Ethanol Week - December 22, 2020

December 22, 2020

House, Senate pass $900B COVID-19 relief package, tax extenders The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate voted to approve a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package on Dec. 21. The legislation, which includes ag relief that could benefit biofuel producers, is expected to be signed by President Trump. READ MORE SHARE
USDA to open 30-day application period for HBIIP on Dec. 21 The USDA has announced it will open a new 30-day application period for the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive program on Dec. 21. The RFA, Growth Energy and ACE say they are ready and willing to help retailers apply for the program. READ MORE SHARE
	PMSS: Near miss reporting for SIF reduction Documenting, communicating and resolving near misses can help reduce incidents that cause serious injury or death. Jacob Hencke, with PROtect, emphasized this in his presentation during the Plant Maintenance and Safety Summit, Dec. 16 and 17. READ MORE SHARE
PMSS: Classification, organization and documentation It’s important to be aware of different safety and inspection requirements for different piping classifications, according to Jay Beckel, of PROtect. And don’t rely on your nondestructive testing (NDT) provider to keep track of it, he added. READ MORE SHARE
Canada publishes proposed Clean Fuel Standard regulations The government of Canada on Dec. 18 published proposed regulations for its Clean Fuel Standard. Final regulations are expected to be published next year, with the CFS scheduled to come into force on Dec. 1, 2022. READ MORE SHARE
Brazil’s 20% tariff on ethanol devastating to US biofuel industry U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil are once again subject to a 20 percent tariff after the two countries failed to reach a trade agreement during a short-term extension of Brazil’s tariff-rate quota (TRQ) that expired in mid-December. READ MORE SHARE
SCALE Act could help ethanol plants transport CO2 to customers The SCALE Act was introduced on Dec. 16. It supports the buildout of the infrastructure necessary to transport CO2 from where it is captured to where it can be utilized in manufacturing or safely and securely sequestered underground. READ MORE SHARE
EPA: 66 SRE petitions now pending The U.S. EPA on Dec. 17 reported five additional SRE petitions have been filed with the agency seeking exemptions of RFS blending requirements. The status of three other SRE petitions appear to have been changed from “denied” to “pending.” READ MORE SHARE
EIA: Ethanol production 3%, weekly ending stocks up 4% U.S. ethanol production fell by more than 3 percent the week ending Dec. 11, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Dec. 16. Weekly ending stocks of fuel ethanol increased by nearly 4 percent. READ MORE SHARE
Green Plains announces agreement to sell Texas ethanol plant Green Plains Inc. announced on Dec. 15 that its subsidiary, Green Plains Hereford LLC, has entered into an asset purchase agreement to sell its 100 MMgy ethanol plant in Hereford, Texas, to Hereford Ethanol Partners L.P. READ MORE SHARE