In the News

Reuters

May 2, 2018

By Jarret Renshaw

The Trump administration has invited a group of U.S. senators to the White House early next week to discuss biofuels policy, the latest in a series of such meetings aimed at helping refiners cope with the Renewable Fuel Standard, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The senators will include Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of corn state Iowa, along with Pat Toomey and Ted Cruz of refinery states Pennsylvania and Texas, according to the sources, who asked not to be named. The meeting will take place on Monday or Tuesday, they said.

White House spokeswoman Kelly Love did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Biofuels groups have complained that the Trump administration is granting too many exemptions to the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires refineries to mix increasing amounts of biofuels like corn-based ethanol into the nation’s fuel or to purchase credits from rivals that do. The law was intended to support farmers, reduce pollution, and cut petroleum imports. Exemptions were meant to benefit smaller refiners who may not be able to do the blending or purchase the credits.

While the 2005 regulation has created a multibillion-gallon market for ethanol, refiners complain the requirements now costs them hundreds of millions of dollars per year. They have urged the Trump administration to make changes, like capping the price of blending credits or shifting the blending obligation away from refiners entirely.

The ethanol industry has vehemently opposed those proposals, saying they would undermine demand for biofuels and also hurt farm income.

Numerous meetings on the topic since late last year appeared to end in deadlock. Last month, President Donald Trump announced he would consider expanding the times of year that high ethanol blend gasoline can be sold, a concession to the corn industry keen to boost its share of the motor fuel market.

At the same time, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been issuing more RFS exemptions to small refineries than the Obama administration did. While plants receiving the exemptions are small, their owners are some of the largest U.S. refiners, including Andeavor, which Marathon Petroleum hopes to acquire for $23 billion.

The surge in exemptions follows a federal court ruling in August that says the EPA was using guidelines in denying applications that were too strict. Biofuel groups say the EPA is using the court decision to justify gutting the RFS.

Prices of compliance credits have plummeted on news of the refinery exemptions.

The EPA also granted a waiver to a refinery owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, according to two industry sources briefed on the matter.

Oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron have also applied for waivers at their small U.S. refineries.

A biofuels trade group asked a federal court on Tuesday to rule whether the EPA violated the law in granting a growing number of small refineries exemptions from renewable fuel laws, according to a court filing.

Read the original article: White House Sets Meeting With Senators on Biofuels Next Week: Sources

Ethanol Producer Magazine

May 1, 2018

By the Renewable Fuels Association

The summer driving season kicks off in just a few weeks and the U.S. Energy Information Administration is already warning drivers that they are likely to see the highest gasoline prices in four years. Pump prices have already begun to increase, with the average retail price for regular gasoline reaching $2.85 per gallon last week, the highest since November 2014. However, ethanol is helping to offset higher prices, and 10 percent ethanol blends (E10) alone could save consumers at least $39 billion this year, according to an analysis released today by the Renewable Fuels Association.

The analysis of wholesale gasoline and ethanol price data shows that blending E10 has reduced wholesale gasoline prices by at least 27 cents per gallon, or 14 percent, compared to ethanol-free gasoline (E0). At current prices, E10 would save consumers $39 billion, or $306 per household, this year. The savings estimates are conservative, the analysis noted, since they exclude the additional aggregate cost savings that results from ethanol’s extension of the U.S. fuel supply and displacement of crude oil demand. The analysis points out that ethanol prices in the reference market of Omaha, Neb., have been equivalent to roughly half of the price for E0 gasoline so far this year.

The cost savings to consumers would be even greater if E15 (15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gasoline) were used in approved vehicles nationwide in place of E10, the analysis found. Specifically, the savings would be at least 34 cents per gallon, or 17 percent, for E15 consumers. Using E15 in approved vehicles would help consumers across the country save approximately $45 billion on gasoline, or $386 per household.

However, due to arcane regulatory barriers, E15 is prevented from being sold during the summer months (June 1-Sept. 15) in more than two-thirds of the nation’s gasoline market. According to the analysis, consumers who are blocked from accessing E15 are unnecessarily spending at least an extra 7 cents per gallon on gasoline. Nationally, that translates to $6 billion, or approximately $80 per household, of forgone savings.

“Gasoline prices are rising right along with the temperature. As Memorial Day approaches and the start of the summer driving season begins, consumers are expecting to pay more at the pump. But as this analysis shows, ethanol is already helping to keep gas prices in check,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “U.S. ethanol continues to be the lowest cost, highest octane fuel in the world, and it is clearly yielding savings to consumers. Those savings would be even more significant if EPA allowed year-round sales of E15 and other higher ethanol blends. There’s absolutely no reason why consumers should be denied access to greater fuel savings and a higher-octane option at the pump.”

To view a copy of the analysis, click here.

Read the original article: RFA: Ethanol Saves Consumers Money at the Pump

E&E News 

April 30, 2018

By Marc Heller

A group of pro-ethanol senators asked EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt today to speed the agency's approval of year-round sales of higher-ethanol fuel, reminding him of President Trump's recent comments in favor of the change.

"Allowing an open marketplace with more fuel options for consumers encourages competition and drives down consumer fuel costs," wrote Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 17 other senators from both parties.

In addition, they said, greater availability of E15 fuel — which is 15 percent ethanol — would help farmers at a time of declining farm income and reduce air pollution compared with the 10 percent ethanol now sold in most gas stations.

In their letter, the senators asked Pruitt for a timeline to make the change through formal rulemaking, and they urged "immediate clarity" to allow sales of higher-ethanol blends in the interim.

"Doing this will fulfill the president's commitment to allow consumer's access to these fuels year-round, expand consumer choice, and eliminate confusion at the pump," they said.

Trump said earlier this month that the administration would allow E15 to be sold year-round, a process that requires an EPA waiver under so-called Reid vapor pressure rules. The RVP rules restrict certain types of fuel based on their ability to evaporate and contribute to ozone pollution, but the senators said the regulations are outdated.

Pruitt told farm broadcasters in an interview last week that EPA lawyers have been looking into the issue for months, trying to find the most solid legal footing to ease the restrictions. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has referenced increased E15 availability as a possible negotiating tool in easing parts of the federal renewable fuel standard (E&E News PM, April 26).

The other senators signing the letter were Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).

Reprinted with permission from E&E News 

Read the original article: Senators Press Pruitt to Allow Year-Round E15 Sales

Read the Senators' letter here. 

National Biodiesel Board

April 25, 2018

Press Release

The National Biodiesel Board has been proactive to defend a strong Renewable Fuel Standard and fight against the Environmental Protection Agency's misguided actions. Today, former Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Jim Talent (R-MO), who played key roles in developing the RFS, called for Congress to investigate the EPA's recent waivers to major refiners and failure to follow the law.

“Who better to help clarify the intent of these small refinery exemptions than those who helped write the law in the first place? It is no surprise that they stand against the actions of the EPA,” said Kurt Kovarik, NBB's vice president of federal affairs. “The EPA’s decision to give handouts to large, profitable refiners has a direct and lasting negative impact on biodiesel producers, renderers and farmers. We will continue our push to return transparency and certainty to the marketplace.”

Thirteen years after working to enact the RFS, Senators Dorgan and Talent say EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's use of waivers skirts the law and threatens to undermine the renewable fuels industry.

“Lawmakers from across the heartland have already demanded the EPA stop abusing these waivers, but Congress can and should do more. The public deserves real answers from Administrator Pruitt about handouts granted under cover of night,” said the two Senators.

“The waiver provisions established by Congress provide flexibility in dealing with the smallest refining companies, producing fewer than 75,000 barrels per day, and only in unique cases presenting disproportionate economic hardship. But the EPA has warped those provisions to grant tens of millions of dollars in regulatory handouts at the expense of farmers, biofuel workers, and American consumers.”

“The EPA’s actions not only undermine the intent of Congress, they undermine a renewable energy industry that supports hundreds of thousands of American jobs. Congress has a right and an obligation to investigate the approval process for each and every handout."

“The RFS remains the single most successful energy policy working to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, while delivering real economic and environmental benefits. It supports prosperity across rural America and brings cleaner, more affordable options to the fuel pump, including blends of American-made ethanol, biodiesel, and cellulosic biofuels. The President vowed time and again to support the RFS, and Congress should work with the White House to make certain that Administrator Pruitt is staying true to that promise in public and behind closed doors.”

The National Biodiesel Board submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request aimed at shedding light on small refiner exemptions requested and issued under the Renewable Fuel Standard. They also joined the American Soybean Association and the National Renderers Association urging President Trump to keep his promises to rural voters to uphold a strong RFS.

Press coverage has indicated the EPA has granted exemptions to several refineries for the 2016 and 2017 compliance years, including one of the nation’s largest. EPA has apparently granted Andeavor a hardship waiver for its three smallest refineries, while their profits last year were approximately $1.5 billion dollars. At least two other refineries with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual profits appear to have also been granted exemptions.

Congress has already taken notice. Last week, a bipartisan group of 13 Senators wrote Pruitt urging him to cease issuing hardship waivers. The letter also requests the following actions immediately:  

Cease issuing any refinery waivers under the RFS;

Provide a full list of the refiners that have received a refinery waiver in 2016, 2017 or 2018;

Provide a detailed report to Congress describing EPA’s justification for providing the waivers and if the volumes were redistributed to other obligated parties; and

Describe EPA’s commitment and plan to consider future small refinery waivers only during the annual RVO rulemaking process and commitment to provide full notice and opportunity for comment on any future small refinery waiver requests.

“Granting secretive ‘hardship’ waivers to some of the nation’s most profitable petroleum giants undermines the law and destroys demand for homegrown biofuels,” said Kovarik. “We applaud the efforts of the Senators to shed light on EPA’s actions.”

The Renewable Fuel Standard is a federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. The RFS originated in a bi-partisan Congress with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and was expanded and extended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The National Biodiesel Board is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel and renewable diesel value chains, including producers, feedstock suppliers and fuel distributors.

Byron Dorgan is a North Dakota Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate for 18 years. He sat on the Senate Energy Committee and was one of the original authors of the RFS. He is now a senior policy adviser at Arent Fox, whose clients include the National Biodiesel Board.

Jim Talent is a Missouri Republican who served in the U.S. Senate from 2002 to 2007. He was a co-author of the RFS and currently serves as Chair of Americans for Energy Security and Innovation (AESI), which supports homegrown, renewable energy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Read the original press release: Former Senators, Biofuels Champions: EPA Actions Contrary to Law/Congressional Intent

Farm Journal's Ag Pro

April 26, 2018

By Anna-Lisa Laca

Over the past year and a half, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Scott Pruitt has issued Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) waivers equivalent to more than 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol (according to the Renewable Fuels Association and their analysis of EPA data) , a move Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told the Senate Ag Committee is “direct demand destruction.”

According to Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer, Secretary Perdue fielded Congressional questions on the RFS during his hearing before the Senate Ag Committee on Tuesday.

On the RFS, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) pressed Perdue on the EPA's recent move to provide waivers to some smaller refiners for obligations under the law,” he said. “Perdue said as of his last check, USDA was aware that over one billion gallons of biofuel waivers had been granted.”

Wiesemeyer said Ernst followed up by asking Perdue how he plans to “ensure the EPA is not deliberately circumventing the RFS," to which he said he didn’t have “any kind of hammer” to force Pruitt’s hand on the issue. Perdue said he intends to use “the power of persuasion” to help them understand how the waivers have undermined the renewable volume obligations issued last fall.

"Our farmers and biofuel producers are very concerned," Perdue said yesterday.

Iowa farmer Tim Richter told AgriTalk host Chip Flory the volume of waivers that have been granted so far are a “huge deal” during Wednesday’s farmer forum.  

“The RFS holds feet to the fire for big oil to blend a renewable product,” he said. “Without that we know we’re small fish in a big ocean when it comes to fuel.” 

According to Richter, there are hardship waivers included in the RFS. He served as president of the National Corn Growers Association in 2008 when the RFS was first implemented. Still, the quantity of waivers being granted by Administrator Pruitt concerns him.

“We really are at risk with all the waivers being granted,” he said.

During his hearing on Tuesday, Perdue also mentioned president Trump is in support of year-round sale of E15 gasoline blends.

“The change remains on hold as the EPA studies the issue but the decision is ultimately the president’s,” Wiesmeyer said.

Read the original article: Perdue Calls RFS Waivers ‘Direct Demand Destruction’

Ethanol Producer Magazine

April 25, 2018

By Syngenta

As ethanol plants seek new ways to be more competitive, advances in corn kernel fiber to ethanol processes have shown significant promise in adding value through the diversification of product streams.

“Over the last decade, existing dry grind ethanol plants have strived to extract value out of the corn kernel through maximizing production and capture of ethanol, carbon dioxide, dried distillers grains (DDG), and oil,” said Miloud Araba, head, technical services for Enogen at Syngenta. “Cellerate process technology converts corn kernel fiber into a diversified income stream and has been producing D3 RIN-qualifying cellulosic ethanol on a commercial scale at Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) since 2014. QCCP has generated nearly 40 percent of all D3 ethanol RINs produced over the past three and one-half years.”

Performance results achieved at QCCP to date through combining Cellerate with Enogen corn include: a 6 percent yield increase plus a 20 percent throughput increase combined for a 26 percent increase in total ethanol production; higher protein feed co-products; and improved oil yield.

Together, Cellerate and Enogen corn can help deliver notable benefits to ethanol plants beyond what can be achieved through either technology alone—including increased throughput and yield and a notable reduction in natural gas, electricity and water usage.

"Cellerate is a diverse process technology which adds value to protein, increases distillers corn oil production, creates cellulosic ethanol and produces low carbon intense ethanol, all while allowing additional throughput from a dry grind ethanol facility," said QCCP CEO Delayne Johnson.

With an approved D3 RINs EPA pathway for over three years, Cellerate process technology enables ethanol producers to leverage their existing infrastructure and significantly increase total production by using pre-existing assets such as: feedstock receiving and storage; product separation; and final product storage.

“Cellerate process technology provides dry grind ethanol producers the opportunity to move away from low value commodity fuels and dried distillers grains (DDG) and into high value D3 RINs and DDG markets,” said Jeff Oestmann, head, bio-fuels operations for Enogen at Syngenta. “To help make the benefits of Cellerate’s diverse value stream more broadly available, Syngenta is working with a number of industry leaders including Purina, QCCP and Fagen Inc., as well as another top engineering firm in the ethanol space.”

In an upcoming webinar hosted by Ethanol Producer Magazine at 2 p.m. Central on Thursday, April 26, Syngenta and QCCP will discuss how dry grind ethanol plants can leverage corn kernel fiber to be more competitive. Register here.

To inquire about incorporating Cellerate process technology into a dry grind ethanol plant, contact Jeff Oestmann at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information about Cellerate enhanced by Enogen corn, visit www.Enogen.com.

Read the original article: Syngenta: Cellerate Technology Can Benefit Ethanol Producers

Brownfield

April 20, 2018

By Julie Harker

The ranking members of the House Ag and House Energy committees are asking President Trump to ensure no more RFS waivers are granted until transparency and accountability of the waiver program is improved.

Congressmen Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Frank Pallone of New Jersey say in their letter to Trump they are deeply concerned that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is granting waivers to large oil refiners which is not the intent of the Renewable Fuels Standard program.

Peterson and Pallone say misuse of the exemption to reduce renewable fuels volumes “undermines the goal of the RFS, creates uncertainty and economic hardship in the ag community, and gives unfair advantage” to certain facilities in the refining sector.

They say Pruitt testified at his confirmation hearing that the waiver authority should be used judiciously in the way Congress intended.

Read the full letter here.

Read the original article: Peterson Co-Signs RFS Waiver Letter to Trump

Science Daily

April 23, 2018

By Stanford University

Although considered critical to avoiding catastrophic global warming, the feasibility of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it underground -- known as negative emissions -- has been in question.

"There's really no scenario that meets the world's climate goals without negative emissions," said Katharine Mach, a senior research scientist at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences. "But most technologies for carbon removal are immature, largely unavailable or expensive."

But researchers at Stanford and other institutions have found new hope for cost-effective carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Their study, published April 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, runs the numbers on different options for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the U.S. and finds opportunities where it is not only commercially feasible with existing technology, but profitable.

Plants do the work

The most widely discussed strategy for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere involves growing plants, which absorb CO2, as a first step. Those plants can then be processed to produce energy, and any resulting CO2 emissions from that energy production would be captured and stored underground.

While it seems straightforward, these technologies -- known as bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration, or BECCS -- have not been fully developed and many areas don't have geology that's suitable for storing CO2. What's more, pipelines would need to be built to take CO2 from bioenergy plants to areas suitable for storage. There are also serious questions about how BECCS would scale globally and compete with plants grown for food production or impact ecosystems and biodiversity.

However, the group found that one type of BECCS technology could work immediately for U.S. ethanol producers. What's more, given current and predicted future financial incentives, the approach could even turn a profit.

"We found that between tax credits for CCS and upcoming financial incentives from low-carbon fuel standards, CCS is an untapped financial opportunity for ethanol producers across the U.S.," said Daniel Sanchez, a postdoctoral scholar with the Carnegie Institution for Science and lead author on the paper.

The United States is the largest producer of ethanol in the world, producing 15.8 billion gallons in 2017. Ethanol is made by fermenting biomass such as corn, which produces a high-purity CO2 by-product that is easier and cheaper to capture, compress and inject underground than other emitted sources of CO2. Right now, these emissions are largely vented to the atmosphere in the process of making ethanol.

"Negative emissions at biorefineries is commercially ready and affordable. It offers a compelling way to build the real-world experience we need to develop future BECCS technologies," said Mach.

Financial incentives

The researchers estimate that 60 percent of all CO2 emitted annually through the production of ethanol at the country's 216 biofuel plants (about 1 percent of all CO2 emissions from the U.S.) could be captured at low cost, under $25 per metric ton of CO2.

Further, if credits for captured CO2 were set at $60 per metric ton, it could incentivize sequestration of 30 million metric tons of CO2 each year that are otherwise vented into the atmosphere -- equivalent to emissions from powering 3.2 million homes for one year -- and pay for the construction of 4,300 miles of pipeline infrastructure needed to transport the CO2 for storage at appropriate sites across the country.

These incentives are in line with new tax credits included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 signed by the president in February. The bill amended section 45Q of the tax code so that power plants or CO2-emitting facilities are eligible for tax credits for captured CO2 for up to 12 years.

"There are many ways to incentivize and unleash negative emissions technologies, one of which this administration and Congress may have just put into place," said Mach.

Another financial incentive comes in the form of low-carbon fuel standards, such as those implemented in Oregon, California and British Columbia. It works by giving tradeable credits for fuels that exceed the standard and deficits to those who don't.

Right now, accounting for CCS isn't included in the standards, but on April 27, California will consider updating its rules to include new protocols that would quantify the value of carbon removal in the fuel production process. If adopted, fuel producers could collect more credits by selling lower-carbon ethanol in California.

"This is an opportunity not only for biofuel producers to make profits, but also for CCS technology to be more widely piloted and developed. This is an essential first step if we're going to deploy carbon removal at levels necessary to keep dangerous climate change in check," said Sanchez.

Read the original article: Carbon Capture Could Be a Financial Opportunity for US Biofuels