In Washington, Senator John McCain this week tried to revive a failed attempt to prohibit U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for construction, installation or operation of ethanol blender pumps or storage facilities. McCain proposed similar legislation earlier this year which was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 59 to 41. Brian Jennings, Executive […]
In Thailand, the energy minister plans to meet with the excise department in order to relax ethanol export rules that will help to facilitate further trade. Domestic demand has fallen to 1 million liters per day from 1.3 million liters per day, against production capacity of 5 million liters per day, so the country’s 10 […]
In Thailand, the government has successfully completed a three-month trial using E95 city buses. The buses ran normally while producing fewer carbon emissions compared to the traditional diesel buses, and data from the project would be used to formulate policy on the use of ethanol in the transport sector. The project sponsored by the Energy […]
In Belgium, the European Union’s Customs Code Committee has agreed to raise import taxes on high ethanol blends from E70-E100 to $140/cu m up from the current 6.5% tax that is currently running at $44.4 /cu m with a third of the EU’s member states voting in favor, a third against, and the remaining abstaining. […]
In Texas, Governor Rick Perry unveiled the energy plank of his overall Presidential election platform, in which the campaign wrote: “I believe in an “all of the above” energy plan that encourages the development of all our conventional and renewable sources. I will not tolerate the federal bureaucracy’s war on natural gas and coal generation […]
In Washington, John McArdle of E&E filed an analysis of Solyndra and the DOE’s Section 1705 loan guarantee program as a whole, writing that “none of the other projects have defaulted on the repayment of their loans. If it stays that way, the entire program will have a default rate of just over 3 percent […]
In Brazil, the government will lend sugarcane mills $1.1 billion in order to store ethanol during the off-season period in an attempt to ensure there is enough supply for the domestic market until the next crush begins in April. It will be up to the National Monetary Council to decide how much the interest rates […]
By Brent Erickson, Digest columnist and Executive Vice-President, BIO Industrial and Environment Section The Renewable Fuel Standard is the key foundation policy supporting the commercial development of advanced biofuels. It is not working as fast as some would like, but given the current economic situation it is indeed working. A handful of advanced biofuel companies […]
In Virginia, the Defense Logistics Agency has released the fiscal 2012 Director’s Guidance, focusing on 16 initatives in three areas: Warfighter Support, Stewardship Excellence and Workforce Development. In a tough fiscal environment, one of the DLA’s Warfighter Support initiatives include efforts to support the Defense Department in developing policy on the use of alternative fuel, […]
In Washington, Jonathan Silver leaving his post as head of the DOE Loan Guarantee Program, to become a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Third Way. Secretary Steven Chu said: Statement from Third Way: “In early July, shortly after the fiscal year 2011 budget was completed by Congress and it became clear that no significant new funds […]
