Growth Energy launches media blitz to counter RFS critics
August 27, 2013 | 05:20 PM
Growth Energy, the group that represents ethanol plant builders and operators, has launched a multimillion media campaign to counter the oil industry’s criticism of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“Our message is simple — You’re no dummy. Don’t let the oil industry treat you like one,” Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis told reporters in a call on Monday.
The ads will air nationally on major cable news networks such as Fox, CNN, MSNBC and RFD-TV, as well as several local markets and can also be seen on a website, Buis said. (See link.)
Buis declined to discuss the media strategy in further detail, saying he doesn’t want to “give Big Oil our playbook,” but noted the campaign would be focused on the general public, on members of Congress who have decision-making power over ethanol, and on farmers who produce corn for ethanol.
Gen. Wesley Clark, the chairman of Growth Energy, said that some of the ads would be on stations that producers will see because “Sometimes you have to preach to the choir. People whose livelihoods depend on this need to see the picture. That is why there is a lot of wisdom in a national buy.”
Clark also noted that Growth Energy has had a separate “Step Up to the Plate” campaign designed to make people in the Midwest “aware of how Big Oil is going after the industry.”
Buis and Clark said they consider the oil industry a formidable opponent. Clark noted that in addition to the U.S. oil industry, both Saudi Arabia and Russia benefit from keeping oil prices high and that ethanol helps keep down prices for American consumers.
Buis said, however, that he does not expect Congress to pass legislation this year affecting the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“It is always hard to predict what happens under that Capitol dome,” Buis said, but added that Congress has so many other items on its agenda that “it is pretty hard to see them move forward” on the RFS.
On the market for renewable identification numbers known as RINS, the serial numbers on batches of biofuel that are used to assure compliance, Buis said, “It is a zero-sum game at the end of the day.”
“We wish we knew more about the trading, but it is not a transparent market, we don’t know the volume, we don’t know the price, we don’t know the traders,” he said.
Clark noted that the market in RINS “is not a subsidy going to the farmers but a program promoted by the industry” to incorporate ethanol in the fuel supply. The oil industry, he said, “is doing everything to keep higher blends out of the market.”
Buis added that if oil companies are paying high prices for RINS, “The wounds are self-inflicted.”
On the question of whether the fuel industry will hit the “blend wall” and not be able to absorb enough renewable fuel, Buis said, “Everyone knew the blend wall day was coming,” and that the issue can resolved through the use of E15 and E30.
Some boat owners have said they worry that ethanol will cause their boat engines to malfunction and that they cannot find the pure gasoline they would like to use.
Buis said that pure gasoline is often not available because it is more expensive. But he added that boat engines have warranties that allow the use of 10 percent ethanol. He acknowledged that E15 is not approved for off-road engines, but said E15 is moving into the market so slowly that boat owners do not need to be worried about avoiding it in the near future.
“Our message is simple — You’re no dummy. Don’t let the oil industry treat you like one,” Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis told reporters in a call on Monday.
The ads will air nationally on major cable news networks such as Fox, CNN, MSNBC and RFD-TV, as well as several local markets and can also be seen on a website, Buis said. (See link.)
Buis declined to discuss the media strategy in further detail, saying he doesn’t want to “give Big Oil our playbook,” but noted the campaign would be focused on the general public, on members of Congress who have decision-making power over ethanol, and on farmers who produce corn for ethanol.
Gen. Wesley Clark, the chairman of Growth Energy, said that some of the ads would be on stations that producers will see because “Sometimes you have to preach to the choir. People whose livelihoods depend on this need to see the picture. That is why there is a lot of wisdom in a national buy.”
Clark also noted that Growth Energy has had a separate “Step Up to the Plate” campaign designed to make people in the Midwest “aware of how Big Oil is going after the industry.”
Buis and Clark said they consider the oil industry a formidable opponent. Clark noted that in addition to the U.S. oil industry, both Saudi Arabia and Russia benefit from keeping oil prices high and that ethanol helps keep down prices for American consumers.
Buis said, however, that he does not expect Congress to pass legislation this year affecting the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“It is always hard to predict what happens under that Capitol dome,” Buis said, but added that Congress has so many other items on its agenda that “it is pretty hard to see them move forward” on the RFS.
On the market for renewable identification numbers known as RINS, the serial numbers on batches of biofuel that are used to assure compliance, Buis said, “It is a zero-sum game at the end of the day.”
“We wish we knew more about the trading, but it is not a transparent market, we don’t know the volume, we don’t know the price, we don’t know the traders,” he said.
Clark noted that the market in RINS “is not a subsidy going to the farmers but a program promoted by the industry” to incorporate ethanol in the fuel supply. The oil industry, he said, “is doing everything to keep higher blends out of the market.”
Buis added that if oil companies are paying high prices for RINS, “The wounds are self-inflicted.”
On the question of whether the fuel industry will hit the “blend wall” and not be able to absorb enough renewable fuel, Buis said, “Everyone knew the blend wall day was coming,” and that the issue can resolved through the use of E15 and E30.
Some boat owners have said they worry that ethanol will cause their boat engines to malfunction and that they cannot find the pure gasoline they would like to use.
Buis said that pure gasoline is often not available because it is more expensive. But he added that boat engines have warranties that allow the use of 10 percent ethanol. He acknowledged that E15 is not approved for off-road engines, but said E15 is moving into the market so slowly that boat owners do not need to be worried about avoiding it in the near future.
