Sen. Ricketts introduces resolution designating May as Renewable Fuels Month

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, led a bipartisan resolution May 21 to designate May 2026 as Renewable Fuels Month. 

The resolution highlights the critical role renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel play in lowering fuel prices for consumers, unleashing American energy independence, protecting the environment and supporting rural communities. 

Original cosponsors include Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota; Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois; Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska; Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Tina Smith, D-Minnesota; and Jerry Moran, R-Kansas.

“Renewable fuels are a win for Nebraska and a win for America,” Ricketts said. “They save consumers money at the pump, are good for the environment and help farmers get better prices for their corn and soybeans. Renewable fuels also strengthen American energy independence.  I am proud to lead this resolution on behalf of Nebraska farmers and ranchers.”

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, introduced a companion resolution in the House of Representatives.

“For more than a decade, Iowa farmers and biofuel producers were told to wait—wait for another waiver, another study or another Congress to act,” Nunn said. “This year, we stopped waiting and started delivering. The House passed year-round, nationwide E15, bringing Congress closer than ever to making permanent access to higher biofuel blends the law of the land. Iowa’s renewable fuels industry has earned that certainty, and this bicameral resolution recognizes the farmers, producers and innovators who made Iowa the nation’s leader in homegrown energy.”

The resolution is endorsed by Renewable Fuels Nebraska, Renewable Fuels Association, Clean Fuels Alliance, National Oilseed Processors Association, Growth Energy and Fuels America.

“Clean Fuels thanks Sen. Ricketts and applauds his resolution designating May 2026 Renewable Fuels Month,” said Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels’ vice president of federal affairs. “There’s no better time—as Americans begin their summer plans, energy security is top of mind. Biodiesel and renewable diesel are needed now more than ever to meet 10 percent of the nation’s diesel-fuel demand and keep the American economy moving.”

Devin Mogler, the president and CEO of NOPA, added, “Across the country, and especially in Nebraska, investments in soybean processing and biomass-based diesel are transforming rural economies, supporting hardworking farmers and expanding America’s domestic energy capacity. During Renewable Fuels Month, we celebrate how these investments are boosting domestic manufacturing, strengthening rural America and helping secure American energy dominance for generations to come.”

Nebraska is a national leader in biofuel production, consistently ranking as the second-largest ethanol producer in the U.S.  

In 2024, Nebraska had 24 operating ethanol plants with a production capacity of over 2.2 billion gallons.  

Approximately 35 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop in 2024 was utilized in ethanol production.  

The Renewable Fuels Association estimates that U.S.-produced ethanol displaced the need for 640 million barrels of imported oil in 2025.

Text of the Renewable Fuels Month resolution is available here.