Ethanol Week - April 13, 2015

EPA to finalize 2014, 2015 and 2016 RFS rules by November The U.S. EPA has posted a notice to its website announcing that the volume requirements for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 renewable fuel standard (RFS), along with the 2017 volume requirement for biomass-based diesel, will be finalized by Nov. 30. READ MORE SHARE
NTSB makes rail car safety recommendations to PHMSA On April 6, the National Transportation Safety Board issued four recommendations to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration calling for more stringent safety requirements for rail cars transporting flammable liquids. READ MORE SHARE
	EPA opens comment period on cellulosic waiver credit rules The U.S. EPA has published its direct final rule and parallel proposed rule on cellulosic waiver credits in the Federal Register, officially opening a 30-day comment period. The agency released prepublication versions of the rules in March. READ MORE SHARE
Wood biorefinery equipment on the auction block April 14 Equipment from a project to produce cellulosic ethanol at a pulp and paper mill is available for purchase in an online auction. Included in the auction is equipment from late model lab assets and a 2009-2012 biomass biorefinery pilot plant. READ MORE SHARE
Ceres reports favorable sorghum growth in Brazil in Q2 results On April 9, Ceres Inc. released financial results for the second quarter of 2015, reporting growing conditions in Brazil have been generally favorable for its sweet-sorghum collaboration with Raizen across most multi-hybrid field evaluation sites. READ MORE SHARE
Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee reschedules meeting The Surface Transportation Board has rescheduled a meeting of the Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee. The event, originally scheduled for March 5, was cancelled due to inclement weather. The meeting will now be held April 14. READ MORE SHARE
Pemex awards 10-year contracts for domestic ethanol in Mexico Fuel ethanol got a boost in Mexico recently when state-owned oil company, Pemex, awarded four 10-year purchase contracts for anhydrous ethanol. Pemex announced contracts for 123 million liters (32 million gallons) of domestically produced ethanol. READ MORE SHARE
EIA updates ethanol production forecasts in short-term outlook The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the April edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, revising its 2015 and 2016 ethanol production forecasts. U.S. ethanol production is now expected to average 944,000 barrels per day this year. READ MORE SHARE
Prices giving positive ethanol margins, negative for corn farmers Market conditions in mid-March showed ethanol producers could pay about 10 percent more than the current cash corn price before reaching the plant "shut-down level," according to an analysis by retired Iowa State University economist Robert Wisner. READ MORE SHARE
WASDE: Corn ending stocks up some, big changes to sorghum use Sorghum supply and demand adjustments took the stage away from corn in this month's USDA World Agriculture Supply and Demand report. Significant changes to the sorghum balance sheet reflect the continuing strong demand from China. READ MORE SHARE
Iowa leadership to lead trade missions to South Korea, Brazil Iowa. Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds announced that they will lead trade missions to South Korea and Brazil respectively. Both trips are aimed at expanding trade and investment opportunities. READ MORE SHARE
Nebraska corn representatives tell ethanol's story Ethanol advocates from across the nation came together in Washington, D.C., in late March as part of a "Biofuels Beltway March" to share their ethanol stories and communicate the widespread grassroots support for the renewable fuel standard (RFS). READ MORE SHARE
Deal forged on Minnesota bioeconomy legislation Biobased industry, agriculture, and environmental interests recently reached agreement on legislation in Minnesota that would create production-based incentives for renewable chemicals, advanced biofuels and biomass thermal energy. READ MORE SHARE
Nebraska ethanol producer provides infrastructure grant Nebraska ethanol producers continue to work with retailers across the state to provide fuel choice for consumers. The most recent of these ethanol producers is Husker Ag LLC, which has provided infrastructure grants to eight retail locations. READ MORE SHARE
UAI commends Obama for proclamation of National Health Week The Urban Air Initiative has applauded the Obama administration for creating greater awareness of health issues related to the environment, and urged that toxic emissions from gasoline be front and center in the discussion. READ MORE SHARE
Algenol to participate in business development mission to China Algenol is joining U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker on a business development mission to China. GE, Southern Co., Honeywell, Praxair, Alcoa, and Lockheed Martin also traveling with the group. READ MORE SHARE