IFB Ethanol Blog

Visit our new location

The IFB Ethanol Blog is moving to FarmWeekNow.com.  Go to the website and click on "Commentary" and look for "Renewable Energy."   We are now following updates in the ethanol and renewable energy industries affecting Illinois.

You can also follow our new RSS feed:  http://www.farmweeknow.com/blogsRss.aspx?b=18

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EWG doesn't like E15 blend proposal

EWG's review of available scientific data finds that such an increase in fuel ethanol content may involve multiple human health and safety hazards and a risk of increased air pollution. EPA cannot legally grant the waiver because there are far too many unresolved scientific questions about the impacts of E15 on engines, emission systems and air quality.

EWG's review has found that:

• A higher ethanol blend may damage non-road engines and emission control systems.
• Emissions from higher ethanol fuels may worsen health risks from air pollution.
• Extensive distribution of higher-ethanol fuel blends may pose new safety risks and higher fuel costs.
• Higher-ethanol fuel blends may compromise lifetime performance of non-flex fuel vehicles.

New look coming

The IFB Ethanol Blog will be getting a new name and look later this month.  Stay tuned for details.

Conoco Idles Biofuels Joint Venture with Tyson

ConocoPhillips said Wednesday it has halted its collaboration with Tyson Foods Inc. to make diesel fuel from animal fat.

The company said it idled the project in the fall after federal tax credits that helped fund the project were cut in half. Tyson supplied ConocoPhillips with animal fat from its meat processing operations, which the energy company processed into biofuel at its Borger, Texas, refinery.

Speaking to reporters after the ConocoPhillips's shareholder meeting in Houston, Chief Operating Officer John Carrig said production could resume if government incentives are reinstated.

(Source: WSJ)

USDA Report Highlights 2009-10 Ethanol Use

Ethanol makers will use 4.1 billion bushels of corn to make the renewable motor fuel during 2009/10, up from 3.75 billion bushels this marketing year, the U.S. Agriculture Department projected on Tuesday.

"Ethanol use, at 4.1 billion bushels, reflects the rising federal biofuels mandate and improved blending incentives as higher gasoline prices increase demand for ethanol," said USDA in a monthly update. "Ethanol producer returns, however, will remain under pressure as excess production capacity weighs on
producer margins."

NYT: UL Will Not Certify E15 Pumps

Groups representing the nation’s service station operators say they fear the possible legal and economic consequences of increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/automobiles/10PUMP.html

USEPA Unveils New Rules for Ethanol

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday proposed a new alternative fuel standard that will likely prohibit some corn ethanol production processes based on their greenhouse gas emissions and encourage other advanced biofuels.

The EPA decision walks a fine political line that attempts to placate a very large ethanol voter base - especially in the Midwest - and carves out a pathway to biofuels that emit fewer greenhouse gases over the production life-cycle. The new rule was required under the Energy Independence and Security Act, setting a standard for greenhouse gas reductions compared to conventional gasoline.

Although existing corn ethanol facilities will be grandfathered in, the EPA has proposed a rule that would prohibit some corn ethanol production processes such as the "dry gas mill" and "coal dry mill" methods. But by restricting some ethanol production processes, it provides a greater market incentive for advanced biofuel technologies.

USDA announcement

WSJ: Ethanol's Problems

When it comes to U.S. energy policy, farmers say: "Distill, baby, distill." Legislation demands refiners blend ever-larger volumes of ethanol -- alcohol derived mostly from corn -- into gasoline. But the ethanol industry is still on the defensive. Several large producers have gone bust and Californian regulators have thrown doubt on ethanol's perceived low-carbon content, a key selling point. The bigger problem, however, is the economy. Ethanol mandates were set before 2008's oil price spike and recession cut fuel demand. And they didn't factor in the current drive towards greater fuel-efficiency.

WSJ Online

Ethanol Blend Debate

Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Corn Growers Association are gearing up for debate over proposals to boost ethanol blend levels -- a step Monticello grower Jim Reed sees as crucial to overall domestic energy development.

While corn growers also are working with lawmakers to break the existing 10% ethanol gasoline "blend wall," ICGA Industrial Committee chair Reed reported efforts are focused on USEPA review of a blend waiver request filed by industry group Growth Energy and 54 ethanol producers.

EPA is collecting public comments through May 20 on proposals to raise the maximum blend level in conventional gasoline to 15%, hoping to gauge how "E15" would affect vehicle emissions, fuel distribution and marketing, and domestic fuel programs.

Check the May 4th edition of FarmWeek for additional details.

California Adopts Low-Carbon Fuel Standard

The American Farm Bureau Federation is disappointed in the indirect land use provisions of a ruling made Thursday by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to mandate carbon-based reductions in transportation fuels. Farm Bureau is concerned that the low carbon fuel standard could set precedent and be adopted by other states and the federal government.

AFBF remains concerned that the indirect land use provision of the California decision could unfairly target ethanol at the expense of gasoline. In addition, the findings unfairly exaggerate the effects of using field crops for energy and put ethanol at a competitive disadvantage.

The CARB decision sets an additional carbon penalty against biofuels only, increasing the carbon source of these fuels by 40 percent or more because of the indirect land use provisions. In a letter sent March 25 to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, AFBF cautioned that the science of predicting indirect, economically derived carbon effects is extremely new and uncertain.

However, CARB did agree to convene an expert working group to assist them in “refining and improving the land use and indirect effect analysis of transportation fuels.” Ethanol industry leaders hope the formation of this working group will result in a more balanced and fair assessment of the indirect greenhouse gas effects of all fuels.