No. 10; Dec. 6, 2017 
AT THE AGENCIES 2018 RVOs KEEP CONVENTIONAL BIOFUELS ON TRACK 
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2018. The total renewable fuel volume is 19.29 billion gallons, which includes 15 billion gallons for conventional biofuel. Advanced biofuel is set for 4.29 billion gallons, including 288 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel. The 2019 biodiesel amount is set for 2.1 billion gallons. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said: “We applaud the administration for standing up against efforts to destabilize the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The EPA’s on-time announcement upholds the statutory targets for conventional biofuels, which will provide much-needed certainty for hard-pressed rural communities. We would like to have seen a boost to the target blending levels for cellulosic biofuels, and we will continue to work with the administration to advance the RFS goal of further stimulating growth and showing U.S. leadership in 21st century fuels. “The RFS remains America’s single most successful energy policy and continually works to save consumers money, protect the environment, drive rural growth, and secure U.S. energy independence. To keep this momentum strong, the EPA must take bold steps toward growth, as outlined by President Trump. We urge the agency to act quickly on the administrator’s promise of a long-overdue fix to Reid Vapor Pressure rules that needlessly limit sales of E15 during summer months.” Leading up to the release of the final 2018 RVOs, Growth Energy filed substantive comments including several studies that provided insight into the potential for cellulosic biofuels production, the role of renewable fuel in achieving the U.S.’s energy policy goals, and the risk of an increase to national greenhouse gas emissions if the EPA were to reduce the conventional fuel volume. Growth Energy Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley also testified during the EPA’s hearing in August on the RVOs. Growth Energy conducted an all-member call on Monday, Dec. 4 to discuss the 2018 RVOs. If you missed it, click here to download the audio file and listen whenever you have a few free moments. For more details contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley. WORKING FOR YOU ON THE HILL Updates on Tax Reform and Upcoming Hearings President's Meeting with Senator Cruz AROUND THE WORLD Ontario Proposal for 10% Blend Rate IN THE PRESS Social Media 101 Webinar AT THE PUMP E15 Progress Update AT THE PLANTS POET's Clean Cooking Initiative IN THE FAST LANE American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award USA TODAY: "NASCAR looks to promote up-and-coming young stars to replace retiring legends" UPCOMING EVENTS Alternative Fuels Seminar Dec. 6-8, 2017 Phoenix, Ariz. ON THE HILL Tax Reform and Upcoming Hearings Early last Saturday morning, the Senate passed their version of a tax reform bill. Since the House also passed a version of their own last week, the two bodies will now meet in conference committees to hammer out what the final bill will look like. The Republicans' goal is to have a bill on President Trump's desk by Christmas. Some of the key differences between the two bills we are tracking include differences on tax rates for pass-through entities, corporate rates, and the treatment of farm cooperative expensing. Biofuel tax incentives, such as those for cellulosic biofuels and biodiesel, are expected to be handled in a tax-extender package to come after the passage of tax reform. There have been two Congressional hearings of note announced recently. On Thursday, Dec. 7, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing is entitled “The Mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency” and you can watch live at http://energycommerce.house.gov. And on Tuesday, Dec. 12, the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on the Environment and Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing called “Update on the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program (CAFE) and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Motor Vehicles.” We hope that the positive role of ethanol to meet higher fuel economy standards (including blends like E30) will be discussed at the hearing. The witness list and testimony will be posted here as the date gets closer, and we will be sure to update you on any important developments. President's Meeting with Senator Cruz Finally, after the 2018 RVOs were revealed last week, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) announced that he is meeting with President Trump this week to discuss biofuels. Senator Cruz and a coalition of other senators sent President Trump a letter in October calling for a meeting to discuss the ethanol industry, and Sen. Cruz also placed a hold on Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey's confirmation to a top U.S. Department of Agriculture post. We fully expect President Trump to stay committed to biofuels and a strong RFS, as this meeting is designed to remove Sen. Cruz’s hold on Mr. Northey. For more details contact Senior Director of Government Affairs John Fuher. AROUND THE WORLD Ontario Proposal for 10% Blend Rate We saw positive news last week from the Canadian province of Ontario, which has proposed to go to a 10 percent ethanol blend rate as part of their effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They may also potentially allow for a mix of higher ethanol blends, including E15 and E85. There is a comment period through January, but if finalized, this will be a win for Canadian consumers, the ag economy, and for our strong ethanol trade with Canada. You may recall that Growth Energy submitted comments earlier this year to Ontario asking for such a change. For more details contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley. IN THE PRESS SAVE THE DATE: Social Media 101 Webinar The Social Media 101 webinar has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 13, at 11am EST. This will be the concluding webinar in a series of three that correspond with the three sections of the Member Advocacy Communications Toolkit, which you can read and download on the Growth Energy website (growthenergy.org/toolkit). See a sample page from the Social Media 101 section at right. Click here to view last month's webinar, which reviewed the Community Networking 101 section. 
For more details contact Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs Chris Hogan. 
AT THE PUMP E15 Progress Update 
It has been a busy several weeks for the Market Development team. We’ve met with senior fuel directors and company executives from 17 convenience store chains, representing more than 15,000 retail sites that sell more than 50 billion gallons of fuel annually. For 2018, it appears E15 adoption will be growing from the following efforts: Existing Prime the Pump & E15 retailers: Our relationships are continuing beyond the terms and length of our grants. For example, Sheetz (25 new sites), Murphy USA (50 new sites) and Thorntons (five new sites) have indicated that E15 will now be added to each new build for the foreseeable future. This growth is outside of our grant program, and we should pick up 60 to 100 new retail sites from this ongoing effort in 2018.
New trial programs: We are working with several large chains that would like to try E15 at a limited number of sites. Our goal with these trial programs is to demonstrate the success of E15 so that each retailer adds the fuel choice to their existing infrastructure. Combined, these retail chains own and operate more than 2,500 retail sites. For more details contact Vice President of Market Development Mike O'Brien. AT THE PLANTS Western New York Energy Celebrates 10 Years 
On December 1, 2007, Western New York Energy (WNYE) completed construction and began producing clean burning, homegrown ethanol at its $90 million facility originally designed to produce 50 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol per year. Ten years later, the company has added additional capacity through further investment, implemented new production technologies, and improved production efficiencies to be an industry leader. Also in the first ten years, WNYE formed a transportation subsidiary, Shelby Transportation, LLC, to fill a logistics need for smaller farmers and WNY feed mills. Since the beginning, Western New York Energy has partnered with New York corn growers to purchase as much corn locally as possible. WNYE is projected to grind almost 21 million bushels of corn in 2018. Congratulations, Western New York! We're excited to work with you over the next 10 years and beyond! POET's Clean Cooking Initiative Zach Ferguson, corn product manager of Mycogen Seeds and proud Growth Energy member, was in Sioux Falls recently, and Brady Lucerno, director of POET Clean Cooking, was able to explain all of the work that POET has been doing in Haiti. Brady showcased some of the new stoves and showed how that product has evolved over the years. Over three billion people (nearly half the world’s population) still rely on wood and solid fuels to meet daily energy needs. According to POET Clean Cooking, this is one of the most significant public health and environmental issues of our time. Alternatives, such as clean-burning ethanol stoves, can have life-changing effects. For more details contact Vice President of Development Kelly Manning. 
IN THE FAST LANE American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award 
Last week Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor represented American Ethanol and closed out the 2017 racing season at NASCAR Champions Week in Las Vegas. While she was there she presented the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award to Monster Energy Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. at the Myers Brothers Awards ceremony: Watch the award presentation here. The Green Flag Restart Award of each race goes to the eligible driver who records the fastest average speed on restarts and finishes the race on the lead lap, and a year-end award is given to the driver who wins the most Restart Awards during the season. USA TODAY: "NASCAR looks to promote up-and-coming young stars to replace retiring legends" Don't miss this great story from USA Today about the rising stars who are gearing up to take over NASCAR! After two-straight postseason appearances, our guy Austin Dillon (pictured below with Emily Skor last week in Las Vegas) is primed for a big 2018, and we can't wait to see what he'll accomplish. 
For more details on Growth Energy's NASCAR partnership, contact Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs Chris Hogan.
The Weekly Rundown is the weekly newsletter for Growth Energy's members, published by the communications staff at Growth Energy. For more information, email team@growthenergy.org. You're receiving this newsletter because you've subscribed to Growth Energy's The Weekly Rundown. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe instantly. Copyright © 2017 Growth Energy. |
