In Malaysia, palm oil biodiesel producers may be able to benefit from proposed trade sanctions the EU is looking to lodge against Indonesian and Argentine biodiesel exporters. The country’s five biodiesel facilities are running at full capacity in hopes of taking advantage of the EU’s enquiry on the impact of the export tax differentials for […]
In the Ukraine, the government is implementing a two-year plan to convert 29 distilleries to produce ethanol production in order to supply its E5 mandatory blending policy by 2014. Production from the distilleries should reach 360,000 metric tons of ethanol annually. The government is also encouraging sugar producers to produce ethanol rather than exporting surplus […]
In Iowa, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and and incumbent Gov. Terry Branstad both lauded the RFS at DuPont Pioneer’s research center in Johnston despite their differences in political party. Recently, Branstad submitted an article to Politico regarding the importance of the Renewable Fuel Standard to Iowa. Bransad said the Renewable Fuel Standard “is under […]
In Maryland, the “Monthly Energy Review” by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with data through December 31, 2012 is showing that renewable energy sources and natural gas expanded rapidly during the Obama Administration’s first term while coal, nuclear power, oil imports and use, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions all declined significantly. Comparing data for […]
In Washington, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley told reporters that RIN prices had gone through the roof because of speculation and that it was up to regulators like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to look into controlling it. Anti-biofuels groups are taking advantage of soaring RIN prices as an opportunity to get rid of the RFS.
In the Philippines, the country’s long-awaited E10 policy will finally begin on Monday. Local environmental group Kaibigan ng Kaunlaran at Kalikasan (KKK) is seeking studies from the government, if any, showing that E10 would not be harmful to the national fleet. It claims that none have been undertaken since E5 was introduced in 2007, setting […]
Today on Twitter: ahujachand #RINs #Biofuels: Difference Engine: End the ethanol tax | The Economist . Only Time magazine has not chimed in greentechmedia: Mascoma Withdraws Its Big Biofuels IPO CraigShields Biofuels’ Dubious Efficiency – URINYC Big Oil feels threat from growing biofuels sector
In Sri Lanka, following a ban on ethanol imports earlier this month, the President, acting as the minister of finance, is gazetting a policy that will boost ethanol production at the Pelawatte Sugar Industries and Sevenagala Sugar Industries mills that were nationalized last year. Local ethanol production has risen in recent years while local demand […]
In Hawaii, a bill establishing a two-year hemp pilot program has passed a second reading with amendments in the Senate after being passed unanimously on the floor of the House in March. The bill would allow the University of Hawaii at Manoa to establish an industrial hemp remediation and biofuel crop plant program. Said State […]
In Maryland, Advanced Biofuels USA has released a statement opposing the Energy Security Trust proposal, deeming it “counterproductive, insufficient, and inconsistent.” The release continues, “the Energy Security Trust, is an “all–of-the-above” program that is primarily focused on increasing the production of non-renewable, GHG producing natural gas for the production of electricity that would in part […]
