At its annual Executive Leadership Conference (ELC), Growth Energy, the nation’s leading biofuels trade association, awarded member Kelly Nieuwenhuis with its highest honor, America’s Fuel Award. America’s Fuel Award is presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty as a champion for the renewable fuels industry. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor congratulated Iowa farmer and longtime ethanol advocate Kelly Nieuwenhuis on his award and thanked him for his years of service to the biofuels industry.
“Kelly has lived the ethanol success story—he has experienced first-hand the value that bioethanol offers for his farm, his family, and the future of agriculture. And he pays it forward,” said Skor. “With a tireless commitment to ensuring the long-term viability of the industry and certainty for the rural economy, Kelly has spent the majority of his working life in the service of biofuels.”
“With deep roots in agriculture, a staunch belief in the power and potential of biofuels, and an eye toward what’s possible, Kelly Nieuwenhuis embodies the best of what our industry has to offer,” she added.
Nieuwenhuis is chairman of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Ethanol Action Team, where he leads the effort to increase ethanol demand through research, infrastructure partnerships, and sound public policy. He’s also a member of the U.S. Grains Council Ethanol Committee, Chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board—and, in 2016, former Iowa Governor and past America’s Fuel Award winner Terry Branstad (R) appointed him to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure board where he helped lead the effort to issue grant incentives for retailers converting equipment for the expanded use of renewable fuels. Current Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) reappointed him to this position in 2021. Nieuwenhuis has also spent nine years on the Board of Directors of the Siouxland Energy Cooperative, serving as its president in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Past winners of America’s Fuel Award include Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, and many others that have made significant contributions to the U.S. bioethanol industry.
