No. 152 November 12, 2020 
TOP STORY Election Update: Key House and Senate Races While Election Day was a little over a week ago, there are still a number of key House and Senate races to watch. Below is a brief update on some of the key seats we are watching, and how they will impact control over Congress.
U.S. House of Representatives 
There are still 22 House races yet to be called as some still remain too close or within the margin for a possible recount. Democrats have won 215 seats while Republicans secured 198 with 218 needed for the House majority. Key results include Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) losing his reelection bid to Michelle Fischbach (R) in western Minnesota, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) defeating Betsy Londrigan (D) in a rematch from last cycle, and Ashley Hinson (R) overcoming Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) in Iowa’s 1st District. A key race that has yet to be called is for retiring Rep. Dave Loebsack’s seat in Iowa’s 2nd District: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) has a razor thin, 34 vote lead over Rita Hart (D).
U.S. Senate 
The U.S. Senate majority is still uncertain as Democrats and Republicans are currently tied at 48-48. Four races remain: one each in Alaska and North Carolina, and two in Georgia, one of which is a special election. Based on state rules, both Senate races in Georgia are heading to a runoff election on January 5th and the Senate majority could hang in the balance of those results. Some of our strongest Congressional champions Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Roger Marshall (R-KS), all won election in this cycle. John Hickenlooper (D) defeated incumbent Cory Gardner (R-CO) in Colorado, so our GR Team is already connecting with his staff.
Thankfully, biofuels enjoyed bipartisan support from lawmakers, which will be key if the House and Senate is ultimately divided. We will continue to keep you updated in the weeks ahead. For more information, please contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher.
WORKING FOR YOU IN MARKET DEVELOPMENT "The E15 Expressway: Web Chats with Retailers" featuring Kwik Trip
O'Brien in Ethanol Producer Magazine: "A Rise in E15 Terminal Supply" IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS Growth Energy Highlights Environmental Advantages of Ethanol in California ON THE TRACK Dillon Places 18th at Season Finale UPCOMING EVENTS
Virtual - SIGMA November 9-13, 2020
GE Webinar: Market Development Update November 18, 2020
Virtual - NAFB Trade Talk November 18, 2020
Virtual - NACS November 2- December 4, 2020
IN MARKET DEVELOPMENT "The E15 Expressway: Web Chats with Retailers" featuring Kwik Trip This week's The E15 Expressway: Web Chats with Retailers features Joe Zietlow, Industry and Trade Association Manager at Kwik Trip. Kwik Trip has been a retail industry pioneer for E15 and, according to Zietlow, has been selling ethanol "since before it was cool".
Kwik Trip is a family-owned company based in La Crosse, Wisconsin that employs more than 28,000 workers across 700+ stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Through vertical integration, Kwik Trip owns its bakery, dairy, kitchens, and distribution, including a 500-truck fleet: "We make it, we truck it, we sell it." During his chat with Growth Energy's Emily Skor, Zietlow explained how Kwik Trip applied vertical integration to ethanol, building four facilities to regionally blend E10, E15, E85, and biodiesel to distribute to its own stores. 
Watch the conversation between Joe Zietlow and Emily Skor here or by clicking on the image below.
Other Highlights:
Unleaded88: "Sales continued to grow through consumer confidence. If they tried it, it worked, and it just kept going."
HBIIP Grant: "That grant really enables us to continue to upgrade our storage tanks...so that we can sell E15 at all of our stores in the future."
Growth Energy: "Since 2017, Growth Energy really helped us to get the basics underneath our feet and to dot the I's, cross the T's and be able to get all of our blend facilities registered with the EPA and all of the things that we needed to do to have this happen at the store level, and so we are immensely grateful for that."
Tune in next week to hear from Lance Klatt, Executive Director at Minnoco!
O'Brien in Ethanol Producer Magazine: "A Rise in E15 Terminal Supply" The rise in popularity of E15 among retailers has quickly meant that terminals must also ensure they have the higher ethanol blend ready to offer. In a column for Ethanol Producer Magazine, Growth Energy Vice President of Market Development Mike O'Brien outlines the rapid growth in terminals offering E15:
Following a 10% retail expansion of E15 earlier this year, more than 13 fuel terminals offering E15 were added in the Ohio Valley, stretching from Illinois to Virginia," said O'Brien. "The announcement comes as just the latest in a wave of improving biofuel supply in response to rising demand for E15 from consumers. In 2017, only five locations offered blending services for E15. Fast forward to today, where there are now more than 200 terminals across the nation offering E15 – a dramatic increase in just three years."
Read more about what this means for E15 expansion in Ethanol Producer Magazine here or by clicking the button below. For more information, please contact Vice President of Market Development Mike O'Brien.
IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS Growth Energy Highlights Environmental Advantages of Ethanol in California 
Last week, Growth Energy submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) following an October 14-15 workshop on the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). In his written submission, Growth Energy Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley urged CARB to expand the use of higher biofuel blends “to bring better and more affordable choices at the fuel pump to consumers, improve air quality, and protect the environment for future generations.”
Bliley also emphasized the proven track record of biofuels in reducing California’s carbon emissions and improving air quality. To maximize the benefits of low-carbon biofuels, Bliley urged CARB to press ahead on its evaluation of E15, promote E85, update internal modeling, incentivize sustainable farm practices, embrace novel technologies, support carbon capture, and consider ways to advance direct ethanol fuel cells.
Read Growth Energy’s full comments to CARB here or by clicking the button below. For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley. 
IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Growth Energy Recommends Members for Key Air Quality Board at USDA Growth Energy wrote endorsements letters for Steve Vander Griend, Doug Berven, and Andrea Foglesong for their applications to join USDA’s Task Force on Agricultural Quality Research. The Task Force advises the Secretary of Agriculture on air quality and its relationship to agriculture based on peer-reviewed studies and research. These positions have two-year terms and we believe USDA would greatly benefit from having a biofuel perspective on the Task Force given the strong relationship between biofuels, its feedstocks, and air quality through tailpipe emissions. 
For more information, please contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher.
ON THE TRACK Dillon Places 18th at Season Finale Over the weekend, RCR Driver Austin Dillon placed 18th in the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway. This was the final race for the 2020 season. "We hung on for all we had to finish 18th. Not the finish we wanted, but we'll regroup and be ready next year," said Dillon after the race. "I'm so proud of the entire NASCAR industry for pulling together to complete the 2020 season despite the pandemic.
"Thank you everyone at RCR , ECR, all of our fans and partners for your support this year. Congratulations to Chase Elliott and Team Chevy on winning the Championship." 
Congratulations to the RCR, ECR, and the American Ethanol team for another stellar year on the track. For more details, contact Vice President of Development Kelly Manning.
The Weekly Rundown is the weekly newsletter for Growth Energy's members. It is published weekly by the communications staff at Growth Energy. For more information, email team@growthenergy.org or visit our website GrowthEnergy.org. You're receiving this newsletter because you've subscribed to Growth Energy's The Weekly Rundown. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe instantly. Copyright © 2020 Growth Energy. |
