GREEN Team Newsletter - Issue #202
USDA Boosts Harvest Estimate to Record 14.48 Billion Bushels
October 27, 2014The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) most recent World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report increased the projected corn harvest to a record 14.475 billion bushels, and boosted average yield per acre to 172.4 bushels per acre. Estimated corn acres to be harvested slightly decreased to 83.1 million acres, down significantly from the 2013-2014 estimate of 87.7 million acres harvested.
“The current WASDE projections and recent reports from the [U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization] and Bureau of Labor Statistics further confirm that there is virtually no correlation between U.S. ethanol production and consumer food prices,” stated Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “In report after report, we see that the American farmer can produce an abundant amount of food and fuel. It is clear that the food and fuel myth is completely unfounded and does a great disservice to the hardworking men and women that help feed the world and fuel our nation.
Buis continued, “As integrated livestock and poultry companies brag about their record profits and margins to their stockholders and investment bankers, the Turkey Federation, National Chicken Council and The National Council of Chain Restaurants, all allies of Big Oil, continue their campaign to intentionally mislead Americans about the cause of rising food prices in the U.S.”
Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen added, “[American Petroleum Institute] has spent millions upon millions of dollars on ad campaigns trying to sell people on the canard that ethanol drives up food prices in a misguided attempt to garner opposition to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). But their argument is bankrupt. Because of the RFS, farmers have invested in technology and increased yields to assure ample supply for all users. Today’s report demonstrates the API campaign is intellectually dishonest.
“Indeed, [the recent] USDA report should be the closing argument in the debate over the 2014 RFS final rule. When farmers made their planting decisions for the 2014 season, they anticipated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House would continue to enforce the statutory RFS volumes. But in one fell swoop, the EPA’s proposed rule wiped away demand for 500 million bushels of corn and grain sorghum. Now, farmers are faced with corn prices below the cost of production and the risk of returning to an era of increased reliance on federal farm program payments. The White House has an opportunity to help alleviate this situation simply by fixing the badly misguided 2014 RFS proposal and getting the program back on track.”
Quad County Corn Processors EPA Certified to Generate D3 RINs
October 27, 2014Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) in Galva, Iowa recently achieved Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification to generate D3 Renewable Identification Numbers(RINs) for cellulosic ethanol produced using the Cellerate process technology. Cellerate uses the corn kernel fiber to produce cellulosic ethanol and is a collaboration between Syngentaand Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of QCCP.
“The biofuels industry now has the technology available to create two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol – with no more corn,” statedQCCP CEO Delayne Johnson. “QCCP is proud to be one of the first companies to issue D3 RINs. We look forward to higher D3 RIN requirements in 2015 as new production comes on.”
“Cellerate is designed to increase an ethanol plant’s production by allowing the corn kernel fiber to be converted into cellulosic ethanol,” stated Enogen® Head of Marketing and Stakeholder Relations Jack Bernens. “Ethanol plants can easily integrate Cellerate process technology into their existing production process. Cellerate, in conjunction with Enogen corn, will deliver notable benefits to ethanol plants beyond what can be achieved through either technology alone.”
QCCP earned D3 pathway approval from the EPA on October 7 and Quality Assurance Program (QAP) certification on Oct. 10. Clearing these hurdles led to production of QCCP’s first QAP D3 RINs on Oct. 16.
REG Celebrates Completion of Upgrades at Mason City Plant
October 27, 2014Renewable Energy Group (REG) recently hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of upgrades that will allow its 30 million gallon per year capacity biodiesel production facility in Mason City, Iowa to produce biodiesel from a wide range of feedstocks.
REG leadership participates in the ribbon-cutting ceremony held on October 23, 2014
“These upgrades further expand and strengthen our multifeedstock business model, which allows REG to produce and deliver high-quality biomass-based diesel at an affordable price to growing regional and national markets,” stated REG President and CEO Daniel Oh. “We are well-positioned to meet growing demand in Iowa, with its retail incentive for advanced biofuels, and in Minnesota as it increases its use of higher biodiesel blends.”
“This is a great investment for Mason City,” stated Iowa State Senator Amanda Ragan. “REG has invested millions of dollars in our local economy while bringing permanent jobs for skilled workers to our area. By making biodiesel in Mason City, REG is helping Iowa remain the largest advanced biofuel producing state in the nation.”
“Enhancing the plant’s pretreatment and distillation capabilities will enable us to take a broader spectrum of lower-cost feedstocks and produce a high quality product,” stated REG Vice President of Manufacturing Brad Albin. “The increased feedstock flexibility helps drive greater demand for local feedstock suppliers and keeps more of their products in the Midwest.”
St. Louis E85 Pricing Case Study Raises Eyebrows
October 27, 2014The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently released the results of an in-depth case study looking into E85 pricing in the St. Louis-area showing very questionable E85 pricing by several retailers in the area.
Throughout the 2014 summer driving season, average E85 prices were 12 percent below gasoline prices at the wholesale level, but 1 percent above gasoline prices at the retail level. In addition, the wholesale-to-retail markup on E85 was nearly twice the markup on gasoline. Further, the study found E85 retail prices were roughly $1 per gallon higher than was justified by wholesale prices for locally available ethanol and hydrocarbon blendstock.
The study concludes, “… clear support for the notion that some gasoline producers/suppliers and their franchised retailers purposely employ E85 pricing strategies meant to discourage E85 consumption and negatively influence consumer perceptions about the fuel.”
“It’s fairly obvious that the retailers examined in this study—all of whom are branded by one of the Big Five oil companies—don’t really want to sell E85,” stated RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “In many cases it appears they were pricing E85 above their branded gasoline for the sole purpose of making their gasoline prices look more attractive to the consumer. Sneaky E85 pricing strategies ultimately give oil refiners the opportunity to wrongly claim that consumers are ‘rejecting’ E85; and it gives them an opportunity to claim they can’t comply with Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements above the so-called ‘blend wall.’ This study exposes the utter hypocrisy of that argument.”
RFA tracked E85 and gasoline (E10) prices at all nine retail stations selling E85 in the St. Louis metro area. All nine stations carry the brand of one of the five largest integrated oil production and refining companies, which makes the St. Louis E85 market highly unusual because nationwide “…retail stations affiliated with a ‘Big Five’ oil company brand are four to six times less likely to offer E85 than independent or unbranded stations.”
To view the study, please click here.
Court Denies Big Oil’s Challenge of E15
October 27, 2014The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently rejected a petition by theAmerican Petroleum Institute (API) and other groups challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) E15 misfueling mitigation rule.
The court denied the petition saying the petitioners didn’t have standing, because they “cannot show that their members have suffered or are threatened with suffering an injury in fact that is traceable to the regulation and redressable by a favorable decision.”
API attempted to argue for its standing saying its members are directly affected by the regulation “which directly imposes regulatory restrictions, costs and liabilities on persons or firms that sell E15.”
However, the court said API has no standing because it has provided no evidence that its members sell or intend to sell E15. “In fact, petitioners’ counsel conceded that API recently polled its members as to whether any member currently sells E15 and no API member responded affirmatively,” wrote the court in its decision. “Nor has API shown that its members are contemplating entering into the market and that their decision depends on the validity of the challenged regulation. API has therefore failed to show exposure to a risk of injury adequate for standing.”
“Today is another victory for ethanol and the American motorist,” stated Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “To continue to achieve the success of the Renewable Fuel Standard, Growth Energy led the fight for E15 which is now being sold by over 90 retailers in 14 states. This decision is important because it continues to uphold the choice and savings for the American motorist with E15.”
Movie PUMP Takes In-Depth Look at Big Oil’s Monopoly
October 27, 2014A new full-length documentary entitled “PUMP” by director Joshua Tickell explores the history of the American fueling infrastructure and how it has led to today’s oil dominated market, and examines what we can do to break Big Oil’s monopoly over the transportation fuel sector.
According to its own website, the movie “is an inspiring, eye-opening documentary that tells the story of America’s addiction to oil, from Standard Oil’s illegal tactics to the monopoly oil companies enjoy today. The film explains clearly and simply how we can end this monopoly — and finally win choice at the pump.
“Today gasoline is our only option for transportation fuel. With global demand surging, and with no other alternative, our dependence on gasoline has drained our wallets, increased air pollution and sent our sons and daughters to fight in faraway lands to protect the flow of oil. PUMP shows us how making a variety of replacement fuels widely available to consumers will reduce fuel prices across the board. Diversifying the market with replacement fuels that are cheaper, cleaner and American made will also create jobs, strengthening the economy at home and promoting stability abroad.”
To watch the official trailer, please click here.
For more on the movie, please click here.
Sens. Boxer, Markey Urge Obama to Maintain Strong RFS to Combat Climate Change
October 27, 2014Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) recently sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to maintain a strong and growing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in order to combat climate change.
Sens. Ed Markey and Barbara Boxer
In the letter, the Senators state, “The RFS is a critical piece of our nation’s climate mitigation policies. It is helping to break the oil sector’s monopoly over our nation’s liquid fuel supply by opening the market to competition from America’s growing renewable fuel industry, bringing low carbon cellulosic, advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel to market. Just this month, two new cellulosic biorefineries came online producing the lowest carbon motor fuel in the world.”
They added, “A recent analysis shows that the proposed rule would increase net carbon pollution by 28.2 million metric tons in 2014 alone compared to what could be achieved using the methodology that EPA has previously used to set annual [Renewable Volume Obligations]. This amount of pollution is equivalent to the emissions of almost 6 million additional vehicles. Carrying the EPA’s proposed approach forward in future years would trigger even larger increases in heat-trapping emissions. By the year 2022, we could miss out on nearly 1 billion metric tons of cumulative pollution reductions.”
In conclusion they noted, “…the country cannot afford to address these challenges by imposing unreasonable cuts to the program and adopting a new administrative approach that would send investment overseas by providing loopholes for oil companies to escape obligations under the Clean Air Act. As champions of your efforts to combat climate change and develop new innovation markets in the United States, we would look forward to the opportunity to discuss our concerns about the RFS with you in more detail.”
Report Demonstrates Corn Prices Do Not Affect Consumer Food Prices
October 27, 2014A recent study conducted by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) found that, “fluctuations in corn prices do not significantly affect consumer food prices,” and concludes that there is “no relationship between corn demand for ethanol and retail food prices.”
The report revealed:
- Retail prices for other items (like chicken legs, frozen whole turkey, fresh whole chicken) have risen steadily and smoothly since 2007. Wide swings in corn prices did not interrupt or affect the gradual trend toward higher prices for these items. Retail prices for key dairy items like milk and cheese have been largely unresponsive to changes in corn prices. In fact, since January 2011, milk and cheese prices have been negatively correlated to corn prices, meaning retail milk and cheese prices have tended to move in the opposite direction of movements in corn prices.
- Retail prices for pork products have not shown any meaningful relationship to corn prices over the past seven years. It is well documented that the recent acceleration in pork and bacon prices has been driven by piglet casualties resulting from porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. These retail price increases have occurred at a time when corn prices have been plunging.
- Retail ground beef prices have steadily and smoothly trended higher over the past seven years, showing no obvious response to wide swings in corn prices.
“Now that we have established that there is no correlation between corn prices and retail food prices, what is the major catalyst for food price swings? Petroleum,” stated RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “Nearly every step in the food-production process, including transportation from the farm to the grocery store, requires energy. Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that the United Nations Global Food Price Index and global crude oil prices are tightly linked. In fact, since 2000, the U.N. food index and world crude oil prices have had a near-perfect correlation (0.97 coefficient).”
For more on the report, please click here.
ExxonMobil Invests $1 Million in ISU Biofuels Research
October 27, 2014ExxonMobil recently announced it will invest $1 million in biofuels research at Iowa State University. The ExxonMobil Biofuels Program will initially focus on research related to the fast pyrolysis of biomass. Fast pyrolysis is rapidly heating without oxygen to produce liquid bio-oil, which can then be used in the production of transportation fuels.
“ExxonMobil’s decision to support biofuels studies at Iowa State makes an important statement about the expertise of our researchers and students,” stated ISU President Steven Leath. “Our work at Iowa State is creating great advances in biofuels technologies. This research partnership will help us to do even more to meet the world’s energy challenges by putting science and technology to work and exemplifies our motto, ‘Science with Practice.’”
“Innovation begins with fundamental science and we are looking forward to working with Iowa State to study pyrolysis of biomass,” said ExxonMobil Manager of Corporate Strategic Research Vijay Swarup. “To meet future energy demand in the most effective and economic way, we believe it is important to explore numerous options. The challenges are significant, and overcoming them will take a considerable investment of time, resources and scientific expertise.”
“The ExxonMobil Biofuels Program at Iowa State University focuses on fundamental scientific and engineering questions about the chemical and physical processes that occur during the pyrolysis of biomass,” stated Program Director and Engineering Professor Robert C. Brown.
Study Finds B20 Great for Home Heating
October 27, 2014A new study by the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) shows that a 20 percent blend of biodiesel (B20) is great for heating homes. NORA tested blends of ASTM D6751biodiesel with both standard and low sulfur heating oil and demonstrated that B20 can be used with no adverse effects.
NORA noted, “Field experience with Bioheat® fuel (blended heating oil and biodiesel) has been overwhelmingly positive. A recent service organization survey conducted by NORA andBrookhaven National Laboratory observed that some 35,000 buildings are currently using Bioheat® containing more than 5% biodiesel with no issues.
“Winter operability is essential in serving oilheat’s customers. Biodiesel blends can have a significant impact as the feedstock affects its winter characteristics. Wholesale suppliers and retail marketers need to be sure the product they sell is right for the temperatures at which it will be stored at and used.”
To learn more about Bioheat®, please visit: https://bioheatonline.com/
Students: Apply for Scholarships to Attend National Biodiesel and Ethanol Conferences
October 27, 2014The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) have recently announced scholarship opportunities for students of higher learning wishing to attend the National Ethanol and Biodiesel Conferences.
NBB’s Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel (NGSB) announced that college science students may apply for a travel scholarship to attend and present their research at the 2015 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo (NBC), taking place January 19-22 in Fort Worth, Texas. The deadline to submit applications is November 24.
“This opportunity allowed me to make contacts with NGSB members and biodiesel professionals that I would never have made otherwise,” said Colin Stewart, a student at the University of Colorado-Boulder who attended the event in 2014. “The conference opened my eyes to the biodiesel industry, its future, and how I can play a role in it.”
For more information on the NBC scholarship, please click here.
The Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF) is offering scholarships that waive the 2015 National Ethanol Conference (NEC) registration fee and provide students with opportunities to learn from and meet industry leaders, policy makers, and academic and technical experts.
Six scholarships are available to students wishing to attend the NEC scheduled for February 18-20, 2015 in Grapevine, Texas. The deadline to submit applications is December 12, 2014.
For more information, please click here.
To view the application, please click here.
Win Free E85 for One Year in “Post Your Price” Contest
October 27, 2014Do you want to win free E85 for a full year? If so, participate in the Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) “Post Your Price” contest by submitting a photo of an E85 pump price at this link, and you could win free E85 for a full year!
“The more information we collect on E85 prices, the more we are able to track and ensure consumers receive a fair price for the high-octane, environmentally-friendly fuel,” stated RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “We hope consumers have fun with this contest, but also understand the cost-saving benefits of higher-level ethanol blends.”
The winner of the contest will be drawn at random, and will be awarded free E85 for one full year. In addition to an overall winner, two participants will receive free E85 for a month. This award will be given to the individual who posts a photo of the largest gap between E85 and regular unleaded gasoline and the individual who posts a photo of the smallest gap between E85 and regular unleaded gasoline.
“Increased use of low-cost E85 will help America continue to run the course set out by theRFS to increase biofuels use in America’s transportation fuel, making the country safer and less dependent on foreign oil,” Dinneen added. “The trends we found in the St. Louis market last summer are indeed troubling and underscore that Big Oil will stop at nothing to stifle the growth of E85 and other blends that offer greater consumer choice.”
For more information on the contest, please click here.
Another Cellulosic Ethanol Facility Comes Online
October 27, 2014Abengoa Bioenergy recently celebrated the grand opening of its 25 million gallon per year capacity cellulosic ethanol facility in Hugoton, Kansas that will produce cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residue (i.e. corn stover), dedicated energy crops, and prairie grasses.
“The Hugoton plant opening is the result of 10 years of technical development, roughly 40,000 hours of pilot and demonstration plant operation, and the support of the DOE,” stated Abengoa CEO Manuel Sánchez Ortega. “This is a proud and pivotal moment for Abengoa and for the larger advanced bioenergy industry – and further demonstrates our longstanding commitment to providing sustainable energy alternatives in the United States. This would have been simply impossible without the establishment of the Renewable Fuel Standard.”
“Every gallon of cellulosic ethanol produced and used to fuel our vehicles reduces the impact of harmful greenhouse gas emissions by greater than 60 percent as compared to conventional gasoline,” stated Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz at the grand opening event. “The department is committed to supporting innovative technologies, from an early idea in the lab to a full, commercial-scale source of clean energy. As part of the administration’s all-of-the-above approach to homegrown American energy, the production of cellulosic ethanol creates economic opportunities for rural communities, helps diversify our energy portfolio, and moves us closer to a low-carbon energy future.”
Updated Booklet Highlights Ethanol’s Contribution in Feeding and Fueling the World
October 27, 2014The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently released an updated version of its booklet, titled “Fueling a Nation, Feeding the World,” highlighting ethanol’s contribution to the global food and feed supply, and dispelling several fabricated food vs. fuel myths.
“The U.S. ethanol industry has quietly evolved into one of the largest feed processing sectors in the world, generating nearly 40 million metric tons of high-protein, high-energy animal feed in the 2013/14 marketing year,” stated RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFA publication is a resource intended to educate policymakers and consumers about the industry’s role in producing feed, to counter the nonsensical food vs. fuel notion, and explain the benefits of ethanol production and co-products for both food and feed markets.”
The handbook explains that, “the feed produced by ethanol plants in 2013/14 would be enough to produce nearly 50 billion quarter-pound hamburger patties — or seven patties for every person on the planet.”
And the publication concludes by stating, “Not only are U.S. ethanol producers helping to meet future demands for energy, but they are also helping to meet the increasing food and feed needs of a growing world.”
To view an online version of the newly updated booklet, please click here.
Ethanol Receives Lower Land Use Change GHG Emissions Rating
October 27, 2014Agronne National Laboratory (ANL) recently published a manual for the Carbon Calculator for Land Use Change from Biofuels Production (CCLUB), lowering the value to 7.6 gCO2e/MJ, down 9.0 from last year’s modeling, and four-times lower than the 28 gCO2e/MJ used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in determining greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction relative to gasoline under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
“CCLUB was developed to help GREET users and the biofuels community understand how land use change emissions are calculated,” stated ANL Biofuels Life Cycle Analysis Lead Jennifer Dunn. “We tried to use the best available data.” Argonne’s greenhouse gases, regulated emission and energy use in transportation (GREET) model is widely used for life cycle analyses.
To learn more from Ethanol Producer Magazine, please click here.
RFA Unveils New Advocacy Mobile App
October 27, 2014The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently unveiled a new “RFA Advocacy” app forApple and Android smartphones offering easy access to RFA’s talking points, charts, videos, and infographics.
“We wanted to offer a mobile one-stop-shop for all key ethanol-related information,” statedRFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “RFA’s mobile app offers something for everyone. There are talking points to help counter the fictional food vs. fuel argument, information on cellulosic ethanol, and a list of 75 facts about ethanol. RFA’s technical expertise is easily accessible with a touch of the charts, videos, or infographics sections. Additionally, anyone interested in contacting their Member of Congress can easily locate them as well as submit an opinion on key ethanol-related legislation all without leaving the app.”
Detailed instructions are included below to download the mobile app onto aniPhone or Android-powered smartphone:
iPhone:
1. Ensure that you have iOS 4.0 or above (Check Settings > General > About > Version).
2. Click the “App Store” icon on your iPhone.
3. In the Search box, type in “RFA Advocacy” to find the app.
4. Touch “Free,” then “Install” to download.
Android:
1. Ensure that you have Android 2.1 or above (Check Settings > About Phone and look for “Android Version” or “Firmware Version”).
2. Click the “Play Store” icon on your Android phone.
3. In the Search box, type in “RFA Advocacy” to find the app.
4. Touch “Install”.
5. Touch “Accept” after reviewing the app’s permissions to download.
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