In Japan, Platts reports that the new policy shift allowing US ethanol into the market for blending into MTBE won’t have an immediate impact because new-season ethanol from Brazil had already been booked before the policy was approved. As a result, US ethanol won’t likely be imported into Japan until 2019/20 but when the market […]
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressed extreme disappointment regarding China’s announcement of duties of almost 179 percent on U.S. sorghum imports. “The international grain market is about the freest market there is, and it is ludicrous to even mention ‘dumping,’ because China can buy product from anywhere they choose. This is clearly a […]
In Washington, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) led a bipartisan group of 13 senators in writing to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt requesting the agency cease issuing so-called “hardship” waivers exempting obligated parties from the Renewable Fuel Standard, provide topline information about the waivers already issued, disclose whether or not the agency […]
In Italy, the government began consulting on the implementation of its new biogas policy in late March that will seen biogas producers earn around EUR300 per generation credit of 10 GCal of biogas available for public consumption, while producers of “advanced” biogas using certain feedstocks will receive EUR375 for every 5 GCal, and those co-digesting […]
In the United Kingdom, British biofuel targets that took effect over the weekend “will double the use of renewable fuels in the UK transport sector in 15 years and reduce reliance on imported diesel,” the government told Reuters. The new targets demand transport fuel suppliers that sell at least 450,000 liters a year or more […]
In Washington, the National Biodiesel Board submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request aimed at shedding light on small refiner exemptions requested and issued under the Renewable Fuel Standard. “The EPA’s decision to grant upwards of 25 exemptions, with at least one significant waiver in the dark of night to a large and profitable refiner, […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that President Trump will leave the issue of the Renewable Fuel Standard alone for the next three months in an effort to calm farmers concerned about the impact reduced demand for ethanol would have on rural communities, compounded with expected negative repercussions resulting from the trade war with China. The administrator […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that five Senators wrote a letter to President Trump calling for an end to hardship waivers for oil refiners that allow them to skirt around their ethanol blending or RIN compliance requirements until a more transparent process for their approval can be developed. They say the raft of waivers being issued […]
In Minnesota, effective May 1, all diesel sold in Minnesota must contain at least 20 percent biodiesel as the state officially implements the B-20 mandate passed in 2008. Once implemented, the B-20 mandate will be in effect during the state’s “summer months” of April through September. October through March, the biodiesel requirement will remain at […]
In Brazil, environmentalists and the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, UNICA, are protesting the Brazilian Senate’s consideration of lifting a ban on sugarcane production for ethanol fuel in the Amazon. UNICA is worried that if the bill is adopted, it would have a negative impact on the industry’s image, according to Euractiv. “By changing the zoning […]
