No. 24, Mar. 21, 2018 IN THE WHITE HOUSE White House RFS Discussions Continue Discussions continue in Washington, D.C. among the USDA, the EPA, and the White House in the wake of the Presidential meeting on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) with biofuel producers and oil refiners. While we strongly advocate in support of RVP relief for higher ethanol blends and increased ethanol blending as the solution, there continues to be advocacy from oil refiners for a cap on RINs. We are working closely with our Senate champions and other industry stakeholders around potential ideas that will grow the market for biofuels and are absolutely firm in opposing a RIN cap and will continue to keep you updated as discussions continue. For more details, contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.
WORKING FOR YOU
ON THE HILL AT THE PUMP The Growth of Flex Fuel Vehicles AT THE PLANTS IN THE FASTLANE Austin Dillon’s new-look 2018 No. 3 Chevy Camaro ZL1 will debut on March 25 in the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. UPCOMING EVENTS
ON THE HILL Section 199(a) Reform Funding authority for the federal government expires at midnight on Friday. As of 10:30 last night, Congress was still considering the final content of that bill. One of the remaining open items is a fix to the tax bill passed last December that left an unintended consequence on the U.S. grain market, known as Sec. 199(a). According to several press reports, it appears that a fix to this issue will not be included in the package. Please know we will continue to follow this issue and will keep you apprised of any movement. For more details, contact Vice President of Government Relations John Fuher. Ways & Means Committee Meeting The House Ways and Means Committee holds hearings this week on the U.S. Trade Policy Agenda with Ambassador Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross. We expect most of the discussion will be focused on larger trade issues around NAFTA, the recently announced steel tariffs, and tariffs related to China, but we will continue to monitor for any discussion of ethanol tariffs. For more details, contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.
AT THE PUMP The Growth of Flex Fuel Vehicles According to RL Polk, there are currently over 21 million flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) on the road today. The number of FFVs in the past several years has increased substantially. Especially when you take a look at the past five years, which is where you see the most significant growth from 10 million to over 21 million. As you can see from the chart, diesel on the other hand, has had little growth in the past five years. In 2013, 6.7 million vehicles were manufactured for diesel and in 2018, there were only 8.3 million vehicles. For more details, contact Vice President of Market Development Mike O'Brien. AT THE PLANTS Member of the Week: POET Coon Rapids Growth Energy is excited to continue our new regular Weekly Rundown feature: Member of the Week! Each week, we'll introduce you to one of our association's members and get to know them on a more personal level. This week it's POET Biorefining – Coon Rapids.
For more details, contact Vice President of Development Kelly Manning.
IN THE FASTLANE Austin Dillon’s new-look 2018 No. 3 Chevy Camaro ZL1 will debut on March 25 in the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway We are thrilled to debut the redesigned paint scheme at Martinsville, and will be eagerly waiting to see if Austin can capture his first Cup Series win in the American Ethanol No. 3 car! We are also excited to host our first American Ethanol Engine Performance Workshop of 2018 at the race! We will be joined by a group of instructors from the North Carolina Universal Technical Institute campus, who will be treated to an engine performance seminar with ECR Engines’ Dr. Andy Randolph, as well as a VIP track experience courtesy of Richard Childress Racing. Be sure to keep an eye on our American Ethanol social media channels during the Martinsville race weekend. For more details, contact Manager of Communications Austin Dabney. The Weekly Rundown is the weekly newsletter for Growth Energy's members. It is published 52 times a year 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 © 2018 Growth Energy. |