Ethanol

Tax Reform Losers From Biofuels to Coal to Get Second Chance

Energy lobbyists, who failed to get a range of expired breaks for biofuels to coal-fired power plants into the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul bill making its way through Congress, may get a second chance before the end of the year. The Senate plans to act on a slate of expired tax credits before month’s end, according to John Thune, the Senate’s No. 3 ranking Republican who serves on the Finance Committee. Lobbyists have been told the package of "tax extenders" --...

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Biodiesel Industry: "This EPA is not Interested in Our Growth"

Reactions across agriculture were mixed to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) blending targets for renewable fuels for 2018 and 2019, setting the total renewable fuel volume at 19.29 billion gallons. The 15 billion gallon target for convention biofuel, including corn-based ethanol, won mild praise from Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. "We're generally pleased, we think that the EPA has kept the RFS (Renewable Fuels Standard) largely on track," Dineen told AgriTalk Radio host Mike Adams. But...

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Electricity Will Shape Future Farms

Advances in electricity technology seldom focus on agriculture. This is to be expected for our industry that contributes less than 1% of GDP. The actual impact on us of these seemingly unrelated developments, however, could be considerable. For example, large farm buildings cry out to be covered in photo-voltaic (PV) cells, which continue to plummet in price. At the same time, sheds offer room for large batteries to store energy. With or without sellback rules, we could be paying our electricity...

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Global Ethanol Demand Expected To Rise

Producers jittery about the fate of ethanol took comfort when President Donald Trump told EPA to back off proposed measures to cut federal biofuel requirements and lump fuel exports into domestic quotas. The decision, with projections showing steady demand for renewable fuel, suggests a path to market for grain earmarked for energy. Although ethanol prices are set to tick a few cents per gallon higher next year, some factors remain decidedly out of producers’ control, according to the 2017 International Biofuels...

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Ethanol Demand, Exports Could Create Fresh Demand

The USDA is calling for another record corn crop at 175.4 bushels per acre and near-record production for soybeans with an average of 49.5 bushels per acre. Now, the industry is looking for new opportunities and fresh demand which could come in the form of fuel. Ethanol demand remains robust as the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says it continues to see the expansion of E15 and E85 coupled with ethanol exports. According to the RFA, nearly 90 percent of 2018 vehicles sold...

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