(Radio Iowa) – A top executive in the ethanol industry says there have been key policy victories this year for ethanol producers — including the E-P-A’s proposed eight percent jump in biofuels production obligations for 2026. Emily Skor is C-E-O of Growth Energy, a trade association that represents nearly 100 ethanol plants — including 28 in Iowa.

“I would go back to day one of the Trump Administration and that is the first time that we had an executive order specific to ethanol and biofuel,” Skor said. “The president really enshrined biofuels as part of his domestic agenda.” In April, the Trump Administration waived the E-P-A’s ban on summertime sales of E-15 in about half the country. Then, in mid-June, the agency proposed 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into gasoline next year, along with increased production of soybean-based biodiesel.

“That’s the strongest proposed volumes that we have seen out of the agency,” Skor says. “We saw in that proposal a commitment to really prioritize domestic feedstocks, which is a big part of our conversation with the administration right now. That’s important to our growers and to our plants as well.” Under the proposed rule, the credits used to enforce compliance with the Renewable Fuels Standard would be heavily tilted to favor domestically produced biofuels.

Imported ethanol as well as imported corn, soybeans or other feedstocks used to produce biofuels here would have half the value. The E-P-A’s proposed Renewable Fuels Standard rules for 2026 and 2027 may become final by the end of October. Skor, a Minnesota native, has been C-E-O of Growth Energy since 2016.