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ACE CEO says ‘it’s time to get angry’
The CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Brian Jennings, says it’s “time to get angry” over the Trump Administration’s RFS waivers.
“Had the 2016 presidential election turned out differently, and had the Clinton EPA granted 85 Small Refinery Exemptions—and ignored the statutory requirement to reallocate those gallons—rural America would not turn the other cheek,” Jennings says. “So why are so many of us turning the other cheek when the Trump EPA does this?
“Now I’m not telling you who to vote for in 2020. But I am telling you, now is the time—time to get angry about this, and to make noise about this, and to stand up and speak up about this, and the harm this is doing our industry,” he says.
Jennings made his comments at the ACE conference in Omaha.
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I don’t understand why the ethanol industry is over-producing to the brink of bankruptcy again. They did this a few years ago and history is repeating itself. Where’s the discipline? Even more capacity is coming online thanks to a certain company from Kansas. The industry should consider doing something like OPEC where it’s members agree to cut production to balance the market.
The industry needs to grow-up, get disciplined, stop blaming everyone else and start educating consumers about the benefits of ethanol. Instead of building more and more capacity, they should’ve focused on upgrading plants with protein, more corn oil, biodiesel, and other co-products. This should’ve happened years ago.
Despite refinery waivers, ethanol blending is up from last year. But surprise, surprise, production is up even more and that’s the problem.
“Net ethanol inputs by refiners and blenders increased 22,000 bpd, or 2.3%, to 967,000 bpd, 2% more than the same week in 2018. During the four weeks ended Aug. 9, the ethanol blend rate averaged 953,000 bpd which compares with 944,000 bpd a year ago”
” Ethanol supply in the United States returned to the upside after a one week decline, rising for the sixth time in seven weeks while domestic plant production continued higher, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Overall supply added 766,000 barrels (bbl) in the week ended Aug. 9 to 23.883 million bbl, 3.9% more than the same week in 2018.”
The ethanol industry should have started to get upset years ago when EPA was already allowing oil industry experts blend their test fuels.