Ethanol Week - March 10, 2020

Court extends deadline to challenge SRE ruling until March 24 The Trump administration will have 15 additional days to decide whether to challenge a Jan. 24 ruling by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down three small refinery exemptions (SREs) approved by the U.S. EPA. READ MORE SHARE
Minnesota bill aims to require E15 Legislation recently introduced in Minnesota aims to increase the minimum biofuel content in gasoline sold within the state to 15 percent. If signed into law, the bill would make Minnesota the first state to require the use of E15. READ MORE SHARE
	Versalis to restart Italian cellulosic ethanol plant Versalis, the chemical subsidiary of Italian oil and gas company Eni, announced in February that the cellulosic biorefinery it acquired from the Mossi & Ghisolfi Group in 2018 will restart operations during the first half of 2020. READ MORE SHARE
UK opens public consultation on introduction of E10 The U.K. Department for Transport opened a public consultation on March 4 on a proposal to allow E10 to be sold within the country. The U.K. currently limits the ethanol content of gasoline to 5 percent. READ MORE SHARE
EIA: Weekly ending stocks of fuel ethanol set new record U.S. weekly ending stocks of fuel ethanol set a new record at 24.964 million barrels the week ending Feb. 28, breaking the previous record set only two weeks earlier, according to data released by the U.S. EIA on March 4. READ MORE SHARE
	Perdue discusses state of rural economy with House Ag Committee U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefed the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on the state of the rural economy on March 4, and during the discussion spoke briefly about how USDA is supporting the country’s ethanol industry. READ MORE SHARE
Inhofe offers amendment to cap RIN prices, issues letter to EPA Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., on March 3 filed an amendment to the American Energy Innovation Act that aims to cap RIN prices. On the same day, he led a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging the agency to continue to issue SREs. READ MORE SHARE
Perdue appoints Brand to lead USDA Rural Development U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Feb. 28 announced the appointment of Bette Brand to serve as USDA Rural Development Deputy. Brand replaces former Rural Development Deputy Donald “DJ” LaVoy following his retirement. READ MORE SHARE
Biofuel groups urge Trump not to challenge court’s SRE ruling Representatives and supporters of the biofuels industry are speaking out against reports that President Trump will appeal a Jan. 24 decision handed down by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down three SREs approved by the U.S. EPA. READ MORE SHARE
Pacific Ethanol to sell ownership interest in Pacific Aurora LLC Pacific Ethanol Inc. announced on March 3 that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 74 percent ownership interest in Pacific Aurora LLC to the Aurora Cooperative Elevator Co., which currently owns 26 percent of the facility. READ MORE SHARE