TOP STORY

White House Meeting to Discuss Impact of Small Refinery Exemptions

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

AROUND THE GLOBE

Growth Energy to Participate in Mexican Fuel Workshop

Protec Fuel's Steve Walk at a workshop in Mexico earlier this year. 

The Mexican Association of Service Station Suppliers (AMPES) is hosting an “Energy + Ethanol + Business” workshop in Hermosillo, Sonora to inform Mexican petroleum marketers about opportunities in sourcing, marketing, and retailing ethanol-blended gasoline. Hermosillo is an important market for ethanol development in the Mexico as it is one of the first cities in the country where E10 is being used by retailers. 

Growth Energy’s international development team will join Protec Fuel’s Director of Project Management and Business Development Steve Walk at the event, where Walk will present to retailers interested in offering E10. Walk spoke at another AMPES event earlier this year about lessons learned in the U.S. for growing retail availability over the years. Overall, this is the fourth time this year a Prime the Pump retail partner will discuss the use of ethanol with a group of Mexican fuel retailers. In June, Mike Lorenz of Sheetz and Lance Klatt of Minnoco each spoke at a retailer event hosted by ONEXPO, the largest Mexican gasoline association, in Veracruz.

The price of gasoline in Hermosillo is currently around $4 per gallon, so ethanol presents a great opportunity to lower fuel prices. Past data shows that E10 would be 4-5 percent less expensive than E0, and the workshop is timely as Mexico’s transportation fuel sector continues to evolve. The Growth Energy team looks forward to continuing to work with stakeholders in Mexico to open new avenues for continued ethanol expansion abroad. 

For more details, contact Senior Vice President of Global Markets, Craig Willis.

ON THE HILL

Biofuels Champions Call for Probe into EPA Ethanol Exemptions

U.S. Reps. Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) have called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the EPA’s granting of small refinery exemptions to skirt blending requirements of the RFS. In a letter to the U.S. Comptroller General, Finkenauer and Loebsack stated, “Our concerns stem from the economic consequences to our rural communities created by exempting nearly 4 billion gallons of fuel from the RFS, a standard intended to expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector. By 2016, the ethanol industry has grown to support over 339,000 U.S. jobs and driven $41 billion in economic activity by supporting corn and soy markets and reducing gasoline prices.”

In addition, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) held a press conference calling for the acting inspector general of the EPA to launch a federal investigation into EPA’s small refinery exemption process at Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) ethanol plant, where representatives from Growth Energy member companies were on hand to discuss the impact exemptions are having on the biofuels industry. Rep. Finkenauer’s request for a probe and Rep. Axne’s press conference come alongside reactions from Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst that also call the EPA’s handling of the exemptions into question.

It is critically important that our champions and other elected officials continue to hear from you on the devastating impact of small refinery exemptions. We urge you to use our action center to call on them to support the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act of 2019 to ensure EPA stops abusing the waivers and destroying demand for biofuels.

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

IN COMMUNICATIONS

Download the GasBuddy App and Find E15 Near You

Last week, Growth Energy announced a new partnership initiative with GasBuddy, the nation’s leading and most-trusted fuel price app, to bring E15 (often labeled at the pump as Unleaded 88) to the app’s comprehensive fuel finder database. Now, drivers will be able to find more than 1,800 stations that sell E15 in the GasBuddy app when they go to look for competitively-priced fuel. Much of the pricing data is crowdsourced, so we encourage you to download the app in the App Store or Google Play Store and enter the price for Unleaded 88 at your local station the next time you fill up. 

We've put together a quick guide that shows you how to find your nearest Unleaded 88 station and enter the price while you fill up. 

To Find Unleaded 88 on GasBuddy: 

1. Download GasBuddy from App Store or Google Play Store, click “Find Gas,” (1) and select “UNL88 (2) from the dropdown filter in search ribbon.
2. Selecting “UNL88” (2) will allow you to see list of Unleaded 88 stations with prices. You can also click on the “Map” (3) button for a different view.
3. Click on a station for directions (4). Clicking on any station regardless of what filter you have set will display all available fuel grades and prices.

*NOTE: Depending on where you live, GasBuddy may automatically populate local stations carrying Unleaded 88 without you having to select it as a filter. It depends on how many stations near you carry the fuel. 

To Report Unleaded 88 Prices to GasBuddy:

1. Not every gas station will have all or any fuel prices listed, but you are able to add prices for your local station.
2. Scroll down and click the “Report Prices” (5) button to input the price of Unleaded 88 for the gas station you are at. 
3. Note: If the station you are at carries Unleaded 88 but it isn’t listed as a fuel grade, click the “Add Fuel Type” (6) button and add Unleaded 88 and its corresponding price

GasBuddy offers incentives and prizes to users who report the latest fuel price data, so by updating the app with Unleaded 88 prices, you will not only be helping raise awareness for higher ethanol blends, you might also save even more money on fuel. 

For more details, contact Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs, Elizabeth Funderburk.

AT THE TRACK

Don Onken Inducted into Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Hall of Fame

Pictured left to right: American Ethanol Catamaran Throttleman, John Cosker; Owner, Don Onken; Driver, Tony Battiato

The Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO) Shootout is the largest unsanctioned boat race in the U.S., with more than 100,000 spectators and boating enthusiasts attending the weeklong event. American Ethanol has had an enduring presence at the shootout, as the American Ethanol Mystic Powerboats Catamaran has taken home “Top Gun” honors as the fastest boat for four-straight years and holds the record for piston-powered boats with a top speed of 217 mph. Don Onken, owner of the American Ethanol Catamaran has become an icon in the boat racing community and was inducted into the Bob Morgan Memorial Shootout Hall of Fame earlier this week.

Onken got his start drag racing in the 1950’s before transitioning to offshore powerboat racing in the 1990’s. After a crash during an offshore race in 1997, Onken and his family decided that shootout races, where competitors aim to achieve the fastest overall speed rather than race directly against other boats, would be a safer alternative. The move was a resounding success, as the Onken team has elevated its ethanol-powered boat to dominant status at the shootout. The American Ethanol team will go for a fifth-consecutive Top Gun run this Saturday, so be sure to follow along on their Facebook page to cheer them on.

For more details, contact Vice President of Development in Membership, Kelly Manning.

The Weekly Rundown is the weekly newsletter for Growth Energy's members. It is published 51 times a year by the communications staff at Growth Energy. For more information, email team@growthenergy.org or visit our website GrowthEnergy.org. 

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