In Washington, More than 60 advanced biofuel companies and four leading trade organizations on Monday wrote to leaders of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees, encouraging Congress to extend critical tax provisions set to expire at the end of this month. The Advanced Ethanol Council, Advanced Biofuel Association, Algae Biomass Organization and Biotechnology […]
In the UK, the government has proposed “double counting” biofuels as part of the renewable energy targets for 2020 that require 20% green energy. Up until now, the targets had been separate with 10% for transport and 20% for power, but the UK’s proposal would lower the 20% power target to 19.5%. The move in […]
In Washington, an EPA hearing last Thursday had supporters of the RFS arriving in force. The only EPA hearing scheduled on the RFS numbers, held in front of the EPA’s five-member panel, had testimony from policy organizations and private companies alike. Growth Energy’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Chris Bliley summed up the policy position: “The […]
In Illinois, as many as 20 ethanol plants are expected to be shuttered as a result of the cutbacks in ethanol blending for the RFS in 2014. Citigroup expects gasoline demand to be 13% less next year than estimated in 2007 when blending mandates were set, just 133 billion gallons compared to the 154 billion […]
In Virginia, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad testified in front of the EPA at a public hearing on Tuesday in support of the RFS. The governor believes the EPA is following Obama’s marching orders to dismantle the RFS in favor of supporting the oil lobby to the detriment of Iowan families dependent on the ethanol industry.
In Brazil, the country’s agriculture secretary says the ministry is exploring subsidies for ethanol production from corn and is looking to develop a policy to support its production. The country’s corn production has doubled in the past 11 years and the secretary says that ethanol is likely the best outlet for the surplus because it’s […]
In Washington, the RFS must be adjusted to reflect commercialization realities, rather than completely thrown out, argues a University of Illinois paper. The paper also argues that the categories of the RFS should be expanded to include all emerging technologies, as well as relaxing the sourcing constraints on biomass. The paper argues in favor of […]
In Washington, ethanol may find an enemy in the hunting lobby as Pheasant hunting groups speak out against the effect ethanol production has on wildlife acres. The groups claim that while Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has lauded the success of conservation efforts despite dwindling conservation lands, the amount of land enrolled in the grassland […]
In Zambia, the country’s biofuels association BAZ is discouraging the government from importing ethanol from Zimbabwe, saying that it is jeopardizing domestic producers who the government should be supporting instead. Domestic producers have been waiting for eight years for the government to implement blending targets.
In Canada, Ontario is one step closer to being the first place in North America to eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation. Over the next year, Thunder Bay Generating Station will stop burning coal and will be converted to use advanced biomass, a fuel for electricity generation. This is the last major step in […]
