Ethanol Week - April 11, 2016

Iowa establishes PTC for renewable chemicals On April 7, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed legislation establishing a production tax credit for renewable chemicals. Branstad signed the bill at Iowa State University. Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and several stakeholders were on hand to witness the event. READ MORE SHARE
Iowa company breaks ground on Brazil corn ethanol plant The Iowa-based Summit Agricultural Group has broken ground on a 60 MMgy corn ethanol plant in in Lucas do Rio Verde in Mato Grosso, Brazil, together with Fiagril. Plant construction is expected to be completed in mid-June 2017. READ MORE SHARE
	Interagency effort provides links to biofuel data on one Web page Biofuel number crunchers in the know are finding their jobs easier because of a website hosted by the USDA Economic Research Service that pulls together links to government data from multiple sources on one page. READ MORE SHARE
Monthly EIA report now tracks biofuel movements by rail On April 4, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that it has begun to include new data on ethanol and biodiesel transported by railroads in its Petroleum Supply Monthly report. READ MORE SHARE
Biofuel trade groups ask for multiyear tax credit extensions On April 5, six biofuel trade associations sent a letter to leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Senate Committee on Finance, and House Ways and Means Committee asking for a multiyear extension of advanced biofuel tax credits. READ MORE SHARE
USDA: Corn use for ethanol at 420.8 million bushels in February The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service has published the April edition of its grain crushing and coproducts production report, noting February corn consumed for fuel ethanol production was up when compared to February 2015. READ MORE SHARE
DOE BETO updates Multi-Year Program Plan The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office has released the 2016 update of its Multi-Year Program Plan, which serves as an operational guide to help the BETO manage and coordinate its activities. READ MORE SHARE
Growth Energy: More than 150 million miles driven on E15 Major gasoline retailers working with Growth Energy have reported that over the past 12 months, using the U.S. average gas mileage of 20 miles-per-gallon, consumers have surpassed 150 million miles using E15 without any negative effects. READ MORE SHARE
USGC: Event offers DDGS, barley data to Canadian beef producers With an output of 1.8 million head of cattle per year, Alberta is the heart of Canada’s beef industry and an area the U.S. Grains Council has identified as a potential growth market for sales of U.S. barley and distillers dried grains with solubles. READ MORE SHARE
Scientists use ‘reverse photosynthesis’ to break down biomass Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a natural process they describe as reverse photosynthesis. In the process, the energy in solar rays breaks down, rather than builds plant material, as is the case with photosynthesis. READ MORE SHARE
DOT announces flammable liquid unit trains response curriculum The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration recently announced the launch of the web-accessible Transportation Rail Incident Preparedness and Response training resource. READ MORE SHARE
GRFA congratulates national leadership on transport emissions The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance has sent letters to congratulate national leaders of 13 countries that highlighted biofuels as part of their intended nationally determined contribution plans at COP21 in Paris. READ MORE SHARE
RFA responds to API’s anti-biofuel poll results On April 6, the American Petroleum Institute unveiled anti-biofuel results from a new Harris Poll. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen has criticizing the poll for using opinionated statements to elicit a negative response. READ MORE SHARE
Prairie cordgrass offers potential for growth in poor soils Marginal land is an attractive option for biofuel feedstock production. The soil on this land is often salty, but University of Illinois researchers have found several varieties of perennial grasses that can withstand high salt concentrations. READ MORE SHARE
ADM reaches agreement to sell Brazilian sugar ethanol operations Archer Daniels Midland Co. recently announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its sugarcane ethanol operations in Limeira do Oeste, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, to JFLim Participaçoes S.A. READ MORE SHARE
FEW: Bigger and Better Than Ever in its 32nd Year The FEW, sponsored by Ethanol Producer Magazine and produced by BBI International, will be held in the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee June 20-23. Nearly 25 percent of the 2,000 expected attendees will be ethanol producers. READ MORE SHARE