TOP STORY

Yesterday, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a motion for summary judgment regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s failure to respond to the opt-out request filed by Iowa and six other midwestern states. Essentially, the motion would force EPA to finalize its rule and ultimately allow the petitioning states to sell E15 year-round. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor issued the following statement in response:

“Biofuels leaders in Iowa, Nebraska, and other states have been more than patient. For more than a year past the statutory deadline they've waited for EPA to follow the law and allow them to make E15 available in their states year-round. 

“They've been forced to return to court to compel EPA to do something it was required to have done by July 2022. What's more, in its continued decision to illegally delay acting on the governors' request, EPA has cited fuel distribution concerns that are greatly overstated and can likely be attributed to the oil industry using scare tactics to prevent consumers from getting greater access to a fuel that costs less, burns cleaner, and displaces their products with every gallon. 

“E15 is a low-carbon fuel that saves consumers money. It's better for the air and it's better for the rural economy. While it should never have come to this, today the entire biofuels industry, the broader bioeconomy, and the driving public of the Midwest owes Iowa and Nebraska a debt of gratitude for seeking to provide year-round access to E15.” 

Read and share Growth Energy's statement here. 

For more information, please contact General Counsel Joe Kakesh.

WEEKLY EIA DATA

Last week, domestic ethanol demand was 12.8 BGY, down 3.2% compared to a week ago. The EIA-reported gas demand was down 3.2% from last week, at 125.8 BGY. The 4-week average ethanol and gas demand are 13.7 and 134.6 BGY (+2.1% YoY).

Ethanol production was 15.5 BGY last week, down 1.2% versus the week before, and 2.2% less than the 4-week average in 2019. Midwest production was down 1.3% (-3.8 MG) versus a week ago, and average production in the other regions was up 1.7% (+0.3 MG). Capacity utilization of plants online was 88.0% overall, 88.3% in the Midwest, and 82.8% on average, elsewhere, excluding 1,225 MGY of capacity shutdown at 26 ethanol plants for other than maintenance (details on pg. 31). On an installed capacity basis, utilization was 82.3% overall, 85.9% in the Midwest and 49.6% in the other regions.

Exports were an estimated 28.0 MG last week based on 120 MG/mo. of exports forecast for November. The EIA reported no ethanol imports last week.

Overall inventory was up 19.6 MG last week. EIA-counted stocks decreased 11.5 MG, and regional changes were: East (-3 MG), Gulf (-18 MG) and West (-7 MG) Coasts and the Midwest (+16 MG). In-transit inventory increased 31.1 MG.

Based on the total inventory of 1,775 MG on November 24th and the 4-week avg. domestic demand, there were 46.8 days of supply, up 0.9 days versus a week ago. Including the 4-week avg. of net exports, there were 42.3 days of supply, up 0.8 days versus a week ago.

For more information, please contact Jake Comer.

WORKING FOR YOU

UPCOMING EVENTS

2023 Renewable Fuels Nebraska (RFN) Member Appreciation Event & Annual Meeting

Omaha, Neb.

November 29-30, 2023

IRFA Summit

Altoona, Iowa

January 11, 2024

2024 Growth Energy Executive Leadership Conference

Marco Island, Fla.

January 31- February 4, 2024

IN LEGAL

This week, a coalition representing farmers and ethanol producers responded to last week’s decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency its rejection of six small refinery exemption requests. The following statement is from Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and the National Farmers Union:

“While we are disappointed by this decision, we will continue to vigilantly defend the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and fight against the illegal abuse of small refinery exemptions. As other Federal courts have determined, the RFS does not impose an economic burden on oil refiners because any compliance costs are passed down the supply chain. All refiners — regardless of their size or location — face equitable RFS obligations, and all of them pass through their costs to comply. This lawsuit was never really about purported economic hardship; rather, it was about a handful of entrenched oil refineries doing everything they can to dodge their legal obligations to blend renewable fuels and block consumer access to lower-cost, lower-carbon options at the pump.”

For more information, please contact General Counsel Joe Kakesh.

IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

This week, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) introduced the Flex Fuel Fairness Act in the House. The bill would provide a meaningful incentive for automakers to manufacture flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) in addition to battery electric vehicles (EVs). The Flex Fuel Fairness Act would equally encourage the production of FFVs to offer more options to consumers and unlock increased use of lower-carbon liquid fuel blends containing a greater amount of bioethanol, like E85 and E30.

Growth Energy previously applauded the introduction of this legislation in the Senate by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) back in July.

We had a fantastic Growth Energy Biofuels Summit this year, and while we were on the Hill we found that a number of lawmakers had questions about co-products--What are they? How do they fit into the biofuel production process? Why are they important?

Whether it's animal feed, food-grade CO2, bioplastics, or anything else, we want to hear about what unique and value-added co-products (beyond biofuels) that you're involved in manufacturing. Every story you share helps us educate lawmakers about all of the innovative things that are happening in the plant and on the farm, and further demonstrates our industry's pivotal role in cultivating the bioeconomy. 

To share your story, contact Holly Cullen.

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

IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS

The government of British Columbia, Canada has issued updates to the aviation piece of their provincial Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). In Spring 2022, the Canadian Ministry passed Bill 15, the Low Carbon Fuels Act (LCFA), to replace the current act. The LCFA is intended to enable more greenhouse gas reductions, broaden the scope of the LCFS, and make the LCFS easier to understand, administer, and enforce. The LCFA allows the LCFS to apply to the aviation sector by defining a jet fuel category and introducing “fossil-derived jet fuel” as a base fuel. 

These updates to the LCFS require suppliers of fuel in the jet fuel category to meet annual carbon intensity (CI) reduction targets that progress linearly towards a 10% CI reduction by 2030, beginning January 1, 2024. For 2024 and 2025, suppliers will need only report their supply, but beginning in 2026, there will be a 2% CI reduction requirement annually. 

You can read more about these requirements here.

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

IN MEMBERSHIP

Just a quick reminder for our members who have Growth Energy's logo displayed on their organization's website or any other collateral — please make sure you update that with our new logo! Log in to the new member portal on the redesigned Growth Energy website to access a toolkit featuring this material (you may need to reset your password). Once you're logged in, scroll down and look for the blue Member Resources section.

For more information, please contact Senior Creative Director Houston Ruck.

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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The 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. 

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