from Distillers Grain Packs Protein, Not Fat

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