Governors' Biofuels Coalition appoints new chairman

The Governors' Biofuels Coalition, a US ethanol lobby group, has appointed Missouri Governor Jay Nixon as its chairman.

Nixon replaces Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who led the Coalition from 2014 to 2015.

The trade association also announced that Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts will become vice chairman of the group for 2016.

"For more than 20 years the Governors' Biofuels Coalition has worked in a bipartisan way to strengthen American energy independence and create jobs in rural communities," Nixon said.

He said diversifying the US' energy portfolio gives "consumers more choices at the pump" and reduces "harmful emissions".

Ricketts said that he will continue working to strengthen the energy independence of Nebraska and the US.

He added: "Nebraska was one of the founding members of the Coalition, and the Coalition continues to play a major role in our nation's energy policies, including the renewable fuel standard."

In the US, Missouri ranks tenth nationally in ethanol capacity, with a total of six majority farmer-owned ethanol plants that produce approximately 300m gallons of ethanol each year.