Recent Biofuels Analysis
Infrastructure Plan: Ag Provisions and Politics
Last week, President Biden unveiled a major $2 trillion infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan. From agriculture’s perspective, the plan is a mixed bag, but mostly positive proposals in terms of infrastructure upgrades. Inland waterways, ports, and in-land ports of entry would r...
RFS Waivers and RINs Prices
On 22 February, we noted that the Supreme Court had agreed to hear a challenge to the 10th District Court’s ruling on small refinery exemptions (SREs). In January, the Department of Justice, acting as counsel for the EPA, had requested that the Supreme Court not hear the case and instead...
New EPA Administrator Resetting the RFS Clock
The Senate confirmed Michael Regan to be Administrator of the U.S. EPA this week by a vote of 66-34. Since 2017, Regan has been Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and previously he worked at EPA in the air office. That experience will come in handy as he has to...
Oilseed Highlights: Soy Export Sales; South America Soy; Renewable Diesel
Soy Export Sales Highlights Today’s USDA export sales report indicated there was a rebound in soybean export sales in the week ending 25 February. Sales of soymeal and soyoil also increased last week compared to the previous week. Net soybean export sales last week totaled 334,000 MT for...
Ethanol Corn Use and Outlook
USDA released the January Grain Crushings report yesterday; total corn use for fuel alcohol was down 11 percent from January 2020, and down 6 percent from January 2019. Dry mill production of DDGS was 1.7534 MMT during January 2021, 90 percent of last year and 98 percent of December. On the ye...
Ag Review - February 2021
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue looks at policy possibilities in the year ahead, the impact of government spending, world grain stocks, pork demand, climate change, international market analysis and much more.  ...
EPA Adopting 10th District Ruling on SREs
The U.S. EPA announced a major change in the agency’s perspective on granting small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the renewable fuel standard. In short, EPA will apply the ruling of the 10th District Federal Court of Appeals decision on granting SREs. Recall that in January...
Electric Vehicles, Political Distrust and Ethanol Demand
Last week, General Motors announced that in an effort to lower its emissions its goal will be to produce 40 percent of its car and light duty vehicles as electric powered. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFS) commented through a statement from CEO Geoff Cooper. I would encourage people to take...
COVID Impact on Ethanol Triggered Thinking on Long Term Ethanol Demand
The current renewable fuel standard (RFS) went into place in 2008 after the legislation was passed in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA); that bill raised the biofuel obligations from the original 2005 Energy Policy Act’s initial RFS. Of course, COVID in 2020 had a major...
Ag Review - December 2020
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue looks at global food supplies, the direction of the diesel market, Russia’s crop production, the future of agribusiness under the new Biden Administration, an analysis of market...
Heads Up: 2021 RVO for Biofuels is Coming
We previously reported that the Trump Administration EPA would likely “punt” on issuing the 2021 required volume obligations (RVOs) rule and leave it to the incoming Biden EPA. Specifically, we speculated that “a retroactive 2021 RVO would be issued next spring/summer” b...
Diesel Market Slowly Returning to Balance
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, at the end of November, U.S. distillate inventories fell to 145.8 million barrels, which was back within the previous five-year (2015–19) range for the first time since 8 May. Diesel demand dropped to its low the most in June and fu...
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...
Infrastructure Plan: Ag Provisions and Politics
Last week, President Biden unveiled a major $2 trillion infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan. From agriculture’s perspective, the plan is a mixed bag, but mostly positive proposals in terms of infrastructure upgrades. Inland waterways, ports, and in-land ports of entry would r...
RFS Waivers and RINs Prices
On 22 February, we noted that the Supreme Court had agreed to hear a challenge to the 10th District Court’s ruling on small refinery exemptions (SREs). In January, the Department of Justice, acting as counsel for the EPA, had requested that the Supreme Court not hear the case and instead...
New EPA Administrator Resetting the RFS Clock
The Senate confirmed Michael Regan to be Administrator of the U.S. EPA this week by a vote of 66-34. Since 2017, Regan has been Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and previously he worked at EPA in the air office. That experience will come in handy as he has to...
Oilseed Highlights: Soy Export Sales; South America Soy; Renewable Diesel
Soy Export Sales Highlights Today’s USDA export sales report indicated there was a rebound in soybean export sales in the week ending 25 February. Sales of soymeal and soyoil also increased last week compared to the previous week. Net soybean export sales last week totaled 334,000 MT for...
Ethanol Corn Use and Outlook
USDA released the January Grain Crushings report yesterday; total corn use for fuel alcohol was down 11 percent from January 2020, and down 6 percent from January 2019. Dry mill production of DDGS was 1.7534 MMT during January 2021, 90 percent of last year and 98 percent of December. On the ye...
Ag Review - February 2021
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue looks at policy possibilities in the year ahead, the impact of government spending, world grain stocks, pork demand, climate change, international market analysis and much more.  ...
EPA Adopting 10th District Ruling on SREs
The U.S. EPA announced a major change in the agency’s perspective on granting small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the renewable fuel standard. In short, EPA will apply the ruling of the 10th District Federal Court of Appeals decision on granting SREs. Recall that in January...
Electric Vehicles, Political Distrust and Ethanol Demand
Last week, General Motors announced that in an effort to lower its emissions its goal will be to produce 40 percent of its car and light duty vehicles as electric powered. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFS) commented through a statement from CEO Geoff Cooper. I would encourage people to take...
COVID Impact on Ethanol Triggered Thinking on Long Term Ethanol Demand
The current renewable fuel standard (RFS) went into place in 2008 after the legislation was passed in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA); that bill raised the biofuel obligations from the original 2005 Energy Policy Act’s initial RFS. Of course, COVID in 2020 had a major...
Ag Review - December 2020
WPI's monthly publication features a review of the past month's market and policy analysis articles. This issue looks at global food supplies, the direction of the diesel market, Russia’s crop production, the future of agribusiness under the new Biden Administration, an analysis of market...
Heads Up: 2021 RVO for Biofuels is Coming
We previously reported that the Trump Administration EPA would likely “punt” on issuing the 2021 required volume obligations (RVOs) rule and leave it to the incoming Biden EPA. Specifically, we speculated that “a retroactive 2021 RVO would be issued next spring/summer” b...
Diesel Market Slowly Returning to Balance
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, at the end of November, U.S. distillate inventories fell to 145.8 million barrels, which was back within the previous five-year (2015–19) range for the first time since 8 May. Diesel demand dropped to its low the most in June and fu...
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...