Last week, biofuels advocates and champions from across the country convened in Washington, D.C., for the 15th annual Growth Energy Biofuels Summit (GEBS).

Emily Skor, Growth Energy CEO, and Tom Willis, Growth Energy Chairman and President and CEO of Conestoga Energy Holdings, opened the summit by highlighting the critical role of biofuels and setting the tone for the week ahead.

“GEBS really is a remarkable gathering,” said Willis, “Leaders and champions for homegrown biofuels from all across the country, descending on our nation’s capital to make our presence felt, our voices heard, and our needs and priorities crystal clear.”

In her opening remarks, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor emphasized, “What’s good for biofuels, producers, and the entire bioeconomy is good for working families on a budget; good for energy security and independence; good for environmental stewardship and decarbonization; and good for economic development in communities that need it most.”

GEBS—the premier advocacy event for biofuels—featured prominent keynote speakers such as U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), among other energy industry leaders and government officials.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s remarks highlighted exciting updates from the Biden administration.

“We’re working to create systems that will allow us to have our farmers be able to participate fully and completely in ecosystem service markets, which creates another new revenue source for them,” said Vilsack.

Ernest Moniz, 13th U.S. Secretary of Energy and CEO and founder of the Energy Futures Initiative Foundation (EFIF), previewed research on exciting opportunities to further decarbonize bioethanol.

“I would just note that the reality is, when you think about low carbon fuels, we have for decades been pursuing a variety of approaches towards low carbon fuels,” said Moniz. “The only one that to date has been found to be effective, scalable and affordable, frankly, has been ethanol production…And we can’t just sit around and pray. What we can do is work at this in the ethanol-approved, proven approach that can get us there.”

During more than 160 meetings with Congressional member offices, attendees stressed the importance of prioritizing policies such as a permanent solution for nationwide, year-round access to E15, accurate and timely guidance for the 45Z tax credit and setting Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) that align with current market conditions, among other issues.

The post Biofuels Summit 2024: Policy Priorities that Deliver on Shared Values appeared first on Growth Energy.

There were a number of new things to see (and eat) at this year’s Iowa State Fair. Among the things to see was a lively field hearing titled, “The Success of Pro-Growth, Pro-Worker Tax Policy in the American Midwest.” Hosted by the House Ways and Means Committee, the event gave our biofuels champions in Congress a chance to highlight the benefits of biofuel tax credits, and explore how U.S. tax policy is impacting opportunities for small-town communities–like those in Iowa and across the Midwest where farmers, biofuel producers, and rural workers are fueling a new era for America’s bioeconomy.

Few topics received as much attention as the 45Z clean fuels credit, which is slated to take effect in 2025. The credit was signed into law two years ago, and will become the primary incentive for the production of low-carbon fuels in transportation on the ground and in the air.

Properly implemented, 45Z could unlock major new investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), climate-smart agriculture, and other low-carbon innovations. That’s why Growth Energy has been working hand-in-hand with our leaders on Capitol Hill to ensure that the Biden Administration gives producers and our farm partners the certainty and flexibility we need to find the path that works best for American agriculture.

Speakers on hand who echoed that message included Jolene Riessen, President of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, and Steve Sukup, President and CEO, Sukup Manufacturing – a Growth Energy member.

For more insights from these witnesses — and our allies in Congress — check out some highlights below.

Rep. Zach Nunn: “I am proud that on day one as a freshman, I went against the establishment to make sure we fought for key tax credits that impact our state. Working with this team here, we held together that we made sure that biofuels were part of America’s energy solution and our national security solution.

Rep. Randy Feenstra: Right now, over 50% of our crop, corn and soybeans, goes to biofuels. Right now, if you look at our commodity prices, corn is under $5 and soybeans are under $10. Now, we could export more or we could use more of it. How do you use more? You do it through biofuels, ethanol, and biodiesel. To do that, we have to grow our markets through sustainable aviation fuel and other things. So I want to talk about 45Z. This is a tax credit that can dramatically expand markets. Right now, we have a thumb on the scale for electric vehicles and not liquid fuels. This gives us an opportunity to compete. And if we don’t, we’re going to probably see our commodity prices cut nearly in half again. Ms. Riessen can you talk about this?

Jolene Riessen: That 45Z is going to be a gamechanger for us when it comes to grain price. With 45Z, consumers are asking for low-carbon, so, one way of doing that is through carbon sequestration and 45Z helps ethanol plants get set up to be able to do that. When we do that, my corn goes to that ethanol plant, and we make better markets and prices.

In a recent study I saw, for every dollar invested in 45Z, it will return $4-$6.

Rep. Randy Feenstra: When our farmers are successful, our main streets are successful, our hospitals are successful, our schools, everything is successful.

Rep. Darin LaHood: I mentioned that I have a heavy ag district, and the potential economic growth around the biofuels industry. Again, I have been very engaged and spent a lot of time talking about it. As we look to future tax policy proposals, can you comment on the specific pro-growth initiatives that can better support our farmers and biofuel producers?

Steve Sukup: Well, practically one of every two rows of corn goes to biofuels. It provides us with energy self-sufficiency here in the U.S., which I think is absolutely critical and it can provide, going into 45Z, more incentives to reduce carbon emissions.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis: Can you talk as farmers about how energy drives up the cost of food for the people I represent in New York? And also maybe you want to touch on some of the renewable energy sources that we can derive from corn?

Jolene Riessen: Ethanol is available – and you can put it right in the gas tank. We are pushing for the Next Generation Fuels Act to be passed to increase the amount of ethanol in the tank. This is from the American Lung Association, for every percent of ethanol that we are able to put into that fuel tank, we are also reducing our healthcare costs because we are taking particulates out of the air.

Steve Sukup: Biofuels are critical across the U.S. for energy efficiency and self-sustainability. That is what we have to increase. It lowers prices throughout.

The post On Display at the Iowa State Fair: Benefits of Biofuel Tax Credits appeared first on Growth Energy.

A new amicus brief from the nation’s top lifecycle scientists debunks biofuel myths and offers powerful support for Growth Energy’s long-running legal campaign to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). 

At issue is a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) v. EPA et al. (Case No. 23-1177).  

The new brief responds directly to claims by biofuel opponents that “demand for corn ethanol as a transportation fuel will result in ‘converting’ millions of acres of natural grasslands and wetlands to cropland,” thereby increasing emissions and harming wildlife. 

These aren’t new claims, by any means – fossil fuel companies have been perpetuating the same biofuel myths for decades. But the weight of scientific evidence supporting biofuel production has never been stronger, and the latest brief from American experts on agriculture, biomass, and GHG lifecycle analyses pushes back directly on the most egregious examples of “outdated, flawed, and disproven research.” High on that list are reports from Tyler Lark of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, which “are an outlier and do not align with modern scientific understandings.” 

So why are biofuel critics so off base? 

According to the scientists’ amicus brief, “When the RFS was first adopted in 2007, some analysts predicted its targets for producing ethanol in the United States would generate major land-use changes and that emissions associated with the conversion of ‘natural land’ to ‘cropland’ would result in higher GHG emissions than gasoline… Experts in the field of biomass and agricultural economics have demonstrated that much of the outlier research was based on flawed assumptions and methods related to land use.” 

They add, “One of the flaws in outlier studies examining effects of biofuel production on land was that the studies considered only a short period of time, or were limited to simple two-point comparisons that can distort actual trends, and assumed that increases in biofuel production relied on ‘land conversion,’ i.e., bringing new lands into production that were not previously used as cropland. In part, this was because researchers relied on moderate resolution satellite imagery to inform their analysis of land use. It is now known, however, that satellite imagery at the resolution used in those studies failed to accurately distinguish between land that has never been tilled and cropland that was temporarily fallow.” 

With the use of more sophisticated tools, researchers have now determined that, “contrary to prior conclusions, much, if not all, land reported by Lark et al. as being ‘converted to crop’ between 2007 and 2019 was likely previously in crop, and therefore not ‘converted.’” 

In short, they point out, “Land is not ‘converted’ for biofuel crop production… Farmland is privately owned, and farmers tend to plant crops on land under active cultivation, or in rotation with land previously tilled for annual crops, not through the ‘conversion’ of native prairie grasslands or forests, as outlier research assumed… Neither biofuel production nor the RFS has been scientifically linked to the conversion of ‘natural’ lands, such as native prairies, forests, and wetlands, to crop production.” 

Indeed, they conclude, “In research examining farmland over a 36-year period, only 1.8 percent of the 1,000 land parcels outlier researchers described as ‘converted’ appeared to fall into the category of untilled grassland, while 98.2 percent was in agriculture and toggled between crop and non-crop uses… For the small percentage of previously untilled lands described as ‘converted,’ there is no causal evidence linking the RFS or biofuels to any such change in use.” 

With these and other findings, the court should toss this challenge to the RFS in the dustbin, where it belongs. With any luck, other stakeholders will recognize that when it comes to biofuel myths about ethanol’s environmental benefits, there is no longer any genuine debate.

The post Must-Read Court Brief: Top Scientists Debunk Biofuel Myths appeared first on Growth Energy.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee held a hearing titled, “Examining the Consequences of EPA’s Actions on American Agriculture.” Throughout the hearing, biofuels champions on the Committee raised the importance of biofuels to America’s farmers, and specifically talked about year-round E15 and sustainable aviation fuel. Read some of the highlights below and click the links to watch.

Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS): I will just point out that it’s time for them to lock down year-round E15. We now have both chambers that have all said they are okay with E15 so it’s time to get that done.  

Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL): Could you also speak about the importance of biofuels and how regulatory certainty impacts a grower’s planting decision?  

Chris Chinn, Director, Missouri Department of Agriculture: Again, it’s about having that choice about where you want to market your crop. Whether it’s for biofuels or livestock, having that competition in the marketplace is a good thing and we want to make sure the farming community has many options and that they know what the rules are when they make those decisions. 

Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH): How do you see the role of agriculture in the production of sustainable aviation fuels, and what conservation practices are you implementing on your farm to support this industry while ensuring environmental sustainability? 

Mr. Kippley, Vice President, National Farmers Union: On our farm, we’ve been using no-till for years. However, some of the current regulations will not allow us to meet everything that’s there. We need to open it up so that farms in the northern U.S. can easily access these benefits. Cover crops just don’t work in our part of the world. We’re limited in some ways by the current rules.  

Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL): You mentioned the importance of RFS for growers as well as your support for year-round E15. Constituents in my district have expressed concerns that renewable volume obligations are not keeping up with the increasing rates of production, disincentivizing new and continued production of biofuels. Can you speak on what EPA can do to improve this disparity, and how EPA can improve the landscape of biofuels?  

Mr. Kippley: I think there is an opportunity for E30 in this country. They sell a lot of E30s up in our part of the world and we have a lot of people using them on all kinds of engines with no problems. I think the best way to boost this up is with E30… It’s a cleaner fuel, the gas mileage doesn’t change, and you do get a little better horsepower out of your vehicle.  

Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL): One thing that is heavy on our minds in the Midwest is the 40B tax credit. What can the EPA do to advocate for a better outcome for the upcoming 45Z tax credit for biofuels?  

Mr. Kippley: I think they need to include more ways for all farmers to participate in this program. Feedstocks are going to be a very important part of this and they need to make sure it’s going to be available and we need to look at other options we can use to qualify.   

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA): Do you believe the EPA’s failure to extend the E15 waiver yet again this year has impacts on family farms and on corn and soybean growers across this country?   

Mr. Kippley: Absolutely. We’re always waiting for the numbers to come out. The EPA is always slow to get those renewable numbers out and as far as E15, we want year-round, and we would like to see it go up to E30.  

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA): Do you think the ability for biofuels in this country is a net advantage for American’s energy independence?  

Mr. Kippley: Absolutely.  

Thank you to our champions for raising these important issues! 

The post Congressional Champions Highlight Biofuels in Agriculture Committee Hearing appeared first on Growth Energy.