Recent Biofuels Analysis
Ag Review - November 2020
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue looks at the global and local impacts of the recent U.S. election, President-Elect Biden’s trade agenda, fiscal policy and the U.S. federal budget, the challenges of long-term f...
Thanksgiving Week Fuel Demand and Budget Negotiations
Thanksgiving week is typically the biggest travel week of the year, but recent COVID lockdowns following a new spike in cases lowered travel this year. Although air travel was up more than expected last weekend, auto travel was down. Last week was the lowest price for gasoline the week before T...
Biden EPA Could Inherit an Obama-Biden Era RFS Court Ruling
With controversy over small refinery exemptions (SREs), election year political strategies, and COVID, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) never issued the required volume obligations (RVOs) for 2021 as required under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The statutory deadline is one week fr...
COVID Spike and Ethanol Outlook
The final required volume obligations (RVOs) for 2021 biofuel blending mandates is due in 17 days; that is a statutory requirement (although missed more than met since 2007 when it was implemented). However, not only has it not been issued, but the proposed rule has also yet to be published by...
Thinking About the Coming Supply of Brazilian DDGS
Back in 2013, under the U.S. sugar program, sugar refiners and processors were headed toward forfeiting more than 350,000 MT of sugar under loan, which triggered the Feedstock Flexibility Program (FFP). That program, created in the 2008 farm bill, requires USDA to purchase surplus sugar (techni...
Gasoline and Ethanol Use Forecast Down for 2021
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its October Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) cutting ethanol, biodiesel, and gasoline use projections for 2021. EIA’s forecast of actual ethanol blending for 2021 is about 13.92 billion gallons, which is 11 percent of the forecast 126...
Ag Review - September 2020
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy developments. This issue reviews notable changes in agriculture trade, the impact of the 2020 U.S. election on agriculture legislation, China’s potential influence on the election, Brazil's ethanol policy an...
New Gasoline Octane Standard Proposed for Higher Ethanol Blends
Last week, Representative Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois) introduced the Next Generation Fuels Act. The legislation would establish a new 98 octane standard for gasoline and would require that octane sources in motor fuel result in at least a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions com...
Biodiesel, Soyoil Holding up to COVID Better Than to EU Tariffs
The EU has extended its countervailing duties (CVDs) on U.S. biodiesel which was set to expire this month. The duties were put in place in 2009, renewed in 2011, and again in 2015. But earlier this month, the European Biodiesel Board petitioned for an extension citing … sufficient eviden...
EPA Moving Down Biofuels’ Policy Checklist
After last week’s EPA announcement on gap year SREs, the agency updated its actions on the SRE waivers, denying more than 50 petitions. There are still 17 left, but those are the petitions that as of July had not been reviewed by the Department of Energy (DOE). All the retroactive petitio...
Market Commentary: CBOT Rallies on Chinese Buying (again); Historic Soybean Spreads
The CBOT drifted lower overnight with corn and soybeans testing technical support. That weakness was short-lived in soybeans, however, as rumors of Chinese purchases helped the market firm heading into the morning’s opening bell. The day session corn, soybeans and wheat jump higher at the...
SREs; WASDE Livestock; COVID Politics
Reports leaked out of the Administration this week that President Trump has directed EPA to deny all of the so-called gap year small refinery exemption petitions. As we reported previously, the Department of Energy (DOE) has made recommendations on the 58 gap year petitions that were received e...
Ag Review - November 2020
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue looks at the global and local impacts of the recent U.S. election, President-Elect Biden’s trade agenda, fiscal policy and the U.S. federal budget, the challenges of long-term f...
Thanksgiving Week Fuel Demand and Budget Negotiations
Thanksgiving week is typically the biggest travel week of the year, but recent COVID lockdowns following a new spike in cases lowered travel this year. Although air travel was up more than expected last weekend, auto travel was down. Last week was the lowest price for gasoline the week before T...
Biden EPA Could Inherit an Obama-Biden Era RFS Court Ruling
With controversy over small refinery exemptions (SREs), election year political strategies, and COVID, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) never issued the required volume obligations (RVOs) for 2021 as required under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The statutory deadline is one week fr...
COVID Spike and Ethanol Outlook
The final required volume obligations (RVOs) for 2021 biofuel blending mandates is due in 17 days; that is a statutory requirement (although missed more than met since 2007 when it was implemented). However, not only has it not been issued, but the proposed rule has also yet to be published by...
Thinking About the Coming Supply of Brazilian DDGS
Back in 2013, under the U.S. sugar program, sugar refiners and processors were headed toward forfeiting more than 350,000 MT of sugar under loan, which triggered the Feedstock Flexibility Program (FFP). That program, created in the 2008 farm bill, requires USDA to purchase surplus sugar (techni...
Gasoline and Ethanol Use Forecast Down for 2021
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its October Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) cutting ethanol, biodiesel, and gasoline use projections for 2021. EIA’s forecast of actual ethanol blending for 2021 is about 13.92 billion gallons, which is 11 percent of the forecast 126...
Ag Review - September 2020
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy developments. This issue reviews notable changes in agriculture trade, the impact of the 2020 U.S. election on agriculture legislation, China’s potential influence on the election, Brazil's ethanol policy an...
New Gasoline Octane Standard Proposed for Higher Ethanol Blends
Last week, Representative Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois) introduced the Next Generation Fuels Act. The legislation would establish a new 98 octane standard for gasoline and would require that octane sources in motor fuel result in at least a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions com...
Biodiesel, Soyoil Holding up to COVID Better Than to EU Tariffs
The EU has extended its countervailing duties (CVDs) on U.S. biodiesel which was set to expire this month. The duties were put in place in 2009, renewed in 2011, and again in 2015. But earlier this month, the European Biodiesel Board petitioned for an extension citing … sufficient eviden...
EPA Moving Down Biofuels’ Policy Checklist
After last week’s EPA announcement on gap year SREs, the agency updated its actions on the SRE waivers, denying more than 50 petitions. There are still 17 left, but those are the petitions that as of July had not been reviewed by the Department of Energy (DOE). All the retroactive petitio...
Market Commentary: CBOT Rallies on Chinese Buying (again); Historic Soybean Spreads
The CBOT drifted lower overnight with corn and soybeans testing technical support. That weakness was short-lived in soybeans, however, as rumors of Chinese purchases helped the market firm heading into the morning’s opening bell. The day session corn, soybeans and wheat jump higher at the...
SREs; WASDE Livestock; COVID Politics
Reports leaked out of the Administration this week that President Trump has directed EPA to deny all of the so-called gap year small refinery exemption petitions. As we reported previously, the Department of Energy (DOE) has made recommendations on the 58 gap year petitions that were received e...