AEP

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Legislative Update

EKAE Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary

August 25, 2010

KAEP Member East Kansas Agri-Energy (EKAE) will be celebrating their 5th year anniversary of ethanol production this October. They have developed and sent this marketing brochure to several local newspapers and state and federal delegations. KAEP encourages its member plants to consider creating a similar piece to use during tour groups, while meeting with legislators, or to use in their local media outlets.

Congratulations East Kansas Agri-Energy on your successful first five years!

Brownback Sends Letter to CA on Indirect Land Use Standards

August 25, 2010

U.S. Senator Sam Brownback sent a letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last week on their Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, with the help of input provided by KAEP staff. The ethanol industry is concerned that the California Air Resources Board has excluded ethanol made from corn or sorghum in the Midwest as a low-carbon fuel. Senator Brownback's letter urges Governor Schwarzenegger to reconsider the regulations before they are implemented in 2011.

KAEP Co-Hosts Brownback for Governor Fundraiser
August 17, 2010

KAEP co-hosted a reception in support of U.S. Senator Sam Brownback's 2010 campaign for Governor of Kansas last week. It was a wonderful event with over 50 lobbyists and guests attending. KAEP looks forward to establishing a good working relationship with the soon-to-be Governor that will benefit the ethanol industry in Kansas.

Watch an excerpt from Senator Sam Brownback's speech at the fundraiser
co-sponsored by and held at KAEP.

USDA Releases Corn-Ethanol Industry Report Showing Improving Energy
Efficiency
June 22, 2010

USDA’s Chief Economist Joseph Glauber yesterday announced the publication of a report by the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses that surveyed corn growers for the year 2005 and ethanol plants in 2008, which indicates the net energy gain from converting corn to ethanol is improving in efficiency. The survey asked ethanol producers to respond to questions about ethanol yield (undenatured) per bushel of corn and energy used in the plants. The 2008 updates presented in the report recorded the effects of current practices used by corn producers and ethanol processors.

This report measures all conventional fossil fuel energy used in the production of 1 gallon of corn ethanol. For every British Thermal Unit (BTU) unit of energy required to make ethanol, 2.3 BTUs of energy are produced. The ratio is somewhat higher for some firms that are partially substituting biomass energy in processing energy. Since the last study in 2004, the net energy balance of corn ethanol has increased from 1.76 BTUs to 2.3 BTUs of required energy.

According to the report, overall, ethanol has made the transition from an energy sink, to a moderate net energy gain in the 1990s, to a substantial net energy gain in the present. And there are still prospects for improvement. Ethanol yields have increased by about 10 percent in the last 20 years, so proportionately less corn is required. In addition to refinements in ethanol technology, corn yields have increased by 39 percent over the last 20 years, requiring less land to produce ethanol.

KAEP Members Voice Concern on EPA's Delay

June 21, 2010

Several KAEP members including Chairman Steve McNinch with Western Plains Energy, have contacted our Kansas Congressional delegation voicing concern over the EPA's delay in approving E15. Senator Brownback's chief of staff expressed disappointment as well and promised the Senator will continue to fight for this issue.

According to an EPA statement, the Department of Energy is still conducting testing on cars to see how they run on a 15 percent ethanol blend. However, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis sent a letter to President Obama outlining his concerns with the delay and suggests Obama direct federal agencies involved in the testing to wrap up their work and issue a decision.

"As you would expect, we find this further delay unacceptable," Buis said. "The fact that the federal agencies involved here cannot meet their own deadlines - on a decision that means so much to our nation - reinforces a public perception that government bureaucracy does not work in the best interests of the public."

Several other organizations including the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association have also issued statements of disappointment in EPA's delay.

KAEP Supports Agriculture Education in Kansas

June 21, 2010

KAEP has agreed to sponsor a golf hole at the Kansas FFA Foundation and Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators Blue & Gold Golf Scramble on Sunday, August 1 in Spring Hill. Sponsorship dollars and proceeds from the tournament will be used to develop seasoned instructor training sessions for 165 agricultural education programs in Kansas.

KAEP will be recognized with our logo at a sponsored hole, recognition in all promotional materials and in press releases.

K-State Professor to Serve on Prestigious UN Climate Panel

June 21, 2010

Kansas State University's Chuck Rice, university distinguished professor of agronomy, has been selected again to join other leading international scientists as part of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Rice has been chosen to become one of just two lead authors from the U.S. for the chapter on agriculture in the panel's upcoming Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change. Read More.

KAEP Supports MGA Letter for Pipeline Construction

June 3, 2010

The Midwestern Governor's Association (MGA) sent a letter to members of congress expressing its support of efforts to establish a dedicated ethanol pipeline within the next year. The KAEP was one of the states to support a sign-on letter to be sent from MGA Chairman Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio.