No. 139 August 13, 2020 TOP STORY Growth Energy Applauds Renewed House Push for Biofuel Relief On Friday, August 7th, U.S. Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) led 27 members of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus in sending a letter to House and Senate Leadership calling for negotiators to adopt “language explicitly directing” relief to producers and processors of renewable fuels. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor thanked members of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus for their efforts to deliver long-overdue relief to the biofuel sector in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.
“We’re grateful to our congressional champions who are working overtime to stop the bleeding and offer hope for farm communities,” said Skor. “With continued uncertainty around COVID-19, and states, like California, Texas, and Florida returning to lockdown, the stakes are too high to leave any stone unturned. Leaders in Congress must work quickly to protect rural jobs and give us the certainty we need to rebuild America’s agricultural supply chain.”
Last week's letter represents the latest appeal from rural leaders across the nation, including those from members of the Senate and the House, Midwest governors, and 70 mayors across 10 states. With their support, direct assistance to biofuel producers was included in the House-passed HEROS Act, as well as in bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate. House and Senate lawmakers hope to hammer out a final deal this month. For more details, contact Vice President of Government Relations John Fuher.
WORKING FOR YOU IN COMMUNICATIONS Conversations with Biofuels Champions, featuring Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Make your voice heard on SREs
Happy 15th Anniversary, RFS! IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COVID-19 Relief Bill Update IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS Growth Energy Encourages California to Embrace More Biofuels ON THE TRACK American Ethanol on the Track in Daytona This Weekend IN OUR ASSOCIATION Updates to Growth Energy's COVID-19 Resources Page UPCOMING EVENTS
Farm Journal Field Days Aug. 25-27, 2020
Virtual Fuel Ethanol Workshop 2020 Sept. 15-17, 2020
Growth Energy Biofuels Summit September 14-17, 2020
IN COMMUNICATIONS Conversations with Biofuels Champions, featuring Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
This week in our "Conversations with Biofuels Champions" summer video series, our CEO Emily Skor visited with Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
In 2007, Senator Klobuchar was the first woman elected to represent the State of Minnesota in the United States Senate. Born in Plymouth, Klobuchar was a lawyer in Minneapolis before beginning her career in public service as county attorney for Hennepin County.
In the 116th Congress, she serves on five Senate committees, including the Agriculture Committee, Judiciary Committee, and Joint Economic Committee, and has been a tireless advocate for Minnesota's biofuels producers and corn farmers. Watch the conversation between Senator Klobuchar and Emily Skor here or by clicking on the image below. In case you missed it, last week, Skor spoke with Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). Watch it here.
Next week, we'll hear from Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD). Be sure to tune in!
Make your voice heard on SREs
As COVID-19 continues to devastate our biofuel producers and rural communities, NOW more than ever we need to STAND UP for the Renewable Fuel Standard and DEMAND that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deliver certainty to US farmers.
Happy 15th Anniversary, RFS!
On Saturday, August 8th, we joined folks across the country in celebrating 15 years of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)!
“The Renewable Fuel Standard has stood the test of time as America’s single most successful clean energy policy, driving down emissions, increasing competition at the pump, and expanding economic opportunity across rural communities,” Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy said. “Thanks to the steadfast leadership of our champions in Congress, America now leads the world in the production and export of low-carbon biofuels, and that progress is just the beginning. With their support, we will repel regulatory attacks on the RFS and harness the power of homegrown energy to fuel the future.” For more details, contact Vice President of Communications Elizabeth Funderburk. IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COVID-19 Relief Bill Update After two weeks of negotiations, discussions between the Senate, House, and the Administration have grinded to a halt as major disagreements endure over the size and scope of another COVID-relief package. In response over the weekend, President Trump signed four Executive Orders attempting to extend the federal eviction moratorium, defer payroll taxes, extend unemployment benefits, and defer student loan payments.
Growth Energy’s Government Relations team continues to stay in close contact with both our Senate and House champions should a breakthrough occur. For more details, contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher.
IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS Growth Energy Encourages California to Embrace More Biofuels Last week, Growth Energy submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) following a July 15th workshop on Fuels and Infrastructure for a Carbon Neutral Economy. In his written submission, Growth Energy Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley urged CARB to expand the use of higher biofuel blends to make California’s fuel mix more environmentally sustainable.
“[H]igher ethanol blends can be immediately deployed in existing vehicles to achieve immediate greenhouse gas reductions, reduce harmful air toxics, and reduce consumer costs at the pump,” wrote Bliley.
Bliley also cited California’s past success reducing emissions with biofuels under the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) policy. “In fact, biofuels like ethanol have generated more than 75 percent of LCFS credits,” he wrote. “Additionally, even with room to further improve greenhouse gas lifecycle modeling, CARB recognizes the significant improvement in ethanol’s carbon intensity.”
With higher ethanol blends, Bliley added, CARB could achieve deeper carbon reductions while protecting air quality. “As has been researched by the University of California-Riverside and the University of Illinois-Chicago, the use of more ethanol and ethanol-blended fuel reduces air toxics such as carbon monoxide, benzene, and other harmful particulates,” noted Bliley.
To take advantage of these opportunities, Bliley urged CARB to press ahead on its evaluation of E15 and promote the continued expansion of E85. For more details, contact Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.
ON THE TRACK American Ethanol on the Track in Daytona This Weekend This Sunday, August 16th, Austin Dillon will drive the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro at the GoBowling 235 race at Daytona International Speedway. Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, has earned race wins at Daytona in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. However, as this weekend features a new road course configuration for NASCAR at Daytona and will mark his first attempt at the track.
“I’ve been working on the simulator to prepare for the race," said Dillon. "We’ve all been putting a lot of hours in leading up to the race. You can get some information from watching former races at the track in other series and seeing past 24 Hours of Daytona races, but overall there are some differences because stock cars drive differently and there is an added chicane. It’s an American Ethanol race and I can’t wait to get out there in that green number three car. I’m looking forward to the race. Some of the guys are going to have a little bit of an advantage because they’ve raced there before, but a lot of us have not and it will be a fun test. We’re just going to go out there and give it our all and see what we come up with."
Join us in wishing Austin Dillon, and the entire American Ethanol and Richard Childress Racing team GOOD LUCK! And be sure to tune in to NBC Sports on Sunday, August 16th at 3:00 PM ET! For more details, contact Vice President of Development Kelly Manning.
IN OUR ASSOCIATION Updates to Growth Energy's COVID-19 Resources Page Over the last few weeks, the federal government has updated or released new guidance related to the COVID-19 crisis. As your eyes and ears in Washington, DC, the team at Growth Energy would like to make our members aware of a few key updates:
Information is updated on a regular basis, so please continue to visit our COVID-19 Resources webpage for the latest resources and information. For more details, contact Vice President of Operations Kitty Loyd.
The Weekly 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. You're receiving this newsletter because you've subscribed to Growth Energy's The Weekly Rundown. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe instantly. Copyright © 2020 Growth Energy. |