No. 68, Feb. 14, 2019 
IN OUR ASSOCIATION Growth Energy Celebrates Industry Accomplishments, Looks Ahead at 2019 ELC
Attendees heard directly from Growth Energy's Board of Directors on how we plan to lead the industry in 2019 Last week, over 400 attendees gathered in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, at the Terranea Resort for Growth Energy's 10th Annual Executive Leadership Conference (ELC). Attendees were able to hear from the industry's leading experts on the state of ethanol both at home and abroad. They were also treated to a wide range of exciting outings and networking opportunities and heard from guest speaker and famed Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane.
Over the course of three days, our attendees had the chance to participate in a closed-to-media conference where industry experts and stakeholders could have honest and strategic discussions about the future of biofuels. With a range of critically important issues facing our industry in 2019 - such as the RFS reset, the E15 year-round waiver, and trade - this ELC allowed industry leaders to dive deeper and plan for the next biofuels wave.
For those of you who were unable to attend, be sure to call into our quarterly all-member call next week for full details from the industry's most important strategic conference of the year. See below for photos, and read about our Global Markets panel here, and our retail panel here. 
Pictured Clockwise: 'Making Waves Across the Globe' Panel; Marty Ruikka, Trevor Hinz, and Tim Tierney at the Growth Energy Golf Tournament; 'Racing Towards Growth' Panel; 'A Surge of Retailer Expansion' Panel For more details, contact Vice President of Development, Kelly Manning.
WORKING FOR YOU LEGAL REVIEW Growth Energy Files New Small Refinery LawsuitIN POLICY Lawmakers Reach Potential Deal to Fund GovernmentIN REGULATION State-level Ethanol UpdatesAROUND THE GLOBE AT THE PUMP IN OUR ASSOCIATION UPCOMING EVENTS
Commodity Classic
Feb. 28- Mar. 2, Orlando, FL Nebraska Ethanol Board Emerging Issues Forum
Mar. 7-8, La Vista, NE LEGAL REVIEW Growth Energy Files New Small Refinery Lawsuit
Growth Energy filed a lawsuit in federal court on Feb. 4, 2019, challenging EPA’s failure to address small refinery exemptions in its 2019 renewable volume obligation (RVO) rulemaking. Growth Energy was spurred to act by the stark increase in small refinery exemptions granted in recent years, with no apparent effort by EPA to publicly identify who received the exemptions, explain the increase, or account for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) lost to the exemptions.
In total, the exemptions add up to close to 2.25 billion gallons of lost renewable fuel demand. Many of the exemptions had also been granted after EPA established the RVOs for a given year - meaning they were unaccounted for. Further, EPA made no effort to reallocate the billions of biofuel gallons that had been lost as a result.
Despite repeated legal challenges by Growth Energy and others in 2018, EPA has failed to uphold its statutory obligation to ensure that RVOs established by the Agency are met each year. The 2019 RVO is the first EPA rulemaking under the RFS since it became publicly known that EPA was granting such a large number of exemptions. For context, the annual RVO rulemaking is a volume-setting process, and it is the perfect opportunity for EPA to make good on lost RIN volumes. Yet, EPA specifically declined to address small refinery exemptions, stating that such exemptions were “beyond the scope” of the rulemaking. We think EPA’s inaction on small refinery exemptions is in violation of the law, and we have filed suit to ensure that EPA is held to account. We will keep you updated as this and related cases progress through the courts.
For more details, contact General Counsel, Joe Kakesh.
IN POLICY Lawmakers Reach Potential Deal to Fund Government
This week, congressional negotiators reached a potential spending deal to fund the government. The deal seems to have the Congressional backing needed to be sent to President Trump, who appears likely to sign the bill.
Without the passage of a spending deal, government funding is set to expire on Friday, Feb. 15, which could delay the critical E15 rulemaking process. The agency originally planned to release a draft rule in early February, but delays from the 35 day-long partial shutdown kept them from doing so. Despite those delays, Bill Wehrum, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, reiterated the EPA's intent to complete the rulemaking process by June 1. Wehrum also announced this week that the E15 rulemaking would not split an E15 Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver and Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market reform, as had previously been reported.
Growth Energy will continue to keep you up-to-date on the rulemaking process and stay engaged with EPA and our legislative champions to ensure its timely completion. For more details, contact Vice President of Government Affairs, John Fuher.
IN REGULATION State-level Ethanol Updates
New York E15
Currently New York is one of just a few states that ban the sale of E15 fuel. Growth Energy has been working the past few years to remove the cap on the sale of E15 fuel in the state. The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets has announced a series of three stakeholder meetings to discuss a potential rulemaking to allow the sale of E15, as well as some other regulatory changes that may impact the sale of midlevel ethanol blends (E16-E50).
We will keep pressing ahead on our work to remove the cap to allow sale of E15 and continue to allow the sale of midlevel blends in NY, and will keep you updated on our efforts. 
Washington Low Carbon Fuel Standard
As we’ve previously written, the Washington state legislature is considering legislation to enact a statewide low carbon or clean fuel standard similar to those in neighboring Oregon and California. The House legislation, HB 1110, has been approved by the House Environment and Energy Committee and was heard yesterday in the House Transportation Committee, with further committee action is expected today.
The Senate companion legislation, SB 5412, has been heard in the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and no further action has occurred. Growth Energy has a consultant on the ground in Olympia who provided testimony at each of the hearings, and we will continue to stay actively engaged so that the market remains open for ethanol-blends should the policy be enacted. North Carolina Clean Energy Plan
The Governor has directed the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to develop a clean energy plan for the state by the end of the year. As part of the development process, DEQ has announced a series of workshops over the next few months for interested stakeholders. It is unclear how much this process may delve into transportation and fuels issues, but we have already had preliminary discussions with the state about the significant benefits of ethanol blends and the significant presence of E15 retailers in the state. We will continue to remain engaged during this process and keep you informed of any important developments.
For more details, contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Chris Bliley.
AROUND THE GLOBE An End to Trade Tensions With China Would Mean Access to Key Ethanol Market
With reports that a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could take place sometime next month, there is increasing hopefulness that an end to the on-going trade tensions between the two countries could be approaching. China's gasoline market is the second largest in the world and the country imports ethanol to meet its goal of reaching a nationwide E10 blend by 2020. However, being locked out of the Chinese ethanol market as a result of trade tensions since early 2018 has meant that our nation's farmers and ethanol producers have lost access to a critical market for their products.
In September of 2017, the country formally committed to reaching a nationwide 10 percent blend of ethanol by 2020, in order to meet their economic and climate goals. As a result, the country represents potentially billions of gallons in new ethanol and corn demand abroad, especially as the country's overall fuel demand is expected to continue growing through 2025.
Growth Energy has worked diligently to forge strong trade relations with Chinese stakeholders and officials. Earlier this year, Growth Energy staff embarked on a trade mission to the country to discuss the benefits of U.S. ethanol with the Chinese officials and industry stakeholders. We will continue to keep you updated on the status of a potential U.S.-Sino trade deal and its impact for our industry. For more details, contact Senior Vice President of Global Markets, Craig Willis. 
AT THE PUMP America's Fuel Award: Mike Lorenz At Growth Energy's 2019 ELC, Mike Lorenz, Executive Vice President of Petroleum Supply at Sheetz, was recognized with the 2019 America’s Fuel Award - an honor that recognizes the hard work and dedication of Lorenz in helping to grow the biofuels industry. Although he wasn’t able to attend the conference in person, he joined the audience in spirit by video. Please click the image below to watch Mike's remarks. 
The America’s Fuel Award is presented every year to an individual who has gone above and beyond for our industry. Previous winners include Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack; retired four-star General Wesley Clark; Founder and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, Richard Childress; Growth Energy Board Co-Chair Tom Buis; former Iowa Governor and Ambassador Terry Branstad, and former General Manager of Fuel Procurement and Marketing for Kwik Trip Joel Hirschboeck.
Lorenz’s leadership and vision have positively impacted the growth of the entire biofuels industry, and he led a very aggressive effort to expand the E15 and E85 market nationwide. Under his leadership, Sheetz has expanded their footprint across the nation and now has more than 250 locations offering E15 and E85. He has become an outspoken advocate supporting higher biofuel blends like E85 and willingly shares his retail marketing experience with renewable fuels through conferences, industry share groups, and lobbying on behalf of year-round sales of E15. Thanks for all you do and for being such a strong advocate for our industry, Mike!To view the full video, please click the image above, or go here. For more details, contact Vice President of Market Development, Mike O'Brien.
IN OUR ASSOCIATION Whitefox Announces Second Start-up of ICE System 
Whitefox Technologies is proud to kick off 2019 with the announcement of its fourth successful installation and start-up of its Whitefox ICETM system at United Ethanol LLC‘s plant in Milton, Wisconsin.
United Ethanol is already experiencing positive improvements to its operations and is currently running at a 15% overall capacity increase with the capability of a further 5% increase. The modular bolt-on system has freed up capacity in the distillation-dehydration section, which will allow the plant to increase its annual production capacity to over 60 million gallons. This is Whitefox’s second successful installation in Wisconsin, the first was at Fox River Valley Ethanol LLC in Oshkosh.To learn more about Whitefox Technologies, visit their website here. 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 51 times a year 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 © 2019 Growth Energy. |
