In Washington, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase the transparency of the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market and provide assurances that the market is functioning for its intended purpose, rather than acting as a profit mechanism for Wall Street banks and other financial institutions.
In India, peasant farmers in Maharashtra are demanding government permission to produce ethanol directly from excess cane rather than just from the molasses byproduct, especially since Praj—who designs and manufactures ethanol plants for the global market—is located in the state. Producers say the government won’t allow direct ethanol production because it would lose out on […]
In Washington, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to review recent allegations about possible manipulation of the markets for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). Stabenow called on the CFTC, which is tasked with overseeing markets for commodity futures, options and swaps, […]
In Washington, of the nearly 490,000 metric tons of sugar held as collateral for $246.7 million in commodity loans that are due in less than two weeks, sugar producers have offered nearly 377,000 tons of sugar to the USDA under the feedstock flexibility program. It is the second round of the program that only saw […]
In Washington, The Washington Times raises questions regarding the timing of LanzaTech’s $4M award, as it comes after important financier Vinod Khosla hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic Party at his home. Khosla, one of the company’s most active investors, hosted President Obama and Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) […]
In Washington, the USDA has again opened up a tender for ethanol companies to buy sugar at a discount under the Feedstock Flexibility Program. The first tender only saw 7,000 tons of sugar sold to an ethanol producer in Colorado but there is hope that more ethanol plants will bid this time.
In California, both houses have approved a joint resolution proposed by Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen (R-Riverbank) to urge Congress to withdraw the Renewable Fuel Standard, a bill that has now been approved by the lower house. Though the bill has no binding effect on Congress, it is seen as a clear message that the state doesn’t […]
In Indonesia, state-owned Pertamina will hold a tender this week to buy 6.6 billion liters of palm oil-based biodiesel this in order to supply its needs for the next two years. National production is roughly 5.6 billion liters annually from 25 different producers. The company hopes to lower fuel imports, currently valued at $2.6 billion […]
In Washington, an auditor’s report of the DOE’s financial assistance for integrated biorefinery projects found that despite over 7 years of effort and the expenditure of about $603 million, the Department had not yet achieved its biorefinery development and production goals. Specifically, the EPA mandate to demonstrate the commercial application of integrated biorefineries had not […]
In Washington, the USDA announced $15.5M more in payouts to 188 advanced biofuels producers across the country. The announcement, made by USDA Rural Development Acting Undersecretary Doug O’Brien on Thursday at the National Advanced Biofuels Conference, comes as a part of the larger Advanced Biofuel Payment Program, which has already distributed $211 million. The payments […]
