In New York, Reuters reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency received 52 new petitions for retroactive biofuel blending waivers that, if granted, would help bring oil refiners into compliance with a court ruling this year. The new pending applications for blending exemptions are for compliance years 2011 through 2018. “The waivers exempt oil refiners […]
In Washington, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced legislation to approve certain advanced biofuel registrations that have languished before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) despite the fuels being successfully used in at least one state. EPA would also be required to render a decision within 90 days on any registration application that has been pending for at […]
In Brazil, Reuters reports that following the National Energy Policy Council’s decision earlier this month to allow mills to sell their ethanol directly to retailers, the mines and energy minister said rules could be in place by October. Oil regulator ANP is developing the regulations that would facilitate the trade. The sugar industry has been […]
In Washington, Brownfield Ag News reports that the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency said in an interview that he doesn’t know how many requests for small refinery exemptions have been filed but believes that applications for “gap” SREs should be treated like any other request. The Department of Energy is currently reviewing the applications, […]
In Sweden, Reuters reports that a court has given the go ahead for Preem’s planned $1.6 billion expansion project that would produce biodiesel at its largest oil refinery. The case revolved around the role of allowing additional carbon emissions expansion, to the tune of 1 million metric tons per year, which goes counter to the […]
In Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) continued bipartisan efforts to defend the Renewable Fuel Standard, sending a letter to President Donald Trump demanding that his administration uphold the integrity of federal fuel standards and asking the president to deny any blanket requests for waivers from federal biofuel blending requirements. Joining Finkenauer on the letter […]
In India, in yet another about turn, the Financial Express newspaper reports that the transportation minister says the Prime Minister and other key officials are still considering the use of surplus rice as ethanol feedstock. India has become self-sufficient in rice so rather than storing surplus rice indefinitely, the government believes it is safe to […]
In Australia, an open letter to the Commonwealth government signed on behalf of thousands of organizations and businesses is advocating for biomethane injection into gas distribution networks – recognizing the role biogas can play to solve energy market decarbonization challenges while providing the lowest cost transition to a decarbonized energy system. This is the first […]
In Washington, top biofuel and farm advocates called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to offer answers on a new effort to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). During a Senate hearing last month, administration officials confirmed their consideration of retroactive small refinery exemptions (SREs) covering previous years. The “gap-filings” are designed to reconstitute a […]
In Brazil, Reuters reports that the national energy council CNPE finally approved direct sales of hydrous ethanol from mills to gas station owners last Thursday. The policy shift which has been under consideration for a year is expected to make ethanol more competitive against gasoline, boosting demand in turn. In an unrelated move, the BNDES […]
