TOP STORY

Skor Testifies Before U.S. Senate on the RFS

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor testified yesterday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at its hearing titled “The Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Challenges and Opportunities”. In her testimony, Skor spoke on how a strong Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is critical to decarbonize the transportation sector and lower prices for Americans at the pump. 

"The RFS remains the nation’s most successful clean energy policy,” said Skor in her opening testimony. “Yet, its full potential as a climate solution remains untapped. For the past eight years, a lack of accountability and failure to comply with the law has slowed progress on carbon reductions. 

“Today, as Congress looks to immediately reduce the carbon intensity of our nation’s transportation fleet, it is imperative that biofuels like ethanol – the most affordable and abundant source of low-carbon, high-octane fuel on the planet – are part of our transportation mix now and into the future.” 

Throughout the hearing, Skor set the record straight on biofuels and dispelled myths and erroneous claims from other panelists on the effects of biofuels on the environment and on gas prices. If you missed the hearing, click here to watch and here for highlights and quotes. 

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

IN COMMUNICATIONS

The Science Speaks for Itself on Biofuels, GHG Reductions and Land Use

Following the release of a “study” from author Tyler Lark, et al., CEO Emily Skor issued a response refuting the article’s erroneous claims: 

“The recent PNAS article by Tyler Lark and Holly Gibbs contains wildly overstated and speculative claims about the environmental impact of biofuels, in particular the relationship between the RFS and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  

“As has been shown repeatedly, there is simply no evidence that the RFS increases GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis, compared to gasoline. Quite the opposite, plant-based, cleaner-burning biofuels provide almost 50 percent lifecycle GHG emission reductions compared to gasoline. Further claims that have sought to tie the RFS to impacts to wildlife have been thoroughly disproven. In addition, to claim that the RFS is the cause of detrimental land use change is wholly unsupported by the evidence. The total acreage of land devoted to corn agriculture has remained unchanged for nearly a century, and to claim that the RFS somehow drives corn prices and land use change is just simply untethered from reality.” 

During yesterday's Senate hearing, Emily Skor responded directly to a question on the validity of the study. You can watch her response below: 

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

IN OUR ASSOCIATION

ELC 2022 in Review

Last week, Growth Energy hosted its 13th Annual Executive Leadership Conference. To all who joined us in Miami, thank you for participating in exciting conversations on the opportunities on the horizon for the biofuels industry. For those who did not attend, the panel presentations at this year's ELC focused on topics ranging from biofuels policy in Washington to sustainable aviation fuel to carbon intensity to carbon capture to domestic and global market development. Growth Energy members engaged in thoughtful conversations, both on and off stage, on what 2022 and beyond holds for ethanol. For updates and photos from the event, click here.

We were also pleased to welcome Senator Chuck Grassley to the ELC stage to receive Growth Energy's highest honor, the America's Fuel Award. Following his acceptance speech, Senator Grassley left us with these wise words: Don't mess with the RFS!

Following Senator Grassley's award, seven Growth Energy members received TOBI awards, which are given to members who exhibit innovation, fortitude, perseverance, and leadership within the biofuels industry. You can learn more about this year's TOBI Award winners here.

Below are a few photos from the 2022 Executive Leadership Conference:

ClearFlame Engine Technologies Announces Plant-Based Fuel Breakthrough

ClearFlame Engine Technologies announced last week, during Growth Energy's Executive Leadership Conference, that it has completed an on-road demonstration of its proprietary technology that enables a heavy-duty truck diesel engine to operate on 100% renewable plant-based fuels.

“This demonstration proves the workability of our technology that takes the dirty diesel fuel out of heavy-duty trucks,” said BJ Johnson, ClearFlame CEO and co-founder. “The transportation sector is currently the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Simply hoping that we get to net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 is not good enough. If we want to get serious in the fight against climate change, we need more solutions that can enable swift decarbonization today, particularly for heavy-duty trucks, which are among the worst offenders.”

ClearFlame CEO BJ Johnson was on stage at ELC last week during the panel titled, "New Markets: Land and Sea".

Other Voices: Remember Facts With Carbon Capture Projects

In an op-ed in the Sioux City Journal, Jeff Altena of Siouxland Energy Cooperative wrote about Siouxland Energy's partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions in order to decrease carbon emissions and increase its member returns.

"Innovation can be complicated," wrote Altena. "At Siouxland Energy, we chose to partner with Summit Carbon Solutions to decrease our carbon emissions and increase our member returns."

"Once our process is retrofitted with the needed infrastructure for carbon capture, our ultra-low carbon footprint allows us to compete in the low-carbon liquid fuels for decades to come. This market advantage will be distributed to our members and returned to our local economy."

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

IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Rail Customer Coalition Letter to Surface Transportation Board

Last week, the Rail Customer Coalition, which Growth Energy is a member of, sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board in support of their proposed rule to give greater access to reciprocal switching and support of greater rail competition ahead of the March hearing on this issue.

"The Rail Customer Coalition (RCC) would like to reiterate our support for the Board’s proposed rules to provide railroad customers with greater access to reciprocal switching," wrote the coalition. "We appreciate the Board’s decision to hold a public hearing and invite additional comments to update the record in this proceeding. Individual RCC members have separately notified the Board of their intent to participate. We strongly urge the Board to adopt a final reciprocal switching rule that will reduce regulatory barriers and promote competition in the freight rail industry."

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

IN MARKET DEVELOPMENT

SVP Lorenz, Other Ethanol Representatives Visit Colombia

Growth Energy Senior Vice President of Market Development Mike Lorenz joined the U.S. Grains Council for a visit to Colombia earlier this month to discuss the current state of the Colombian ethanol market with government and industry officials.

Colombia is a free trade partner with the United States and is currently the third largest market in Latin America for ethanol. The country imported 44 million gallons of ethanol in market year 2020/2021.

While in Colombia, the group met with government and industry representatives to discuss an array of topics, including the blend rate change that went into effect in 2021 that is expected to continue below E10 beyond February 2022.

The group met with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Asociación Colombiana del Petróleo (ACP) and Porsche Colombia, about the current market and the potential for higher regional blend rates.

For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Market Development Mike Lorenz.

IN PERFORMANCE TEAM

#3 Austin Dillon Returns to Daytona

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series is under way! Tune in on Sunday at 2:30 PM ET to see if Austin Dillon in the #3 Chevrolet can return to victory lane at The Great American Race! Stay tuned for when Dillon drives the Get Bioethanol branded car, which will hit the track six times in the 2022 season.

Want to live the NASCAR dream? Join the Get Bioethanol Racing League on NASCAR Fantasy Live. Contact Ryan Welsh to join.

For more information, please contact Director of Sales and Marketing Ryan Welsh.

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. 

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