In Washington, D.C., The Hill reports that during the politically-charged confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination for the Supreme Court, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) specifically asked Barrett about cases involving renewable fuel standard waivers, which give exemptions to requirements for a certain amount of ethanol to be blended into fuel. Ernst, who has been […]
In Iowa, the Associated Press reports that President Trump is campaigning in Iowa with a strong focus on his ethanol record as a reason for voters to send him back to the White House for a second term. He pointed to year-round E15 coming into effect under his direction as well as securing bailouts for […]
In Washington, Successful Farming reports ethanol is becoming a key topic in the last weeks of the presidential election campaign, with voices in the Midwest saying President Trump “sold out” to the oil industry rather than supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard. A former president of the National Corn Growers Association said during a recent event […]
In Nebraska, the Omaha World Herald newspaper reports the Nebraska Environmental Trust has been sued in county court for approving a $1.8 million grant for blender pumps. The two critics to the project who brought the suit say that the required eight votes in favor by the board weren’t reached at the meetings in February […]
In Belgium, European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the prolongation of the tax exemption measure for biofuels in Sweden. Sweden has exempted liquid biofuels from energy and CO₂ taxation since 2002. The scheme was prolonged following the Commission decision in case SA. 48069 in 2017 until 31 December 2020. By this decision, […]
In Washington, D.C., the National Biodiesel Board, Iowa Biodiesel Board, and Iowa Soybean Association, the Renewable Fuels Association, and others welcomed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s announcement of cost-sharing grants to support infrastructure that will increase consumer access to higher blends of renewable fuels. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a series of grants as […]
In Iowa, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $22 million out of the up to $100 million in grants available to increase American ethanol and biodiesel sales. These funds were made available through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) to recipients in 14 states. […]
In Brazil, Correio do Brasil reports the board of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) approved on Wednesday the exceptional and temporary reduction of the percentage of mandatory mixture of biodiesel to diesel oil from the current 12% to 11% in the two months of November and December 2020. The decision […]
In Australia, consultation has recently closed on the Tasmanian Government draft Renewable Energy Action Plan, which identifies renewable energy as a key economic driver to rebuild a stronger Tasmania in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Bioenergy Australia says Tasmania could be missing a trick by too narrowly focusing on renewable electricity, overlooking the […]
In Washington, the Biogenic CO2 Coalition released a new economic impact analysis in support of its petition for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that biogenic carbon emissions from agricultural crops are de minimis and should not be regulated by the same standards as fossil fuels. The report demonstrates the significant economic benefit of […]
