Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California was the top choice for DOE Secretary, in a Biofuels Digest reader poll conducted yesterday, taking 28 percent of the votes. Cleantech VC and former DOE official Steve Westley came in second with 13 percent, while former Dupont chairman Chad Holliday was third with 12 percent. Google environment chief Dan […]
In Washington, the EPA has released draft guidance on underground storage tanks for biofuels including ethanol and biodiesel. EPA is requesting comments on the proposed guidance that clarifies how an UST owner or operator can comply with the federal compatibility requirement for UST systems storing gasoline containing greater than 10 percent ethanol, and diesel containing […]
In the Philippines, the government is expected to double the country’s import duty on ethanol to 20% during its Congress’s Christmas holiday through an Executive Order from the Office of the President. Local industry claims that domestic production remains low because too much Brazilian ethanol can enter at a low duty, inhibiting domestic production to […]
In Washington, the Daily Caller is reporting that the US Senate leadership is considering whether to attempt to pass renewable power standard legislation in the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress. The Caller noted, “You’d think that after a year of debate and no movement on contentious renewable energy standard legislation, along with last week’s historic […]
In Colorado, Gevo announced today that it received notification that its isobutanol had successfully cleared registration with the U.S. EPA as a fuel additive. Gevo’s isobutanol is the first isobutanol to be listed in the EPA’s Fuel Registration Directory and is now approved for blending with gasoline. “We’ve taken another important step in commercializing our […]
In California, Growth Energy and the Renewable Energy Association have sued the EPA in US District Court in an attempt to see the California low carbon fuel standard declared in violation of the US Constitution. The groups first filed suit in December 2009 and the hearing will be held on Feb. 23. More on the […]
In Brussels, the Institute for European Environmental Policy has released a study claiming that an area the size of Ireland will be required to meet the EU’s biofuel blending mandate for 2020 and as a result will generate between 81 and 167 percent more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels. More on the story.
In Washington, the Center for American Progress has rolled out a post-election bipartisan energy agenda, in a report titled “Cooperation or Confrontation”. The agenda features passage of the NAT GAS Act to provide tax incentives for the purchase of natural-gas-fueled trucks, incentives for the HOME STAR program for energy efficiency, and an independent Clean Energy […]
In Illinois, economists at the University of Illinois have developed a legislative proposal to replace the way corn ethanol is subsidized with a variable incentive program that could save U.S. taxpayers more than $13 billion. When simulated from 2007, the proposal would have cost $2.5 billion instead of $15 billion. Economists say the proposal would […]
In Brussels, the European Commission has issued “infringement warnings” against Poland, Hungary, Belgium and Estonia for not having yet submitted their National Renewable Energy Action Plans that were due in June. The other 23 member states have already submitted their NREAPs that outline what policies each countries intends to implement in order to reach the […]
