Industry leaders gather for 2017 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

The 2017 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit got underway Tuesday morning and will continue into the afternoon at the Meadows Conference Center in Altoona. The summit will take a glimpse into the future of ethanol and biodiesel production and look at new uses for higher blends of renewable fuels.

Lucy Norton, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Managing Director, said the summit will address how to increase production volumes for ethanol.

“We’ll have to look at how the ethanol industry is adding value to the production process through the utilization of corn fiber, converting that into ethanol or extracting it for other uses,” Norton said.

The summit is expected to be a large gathering, attracting people from all over the Midwest. Norton said 12 states will be represented at the event.

“Of course, we have joining us again Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds,” she said. “Our keynote speaker giving the industry keynote, which is titled ‘Making Ethanol Great Again,’ will be Bob Dinneen, who’s the CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association based in Washington, D.C.”

The summit will also provide people in the industry a chance to look at what the export market has to offer, as well as some of the challenges facing the imports and exports of renewable fuels. Norton said some countries are emerging as new customers for renewables. India is one example, Reynolds said.

The summit will provide a bigger-picture, national view of the renewable fuels landscape.

“With the new administration and the new Congress, we’re going to have a round table discussion with some Washington insiders on what we can expect when it comes to regulations that impact renewable fuels, as well as a healthy discussion on the renewable fuels standard under the Trump administration,” Norton said.

Iowa’s farmers are a major supplier of corn and play a crucial role in the production of ethanol and biodiesel. Norton said the renewable fuels industry is very dependent on corn farmers, and corn farmers are very dependent on the renewable fuels industry.

“We’ve seen that the market has continued to grow for ethanol over the years,” she said. “There has been steady growth in the demand for corn to go into ethanol processing, so it’s been a good relationship for both the ethanol industry as well as the corn industry.”

The summit’s keynote speech is scheduled for Tuesday morning, followed by discussions on biodiesel and the new administration and Congress. Exports will be the topic of conversation in the early afternoon.

Branstad and Reynolds will speak at 2:30 p.m., and a discussion of corn fiber will follow. The summit will conclude with a door prize drawing at 3:45 p.m.

Contact Justin Jagler at
641-792-3121 ext 6532 or
jjagler@newtondailynews.com