Ethanol Week - February 27, 2018

No deal reached at White House RFS meeting No deal on Renewable Fuel Standard reform was reached during a Feb. 27 meeting at the White House. President Trump has requested to meet with representatives of the biofuel and oil industries on March 1 to continue the conversation. READ MORE SHARE
Senate confirms Northey for USDA post On Feb. 27, nearly six months after he was first nominated, the U.S. Senate confirmed Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey to serve as Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service at USDA. READ MORE SHARE
	FS Bioenergia to develop second corn ethanol plant in Brazil FS Bioenergia has announced plans to develop a second corn ethanol plant in Brazil. The proposed project is currently in the licensing stage. Once constructed, the facility is expected to have a nameplate capacity of 680 MMly (179.64 MMgy). READ MORE SHARE
Former Ineos Bio site purchased for conversion into eco-district A consortium of investors and project developers led by Texas-based Frankens Energy recently purchased the former Ineos Bio Indian River Biorefinery in Vero Beach, Florida, and has announced plans to convert the site to an eco-district. READ MORE SHARE
EPA: More than 1 million cellulosic RINs generated in January The U.S. EPA has released renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for January, reporting that approximately 1.52 billion RINs were generated during the month, including more than 1 million cellulosic RINs. READ MORE SHARE
Farm groups urge Trump to maintain the integrity of the RFS Representatives of the U.S. farming community are speaking out ahead of a Feb. 27 White House meeting on the Renewable Fuel Standard, urging President Donald Trump to avoid seeking change that would weaken the nation’s biofuel policy. READ MORE SHARE
ACE talks opportunities, challenges for ethanol demand in 2018 The American Coalition for Ethanol hosted a webinar Feb. 20 titled “Opportunities and Challenges to Increasing Ethanol Demand in 2018.” The webinar focused on ACE initiatives designed to ensure ethanol continues to grow in the U.S. READ MORE SHARE
Ethanol industry speaks out against PES anti-RFS rally On Feb. 21, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke at a rally against the Renewable Fuel Standard hosted by Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc., a refiner that recently blamed the RFS and renewable identification number (RIN) prices for its bankruptcy. READ MORE SHARE
Mitsubishi Chemical, ICM bring ZEBREX to US ethanol industry Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and ICM Inc. recently announced a strategic marketing collaboration to provide ZEBREX to the fuel ethanol industry in the United States. ZEBREX is a zeolite membrane dehydration technology. READ MORE SHARE
IRFA: Nearly 50,000 Iowa jobs tied to biofuels With a White House meeting set for Feb. 27 to discuss the fate of the Renewable Fuel Standard, a new study commissioned by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association finds nearly 50,000 Iowa jobs are tied to biofuels production. READ MORE SHARE
Ethanol industry contributes $2.17 billion to Minnesota’s economy Anew study by ABF Economics has determined that Minnesota's ethanol industry contributed $2.17 billion to the state's gross domestic product (GDP) last year, generated $7.13 billion in gross sales and supported 18,813 jobs. READ MORE SHARE
SIRE launches Monarch fueling station project Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy has announced it will establish a Monarch fueling station on its property. SIRE, an ethanol plant near Council Bluffs, is the second Iowa biofuels facility to commit to creating monarch butterfly habitat. READ MORE SHARE
Growth Energy launches new American Ethanol racing website Growth Energy has launched a new, redesigned American Ethanol Racing website, AmericanEthanolRacing.com. The dynamic, revamped website is sleeker, more user-friendly and reflects progress that has been made with the American Ethanol program. READ MORE SHARE
GLBRC expands mission Building on the success of 10 years researching biofuels, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center recently embarked on a new mission: to develop sustainable alternatives to transportation fuels and products currently derived from petroleum. READ MORE SHARE
RFA report: Distillers grains exports dip to 4-year low in 2017 U.S. exports of distillers grains—a high protein co-product of dry mill ethanol production used to feed livestock and poultry—totaled 11.08 million metric tons in 2017, according to a summary of 2017 ethanol coproduct trade data published by the RFA. READ MORE SHARE
Delek Logistics, Green Plains Partners form joint venture Delek Logistics Partners LP and Green Plains Partners LP recently announced the companies have formed DKGP Energy Terminals LLC, a 50/50 joint venture engaging in the light products terminalling business. READ MORE SHARE
Fungal enzymes could hold secret to making biofuels from wood An international team of researchers, including scientists from the University of York, has discovered a set of enzymes found in fungi that are capable of breaking down one of the main components of wood. READ MORE SHARE