OPIS Blog

March 15, 2024
Carbon, Renewables

Voluntary Carbon Markets Stakeholders Play Hot Potato With Market Risk

With the integrity of carbon offsetting under fire, buyers are looking to lock down the forward delivery of high-quality credits...

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March 8, 2024
Renewables

Oversupply in China Weighs on Prices across the Solar Value Chain

The prices of the solar supply chain continued to hit new lows in 2023 due to overcapacity in China. The...

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February 20, 2024
Renewables

Renewable Energy Certificates Supply Constraints Showing Some Signs of Easing

Many of the conditions that limited the supply of renewable energy certificates in 2023 could begin to ease in 2024,...

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November 1, 2023
Renewables

A Hydrogen Primer: Definitions and Sustainability 101

by Alex Barnes, Independent Consultant and Director of Alex Barnes & Associates Hydrogen Definitions and Why They Matter Hydrogen produces...

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October 18, 2023
Biofuels, Renewables

Interview: Repsol Gears Up to Start Producing SAF at Cartagena Refinery

Spanish energy company Repsol is preparing to start production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with a new 250,000 metric tons/year...

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July 5, 2023
Renewables

Cepsa Aims to Lead Competitive Pricing for Green Hydrogen in Europe

Europe is striving to meet its targets in the journey to renewable energy and decarbonization as momentum in green hydrogen...

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June 27, 2023
Renewables

Historic Highs for PJM REC Prices Driven by Soaring Demand and Slow Queues

A tangle of factors pushed prices for renewable energy certificates serving the PJM Interconnection to historic highs in Q2 of...

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June 26, 2023
Renewables

Europe Needs Inflation Reduction Act-Like Scheme to Keep Solar Dream Alive

Europe is running out of time to implement a large-scale support scheme, comparable with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA),...

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June 9, 2023
Gas & Diesel, Renewables

What Is California’s Crude CI Deficit & How Does It Affect Fuel Prices?

California this year added a new layer of compliance costs under its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program, forcing so-called...

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May 19, 2023
Renewables

Prospective Atlantic Offshore Wind Could Flood REC Markets and Drive Down Prices

The offshore wind power that has been solicited by U.S. East Coast states, if and when it is constructed, has...

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May 2, 2023
Carbon, Renewables

Unprecedented Focus on Biodiversity Spurring Nature Credit Markets

Celebrations, tens of thousands of church bells ringing across the land and a riot of color will mark King Charles...

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April 25, 2023
Renewables

Growing the Global Hydrogen Market: Interview with Shearman & Sterling

Global law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP believes that more incentives are needed to develop a strong business case for...

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March 31, 2023
Biofuels, Renewables

Interview: Third Generation Biofuels to Take Off After 2030

The energy transition is forcing companies to come up with new products and systems to reduce carbon emissions. Within the...

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March 29, 2023
Renewables

Effects of Inflation Reduction Act on Renewable Fuels Industry

There has been no shortage of praise from the renewable fuels industry to President Joe Biden signing into law last...

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March 23, 2023
Renewables

Interview: Challenges and Opportunities in the Emerging Hydrogen Market

At the Americas Hydrogen Summit, OPIS spoke with Jon André Løkke, president of industry group Hydrogen Europe, about the future...

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February 9, 2023
Gas & Diesel, Rack Market, Renewables

Get the Cold, Hard Facts on Fuel Temperature Correction

It’s that time again! The mercury in the thermometer dropping…  And fuel suppliers can get hot under the collar when...

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February 7, 2023
Renewables

What Effect Will 24/7 CFE Have on Renewable Energy Markets?

The renewable energy procurement strategy, known by some as 24/7 carbon-free energy (24/7 CFE), remains out of reach of most...

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January 24, 2023
Renewables

Why and How Are Companies Pursuing 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy?

Google, in 2017, realized that although it had met its corporate goal of matching 100% of the electricity it used...

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January 13, 2023
Renewables

RECs Bottlenecks Expected to Keep Markets Tight

U.S., state and local lawmakers, along with project developers, have set the table for widespread deployment of renewable energy. But...

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December 5, 2022
Renewables

Modern Slavery: The Dark Side of Australia’s Wind, Solar and Battery Supply Chains

Australia, once a climate change laggard, is on a trajectory to produce most of its electricity from solar, wind, hydro...

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August 25, 2021
Biofuels, Renewables, RINs

Biofuels industry hopes its efforts to cut GHG emissions will keep it relevant as White House pushes EVs

After four years of the Trump administration’s often-chaotic approach to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), many in the biofuels industry...

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August 13, 2021
Biofuels, Renewables, RINs

RFS, RINs and Biofuels Forum Preview

Each year, attendees of OPIS’s RFS, RINs & Biofuels Forum come to the event looking for answers about biofuel markets...

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April 15, 2021
Biofuels, Renewables, RINs, Spot Market

A Wrinkle in Time? How Record RVO Numbers May Drastically Alter 1Q Refinery Bottom Lines

Be on the lookout for some befuddled refining analysts and disappointed investors as public refiners disclose their first quarter earnings...

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February 4, 2021
Biofuels, Ethanol, Renewables, RINs, Spot Market

2020 Energy Prices Complicated by Ag Products, Renewable Credits and Other Relationships

You need more than just a NYMEX or ICE futures’ screen to keep pace with petroleum prices, based on the...

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May 11, 2020
Ethanol, Renewables

Ethanol’s Unique COVID-19 Price Story

Drastically fewer miles are being driven due to stay-at-home measures to combat COVID-19, resulting in a decline in gasoline prices...

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May 4, 2020
Carbon, Renewables

Carbon Credit Costs for California Gasoline & Diesel: A Heads Up for U.S. Suppliers

It’s no secret that California is routinely the most expensive place to buy gasoline in the continental U.S.

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March 16, 2020
Ethanol, Renewables

Can Ethanol Prices Rebound in 2020?

U.S. ethanol prices, after nearly a year-long funk, are indicating strength for 2020.

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March 9, 2020
Gas & Diesel, Renewables

The Biodiesel Tax Credit: What Does the New Extension Mean?

The $1/gal federal biomass-based diesel blender’s tax credit (BTC) has been extended through 2022.

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March 2, 2020
Crude oil, Gas & Diesel, Renewables

20 Oil Price Forecasts for 2020

Oil, gasoline, diesel and renewable fuels markets have started 2020 off with a bang. Here are 20 price-influencing factors identified...

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February 10, 2020
Renewables

What Will Carbon Credit Trading Look Like in 2020?

North American carbon credit market participants will navigate increasingly stringent cap-and-trade and carbon emissions tax regulations, as key jurisdictions extend...

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June 17, 2019
Carbon, Renewables, RINs

Could the RFS Move Toward a Low Carbon Program Like LCFS?

The idea of revising the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to operate more like the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) appears to...

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February 19, 2019
Carbon, Ethanol, Renewables

2019 Ethanol Price and Carbon Credit Market Preview

It was a tumultuous year in the renewable fuel and carbon credit markets. 

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March 19, 2018
Renewables

Biofuels Industry and Regulatory Policies in 2018 

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) since its start has been marked by conflict between biofuels industry advocates intent on pushing more...

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November 21, 2017
Renewables, Retail Market

RFA: 2018 RFS Rule Can’t Head Back to the Future

Do you remember the scene towards the end of “Back to the Future,” where Doc Brown is refueling the time-traveling...

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October 19, 2017
Electric Vehicles, Gas & Diesel, Renewables, Spot Market

Strange Bedfellows? Biofuel Producers and Refiners Find Common Foe

Could the ancient proverb “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” point the way toward a rapprochement between U.S....

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October 10, 2017
Renewables, Spot Market

What’s Helping (and Hurting) Cellulosic Ethanol Production Growth

Cellulosic ethanol production is experiencing a small-scale but meaningful growth spurt due to high-tech advances. However, companies embracing these new techniques...

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