In Washington, Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced The Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, introducing a Clean Energy Standard (CES), requiring a percentage of nation’s electricity to come from renewable sources such as biomass. The bill summary says: “Over the past decade, Congress has […]
In Virginia, congressman Randy Forbes who sits on the House Armed Services Committee has criticized Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for spending taxpayer money on expensive biofuels that cost four times as much as traditional fuels. He told local press, “That’s why I said ‘Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, you’re not the Secretary of Energy, […]
In Washington, FedEx CEO Fred Smith said that ARPA-E is the best investment the government can make to get the country weaned off oil, and said that aviation biofuels are a priority for the company, and should be for the country. He said the technology is already proven so it’s just a matter of surmounting […]
In Washington, the USDA is forecasting an increase of US corn acreage in 2012, to 94 million acres, the fourth consecutive year of increases, and what would be the largest acreage planted for corn since 1944. At the same time, the USDA said that it expected corn prices to fall to $5 per bushel by […]
In South Dakota, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), a national advocacy association for the U.S. ethanol industry, released this statement following President Obama’s remarks yesterday on energy policy and gasoline prices. “We appreciate that the President talked about biofuels in his remarks on how to cope with gasoline prices today. While there is no […]
In California, Miguel Motta has been named COO of SG Biofuels, after serving since 2010 as VP of marketing and strategy. Motta will oversee marketing, business development, global operations and HR for the elite seed developer. In related news, CFO Jeff Davids left the company to lead the Global Clean Technology practice at DavenportMajor Executive […]
In India, the state of Bihar is finally getting to work on its ethanol policy so that it can come into effect with the new fiscal year in March. The lack of a policy has significantly hindered mills from being able to transport their ethanol and supply oil companies who have already purchased the fuel […]
In New Zealand, the country’s bioenergy association is encouraging the government to renew the biodiesel grant scheme that is set to expire in June. The program has granted $30 million in funds since it began in 2009 leading to a five-fold increase in biofuels use during that period. The Energy and Resources Minister countered that […]
In Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved health effects testing on E15 fuel submitted by the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy. Health effects testing is a required step in the approval of any new fuel or fuel additive. The acceptance of the health effects testing clears the way for the final steps in […]
In Washington, BIO wrote the EPA, requesting they reject retroactive changes to the RFS. Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “The Renewable Fuel Standard is the key policy supporting rapid commercial development of advanced biofuels. Companies have made measurable progress in moving from concept to demonstration scale in their […]
