ALTOONA, Iowa — While lower feedstock prices powered the industry in 2014, a strong and growing federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is needed in 2015 to “break the petroleum monopoly and increase consumer access to higher levels of cleaner-burning biofuels, like E15 and B20,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Assoc. (IRFA).

As keynote speaker at the ninth annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and Trade Show, Jan. 27 in Altoona, Shaw added the state’s renewable fuels industry is “ready to roll” in 2015.

“Today, we are at a crossroads,” he said. “I believe that never in the last decade has the renewable fuels industry been better poised for rapid growth. Today, I can say with absolute confidence that Iowa’s renewable fuels industry is ready to roll.

“We’ve never been in a better position for the availability and diversity of feedstocks; the industry is coming off a profitable year; new markets are being developed; and new technologies are out of the lab and producing on a commercial scale. There is simply no question that this industry is ready to roll.”

The question is whether the Obama administration and Congress are going to allow the renewable fuels industry to “hit it or leave us stuck in neutral,” Shaw said.

Speaking with Shaw were several national leaders, including former Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), as well as retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Len Hering; Lance Klatt, executive director of the Minnesota Service Station and Convenience Stores Assoc.; Jason Stauffer, manager of Retail Fuels Marketing and Business Development for STAR Energy; and Todd Garner, CEO and managing partner at Protec Fuel Management.

As the nation’s leader in corn (second in soybeans), biodiesel and ethanol production, Iowa has 43 ethanol refineries, which produced 3.9 billion gallons during 2014, including 22 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity and one cellulosic facility currently under construction.

In addition, Iowa has 12 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce nearly 315 million gallons annually. The state is also estimated to account for roughly 27 percent of U.S. ethanol production in 2014.

At the Summit, the IRFA released a study conducted by John Urbanchuk, managing partner at Agriculture and Biofuels Consulting, LLP, in Doylestown, Pa., highlighting the impact of the renewable fuels industry on Iowa’s economy. “(Last year) was a record-breaking year for the renewable fuels industry, despite significant challenges, and Iowa participated in the growth,” he said “Ethanol and biodiesel producers are part of a manufacturing sector that adds substantial value to agricultural commodities produced in Iowa.

“The first- and second-generation feedstocks used to produce renewable fuels are produced primarily by Iowa farmers, and the R&D (research and development) expenditures for renewable fuels provide important support for Iowa’s universities. Combined, these activities make a significant contribution to the Iowa economy.”

In fact, Santorum, a 2012 GOP presidential candidate, said the renewable fuels industry is “creating high-income jobs in rural America where they are desperately needed.”

“This is a high-tech industry with tremendous potential,” he said.

Moreover, Shaw said energy policy may impact the 2016 Iowa caucuses and general elections. “The Iowa caucuses kick off the 2016 election cycle and we’ve already seen potential candidates swarming to Iowa,” he told attendees. “In addition, Iowa is one of only a handful of states that will be truly ‘in play’ during the general election. We saw energy policy play a major role in Iowa’s 2014 Senate race.

“We do not and should not sit back and wonder what D.C. will do. The race for the 2016 Iowa caucuses has already started and renewable fuels will be engaged in that process like never before.”