The ethanol industry is pushing back on a California proposal to require sustainability requirements for biofuel feedstocks. The California Air Resources Board is seeking to tighten requirements for the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard in a bid to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“The proposed sustainability requirements for crop and forestry feedstocks are vague, overreaching, and unnecessary for U.S.-produced biofuel feedstocks,” the Renewable Fuels Association says in comments filed Tuesday with CARB. The RFA comments also push California to allow the sale of E15 blends; California is the only state left where the 15% ethanol blend can’t be used.
The American Coalition for Ethanol says in its comments that CARB’s “broad and burdensome proposal” would “only serve to discourage participation in the LCFS.”
The comments note that the group is leading a USDA-funded project that will help farmers adopt conservation practices on 100,000 acres of land in the Midwest, with the ultimate goal of helping biofuels qualify for low-carbon standards and tax incentives.
Why it matters: Fuel suppliers that exceed the LCFS carbon-intensity benchmarks must buy tradable credits, while fuels that come in under the benchmarks earn credits.
CO2 sequestration credit could double ethanol income
The $85-per-ton carbon sequestration tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act could mean another $3.75 billion in annual after-tax revenue for the ethanol industry, according to a new analysis by University of Illinois economist Scott Irwin.
That figure “would more than likely double the after-tax income of the U.S. ethanol industry,” he says.
Irwin also says in his analysis that estimating the cost of implementing carbon dioxide sequestration is “very hard,” especially when looking at different ethanol plants.
“Conversations with ethanol industry analysts suggest the total cost could be as much as half of the value of the 45Q credits in some cases,” he says. “But, even with this level of cost, the revenue potential from the credits is still very attractive to most ethanol producers.”
“Given the large CO2 production of ethanol plants, it is not surprising that the maximum possible benefit from tax credits for sequestration in the IRA is also large,” the analysis says. Irwin estimates total CO2 production of U.S. ethanol plants from 2015 through 2023 ranges from 42.4 million tons to 48.9 million tons, which represent “slightly less than 1% of total U.S. CO2 equivalent emissions, which helps put into perspective the large size of CO2 production from the relatively small number of ethanol plants operating in the U.S.”
Keep in mind: Proposed carbon sequestration pipelines have faced continued opposition from some Midwest landowners.
WTO stockholding talks frustrate advocates
Advocates for farmers in developing countries aren’t hopeful for progress on a key issue at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Their goal is to guarantee the ability of governments to subsidize farmers through the prices they pay under public food programs.
A permanent solution to the public stockholding issue, which has pitted India against the United States, has been “repeatedly blocked by many developed countries,” said Ranja Sengupta, senior researcher on agriculture and food security for Third World Network-India, a research and advocacy group.
“We know that the reality of the negotiation is that likely this is stuck and there will not be any outcome,” Sengupta told reporters Tuesday.
A senior WTO official said recently there have been “very intensive” discussions on the public stockholding issue but that they are unlikely to be resolved by the MC13 meeting in Abu Dhabi.
When school lunch is free, more kids take it
Five states saw a nearly 6% increase in school lunch participation compared to pre-pandemic levels after offering free meals to students. Four states saw breakfast enrollment increase by around the same amount, according to a new report from the Food Research and Action Center, a nutrition advocacy group.
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School lunch participation in California, Maine, Nevada, Massachusetts and Vermont increased by a total of 233,656 students in the 2022-23 school year when compared to the 2018-19 school year, FRAC says.
School breakfast participation in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, meanwhile, increased by around 129,264 students. Participation in Nevada’s school breakfast program, however, declined by around 9,358 students.
Lawsuit filed over crop, animal damage caused by PFAS in biosolids
Five Texas farmers are suing a manufacturer of biosolid fertilizer, alleging that the product “contains high levels of PFAS that poisoned them, killed their livestock, polluted their water, and rendered their property worthless,” according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The lawsuit was filed in Baltimore County, Maryland, circuit court. Synagro, the manufacturer, is headquartered in Baltimore.
The fertilizer was made from sewage sludge that Synagro bought from the Fort Worth, Texas, water treatment plant, according to PEER. Synagro couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
She said it. “Climate change is the biggest threat to my business and livelihood, and farmers need policy change and financial support to survive.” – Maryland farmer Emma Jagoz, speaking on a webinar organized by the James Beard Foundation.
The foundation is launching a Climate Solutions for Restaurant Survival campaign to unite chefs to raise awareness about climate change and to galvanize actions that could mitigate its impact. New York chef J.J. Johnson said chefs already are making changes in purchasing practices for beef, rice and other products.
The foundation says independent restaurants employ nearly 4 million people nationwide.
