A new analysis released by the RFA shows that U.S. ethanol producers had lost $3.8 billion as result of COVID-19 by the end of November. With new travel restrictions and the resulting loss of fuel demand, those losses will continue to grow.
Information released by the White House Office of Management and budget indicates the a proposed rule to set 2021 RVOs under the RFS could be released soon. A rulemaking is also underway to alter E15 labeling requirements.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Dec. 9 announced that Wisconsin will be making up to $3.25 million of federal Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding available to Wisconsin's nine ethanol producers.
The U.S. EPA on Dec. 9 released a final rule that changes the way the agency will consider the costs and benefits of all significant Clean Air Act rulemakings. The EPA said the impacted rulemakings will be accompanied by a benefit-cost analysis.
President-elect Joe Biden has announced he will nominate Tom Vilsack as secretary of agriculture. Vilsack is a former two-term governor of Iowa who served as secretary of agriculture during all eight years of the Obama-Biden administration.
In a filing submitted on Dec. 8, the Department of Justice recommended against Supreme Court review of the Tenth Circuit Court's ruling earlier this year that invalidated several small refinery exemptions issued by U.S. EPA under the RFS.
The RFA, Growth Energy, NCGA, NBB, ACE, and NFU on Dec. 8 filed a brief challenging EPA's August 2019 decision to exempt 31 small refineries from their obligations to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2018.
The 45Q Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Tax Credit Amendments Act of 2020 was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Dec. 7. The bill makes targeted statutory changes to maximize the utility of the credit.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration slightly increased its forecast for 2021 fuel ethanol production in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Dec. 8. The forecast for 2020 ethanol production was maintained.
The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency has introduced the EERE Program Information Center, EERE's new portal for funding opportunities. Several training opportunities on the new system are available in December and January.
Growth Energy has released a new report examining the potential climate benefits of a nationwide transition from the standard 10-percent ethanol blended fuel (E10) to a 15-percent ethanol blend (E15).
Several biofuel and bioenergy groups are among nearly 70 trade organizations that sent a letter to congressional leadership last month urging the passage of tax extenders legislation before the 116th Congress adjourns sine die.
Reps. David McKinley, R-W.V., and Marc Veasey, D-Texas, on Dec. 3 introduced the ACCESS 45Q Act, which extends the date for projects to begin construction to claim the credit by 10 years and provides a direct pay elective.
Fuel retailers are beginning to implement a range of infrastructure projects across the country. This comes as USDA's HBIIP is being fully implemented, something farmers and the ethanol industry helped make happen, according to RFA's Cassie Mullen.
We learned in 2020 how valuable convenience store owners, operators, and workers are to all of us. The ethanol industry owes a debt of gratitude to everyone who went to work everyday and sold our products, according to ACE's Ron Lamberty.
Growth Energy on Dec. 1 submitted a notice of intent to sue letter to U.S. EPA regarding its failure to fulfill its statutory obligation to issue the 2021 renewable volume obligation (RVO) by Nov. 30, 2020, an annual deadline set by the RFS.
The USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service is soliciting applications for FY 2021 funding under the Rural Energy for America Program. Biomass energy systems, including biogas and anaerobic digesters, are among those eligible for the program.
The government of Ontario announced on Nov. 26 it has amended its clean fuels regulations and will ramp up its requirement for renewable content in gasoline to 15 percent by 2030. The change is will boost demand for biofuels, including ethanol.
Retail offerings of higher ethanol blends has been steadily on the rise, with preliminary data for the year showing a 10 percent growth in retail stores in 2020 alone, according to Mike O'Brien, vice president of market development at Growth Energy.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship on Nov. 30 announced that 101 ethanol projects and 137 biodiesel projects at 167 fuel retail locations have been awarded COVID-19 relief under the Renewable Fuels Retail Recovery Program.
The U.S. EPA has missed its Nov. 30 statutory deadline to set the 2021 RVOs under the RFS, as well as the 2021 RVO for biomass-based diesel. While a COVID-19-related delay was not unexpected, the agency has yet to issue even an initial proposal.
The global economy is going to look different for a while. Our industry's reliability under pressure, coupled with open supply and trade links, and sound policy, will continue to be ethanol's advantage in the global marketplace.
Many of the key players in ethanol's export markets will hold their places into 2021, but policies, tariffs and demand for industrial ethanol could make waves. Making sure ethanol is treated as a here-and-now climate change solution will be critical.
Business announcements from the January issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine, including the NCGA's 2021 committees, a proposed LCFS in Minnesota, Pacific Ethanol's transition away from fuel alcohol, and Husky Energy's merger with Cenovus in Canada.
Already contributing to decarbonization, ethanol is a phenomenal low-carbon molecule that will continue to play an instrumental role in the transition to net-zero emissions. And because it is here today, there is no need to wait until 2035 to act.
Japan achieved an average ethanol blend rate of 1.6 percent in 2019. The blend rate is expected to increase to 1.9 percent this year due to an estimated 8 percent decrease in gasoline demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With 250 million cars on the road, and 15 million or more being sold annually, the internal combustion engine will remain predominant for decades to come. High-octane, low-carbon ethanol makes liquid transportation fuels clean and efficient today.
The Biogenic CO2 Coalition on Nov. 19 commended a bipartisan group of six U.S. governors who are urging the U.S. EPA to take prompt, science-based action to keep the United States from falling behind its competitors in the international bioeconomy.
Biofuel groups on Nov. 23 filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia asking the court to enforce its 2017 decision requiring the U.S. EPA to address its improper waiver of 500 million gallons of biofuel in the 2016 RVO.
Growth Energy on Nov. 20 announced it has submitted comments to the Colorado Energy Office on its draft Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, which details energy action steps the state can take to meet its near-term GHG reduction goals.
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