SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, US — US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be a keynote speaker during the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference planned in Omaha, Nebraska, US, Aug. 14-16.

Vilsack will speak on Aug. 15 during the 37th annual event, themed “The Gold Standard.”

“Under Secretary Vilsack’s extraordinary leadership, USDA has provided critically important support to expand ethanol use and help ensure corn ethanol is part of the climate solution,” said Brian Jennings, chief executive officer of ACE. “Most notably, we appreciate USDA’s investments in the Higher Blends Infrastructure and Incentive Program and our Regional Conservation Partnership Program projects to validate the carbon benefits of climate-smart agriculture practices, which can help ethanol producers and farmers realize new market opportunities, including tax credits created under the Inflation Reduction Act. Given his tremendous record of support, we are honored to host Secretary Vilsack at this year’s event.”

The secretary’s remarks will follow updates from ACE leadership: Dave Sovereign, ACE board president representing Golden Grain Energy, ACE CEO Brian Jennings and ACE CMO Ron Lamberty, and a keynote address from Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions.

Coming off the Olympics, the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act and its lucrative tax credits, including important updates and announcements when it comes to the gold-standard lifecycle modeling tool for ethanol (the GREET model), ACE’s 2024 event theme is “The Gold Standard.” The biofuel industry is setting the standard for clean energy solutions to ensure ethanol remains the gold-standard clean fuel for years to come, ACE said.