In France, France24 reports that the government has announced a plan to end imports of agricultural products it says leads to deforestation by 2030 including palm oil, soy and beef. The move follows the European Parliament’s approval of the updated Renewable Energy Directive that seeks to eliminate use of palm oil in biofuels by 2030, […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley doesn’t believe the Environmental Protection Agency will continue to issue hardship waivers to small refiners at the pace previously seen under the prior administrator. He said that he feels the current administrator believes his predecessor was too “liberal” in the issuance of waivers. The current administrator […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that the ethanol industry is suffering heavily from the Trump Administration’s trade war with China as demonstrated by a number of quarterly filings by ethanol companies last week. Without China to buy 200 million gallons of ethanol, trade that has dried up due to the ongoing trade war, the US market […]
In the Philippines, the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) opposed the plan of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to increase the biodiesel amount to B5 from B2. “With Euro 4, there is no compelling reason to add or increase the biodiesel blend, given that the current diesel standard is already very clean,” IPPCA said […]
In Brazil, Reuters reports that Ubrabio wants the government to return 10% of the taxes levied on soybean exports to be returned to crushers so they can compete with international demand for whole beans. China has been importing Brazilian soybeans en masse in response to the trade war with the US that has in turn […]
In Spain, Renewable Energy Magazine reports that the national renewable energy business association APPA is calling on the government to increase its support for biofuels, saying that they are the only real option for reducing the carbon intensity of fuels for light vehicles even if the goal to have 5 million electric vehicles on the […]
In Thailand, the National News Bureau reports that the national palm oil policy committee is going to help reduce the 190,000-metric-ton palm oil surplus by diverting 160,000 tons towards biodiesel production that will then be used for electricity production at the Ratchaburi and Bangpakong Power Plants. Additionally, the committee is calling for uptake of B20 in […]
In Malaysia, the government has been criticized by a Singaporean-based palm oil analyst for being late to the game with its B10 program, saying it should be more aggressive in its implementation. With palm oil prices making biodiesel cheaper than fossil-based diesel since April, he said the country is losing a major opportunity as it […]
In Malaysia, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said the government will save a significant amount of money in subsidy savings with the implementation of the B10 biodiesel mandate that goes into effect in mid-2019. The lower biodiesel price, as compared to current biodiesel price, per liter is expected to help that cost savings as the […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that the Environmental Protection Agency appears to be on time with announcing 2019 blending volumes by the November 30 deadline, having sent the updated proposal to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday. The original proposal that was in line with industry expectations saw a 3% increase over […]
