TOP STORY

In a ruling this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the entirety of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2020-2022 RVO rule.

In addition to upholding EPA’s volumes for each category of renewable fuels governed by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the court also upheld revised renewable volume obligation (RVO) regulations, which include projections of future small refinery exemptions (SREs) from the RFS. With these regulations, EPA can ensure that RFS blending obligations are met and RFS gallons are properly accounted for. Furthermore, the court upheld EPA’s issuance of an additional 250 million RIN supplemental RVO in response to the court’s 2017 ruling in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA. In celebrating the ruling by the D.C. Appeals Court, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor commented:

"This ruling is a win for renewable fuel producers and consumers. In addition to upholding blending obligations, it protects against SRE abuse by projecting future exemptions, properly allocating RIN obligations, and bringing certainty to the marketplace. Thanks to the D.C. Circuit opinion, EPA can ensure the integrity of its annual RVOs and address shifts in market conditions and how refiners meet their blending obligations."

For more information, please contact General Counsel Joe Kakesh.

LATEST EIA DATA

Last week, domestic ethanol demand was 13.9 BGY, up 0.9% compared to a week ago. The EIA-reported gas demand was up 0.9% from last week, at 136.1 BGY. The 4-week average ethanol and gas demand are 13.6 and 133.0 BGY (-4.5% YoY).

Ethanol production was 15.3 BGY last week, up 3.6% versus the week before, and 4.3% less than the 4-week average in 2019. Midwest production was up 4.4% (+11.8 MG) versus a week ago, and average production in the other regions was down 9.8% (-1.5 MG), mainly in the USGC region. Capacity utilization of plants online was 86.7% overall, 88.6% in the Midwest, and 59.8% on average, elsewhere, excluding 1,247 MGY of capacity shutdown at 25 ethanol plants for other than maintenance (details on pg. 31). On an installed capacity basis, utilization was 81.0% overall, 85.8% in the Midwest and 37.2% in the other regions.

Exports were an estimated 31.6 MG last week based on 140 MG of exports forecast for May. The EIA reported no ethanol imports last week.

Overall inventory was down 9.1 MG last week. EIA-counted stocks increased 12.1 MG, and regional changes were: East (-6 MG), Gulf (-1 MG) and West (+3 MG) Coasts and the Midwest (+16 MG). In-transit inventory decreased 21.2 MG.

Based on the total inventory of 1,811 MG on May 10th and the 4-week avg. domestic demand, there were 49.0 days of supply, down 0.5 days versus a week ago. Including the 4-week avg. of net exports, there were 43.6 days of supply, down 0.4 days versus a week ago.

For more information, please contact Jake Comer.

WORKING FOR YOU

UPCOMING EVENTS

Get Bioethanol NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350

Sonoma, CA

June 9, 2024

2024 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop

Minneapolis, MN

June 10-12, 2024

IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Following an April 10 workshop on potential amendments to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), Growth Energy provided written comments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in response to new details unveiled at the workshop. In the letter, Chris Bliley, Growth Energy’s Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, advocated for the approval of E15, noting California is the only state to have not approved it for sale.

The majority of our comments were dedicated to addressing the multiple issues with CARB’s proposed sustainability certification for crop-based biofuels; the proposed certification “cites concerns regarding land use change factors that are unfounded relative to corn starch bioethanol,” with Bliley noting the United States is using roughly the same number of acres for planting corn as was used in 1900.

Among the troubling provisions, we noted that while the sustainability certification will add “onerous and costly requirements on biofuel producers and farmers,” it also lacked the inclusion of climate-smart agricultural practices as a means of reducing biofuels’ carbon intensity scores. Additionally, some of the audit requirements for certification are well outside the scope of the LCFS and have little to do with carbon reductions.

The comments in their entirety can be read here.

Last week, the Washington State Department of Agriculture issued an interpretive statement to clarify and ensure E15 is eligible for sale in the state. Following some concerns that provisions in the Washington Administrative Code could be incorrectly interpreted to prevent the sale of E15 in the state, Growth Energy’s Chris Bliley worked with Washington State Department of Agriculture staff to provide clarity and ensure offering E15 did not meet any unexpected regulatory hiccups.

The interpretive statement, which you can read here, provides that as long as E15 is compliant with federal law, as well as labeling and marketing rules, there is nothing in state code preventing its sale.

Last week, Growth Energy joined two dozen other trade association members of the Ag-Transportation Work Group in sending a letter to the White House expressing strong support for the designation of Robert Primus as Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) once the current Chairman has retired. The STB is an independent federal agency with oversight over freight rail.

“Mr. Primus has been a leader in his push to improve rail service, create more rail-on-rail competition, and develop a more streamlined method for freight rail customers to challenge unreasonable rates,” wrote the coalition. “During his time at STB, Mr. Primus has built on his nearly 30 years of experience working on freight and passenger rail transportation policy issues in various staff positions in the U.S. Congress.”

You can read the full letter here.

Are you a U.S. ethanol producer, feedstock supplier, or farmer leader looking to gain access to the Canadian ethanol market? Do you need to know more about Canada's Clean Fuel Regulation (CFR)?

Join the U.S. Grains Council’s virtual certification workshop on Thursday, May 30, where you will learn more about market access requirements, certification avenues, ethanol market dynamics in the region, pricing opportunities, and more.

The U.S. ethanol sector has an opportunity to maintain and increase access to our top ethanol market, which has a sales potential of 1 billion gallons. Hear directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) regulatory officials in charge of program implementation and sign up for individual plant consultations on a first-come, first-served basis.

To register for the certification workshop, please use this link. Should you have additional questions or need clarification, please contact USGC Director of Global Ethanol Market Development Mackenzie Boubin at mboubin@grains.org.

For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.

IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Last week, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year, with testimony from EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

When prompted by biofuels champion Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on the impact of individual state waivers for year-round sale of E15, Administrator Regan confirmed that EPA had approved the waivers requested by eight midwestern states to sell E15 year-round, and that it would provide those states some stability with lower gas prices.

Sen. Stabenow (D-MI): Another passion of mine is E15 and our biofuels industry. I want to thank the EPA for issuing an emergency waiver for E15 to be sold in the upcoming summer months. Can you speak to how enabling the year-round sale of E15 as you have permitted in both 2022 and 2023, can help protect consumers against fuel supply shocks by reducing reliance on imported fuel and looking ahead, what will be the impact of EPA’s recent final rule related to state waivers?

Administrator Regan: What was contentious but ended up being a great issue, was that we did issue a waiver for the summer of 2024 to ensure that domestic producers can compete on the biofuels side but also to reduce the dependency on foreign oil. We have worked on satisfying the waiver request for eight states for fiscal year 2025 and beyond, and those will be permanent for those states to use E15 throughout the summer. That gives those states a certain level of dependency and allows them to up the production of biofuels so we can keep prices low and globally competitive. 

Watch the clip here.

Yesterday, Growth Energy joined two dozen other trade associations representing producers, feedstock providers, blenders, consumers, and retailers of low-carbon, renewable fuels in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging Treasury to finalize and publish guidance for the 45Z Clean Fuels Production Credit as soon as possible. The new credit, adopted in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to incentivize domestic production of low-carbon fuels on a technology-neutral basis.

“With the Sec. 45Z credit set to take effect January 1, 2025, our member companies and organizations may face significant headwinds and business risk if this guidance is not published promptly,” the groups write. “Any extended delays in publication of guidance for the Sec. 45Z credit may disrupt project timelines, impede capital flows, and threaten existing production and demand for low carbon renewable fuels.”

Read the full letter here.

With an emergency waiver for summertime sales of E15 secured, we must continue to make our argument for year-round E15 to the EPA, on Capitol Hill, and in state legislatures around the country. We've found that a picture really is worth a thousand words. If you see an example of significant cost savings at a fuel station near you, take a picture (like the one above) and share it with us! We'll put your photos to good use telling the story of how E15 saves drivers money. Email them to hcullen@growthenergy.org.  

For more information, please contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher.

IN COMMUNICATIONS

On May 2, the New York Times ran a subscriber-only newsletter on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that included debunked claims about the environmental impact of bioethanol. Growth Energy submitted a letter to the editor in response.

"Years of peer-reviewed research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Health and Engineering and other institutions have all concluded that today’s ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50% compared to gasoline," said the letter. "Bogus 'science' claiming otherwise does not pass the smell test."

Read the full letter here. 

For more information, please contact Vice President of Communications Elizabeth Funderburk.

IN MARKET DEVELOPMENT

This week, Growth Energy's Market Development team traveled to Minneapolis for the Transportation Energy Institute (TEI) Conference. This annual event focuses on all aspects of transportation energy, with this year's theme being "Innovation for Sustainable Transportation."

Representing Growth Energy was Sara Brenden, Director of Market Development Operations, and Andrew Falco, Market Development & Analytics Manager. They hosted dinners for select attendees and met with retail partners such as Casey's, Kwik Trip and more. 

For more information, please contact Vice President of Market Development Jake Comer.

IN OUR ASSOCIATION

Just a reminder that the 40th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) in Minneapolis is coming up next month! Growth Energy is proud to be a platinum sponsor once again, and is pleased to have Chris Bliley, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, keynote the event. 

Bliley's keynote will begin Tuesday, June 11th at 9:30 a.m. CDT. Following the keynote, we will hear from Growth Energy's Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher. He'll join other association leaders for a deep dive on the growing opportunities for ethanol producers in today's clean energy policy landscape.

Find us at Booth #1123 and make sure to register for the event if you haven't already. Registration is still open here!

For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Development Kelly Manning.

Growth Energy is the leading voice of America’s biofuel industry, delivering a new generation of plant-based energy and climate solutions.

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