Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor joined veteran Iowa farm and biofuel leader Kelly Nieuwenhuis for a virtual conversation on the biofuel landscape and top priorities for the agricultural community in 2021. Nieuwenhuis is president of the board at Siouxland Energy, a member of Growth Energy, as well as a farmer near Primghar, Iowa, and chair of Iowa Corn Growers Association Industrial Usage and U.S. Production Committee.
Skor and Nieuwenhuis discussed the recent rejection of 54 gap-year waivers, the continued need to hold the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable for upholding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and important advancements for E15.
Nieuwenhuis noted that the recent rejection of the gap-year waivers is encouraging news, but the EPA has more work to do. “Farmers like me need greater certainty so that we can keep not only our corn moving and getting sold, but the ethanol plant running, the trucking companies going, and so on,” he said.
It’s critical that the EPA reject the outstanding waivers and apply the 10th Circuit Court’s decision nationwide, so the industry can close the chapter on demand destruction and look toward market growth, prioritizing higher blends, streamlined labeling, and removing infrastructure regulations. At Growth Energy, “we’re going to keep holding the administration accountable to those because fixing them paves the way for even greater expansion of higher blends in the retail market,” said Skor.
On October 8th, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the first round of grants under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP), representing a major milestone in our efforts to offer Americans access to cleaner, more affordable fuel choices. With exciting initiatives like that in the works, Growth Energy looks forward to continuing to work with farmers and agricultural partners to grow the market for corn and biofuels – as Skor noted, “it really is a team effort.”
Watch the conversation between Nieuwenhuis and Emily Skor here and below.