Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit highlights industry’s future

ALTOONA — Renewable fuels industry leaders brimmed mostly with optimism at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on Tuesday.

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw delivered an industry overview. He said the state of Iowa’s renewable fuels industry is uncertain but unrelenting.

“We are ready to expand and bring cheaper, cleaner, home-grown fuels to the U.S. and world consumers,” Shaw said.

Much of the summit’s discussion was focused on President Donald Trump’s new administration and its impact on ethanol and biodiesel. Shaw said uncertainty stems from some of Trump’s cabinet appointees because of their track records of opposing the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). However, Shaw noted that, “One year ago at this very conference, then-candidate Donald Trump pledged to protect and defend the RFS.”

The RFS was created in 2005 and mandates the integration of renewable fuels into the country’s gasoline. Rick Perry, Trump’s Secretary of Energy, was an opponent of the RFS while Governor of Texas. Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, has caused some anxiety for people in the renewable fuels industry because of his decade-long position as CEO for oil giant ExxonMobil.

Keynote speaker Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, spoke overwhelmingly positive of Trump and titled his summit speech “Making Ethanol Great Again.” Dinneen acknowledged Trump cabinet members, including Perry and Tillerson, and their potential threats to the RFS, but he said it was Trump’s administration — not Perry’s or Tillerson’s.

Dinneen said it will be refreshing to have a president who will fight for the renewable fuels industry. He cited Trump’s support of the RFS on the campaign trail and the president’s regulatory reform agenda. Dinneen said he looks forward to having a president who will put America first.

“At the end of the day, Trump is a business man,” Dinneen said. “He understands the importance of trade. He knows what our industry and what farmers need in terms of export opportunities, and he’s negotiating right now.”

Gov. Terry Branstad, who spoke at the summit, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey received the praise of Dinneen. Branstad is the most articulate and effective advocate for farmers and agriculture, and Northey is the hardest working state secretary of agriculture there has ever been, Dinneen said.

“You make sure that you’re sending to Washington and to Des Moines folks that understand your priorities, and that makes a huge difference,” Dinneen said to the summit crowd.

Shaw said he is an optimist and the renewable fuels industry will continue its push for market access and consumer choice, despite the power and resources of the oil industry.

“All the big oil profits in the world cannot change the fact that ethanol is cheaper, cleaner and higher octane,” Shaw said. “We must be unrelenting because America’s farmers are counting on us to create demand for their commodities and American consumers are counting on us to provide cheaper, cleaner fuels.”

Iowa has a bounty of corn, and ethanol is often given glowing reviews in the state. However, recent research has called into question the effectiveness of Iowa’s renewable fuels. University of Michigan Energy Institute Research Professor John DeCicco told the Newton Daily News the idea that ethanol burns cleaner than petroleum is “pure fiction.”

DeCicco released a study last year which concluded that the corn crops used to produce ethanol do not recycle enough carbon dioxide to offset the costly production of the biofuel. Carbon dioxide emissions contributing to climate change are actually higher from ethanol when production methods are accounted for, DeCicco said.

“The rhetoric that (ethanol) is cleaner burning is just that — rhetoric,” DeCicco said.

Despite questions about the environmental impact of ethanol and biodiesel, Iowa’s biofuels saw a record-producing year in 2016. Shaw said this production was to the benefit of farmers, ranchers, ethanol plants, Iowa’s small towns and American consumers.

“On the Iowa front, 2016 was a banner year,” Shaw said. “Iowa’s 43 ethanol plants produced a record 4.1 billion gallons — processing 1.45 billion bushels of Iowa corn into fuel and feed. That keeps Iowa No. 1 in ethanol production, accounting for roughly 27 percent of U.S. production.”

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