USDA Press Conferences

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held two press conferences the week of December 9, 2013 on two totally different subjects, but both times he was asked his thoughts about Congress not getting a farm bill done. On December 11, Vilsack was joined by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus in announcing a joint “Farm-to-Fleet” venture to make biofuel blends part of …

Patriot Renewable Fuels, Rep. Bustos, Fight for RFS

On November 27, 2013 Patriot Renewable Fuels, based in Annawan, Illinois hosted a Renewable Fuel Roundtable with special guest Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL). In addition, the biorefinery broke ground on its $10 million 4-5 million gallon biodiesel plant that will use the corn oil produced from ethanol plant to produce biofuels. Listen to Rep. Cheri Bustos full remarks here: Check …

Testimony from EPA Hearing

Over 100 stakeholders, many from the agricultural industry, testified at a hearing Thursday in Crystal City, Virginia on the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to lower the volume obligations for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2014. Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen Testimony – Patriot Renewable Fuels Testimony – Iowa Governor Testimony – Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) Testimony –

Concerns about Impact of Lowering RFS

Representatives from state government, the agriculture community, and the ethanol industry all say the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) biofuels requirements would have a negative impact on agriculture and rural economies. A telephone press discussion about the proposal held on Wednesday featured comments from Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, American Farm Bureau economist Matt Erickson Renewable Fuels …

Veterans Enter Fight for RFS

Two new organizations have entered the fight for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) today as concerns about the future of the RFS deepen with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed 2014 renewable fuels volumes going south. VoteVets.org and Americans United for Change held a press teleconference to announced their participation in the counteroffensive against what they are calling, “Big Oil’s …

IRFA’s Shaw: Obama Admin Needs Soul Searching

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is urging the Obama Administration to conduct a thorough soul-searching after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its proposal to “radically” reduce Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) levels for 2014. “Today’s RFS announcement represents the biggest policy reversal of the entire Obama Administration,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw during a press teleconference. “The …

EPA Announces 2014 RVOs, Industry Reacts

Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposal for the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the amount of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel. The EPA has proposed to set the cellulosic biofuel category at 17 million gallons, biomass-based diesel at 1.28 billion gallons, advanced biofuel at 2.20 …

Poll: 8 in 10 Want E15 At Pump

Fuels America released a poll today that gauged consumer opinions of E15, a 15% ethanol, 85% gasoline fuel blend currently sold in nine states in the U.S. The poll comes on the heels of E15’s re-entrance into the American fuel market earlier this week. E15 was approved for use in vehicles 2001 or later nearly 14 months ago and today …

Renewable Fuel: What You Missed During the Recess

Congress is preparing to return to work and renewable fuels will be top of mind at their return with debate still ongoing around the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as well as the need to pass a bi-partisan FAARM bill before the end of September. Today Fuels America brought together several renewable fuel experts held a call to discuss the progress …

Unite & Ignite Conference A Blast

The 26th Annual Ethanol Conference took place in Des Moines, Iowa August 26-28, 2013. Hundreds of ethanol advocates were on hand to network, strategize and learn about some of the biggest issues and opportunities facing the ethanol industry. Topics ranged from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) to lowering carbon intensity scores, ways to increase co-product …

Growth Launches “You’re No Dummy” Campaign

In response to the major ad campaign funded by Big Oil in an effort to block higher blends of ethanol into the marketplace (such as E15) ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy has launched an advertising campaign called “You’re no Dummy“. The goal of the campaign is to help Americans better understand that the oil industry is trying to stop the …

Quad County Corn Processors “ACE” Groundbreaking

The Quad County Corn Processors, located in Galva, IA, is a forward-thinking ethanol plant. On July 29, 2013, the biorefinery broke ground on its “bolt-on” cellulosic facility. When the technology goes online in spring 2014, Quad County Corn Processors will be the first plant in the country to produce corn-based ethanol, fiber-based cellulosic ethanol, distillers grains and corn oil all …

From Middle East to Midwest

Summer driving season is nearing its peak and as events continue to unfold in Egypt, gas prices are again expected to spike. To learn more about the reasons behind rising fuel prices, Fuels America hosted a media briefing with several energy experts to provide a panoramic view of the real drivers behind volatile gas prices. Speakers discussed how renewable fuel …

Surmountable Blend Wall

Fuels America hosted a briefing on the Hill (Washington, D.C.) to give an update on the so-called “blend wall,” on July 11, 2013. Energy experts and biofuel industry representatives discussed the need to provide consumer choice at the pump. Other topics discussed during the event included: benefits of renewable fuel; penetration of new fuels like E15 and cellulosic ethanol into …