In the News
(Colwich, Kan. August 17, 2015) – ICM Inc proudly announces successful completions of its first and second 1,000-hour performance runs (1100 continuous hours each run) of its patent-pending Generation 2.0 Co-Located Cellulose Ethanol process. The runs, performed at ICM’s pilot plant in St. Joseph, Missouri, prove out the co-located technology design for the conversion of cellulosic biomass feedstocks, including energy crops such as switchgrass and energy sorghum, agricultural crop residues, and forestry residues, to cellulosic ethanol and co-products.
The first performance run, which ran from March to late April, focused on switchgrass, a perennial crop as its feedstock. The second performance run, which ran from early June to late July, focused on energy sorghum, an annual crop as its feedstock. Essentially, both runs were similar in nature, but with a few minor operational modifications included to allow for smoother operation between the two runs.
The 1,000+ hours of continuous production in each run are a significant achievement, as it qualifies these data sets for federal loan guarantee programs, which can be utilized in the financing of new, advanced generation renewable energy technologies.
From both mechanical and process operations perspectives, the two 1,000-hour Generation 2.0 (Gen. 2.0) runs performed continuously and exceptionally well on a 24/7 basis, as would be required in a commercial operation.
These runs also validate ICM’s co-located model that produces valuable boiler fuel and animal feed co-products in addition to cellulosic ethanol.
“This achievement is important because it provides operational confidence at a commercially relevant scale. We used all commercial-type equipment for these performance runs that processed 10 dry tons of feedstock per day. At that scale, we were able to achieve continuous operations throughout both performance runs to generate key data required to move forward to commercialization as the market provides demand for Gen. 2.0 Cellulosic Ethanol and co-products.” said Dr. Doug Rivers, ICM’s Director of Research and Development (R&D).
Previously in December 2012, ICM’s R&D team successfully completed a 1,000-hour run of an integrated cellulosic corn fiber campaign to prove out its patent-pending Generation 1.5 Grain Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology™ (Gen. 1.5), which resulted in substantial operating and capital expense cost savings over a Gen. 2.0 approach to cellulosic ethanol production. The 1,000-hour run for Gen. 1.5 was achieved through the sequential completion of twenty-four 15,000-gallon pilot fermentations and five 585,000-gallon commercial scale fermentations. In addition, this performance run demonstrated the production of high protein dried distillers grains (DDG) as a valuable co-product of ICM’s Generation 1.5 Grain Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology™ process.
ICM believes that the success with each of these three 1,000-hour runs comes from the dedicated individuals and extensive testing of various feedstocks at the pilot scale for next generation conversion technology to produce renewable fuels that meet low carbon fuel standards.
“We believe our novel approach to Generation 2.0 ethanol production will add value to both agriculture and the ethanol industry going forward. Our R&D staff has been able to achieve results that we believe will pave the way for expanded use of cellulose as a feedstock to produce low carbon fuels for America” said ICM Principal Scientist and Cellulose Team Leader Jeremy Javers.
“We want to thank the U.S. DOE Bio Energy Technology Office (BETO) for their ongoing support since obtaining the U.S. DOE award (DE-EE0002875) for this project. We are encouraged by the results achieved during these three 1,000-hour performance runs. Our patent-pending Generation 1.5 Grain Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technology™ is designed as a bolt-on product, which can be added to existing corn/milo (sorghum) ethanol plants and our patent-pending Generation 2.0 co-located design will pave the way for expanded use of biomass as a feedstock for fuels and chemical production in the future. These successful runs validate ICM’s ability to continually add value to grain already being processed in existing U.S. ethanol plants, as well as biomass,” said ICM CEO Dave Vander Griend.
Aug 17, 2015
WASHINGTON - The Renewable Fuels Association is applauding Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ decision to approve the use of E15 (15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline) in its model year (MY) 2016 Chrysler/Fiat, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles. The decision means that FCA joins General Motors and Ford (the “Detroit Three”) in covering E15 in its warranty statements; GM started covering E15 with its MY 2012 vehicles, while Ford joined a year later with its MY 2013 vehicles. More than 12 percent of the vehicles sold so far in the United States in 2015 have been Chryslers.
RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen, who specifically called on Chrysler to approve E15 during his State of the Industry address at this year’s National Ethanol Conference, called the decision “a seminal moment that augurs well for the continued expansion of E15.”
“FCA’s decision to join GM and Ford provides clear evidence that the tide on E15 has turned,” Dinneen said. “The automaker’s decision not to embrace E15 had been a major point of concern and tension for the last three years. FCA customers will be afforded a benefit that will likely lower their weekly motor fuel bill: the freedom to choose what fuel to put into their vehicles.”
By Poet LLC
August 13, 2015
Poet LLC, one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, released its first-ever economic impact study, revealing the significant impact Poet made to national economic growth and job creation in 2014, including:
- Generating a total of $13.5 billion in sales for U.S. businesses;
- Adding $5.4 billion in national gross domestic product;
- Supporting an estimated 39,978 full time jobs; and
- Contributing $3.1 billion in income for American families.
The report further details Poet’s contribution to the economic prosperity in each of the seven states where it operates—South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Poet, which is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, operates a total of 27 dry mill corn ethanol plants with an annual capacity of 1.7 billion gallons—more than 11 percent of the total U.S. ethanol output.
“Ethanol provides us the means to produce our own clean fuel and keep the enormous economic benefits within America’s borders,” said Poet CEO Jeff Lautt. “The impact flows from the plants to farmers, communities, throughout the states in which they operate and across the nation.”
In addition, the report cites Poet’s impact on reducing foreign oil dependence. According to the study, Poet’s production of 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol displaces nearly 1.2 billion gallons of gasoline, which requires 61 million barrels of crude oil to produce. This displacement potentially reduces the outflow of money to foreign producers of oil by nearly $5.5 billion.
The use of Poet ethanol also reduces greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline. Burning a gallon of ethanol opposed to gasoline results in a 35 percent reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Reflecting this, the production of 1.7 billion gallons of Poet ethanol cuts CO2 emissions by approximately 874,000 metric tons.
Poet employees, stakeholders, family and friends are celebrating the announcement today at a series of Poet Ethanol Day events in its operating states, where attendees can enjoy food, activities and hear from local officials.
To read the full report and find additional information on state-level data, please visit: http://www.poet.com/impact.
And read the original story: Poet Releases First-Ever Economic Impact Study
By Dave VanderGriend
Aug 13, 2015
Anyone even remotely connected to the ethanol industry knows these are tough times. Having gone from being the hero of the 2007 Energy Security and Independence Act, which created the expanded renewable fuels standard (RFS), to being vilified by the petroleum industry and its friends in the press, we are running out of cards to play in a stacked deck, with the U.S. EPA as the dealer. The RFS is very important to our industry, but focusing on it alone, has caused us to take our eye off the dealer. The down card trumps everything in the deck and it’s called the MOVES model, which stands for Mobile Vehicle Emissions Simulator.
Unfortunately, this model relies on faulty, manipulated data, resulting in inaccurate emission increases that will cripple any hope for ethanol expansion and the use of higher blends. And, this is taking place as the EPA gets closer to imposing tighter ozone controls, which could put another third of the U.S. into ozone nonattainment, and therefore under federal control. Once that happens, states have to develop a state implementation plan to tell the EPA how they plan to get back into attainment. Here is why the MOVES model matters: When states plug in higher ethanol blends, the model says ethanol raises emissions.
How can this be? The basis for the MOVES model stems from fuel blending studies conducted by the EPA in a laboratory that, rather than looking at real world consumer fuels, used test fuels that became synthetic caricatures of how fuels are really blended. Even experts in a highly respected paper from the Society of Automotive Engineers said there was no justification for the EPA to conduct the fuel testing the way it did.
The Urban Air Initiative hired a reputable fuel blending consultant to test the model and our fears were confirmed. Data proves the MOVES model is biased against ethanol and blocks the goal of reducing toxic emissions and promoting a cleaner fuel. We have clear data to support that when simply adding ethanol to consumer E10 gasoline via splash blending, the result is a fuel with fewer toxic emissions. However, the manipulation of test fuels in the MOVES model tells a different story regarding ethanol.
An analogy from the ethanol process illustrates what’s being done with the test fuels. If your yields are off and fermentation is underperforming, you might change the temperature, the enzymes and five other variables. But each change is made separately in order to identify the true influencing factor. The EPA did the exact opposite in its testing, changing many of the fuel components at once, while increasing ethanol. Each time emissions increased, the EPA blamed ethanol. That would be akin to blaming enzymes no matter what other changes you employed in your fermentation.
We must stop the MOVES model from being implemented, or all of the industry’s other initiatives will be undermined. States will have their hands tied and will simply not be allowed to approve higher blends. That’s why we are fighting back, and we need your help. The Energy Future Coalition and the attorneys general of Nebraska and Kansas joined UAI and its supporters to file legal action against the EPA to block the MOVES model from being enforced. We believe winning this legal battle is critical to the future of our industry. The most recent filing in U.S District Court calls on the EPA to develop a new model, reflecting real world consumer fuels and blending practices. If we splash blend on a consumer E10, we know vapor pressure decreases, particulate emissions are reduced, carbon emissions are lowered, and importantly, we give automakers the octane they need for the next generation of cars.
Waging this legal fight and communicating the health benefits of clean burning ethanol requires resources and support from all of you who want to open the market for higher blends.
Read the original story here : EPA's 'MOVES' Could Cripple Higher Ethanol Blends
Aug 11, 2015
By Erin Voegele
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published the August edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting that ethanol production will remain near current levels in 2015 and 2016. A similar prediction was made in the July STEO.
Within the report, the EIA indicates that the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set volume obligations for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 renewable fuels standard (RFS) was used to develop the current short-term outlook.
According to the EIA, ethanol production averaged 935,000 barrels per day last year, and is expected to remain near current levels through next year. On a quarterly basis, the EIA shows ethanol production averaged 960,000 barrels per day during the first quarter of this year, falling to 950,000 barrels per day during the second quarter. During the third and fourth quarters, ethanol production is expected to average 940,000 barrels per day. Moving into 2016, production is expected to average 960,000 barrels per day during the first quarter, falling to 940,000 barrels per day during the second and third quarters, and 930,000 barrels per day during the fourth quarter.
Ethanol consumption averaged 878,000 barrels per day last year and is expected to average 900,000 barrels per day this year and next year, resulting in a 9.9 percent ethanol share of the total gasoline pool. According to the EIA, it does not expect to see significant increases in E15 or E85 consumption over the forecast period. The administration also noted that proposed RFS targets are expected to encourage the import of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol, with averaged 3,000 barrels per day last year. Due to the expected increase in ethanol gross imports, net exports of ethanol are expected to fall from 51,000 barrels per day last year, to 43,000 barrels per day this year and 37,000 barrels per day in 2016.
Biodiesel production averaged approximately 81,000 barrels per day last year, and is expected to increase to an average of 91,000 barrels per day this year. In 2016, production is expected to reach 98,000 barrels per day. Net imports of biomass-based diesel are also expected to increase, from 16,000 barrels per day in 2014 to 24,000 barrels per day this year and 35,000 barrels per day next year.
The EIA said it expects a combination of higher biomass-based diesel consumption, higher consumption of domestic and imported ethanol, and banked renewable identification numbers (RINs) will help meet the newly proposed RFS volumes through 2016.
According to the STEO, U.S. regular gasoline monthly average retail prices averaged $2.79 per gallon in July, down 1 cent per gallon from June and 82 cents per gallon lower than in July 2014. EIA expects the monthly average gasoline prices to decline from their July level to an average of $2.11 per gallon during the fourth quarter of this year. The EIA also predicts U.S. regular gasoline retail prices will average $2.41 per gallon for all of 2015.
According to the EIA’s most recent weekly ethanol production data, production averaged 961,000 barrels per day the week of July 31, down slightly from 965,000 barrels per day the prior week. The administration’s most recent monthly data, shows only 8,000 barrels of ethanol was imported in May, all from Canada. May exports, however, were 1.54 million barrels. Canada, Brazil, and Oman were the top three export destinations during the month.
Read the original story here : EIA Predicts Ethanol Production Will Hold Steady Through 2016
Aug 10, 2015
The topic of how higher ethanol blends help fuel retailers to succeed will be highlighted during the ACE Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, August 19-21.
The CEO of Protec Fuel, Todd Garner, and Kum & Go’s Vice President of Fuels, Jim Pirolli, will be participating in an E15 panel on August 20.
The panel involving the two fuel retailers is part of the day-one agenda of the conference which will focus heavily on the sale and handling of E15 and flex fuels. Also scheduled to speak August 20 is Kristi Moriarty, one of the authors of a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report investigating the true costs of E15 fueling infrastructure.
“The ethanol industry needs to understand the challenges facing fuel retailers who want to sell more ethanol-blended fuels. Last year’s conference presentation by single-station and small chain operators received overwhelmingly positive reviews, so we’re providing this year’s attendees with two additional perspectives from the ‘downstream’ fuel marketplace. Kum & Go is a large c-store retail chain with a history of leadership with E85, that can tell us why adding E15 isn’t as simple as decaling pumps and dropping fuel in the tank. Protec is a fuel distributor with an interesting approach to expanding the availability of E15 and flex fuels by providing retailers with ethanol-blended fuels and the equipment needed to sell them,” said ACE Senior VP Ron Lamberty. “And on the topic of ‘equipment needed to sell E15,’ we’re excited to have NREL present their recent authoritative study on that very subject. It’s good news for fuel marketers, but fuel marketer groups seem strangely unhappy their $400,000 per store cost predictions have been proven wildly inaccurate.”
The theme of the August 19-21 ACE Conference is “Quiet Ingenuity, Bold Advance.” The event will also feature a talk on technology and advanced biofuel innovations involving Ray Defenbaugh, President and CEO of Big River Resources LLC, Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors, and Jeff Oestmann, President and CEO of East Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC, a progress report on ethanol and DDGs exports, ethanol plant board member training, and much more.
Click this link to view the agenda and register for the ACE Conference.
Aug 5, 2015
By Richard Childress
As a former NASCAR driver and current team owner, I know a thing or two about engines, performance and fuel. My team’s success depends on using the best technology to get the best results. I would never turn my back on a competitive advantage. That’s why I support the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the use of E15, a higher blend of ethanol fuel, in NASCAR racing.
My team didn’t win six Sprint Cup championships, six Nationwide Series championships and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships by not paying attention to the performance details of our race cars. So when NASCAR decided to switch to a 15 percent ethanol fuel in 2011, we did our homework.
We didn’t listen to the empty rhetoric surrounding ethanol. We did our own testing and proved that higher blends of ethanol deliver. Since switching fuels, NASCAR has experienced an increased horsepower from a higher-octane ethanol fuel blend and decreased emissions. After five years and over seven million miles, E15 has proven its merit. It has met and exceeded the performance requirements for the most demanding driving situations imaginable.
I’m passionate about winning each week on the track. I’m equally passionate about my country, its sustainability, economic health and security. That’s why I support the RFS. After sitting on the Board of Directors at Growth Energy, the country’s leading trade association of ethanol and renewable fuel producers, I’ve come to understand the important role ethanol plays in America and its amazing potential as we begin producing the next generation of fuels.
The RFS has been the most successful energy policy this nation has adopted in the last 40 years.
The RFS has created American jobs, revitalized rural America, reduced our dependence on foreign oil, made our nation more energy independent and improved our climate security. Renewable fuel has reduced our dangerous dependence on foreign oil by nearly two thirds. It has opened up the vehicle fuels market by injecting competition and providing drivers with savings. Currently, the RFS supports nearly 400,000 American jobs and generates nearly $53 billion in economic activity.
Besides, no beaches have ever been closed because of an ethanol spill.
But now, on the 10-year anniversary of this bipartisan policy, our nation finds itself at a crossroads. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would drastically cut back the production of ethanol and other biofuels. Not only would this affect production of ethanol, but it would severely hinder innovation and investment in next generation fuels made from sources like biomass and farm waste.
Americans have made their voices heard, telling America’s leaders to move the RFS forward not backward. After all the great strides we have made and the exhaustive testing of E15 and other higher blends – with truly exceptional results – it is time to take the next step in biofuels production. But we can’t if EPA blocks the path moving forward.
If E15 can handle the Daytona 500, Talladega or the Brickyard, it will definitely meet the needs of daily drivers. It is finally time to break through the mythical “blend wall.” It is time to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, step up our efforts to improve our environment and ensure America’s rural economy stays robust. It is time to give consumers the choice of a less expensive, higher performing fuel.
Most importantly, it is time for the EPA to follow the law and help move our nation forward on the development of renewable fuel.
Read the original story here : Why The EPA Must Move Forward With Biofuels
Aug 3, 2015
WASHINGTON — Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen applauded a recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recalculate its ethanol export estimates for 2014. In a memorandum, which was placed on the RVO docket on July 24, EPA acknowledged that it made an error in determining the 2014 available supply of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which are credits used to keep track of the amount of ethanol.
“Kudos to the EPA for recognizing this important error and reassessing the 2014 ethanol export data,” said Dinneen. “This is a critical issue because it affects the estimate of how many RINs generated in 2014 will remain available for compliance with biofuel obligations required by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It also has implications for estimates of RIN carryover stocks.”
The memo comes after RFA and member biofuel companies raised the issue in correspondence with the EPA in early June and again at a public hearing on June 25 on the RFS in which dozens of commenters took issue with the agency’s proposal to slash the renewable blending volume obligations (RVOs) for 2014–2016.
According to the memo, “… public commenters indicated that they believed it was an error to treat the reported amounts of undenatured ethanol as being part of the 2014 supply of RINs. Ethanol that is exported in undenatured form would not have generated RINs, and thus should not have been subtracted from the total number of RINs generated for fuel ethanol in 2014 for purposes of calculating the available supply of RINs for 2014 in the proposal. EPA intends to account for this…in the determination of the appropriate volume requirements in the final rulemaking.”
As a result of EPA’s error, the agency will likely revise the 2014 RVO. This revision could increase the blending obligation for renewable fuel from a proposed level of 13.25 billion gallons to more than 13.6 billion gallons.
“We applaud the EPA for responding to stakeholder feedback and committing to make the requisite change regarding exported ethanol in the final rulemaking,” said Dinneen. “However, as underscored in the comments we submitted to the EPA last week, we continue to urge the Agency to consider carryover RIN stocks in determinations of ‘available supply.’ We hope and trust that EPA will make other changes consistent with the facts on the ground—and the law—prior to issuing a final rule in November.”
- See more at: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/news/entry/rfa-applauds-epa-for-recalculating-2014-ethanol-export-estimates/#sthash.pFOxH1Wu.dpufWASHINGTON — Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen applauded a recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recalculate its ethanol export estimates for 2014. In a memorandum, which was placed on the RVO docket on July 24, EPA acknowledged that it made an error in determining the 2014 available supply of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which are credits used to keep track of the amount of ethanol.
“Kudos to the EPA for recognizing this important error and reassessing the 2014 ethanol export data,” said Dinneen. “This is a critical issue because it affects the estimate of how many RINs generated in 2014 will remain available for compliance with biofuel obligations required by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It also has implications for estimates of RIN carryover stocks.”
The memo comes after RFA and member biofuel companies raised the issue in correspondence with the EPA in early June and again at a public hearing on June 25 on the RFS in which dozens of commenters took issue with the agency’s proposal to slash the renewable blending volume obligations (RVOs) for 2014–2016.
According to the memo, “… public commenters indicated that they believed it was an error to treat the reported amounts of undenatured ethanol as being part of the 2014 supply of RINs. Ethanol that is exported in undenatured form would not have generated RINs, and thus should not have been subtracted from the total number of RINs generated for fuel ethanol in 2014 for purposes of calculating the available supply of RINs for 2014 in the proposal. EPA intends to account for this…in the determination of the appropriate volume requirements in the final rulemaking.”
As a result of EPA’s error, the agency will likely revise the 2014 RVO. This revision could increase the blending obligation for renewable fuel from a proposed level of 13.25 billion gallons to more than 13.6 billion gallons.
“We applaud the EPA for responding to stakeholder feedback and committing to make the requisite change regarding exported ethanol in the final rulemaking,” said Dinneen. “However, as underscored in the comments we submitted to the EPA last week, we continue to urge the Agency to consider carryover RIN stocks in determinations of ‘available supply.’ We hope and trust that EPA will make other changes consistent with the facts on the ground—and the law—prior to issuing a final rule in November.”
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July 29, 2015
Many gas stations are promoting E0, or gasoline with zero percent ethanol. It not only costs more than regular gasoline that contains 10 percent ethanol, new data shows it also burns dirtier in your engine which then puts more toxic emissions into the air.
Urban Air Initiative tested every E0 in Wichita, Kansas, and compared them to regular gasoline that contains 10 percent ethanol. The testing found toxic aromatics such as benzene and toluene were about 45 percent higher with E0. Benzene and toluene, which are known carcinogens, are added by oil refineries to boost octane in vehicles. However, these toxins create harmful emissions that cause air pollution which impact public health.
Click here for short video demonstrating UAI’s findings
UAI knows this isn't just a problem in Kansas. A recent study by the group Clean Fuels Omaha also found higher toxic emissions in Omaha, Nebraska with E0 compared to regular gasoline or E10.
The data is clear; adding ethanol to gasoline reduces toxic emissions, improves air quality and our health.
Read the original story here: UAI: Removing ethanol from gasoline increases toxic emissions
July 27, 2015
By Cindy Zimmerman
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) will once again partner with the Buffalo Chip Campground at the 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which will be held Aug. 3-9 in Sturgis, South Dakota. More than 1.5 million motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to attend the event this year for the big anniversary and RFA Vice President for Industry Relations Robert White the event offers a perfect venue to dispel some of the misconceptions about the use of ethanol blended fuel in motorcycles.
“We do that around the “Free Fuel Happy Hours,” said White. “From Sunday August 2nd through Thursday August 6 from 1 to 4 pm, any motorcyclist can come up and fuel for free with 93 octane 10 percent ethanol.” This is the fourth year that RFA has sponsored the free fuel happy hours and White says it also offers them the opportunity to talk one on one with bikers and provide them with information about ethanol.
In addition, White says messages about ethanol can be found throughout the Buffalo Chip Campground during the rally. “We have everything from banners to commercials on the Jumbotron at the main stage and we sponsor the Essentials Guide that goes out to every camper this year,” said White.
The event sponsorship has become more important in the last 2-3 years as the oil industry has worked with the motorcycle association to spread misinformation about 15% ethanol, which is not approved for use in motorcycles – a fact which is stated clearly on all pumps that sell E15. But White says the information they provide goes beyond motorcycles. “If there is 1.6 million or more people there, they all own lawnmowers, cars, trucks, SUVs, boats back at home,” he added.
Read the original story here: Ethanol to Help Fuel 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
July 27, 2015
By Jim Lane
In Washington, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy addressed the Corn Congress and said that ““you might’ve heard we’re trying to shrink or kill this [RFS] program. But the truth is, we’re committed to growing it. The volumes we’ve proposed for 2015 and 2016 are designed to bust through the blend wall.” She added that “our proposed 2016 standard for total renewable fuel is about 1.5 billion gallons more — almost 10% higher — than the actual 2014 volumes,” she added. “And the proposed 2016 standard for cellulosic ethanol is six times higher than what the market produced in 2014. So EPA isn’t just promoting growth; we’re pushing the envelope.” The agency’s comments period for the RFS comes to an end today (July 27), and the EPA has committed to finalizing the 2016 Renewable Fuel Standard by November 30th.
The Administrator added, “We know the delay last year in getting these standards out was disruptive to say the least. I apologize for that.”
Read the original story here : EPA Administrator To Corn Farmers : [Our RFS] Delay...Was Disruptive To Say The Least. I Apologize For That
July 24, 2015
By David Shaffer
The nation’s first new corn ethanol plant in more than five years — in Spiritwood, N.D. — has gone into commercial operation, its owner said Friday.
Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, 78 percent owned by a Minnesota cooperative power company, is a 65 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant built next to one of the electric utility’s coal-fired power plants. It supplies steam to produce the biofuel at significant energy savings.
The $155 million ethanol refinery, 12 miles east of Jamestown, N.D., came in on budget, with construction costs of $135 million and $20 million in financing costs and working capital, said Greg Ridderbusch, the Minnesota-based president of the ethanol operation.
“We have found a way by co-locating with industry to generate power more efficiently and with less environmental impact than an ethanol plant by itself or a power plant by itself,” said Ridderbusch, who also is a vice president at Great River Energy, the Maple Grove power cooperative that is majority owner in the North Dakota plant. “It is state of the art in the use of energy and emissions.”
The technology doesn’t reduce the release of greenhouse gases, but offers a lower rate of carbon emissions for the energy output. Roughly 60 percent of coal’s energy gets used at Spiritwood, compared to 30 to 35 percent at a typical coal generator.
Most of the nation’s 212 ethanol plants were built in the last decade in response to federal policies encouraging blending of ethanol at the pump. But the biofuel building boom faded by the decade’s end. Three of the last corn ethanol plants were built in Minnesota in 2009. Other recently built ethanol plants are cellulosic versions that produce the fuel from corn cobs and stalks, but not the kernel.
The North Dakota plant will produce 20 percent of the motor fuel used in that state, the company said. Since motor fuel typically is a 10 percent ethanol blend, Dakota Spirit will need markets out of state. Ridderbusch said one unit train of 100 tank cars — similar to an oil train — likely will be loaded every 18 to 20 days and head to eastern markets on BNSF Railway. BNSF’s main line, the same one used by Bakken oil trains, runs through central Minnesota and the Twin Cities.
Dakota Spirit expects to purchase 23 million bushels of corn annually, the company said. Besides fuel, the plant expects to produce 198,000 tons of distillers grains used as cattle feed and 6,900 tons of industrial corn oil used mainly in feed and to produce biodiesel. The plant has 38 employees.
“The Dakota Spirit AgEnergy biorefinery is an important investment for North Dakota because it adds value to the state’s production agriculture industry, expands our renewable energy offerings, and creates jobs and economic opportunities for our people,” North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple said in a statement.
It is the second ethanol plant developed by Great River Energy, a power supplier to 650,000 Minnesota customers in 28 local co-ops that own the utility. Its other biofuel plant, Blue Flint Ethanol, is next to the company’s Coal Creek power plant near Underwood, N.D.
Both ethanol plants take waste steam from their adjacent generators. The Spiritwood coal-burner also supplies steam to a nearby malt plant owned by Cargill Inc.
For Great River Energy, the investment in an ethanol plant came largely out of necessity. As the utility planned its Spiritwood generator, it counted on steam sales to operate the power plant economically. When the $437 million generating plant was finished in 2011, another company’s plan to build an adjacent ethanol plant had fallen apart.
In an unprecedented step, Great River Energy immediately mothballed the new power plant, whose electricity wasn’t needed after a recession-driven drop in demand. When the power plant finally opened last year, the ethanol plant was under construction, with Great River Energy leading the project. The utility sold a 22 percent stake in all its ethanol operations to outside investors for $17 million in 2014.
The older Blue Flint plant produced record profits last year, adding $28 million to the utility’s bottom line. Now, the ethanol industry faces challenges because of lower fuel prices and higher corn costs. Unlike many older ethanol plants with paid-down debt, Dakota Spirit enters the market with the higher cost structure of a newly financed plant. But Ridderbusch said he has no concerns.
“In this industry, you can never time it,” he said.
Read the original story here : Minnesota Electric Co-Op Opens Ethanol Plant In North Dakota
July 24, 2015
By Cindy Zimmerman
The deadline for submitting comments to the Environmental Protection Agency on the proposed Renewable Fuel Standards for 2014, 2015, and 2016 is Monday, July 27.
EPA administrator Gina McCarthy encouraged members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) meeting in Washington DC last week to make their voices heard during the comment period. “Keep talking, keep communicating, take advantage of the public comment process,” she said. “This was a proposal, this was not a final rule, so tell us what you think. That way we’ll be able to produce a final standard that is based on all of the best information and data available.”
NCGA has made it a priority to get growers involved in commenting on the EPA proposal, sponsoring rallies at the EPA’s public hearing last month in Kansas City, Kansas and on Capitol Hill last week. NCGA president Chip Bowling says they are doing everything possible to help their farmers make their voices heard. “Anyone out there in the countryside can send their comments to EPA,” said Bowling, who notes that they can also send your comments to the EPA through the corn growers website ncga.com/rfs. “We don’t have a whole lot of time to get your comments in but we could really use them.”
Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen says everyone who has a stake in the ethanol industry should send in comments on the proposal. “EPA needs to be hearing from farmers, from consumers, from renewable energy advocates across the country,” said Dinneen. “We made a difference before when we got EPA to not finalize a flawed program. We need to make a difference again.”
Read the original story here : Comment Deadline For RFS Proposal Is Monday
Want to send the EPA your comments? Click here to send your message.
July 22, 2015
By Erin Murhpy
DES MOINES — Using corn-infused gasoline helps strengthen the country’s national security, a trio of retired U.S. generals said Wednesday.
Gen. Wesley Clark, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton and Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson spoke to reporters Wednesday in Des Moines to express their support for the Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal mandate that the nation’s fuel supply contain a certain percentage of corn-based ethanol.
The generals appeared on behalf of VoteVets.org, a national advocacy group for veterans issues.
Clark said the nation must do what it can to reduce its dependency on foreign oil.
“For that, there’s nothing better than the Renewable Fuel Standard. It is the smartest, best energy strategy that America has ever devised,” said Clark, a four-star U.S. Army general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander who ran for president as a Democrat in 2004. “It was passed under the administration of President George W. Bush. It had bipartisan support in the United States Congress. And now the implementation, the follow-through is being questioned. By who? By people whose economic interests want us to remain addicted to importing foreign oil.”
The federal Environmental Protection Agency may reduce the amount of ethanol required in the nation’s fuel supply.
That would be a mistake with national security implications, the three generals said Wednesday. They encouraged Iowans to express to the federal government their support for the standard and to press presidential candidates visiting the first-in-the-nation caucus state to do the same.
“Unfettered access to energy is a vital national interest, regardless of the country,” said Eaton, a U.S. Army general who trained Iraqi troops during the war in Iraq.
The less the U.S. relies on foreign oil, the less the country will have to involve itself in foreign entanglements involving oil-rich countries, the generals said.
“My experiences in Iraq have taught me that our addiction to oil is putting our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines at tremendous risk overseas,” said Anderson, who served for 31 years in the U.S. Army. “While I was a senior logistics officer working for (Gen. David) Petraeus in 2006 and 2007, I was bringing upwards of 400 fuel trucks a day to sustain our oil addiction, because we didn’t have any other systems other than carbon-based systems. Everything ran off of oil. Everything ran off the generators. Everything was carbon-based.”
Anderson said that reliance on oil put “incredible pressure” on the U.S. military in combat zones and put American troops at risk. He said approximately 1,200 American troops died moving fuel in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Opponents of the fuel standard argue the federal government mandate intrudes upon the free market.
“Unfortunately, most of my Republican counterparts don’t understand that it’s not about getting cheaper oil or other sources of oil, it’s about weaning the addiction to oil,” Anderson said.
Read the original story here : Retired U.S. Generals : Protect Renewable Fuel Standard
July 21, 2015
By Bob Dinneen
The U.S. Constitution, one of the most important documents in our nation’s history, begins with three simple, yet very powerful, words: “We the people.” Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to work on behalf of the people. I have also had the pleasure of working with people who are passionate about the biofuels industry. Folks who wholeheartedly believe that renewable fuels can reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and revitalize rural economies.
In August, Washington, D.C., changes character, transforming itself from a bustling city into a more sedate town. August is when members of Congress return to their home districts and states. While at home, these members often host town hall meetings where they give their constituents—their people—an update on what is happening in Congress, take questions, and listen to concerns. After all, as public servants, members of Congress are supposed to represent the people.
But members of Congress are not the only representatives of the people. Our government institutions are also charged with looking out for the best interests of the people. In June, officials from the U.S. EPA traveled to Kansas City, Kansas, for a public hearing that gave the agency a chance to hear what the people had to say about the agency’s implementation of the renewable fuel standard (RFS). People from all walks of life, from farmers in the heartland to academics in our nation’s largest cities, attended the hearing because they wanted the EPA to hear their voices. And what the EPA heard was a near unanimous chorus of frustration with the way the agency is implementing the RFS. Conrad Clement of Conrad Clement Farms summed up the feeling of those in attendance when, during his testimony, he called the RFS “America’s most successful policy in 40 years,” but charged that the EPA was “tearing [the RFS] apart.” Clement urged the EPA to “endorse the original RFS as it was.”
I’ve said time and time again that there is nothing wrong with the RFS that cannot be fixed by what is right with the RFS. All the EPA has to do is to implement the statute as Congress intended. But instead of setting the renewable volume requirements at the levels that Congress established, the agency is proposing to cut them by 20 percent, or a total of 11.3 billion gallons, over the course of three years. I can assure you that the oil companies will happily fill the void with gasoline and diesel fuel refined from dirtier and more costly sources of crude oil.
Under the RFS, ethanol produced at current levels has virtually wiped out our nation’s need to import finished gasoline, reducing these imports from 600,000 barrels per day a decade ago to near nothing today. Ethanol also drastically reduces greenhouse gas emissions, removing the equivalent of 8.4 million cars from the road each year. Instead of building on the success of the RFS, however, the EPA showed in its proposal that it clearly bought into Big Oil’s false claims that ethanol has reached its saturation point at a 10 percent ethanol blend, and that higher-level ethanol blends, such as E15 and E85, are not yet available enough to justify a higher blending requirement.
The EPA proposal is creating a tsunami of RINs. When EPA considers whether the supply of renewable fuel is “adequate” to meet statutory volumetric requirements, stocks of RIN credits must be taken into account. After all, RINs represent gallons of renewable fuels that were produced and are part of the physical fuel supply. To completely dismiss carryover RINs from the determination of available supply is not only illogical but also creates disincentives for investing in pumps and technology. The EPA needs to let the RIN market work as intended to drive investment and innovation.
I commend the EPA for going to the heart of the conversation and holding the hearing in the Midwest, but the agency cannot simply discard the comments at the next convenient opportunity. The EPA must listen to the voice of the American people, who have an outspoken desire for a strong RFS, and not the oil industry.
Read the original story here : EPA Must Listen To The People On The RFS
July 17, 2015
By Nancy Madsen
JANESVILLE — U.S. Rep. Tim Walz told ethanol producers at the Guardian Plant on Friday that he would share the truth about modern ethanol production in Congress.
“Many times, we have this Minnesota Lutheran thing where we do a good deed but we don’t talk about it because then it doesn’t count,” said Walz, DFL-Mankato.
Ethanol, a type of fuel for vehicles made from fermenting corn, is clean energy made at home, a win-win, he said.
The producers described recent improvements to ethanol processing. “Our engineering guarantees were a yield of 2.75” bushels per acre, said Guardian CEO Mike Jerke. “We’re beyond that now, we’re producing at 2.85.”
The natural gas input needed to process the corn has dropped from 30 to 25 British thermal units per gallon. And the plant does not discharge any wastewater.
“That was not expected,” Jerke said.
There is some evaporation, but the rest is reused and recycled in the system.
The Janesville facility turned 43 million bushels of corn into 120 million gallons of ethanol last year.
Ethanol plants take the corn, grind it and mix it with hot water and enzymes to get the corn’s starch to turn into sugar. After adding yeast and other ingredients, it ferments in tanks for about 2 1/2 days.
The fermentation creates about 14 percent alcohol, which becomes ethanol. Byproducts are put to other uses.
In the plant’s control room, Brandon Larson showed Walz and others on the tour the computerized controls and the data — flow, temperature and pressure, just to name a few — that he watches to make sure the processing is running smoothly. Walz asked him and other employees on the tour where they grew up, how they started at Guardian and what training they had.
“I don’t have an ideological dog in this fight,” Walz said. “I have an economic dog in this fight. We’ve got young people out there looking to find middle-class, skilled jobs.”
Encouraging innovation and rural production are means to allow young people to stay in rural America, he said. Guardian employs 43 people.
Ethanol producers at the tour said that other interest groups, such as petroleum companies, are spreading misinformation when they say that there is a limit on how much ethanol can be sold each year given constraints on how much can be blended into each gallon of motor fuel. This is called a blend wall. They said ethanol is cleaner than oil for the environment, cheaper for consumers and better for engines.
“Once you’re out of the Cities in Minnesota, a large amount of folks get it,” Jerke said. “But it’s a very independent industry and our ability to speak with a common voice is big.”
Walz said that many in Congress are simply ignorant on ethanol’s benefits, having been fed information from other interests.
“There’s your voice, but then there are 15 lawyers from oil companies lined up outside my door to present their point of view,” he said.
The bulk of corn and soybean production areas are represented by 28 members of Congress, “fewer than southern California,” he said.
And that has led to recent policy disappointments for the ethanol industry, including a reduction for the 2015 and 2016 renewable fuel standards by the Environmental Protection Agency, which will require 13.4 billion gallons of ethanol be blended in this year and 14 billion gallons next year, down from Congress’s mandate of 15 billion gallons.
We have capacity to produce more,” Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association Executive Director Timothy Rudnicki said. “The EPA has gone off track again.”
Minnesota has 21 ethanol plants that produce 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol, the association said.
Walz said he would be looking for ways to raise the standard again and help ethanol producers.
“It’s in the nation’s interest to create energy at home, it’s in the nation’s interest to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and it’s in the nation’s interest to reduce our carbon footprint,” he said.
Read the original story here : Walz Touts Economic, Environmental Benefits At Janesville Plant