No. 13; Jan. 3, 2018 
ON THE HILL and AT THE AGENCIES FOCUSING OUR PRIORITIES FOR THE NEW YEAR 
Welcome back everyone to Growth Energy's Weekly Rundown, and Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a peaceful and relaxing holiday season and end of 2017. Since 2018 is now officially here, we wanted to update you on our policy and regulatory priorities for the coming year. We are continuing to fight for a strong RFS on all fronts, including by pushing back against misguided attempts to undercut the program on the Hill and in the administration behind the leadership of our champions, and at the EPA as well. We plan to hold Secretary Pruitt accountable to the commitment he made last fall to find a solution for RVP relief. We're also hoping to keep up the momentum that was displayed late last month when 90 members of the biofuels industry signed a letter to President Trump that offered solutions to addressing RIN costs that also do not harm the RFS. Specifically, the letter proposed RVP relief for summertime sales, improving transparency in RIN trading markets to prevent market manipulation, and fixing the inequity in the U.S. tax code between biofuels and oil. As you know, these remain our highest priorities here in DC and are key to continued growth in market demand for ethanol. Don't forget to join us for the first all-member call of 2018, which will take place next week on Thurs., Jan. 11, at 11am EST. The agenda and call-in info will be sent out in the coming days. For more details contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher or Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.
WORKING FOR YOU
ON THE HILL Update on Congress IN REGULATIONS EPA Proposal to Open New Pathways for Grain Sorghum Oil AT THE PUMP E15 Growth Is the Second Biggest Fuel Story of 2017 IN THE PRESS Issue 5 of American Ethanol Out Now AT THE PLANTS AT OUR EVENTS ELC Registration Closes Tuesday UPCOMING EVENTS
Growth Energy All-Member Call: First Quarter 11:00am EST South Dakota Corn Growers Association Annual Meeting Sioux Falls, S.D. ON THE HILL Update on Congress The Senate gets back to work today, Wed., Jan. 3, and the House of Representatives comes back next week to kick off the second session of the 115th Congress. Government funding runs out on Fri., Jan. 19, which means Congress will have to agree on a package to fund the government yet again before the end of the month. Growth Energy continues to push to get a tax incentive for cellulosic biofuels (like for corn kernel and corn stover) included in the package being deliberated now, and we will keep you posted on any related developments. Additionally, as stated above, we will continue to press the EPA to fix the RVP issue, which will offer greater market access for our industry and lower the RIN costs for merchant refiners. For more details contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher.
IN REGULATIONS EPA Proposal to Open New Pathways for Grain Sorghum Oil Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuels that are produced from grain sorghum oil extracted at dry-mill ethanol plants. The agency stated that its evaluation of the GHG emissions shows that producing biofuels from distillers sorghum oil results in no significant upstream agricultural GHG emissions. As such, biodiesel produced from distillers sorghum would meet the life-cycle GHG emissions reduction threshold required for advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Growth Energy has worked extensively with our producers, as well as the National Sorghum Producers, to make this important change in order to provide additional market opportunities. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor released the following statement to the press: “This is great news for numerous ethanol producers who use grain sorghum as a feed-stock, as it opens up an additional market for one of their key co-products. Our industry has a history of leading innovation in the production of clean, renewable fuel and in creating value for associated co-products. This is an exciting step for producers who are poised to provide more homegrown fuels to America. We look forward to filing comments and working with the EPA to finalize this important rule.” For more details contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.
AT THE PUMP E15 Growth Is the Second Biggest Fuel Story of 2017 Growth Energy Market Development is looking forward to new opportunities in 2018 that will help us grow our E15 footprint across the U.S. We begin the new year with more than 1,200 retail stations, and we are excited to expand our relationships with existing retail partners as well as establish new partnerships and talk to more and more consumers about the benefits of E15. Our work in 2017 included some significant milestones, and we’re thrilled that CSP, the top convenience store industry publication, featured our accomplishments by naming the expansion of E15 as the second biggest fuel story of the year, ranking even above the fuel disruptions caused by last year's hurricanes. Please click on the story here and help us share this big news. 
For more details contact Vice President of Market Development Mike O'Brien.
IN THE PRESS Issue 5 of American Ethanol Out Now 
Now that holidays are behind us and you have a little more down time, we hope you’ll cozy up with American Ethanol's last issue of 2017. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor chatted with NASCAR’s Lesa France Kennedy for our cover story in which they reminisce about Lesa’s favorite NASCAR moments, as well as where the fan experience is headed with the International Speedway Corporation (ISC). In this edition, we also highlight Iowa’s Senator Joni Ernst in the magazine’s first Biofuels Champion feature; ramp things up with one of our AE Performance Team stars, Anthony Taylor; and as always, we have a delicious new recipe for you to try at home. Look for our next issue in early spring! For more details contact Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs Chris Hogan. 
AT THE PLANTS Introducing the Member of the Week: Quad County Corn Processors 
Growth Energy is excited to launch a new regular Weekly Rundown feature with this first issue of 2018: 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. Quad County Corn Processors is up first!
For more details contact Vice President of Development Kelly Manning.
AT OUR EVENTS ELC Registration Closes Tuesday 
Registration for Growth Energy's Ninth Annual Executive Leadership Conference closes on Tuesday, Jan. 9! Hotel rooms are already sold out for Tuesday, and space is becoming very limited for other evenings, so register today in order to secure your spot and room! Email us with any questions at conference@GrowthEnergy.org.
The Weekly Rundown is the weekly newsletter for Growth Energy's members, published 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. |
