The DOE has announced a compendium of new research that explores how grinding, sifting, drying, pelletizing and chemically treating biomass before it reaches the biorefinery could help solve big challenges plaguing today's bioenergy industry.
On March 29, the USDA Commodity Credit Corp. announced it does not expect to purchase and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2018, which runs from Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2019.
One reason station owners have decided to install dispensers meeting UL specifications for E25 or E85 is the possibility a higher-octane, higher ethanol blend will be used by automakers to meet CAFÉ and/or GHG regulations sometime in the near future.
U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told federal lawmakers April 3 it would be difficult for the agency to reallocate biofuel volumes waived by small refinery exemptions (SREs), even if Congress provided a legislative mechanism to do so.
ACE's Washington, D.C., fly-in opened April 2 with a Q&A session with U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator Bill Wehrum. The event is scheduled to include more than 120 meetings on Capitol Hill and will focus on E15 and small refinery exemptions.
Growth Energy announced that consumers have surpassed 8 billion miles on E15, known to consumers as Unleaded 88—a fuel blended with 15 percent renewable biofuel that is approved for all cars 2001 and newer.
Consumer demand for E15—also known as Unleaded 88—has been driving E15 retail adoption for the past few years, and that in turn has caused an explosion of growth on the terminal front. More than 100 terminal offer E15 today, up from five in 2017.
The USDA released a new study April 2 that finds GHG emissions from corn ethanol are about 39 percent lower than gasoline. When ethanol is produced at natural gas-powered plants, GHG emissions are even lower, approximately 43 percent below gasoline.
On March 29, the U.S. EPA held a public hearing in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on its proposed rule to allow year-round sales of E15 and enact RIN market reforms. Members of the biofuel industry were among those to offer testimony at the event.
Data released by the U.S. EPA on March 28 indicates the agency has approved another small refinery exemption under the Renewable Fuel Standard for compliance year 2017, bringing the total number of approved waivers for the compliance year to 35.
American Coalition for Ethanol Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty marked his second trip to Mexico this year with a return visit to Monterrey to speak at an ethanol technical information forum for Mexican petroleum equipment installers and retailers.
The U.S. EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of a proposed extension of an existing information collection request (ICR) related to E15 it plans to submit to the Office of Management and Budget.
The U.S. EPA has released renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for February, reporting that nearly 1.49 billion RINs were generated during the month, including more than 32.02 million cellulosic RINs.
On March 22, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urging the agency to help expedite rail delivery of biofuels amid historic flooding in the Midwest.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced its Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee will meet March 27-28 in Arlington, Virginia. The event is open to members of the public.
Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration March 20 indicates weekly U.S. ending stocks of fuel ethanol set a new record the week ending March 15, reaching 24.412 million barrels.
FROM THE APRIL ISSUE: Editor Lisa Gibson previews the magazine, including feature articles about an innovative approach to plant cleaning, industry reaction to a high-octane proposal, and a new education effort aimed at mechanics, and more.
IRFA members climbed Iowa's capitol hill on March 20 to meet with state legislators, armed with a newly-released study that declares biofuels are responsible for over 48,000 Iowa jobs and more than $2.5 billion in Iowa household income.
Analysis recently released by the U.S. Grains Council shows U.S. exports of ethanol and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) were up significantly during the first four months of the 2018-'19 marketing year.
FROM THE APRIL ISSUE: At NEC, a GM executive outlined some controversial advice for the ethanol industry.
FROM THE APRIL ISSUE: RFA releases new studies, information at NEC.
On March 15, the RFA sent a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and leaders of the Senate Energy, Environment and Technology Committee in support of recently introduced legislation that aims to establish a Clean Fuels Standard in the state.
FROM THE APRIL ISSUE: UNICA welcomes new president and CEO.
The key to making informed decisions is education, and that's just what the U.S. Grains Council's goal has been regarding increasing demand for U.S. fuel ethanol in Mexico.
The U.S. EPA has announced it will hold a public hearing on its proposed E15/RIN reform rule on March 29 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end when all parties present who wish to speak have had an opportunity to do so.
FROM THE APRIL ISSUE: The need for an updated fuel testing process.
The state of Washington is one step closer to mandating the use of cleaner transportation fuels. The state's House recently passed legislation to establish a Clean Fuels Program that aims to increase the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels.
Pacific Ethanol Inc. has announced plans to strategically realign its business over the next six months, including the potential sale of production assets. The company has engaged Piper Jaffray to aid it in that sales effort.
The U.S. EPA on March 14 approved five more 2017 small refinery exemptions, pushing the number of approved waivers from 2016 and 2017 over 50, and 2.61 billion gallons, according to the American Coalition for Ethanol.
Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, said in a media call March 14 that small refinery exemptions eroded demand for ethanol in 2018, and called for those ethanol gallons to be reallocated.
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