RFA President Addresses Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen today is addressing the gathering of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association in Des Moines, Iowa. Dinneen is joining Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Senator Rick Santorum, and others to speak on importance of ethanol and biofuels to state and the nation.
Posted in Ethanol, EPA, Production, Tariff , VEETC
Senators McCain and Barrasso Just Don’t Get Ethanol Trade Policy
According to reports, during a meeting with officials in Brazil, former presidential candidate, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and his colleague Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)made bold claims about the legality of U.S. ethanol policy under World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. Such claims are simply unjustified.
Posted in Brazil, Ethanol, Production, VEETC
November Ethanol and Distillers Grains Exports
Total U.S. exports of denatured and undenatured (non-beverage) ethanol reached 38.9 million gallons in November, up 11% from October. The November totals were the third-highest in 2010. Between January and November 2010, U.S. ethanol exports totaled 324.9 million gallons, nearly a three-fold increase over 2009 total exports. Through November, the industry was on pace to export more than 350 million gallons in 2010.
Ethanol, Corn Supply, and Those Who Cry Wolf
The final USDA report on the size of the 2010 corn crop and subsequent supply is out. Not surprisingly, USDA has adjusted its final estimates to reflect increased ethanol demand, the importance of distillers grains and other feed coproducts, and the difficult growing season American farmers endured. Right on cue, prolific End of Days prognosticators like Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute are pointing the finger of blame at ethanol for lower than expected corn supplies. But, as is always the case, there are far more factors that must be considered.
Posted in Agriculture, Ethanol, USDA
Congress gave biofuels breathing room for constructive debate on future policies
In a recent post on The Hill's Congress Blog, I talk about the one year extension of the incentives for producing and using ethanol. With this extension, we need not worry about our short-term survival, and the American biofuels industry can take the long view and craft a comprehensive proposal that reflects fiscal realities as well as our nation’s energy needs. We hope our critics will respond in a similar spirit.
Posted in Congress, Ethanol, Production
RFA Proposes Alternative E15 Label to EPA
Yesterday, the Renewable Fuels Association submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding E15 misfueling and labeling. The current label proposed by the EPA for E15 “will do little, if anything, to promote the successful introduction of a new fuel to the marketplace” the Renewable Fuels Association wrote in comments submitted to EPA yesterday.
NPR: Lop-sided and Outdated. Where’s Big Oil?
As NPR is still reeling from the November congressional and public outcry to bar local public radio stations from using taxpayer dollars to purchase NPR programing as a result of perceived bias in “reporting”, it is very surprising that NPR would then turn around and run a lop-sided and at times miserably outdated series on ethanol as produced by Harvest Public Media. After listening and reading the past two days’ “reports”, a number of items need to be addressed.
Posted in Agriculture, Ethanol, Environment, Jobs, Oil, Production
Ethanol Tax Incentives Survive in Senate Bill
As part of a final tax compromise reached in the Senate, key tax incentives for the use of ethanol will be extended for another year.
Posted in Congress, Ethanol, Jobs, Renewable Fuels, Tariff , VEETC
October Ethanol and DDG Exports
October was another strong month for U.S. ethanol exports, according to government data released today. October shipments of denatured and undenatured (non-beverage) ethanol totaled 34.9 million gallons, down 9.9% from September.
Response to the New York Times
When it comes to the future of renewable energy in the United States, The New York Times editorializes (12/9/10 Good Energy Subsidies, and Bad) that it wants to do what “makes sense for the environment, the economy, and for American taxpayers.” It also notes “the nation desperately needs new investment in clean energy and the jobs that go with it.” The New York Times then turns its back on those very goals by attacking ethanol.
Posted in Ethanol
No Examples in Washington Post Criticism
While criticizing ethanol, the Post states that there are better alternatives to reduce oil use yet offer no examples. Nor does the Post deem it necessary to highlight the estimated $100-$200 taxpayers fork over to the oil industry each year, and that is before any consideration of military expenditures is included.
Posted in Ethanol
What’s Up Next for Ethanol Tax Policy?
The clock is ticking down to the end of the 1111th Congress, yet big policy issues remain. Chiefly for the American ethanol industry, extending the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) is a top priority. Stage craft around votes on expiring Bush-era tax cuts took place over the weekend to the expected outcome. Now, with that bit of political messaging behind them, both the House and the Senate can get down to business and address those issues that must get done.
If a Tree Doesn’t Fall in the Forest, Will ENGOs and Regulators Notice?
Environmental lawyer Timothy Searchinger’s ILUC hypothesis, already reeling, took another crippling blow today when Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest rate since the government began collecting data in 1988. Data from the Brazilian government clearly show that Amazon deforestation rates in Brazil have been plunging for the last seven years, and the 2010 rate is less than one-quarter of the rate experienced in 2004 when deforestation reached more than 10,700 square miles. All of this has occurred while U.S. biofuels production has increased dramatically (nearly 300% since 2004), proving once again that there is no correlation between U.S. ethanol output and deforestation. Will the ENGOs and regulators notice?
Posted in Brazil, Ethanol, Environment, Land Use, Production
Senate Anti-Ethanol Letter Ignores Key Facts
The Washington Post is reporting on a letter sent to Senate leadership from a group of senators urging an end to the ethanol tax incentive known as VEETC. Unfortunately, the letter ignores the economic and job creation that would be lost if America fails to continue its investment in ethanol and renewable fuels.
Drive Toward E85 This Thanksgiving with GPS and iPhone Apps
Every year, Thanksgiving drives millions of Americans to pack up their cars and travel to spend the holiday with family and friends. For those traveling in their flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), the RFA has developed a Points of Interest (POIs) E85 fuel locater application to help drivers find the nearest E85 fueling station to their current location or final destination. It is easy to download and available for both the Garmin and TomTom GPS devices.
Al Gore’s Flip-flop on Ethanol, He Had it Right the First Time
Speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens, former vice president Al Gore declared “it is not good policy to have subsidies for (U.S.) first-generation ethanol.” Explaining his earlier support for grain ethanol, Gore said he had “paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had a particular fondness for farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for President.”
Posted in Agriculture, Ethanol, Production
From the Yes, Congress is Listening File
Members of Congress are often flooded with emails on various issues important to their constituents. It is easy to believe that those letters quickly find their way into the round file, but as a former Hill staffer, I can tell you that each letter is given the attention it deserves. For evidence, take a look at the response sent to RFA VP Geoff Cooper from Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill on the importance of domestic biofuels. It goes show that it always pays to let your elected officials know what you think beyond the first the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years.
The Thin Line Between Academics and Advocacy
Anti-ethanol special interests will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to denigrate American farmers and ethanol producers in a desperate attempt to return to the good ol’ days when corn was $2/bushel and oil was the only game in town. The most recent salvo is the exploitation of an Iowa State University professor that has previously taken money from Brazilian sugar plantations to question American ethanol production. It reads as though it might have been written in the boardroom of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, not in a classroom in Ames, Iowa. (As an Iowa State Alum, I can attest to the generally high quality of the academic experience). As was the case then, his most current arguments still don’t seem based on likely real world scenarios.
Extending Key Tax Policies Critical During Lame Duck
Tens of thousands of jobs could be a stake if Congress fails to extend key ethanol tax incentives in the lame duck session warned a group of leading ethanol and agriculture advocates in a letter to House and Senate leadership. Writing today to Congressional leaders ahead of their scheduled White House visit Thursday, the Renewable Fuels Association, along with the American Coalition for Ethanol, American Farm Bureau Federation, Growth Energy, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Association of Corn Growers, National Farmers Union and the National Sorghum Producers encouraged them to extend and/or address three key ethanol-related tax policies. These policies include: extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), extension of the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Credit, and broaden the definition of the cellulosic ethanol producer tax credit to include additional feedstocks like algae. Click the link above to read the full letter.
EPA E15 Label Cries Wolf
On November 16, the EPA will hold a public hearing about its proposed label for E15. While many of the people in the room may choose to use the venue to express their frustration about the decision as a whole, it shouldn’t take away from the fact that EPA’s proposed label will do little more than scare consumers. It needs to change.
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