Ethanol Week - April 18, 2016

Cellulosic ethanol plant planned for Spiritwood, N.D. The CEO and a founding partner of New Energy Investors met with North Dakota state officials April 12 to discuss a $150 million cellulosic ethanol plant the Pennsylvania company is proposing to build in Spiritwood, N.D. READ MORE SHARE
Growth Energy announces Emily Skor as CEO Growth Energy has announced Emily Skor as CEO, effective May 16. Skor most recently served as the vice president for communications of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and the executive director of the CHPA Educational Foundation. READ MORE SHARE
	EIA: 2016, 2017 ethanol production to increase over 2015 The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the April edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting 2016 ethanol production will increase when compared to 2015 levels, averaging 970,000 to 980,000 barrels per day in 2016 and 2017. READ MORE SHARE
EPA approves Joule’s advanced biofuel pathway The U.S. EPA recently approved a renewable fuel pathway filed by Joule Unlimited Technologies Inc., allowing the company to generate D5 advanced biofuels renewable identification numbers for its algae-based ethanol under the renewable fuel standard. READ MORE SHARE
EPA clarifies provision of RFS Quality Assurance Program rule The U.S. EPA recently announced it has finalized an amendment proposed last year that clarifies an aspect of the renewable fuels standard (RFS) program that was inadvertently put in place with the Quality Assurance Program rule. READ MORE SHARE
Etankfire reports results of large-scale ethanol fire research A Swedish research institute released experimental results on the burning behavior of various ethanol blends, conducted as part of the Etankfire project. The project aims to investigate the behavior of large-scale ethanol fires. READ MORE SHARE
USDA WASDE April report pegs corn use for ethanol higher Judging by weekly ethanol production through March 2016, 25 million more bushels of corn will be used for making the biofuel in the 2015-2016 corn marketing year than previously was estimated, USDA said in its April World Supply and Demand Estimate. READ MORE SHARE
Missouri bill aims to extend ethanol producer incentive fund The Missouri House of Representatives has passed legislation that aims to extend the sunset date on the state’s ethanol producer incentive fund from Dec. 31, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2020. The Missouri Senate is now considering the bill. READ MORE SHARE
UK DECC releases ethanol, biodiesel consumption data The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has released provisional energy data for 2015, reporting 1.46 billion liters (386.75 million gallons) of liquid biofuels were consumed in transport last year, down 17.1 percent from 2014. READ MORE SHARE
ACE, ethanol retailers counter ethanol myths during briefing Drivers want this fuel, and it doesn’t cost an interested retailer an arm and a leg to get the right fueling equipment to sell higher blends of ethanol. That was the theme of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s congressional briefing held April 14. READ MORE SHARE
ORNL hosts Southeast bioenergy meeting, study tour Researchers and others interested in establishing a sustainable bioeconomy in the U.S. are taking part in a five-day study tour led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. READ MORE SHARE
IRFA: Iowa achieves record E85, midlevel blend sales in 2015 Iowa motorists purchased a record 13.1 million gallons (mg) of E85 in 2015, an 8.3 percent increase over 2014, while also purchasing 8.7 mg of mid-level ethanol blends (ranging from E15 to E69), a 121.1 percent increase over 2014. READ MORE SHARE
Gevo’s biobased jet fuel can now fuel commercial flights Gevo Inc. recently announced that ASTM International has now completed its process of approving the revision of ASTM D7566 to include alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK) derived from renewable isobutanol. READ MORE SHARE
EIA tracks monthly ethanol and biodiesel rail movements The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released new information on ethanol and biodiesel movements by rail. The new monthly estimates are integrated with EIA's existing Petroleum Supply Monthly. READ MORE SHARE
IRFA testifies in support of Farm Bill Energy Title programs In a recent hearing on USDA Rural Development programs before the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw testified in support of renewable fuels programs. READ MORE SHARE
ACE members advocate for RFS, urge E15 RVP relief during fly-in The American Coalition for Ethanol and nearly 70 of its grassroots members are in Washington, D.C., as part of the group’s 8th annual fly-in April 13-14. ACE members will have more than 125 meetings with lawmakers representing 36 states. READ MORE SHARE
UAI, EFC challenge EPA data on ethanol's lifecycle emissions Two key interest groups and the Governors' Biofuels Coalition called on the U.S. EPA this week to recognize an overwhelming body of new evidence showing fuel ethanol can provide more than 350 million metric tons of carbon reductions annually. READ MORE SHARE
CSX, Norfolk Southern announce chemical safety awards CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern railway announced winners of their respective 2015 chemical safety awards in early April. Several ethanol producers were named among the 78 honored by CSX and the 60 by Norfolk Southern. READ MORE SHARE
Growth Energy continues ethanol foreign market expansion efforts The week of April 11, Jim Miller, vice president and chief economist of Growth Energy, will join several members of the ethanol industry in traveling to Chinese Taipei to participate in a workshop on ethanol trade development. READ MORE SHARE
GRFA supports adoption of national policies to reduce emissions Bliss Baker, president of the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, recently sent letters to the national leaders of 24 countries that highlighted biofuels as part of their Intended Nationally Determined Contribution plans at COP21. READ MORE SHARE