Articles in Federal Agency
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) What used to be known as “The New York Sugar Conference” has become “The ISO and Datagro Sugar & Ethanol Conference” with a record-setting number of attendees (350 from …
by Lynn Yarris(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Develop Enzyme-free Ionic Liquid Pre-treatment
Advanced biofuels – liquid fuels synthesized from the sugars in cellulosic biomass – offer a clean, green and renewable alternative to …
(Edeniq/Yahoo! News) Visalia Plant Milestone Signifies Greater Commercial Viability for Cellulosic Ethanol and Sugars
Edeniq, a biomaterials and sustainable fuels company, today announced the company’s first demonstration plant, located at its Visalia, CA headquarters, has completed …
by Barry Cohen (National Algae Association/PR Log) The DoE has spent $2.5 billion on algae research but to date nothing has been commercialized. Why? Because their mission is to develop technologies. It’s not their problem or …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, BIO begins the week with applause for Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and other members of the Senate Agriculture Committee for including mandatory funding for …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biofuels’s Montagues and Capulets were at it again last week — with a flurry of press releases about court decisions and commercial timelines regarding their respective isbutanol technologies.
At the heart …
by RP Siegel (Industry Market Trends Green & Clean Journal/ThomasNet.com) Four years ago, American LeMans kicked off its first green racing season. The program, which requires teams to use alternative fuels such as ethanol blends (E10 or …
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of up to $9 million through the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program (DERA) for Fiscal Year 2013 for new projects …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Gevo Inc. provided updated information on it Luverne, Minn., plant and patent dispute with Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC as part of its recent first quarter 2013 financial announcement.
During a …
Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register) President Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, vowed to take a more active role in working with the agriculture community.
During her confirmation hearing before the Senate …
by Tim McDonnell (Mother Jones) … In mid-March, in a speech at Illinois’ Argonne National Lab, Obama pitched an Energy Security Trust, which would collect $2 billion in additional revenues by 2020 from oil and gas …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published updated data on alternative fuels and vehicles through 2011. The analysis addresses several alternative transportation fuels, including E85, hydrogen, electricity, natural gas …
(Algae Industry Magazine) A Johns Hopkins University student team is working with a starter grant of $15,000 from the EPA to see if algae can consume nutrients from wastewater and produce clean bio-fuels and fish food. …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill energy title was introduced in the Senate Monday. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the Rural Energy Investment Act to “help farmers, ranchers, and …
by Kathy Robertson (Sacramento Business Journal) Novozymes Inc. is staffing up to support a $2.5 million Department of Energy contract to find new and more efficient enzymes for turning corn leaves and stalks into fuel for …
(UPI) …On a percentage basis, the EIA said the price spread was closer to 17 percent in 2001, and dipped to as low as 6 percent in early 2009. This decline is because of the …
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) The latest national survey of 100% biodiesel (B100) “blend stock” samples by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that 95% of the samples from 2011-12 met …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Biofuel opponents are crying wolf, so it would seem, claiming that the blend wall is insurmountable. However, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today has published an infographic that busts the myths surrounding the …
(US Department of Agriculture/Biodiesel Magazine) The USDA has proposed a series of changes to make it easier for agricultural producers and rural small businesses to apply for renewable energy and energy efficiency funding. USDA remains …
by Herman Wang and Matthew Kolhman (Platts) Aviation biofuel’s newly minted ability to generate tradable US renewables credits, known as RINs, may be key to the industry’s economics, according to market watchers.
“The availability of RINs is …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) As part of its ongoing review of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the House Energy & Commerce Committee recently asked stakeholders to comment on the impact of the RFS on the …
by Bill Scanlon (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Biofuels scientists are asking more complex questions about how molecules spin, bond, and break when enzymes attack plants — all in the name of quickening the process of …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Is there bio-based relief for the harried taxpayer in sight? Could conservationists, growers and biofuels producers find common ground in adapting the Conservation Reserve Program for bioenergy? Could the US …
by Ellyn Ferguson (Roll Call) A House panel’s decision to look back at mandates set in the 2007 renewable-energy law could be a pivotal moment for industries hoping to slow down growth in the ethanol industry.
The …
by Matthew L. Wald (The New York Times) Faced with a crop of lemons — too much ethanol, a population of cars not tuned to burn it effectively and a driving public leery of the …
by Russ White (MLive) … Michigan State University leads research of bioenergies and biofuels through AgBioResearch and the Kellogg Biological Station and partnerships with coalitions such as the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the Global …
by Ann Perry (US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) A new strain of yeast that could help streamline cellulosic ethanol costs and production has been developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers. This …
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Enzymes could break down cell walls faster – leading to less expensive biofuels for transportation – if two enzyme systems are brought together in an industrial setting, new research …
(National Public Radio/Associated Press) The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate …
by Tina Casey (TriplePundit) Just yesterday, we noted that auto manufacturers are beginning to shed their century-old love affair with petroleum, and now it seems that the agriculture sector is ready to move on, too.
On …
(Clean Energy Report) An initial split between some biofuels groups over EPA’s 2013 renewable fuel standard’s (RFS) production targets appears to be expanding divisions over other agency fuel policies.
Advanced biofuels producers are opposing EPA’s Tier …
by Kenneth Prewitt (Science Magazine) Editorial: This month, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will apply two criteria in its review of research proposals: intellectual merit and impact. One discipline, however, will have to meet a further …
(Advanced Biofuels USA) As part of the recently proposed Tier 3 motor vehicle fuel and emission regulations, EPA had included a very forward looking idea that could bring higher octane, higher ethanol (E-30) gasoline to …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …Promiscuous, because a zillion organisms know how to use photosynthesis, under a zillion set of circumstances, to turn simple and abundant molecular compounds — like carbon dioxide and water — …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Several biofuel trade organizations have weighed in on white paper published by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the impact the renewable fuel standard (RFS) has had on the U.S. …
(Renewable Fuels Association) In seventeen pages of comments, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) answered questions put forth in the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Assessment on Agricultural Sector …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A bill proposed Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., that would put E15 on hold for another round of studies was evaluated by the Congressional Budget Office.
…H.R. 875 would require the …
(Los Alamos National Laboratory/Biodiesel Magazine) …Los Alamos scientists and collaborators from The University of Guelph in Canada published an article in the scientific journal Nature Chemistry this week that could offer a big step on the path …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Produces Drop-In Jet Fuel from 100% Renewable Plant Sugars
In Wisconsin, Virent announced the delivery of 100 gallons of its bio-based jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for …
by Darren Goode (Politico) An effort by ethanol backers to get the Environmental Protection Agency to scale back the amount of advanced biofuels required in the U.S. gasoline supply this year has opened a rift …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …It used to be that the outskirts of Honolulu had the dual scent of diesel and pineapple processing — but now, all you really smell is the diesel. Sugarcane and …
(US Department of Energy) The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory have released a joint study on biochemical biorefinery sizing. “Investigation of biochemical biorefinery sizing and …
(US Department of Energy) On Earth Day and every day, BETO is working to improve the sustainability of the transportation industry in the United States through the development and deployment of commercially viable, high-performance, domestic …
by Alisa Priddle (Detroit Free Press) An expansion of Hyundai’s eight-year-old technical center in Superior Township, east of Ann Arbor, will require 50 new jobs and enable more vehicle emission testing.
…The new testing chambers can …
(Brookhaven National Laboratory) Promising results are a step toward a range of renewable energy strategies fueled by Nature
In a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Energy & Environmental Science (now available online), …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is continuing its assessment of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Committee has issued its second white paper focusing on “Agricultural Sector Impacts.” …
by Brock Vergakis (Associated Press/The Washington Post) NASA researchers said Thursday that test flights conducted in California have shown a commercial jet could fly safely with a blend of jet fuel that includes a plant oil.
Scientists …
(US Senate Finance Committee) This document is the fourth in a series of papers compiling tax reform options that Finance Committee members may wish to consider as they work towards reforming our nation’s tax system. This …
by Douglas L. Faulkner with contributions from Jacques Beaudry-Losique (Biofuels Digest) …We believe it is time for bioenergy industry leaders to take the initiative and chalk up a new comprehensive game plan, reflecting the new reality …
by Aino Siirala (Advanced Biofuels USA) Steve Csonka, as director of Enviro Strategy and Ecomagination, GE Aviation, the world-leading provider of jet engines, gave an overview of the importance of renewable jet fuel specifications leading …
(The PEW Charitable Trusts) High gas prices may give us pause before taking a long road trip, but we still need to drive to work, the grocery store or school. This Pew Clean Energy Program video …
(US Department of Energy) The Bioenergy Technologies Office 2013 Project Peer Review will take place at the Hilton Alexandria Hotel from Monday, May 20, 2013, to Thursday, May 23, 2013. The peer review process will …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Lack of transparency makes market analysis difficult.
…The ethanol producer’s role in RIN generation is basic: produce the physical gallons and fill in the required information to generate the RINs …
This webinar (First in this series) will focus on the current and past policies which drive or hinder (as the case may be) the emerging biofuels industry. In this webinar, participants will explore the similarities …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has unveiled a list of 10 ways the renewable fuels industry is helping to improve the environment. According to IRFA, renewable fuels offer positive impacts …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The Environmental and Energy Studies Institute (EESI) and the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) held a briefing on the conclusions of the newly released …
(Algae Industry Magazine) lgae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3) members from across the U.S. gathered at the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus April 15-18 for their national kickoff meetings to discuss strategies for advancing research and …
(Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two public hearings in April on the Tier 3 proposed rulemaking aimed at addressing the impacts of motor vehicles on air quality and public …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Pilot-scale biorefineries for drop-in military diesel, jet fuel the focus of the DOE’s latest grant round.
In Washington, the US Department of Energy announced up to $17.7 million in grants to …
by U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation/Biomass Magazine) After a briefing by senior White House staff on April 17, following their arrival in the U.S., an Israeli delegation of top academic and industrial biofuels research scientists and …
by Nick Juliano (MidWest Energy News) A proposal to allow renewable energy developers to take advantage of a tax structure that has long been popular among fossil fuel companies is gaining traction among lawmakers tasked …
by Amy Harder (National Journal) It’s hard to rival the diversity and sheer number of groups and companies with a vested interest in the renewable-fuels standard, from food and livestock businesses to those in the …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) To the Editor: What’s there about lower prices at the pump, less pollution and reduced reliance on imported oil that Robert Bradley, Jr., doesn’t like (“It’s Time to Repeal the …
(Wall Street Journal/The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers) The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) and American Petroleum Institute (API) filed comments in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed biofuel Quality Assurance Program.
“EPA’s …
by Zack Coleman (The Hill E2Wire) The head of a powerful oil industry lobbying group met with top White House officials and senior lawmakers Wednesday about stripping a federal biofuel rule.
“We’re talking about the renewable fuel …
(Sandia National Laboratories/Biodiesel Magazine) Sandia National Laboratories is developing a suite of complementary technologies to help the emerging algae industry detect and quickly recover from algal pond crashes, an obstacle to large-scale algae cultivation for …
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) Two members of Pres. Obama’s cabinet today have signed their names to an agreement that will extend the administration’s commitment to the production of biofuels for use in airplanes. Secretary of …
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Although conference convener, Biofuels Digest’s Jim Lane, insisted that he “discouraged industry bashing,” the first morning of this 3-day conference was replete with unveiled references to The Oil Industry, …
(Biotechnology Industry Organization) The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) recently submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the proposed Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS).
The comments emphasized that continued stable …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …In Delaware, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware entered a final judgment in favor of Gevo and against Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC (Butamax), a 50/50 joint …
by Scott Irwin and Darrel Good (FarmDocDaily) …Here, we present a proposal for implementing the RFS2 through 2015 that recognizes the constraints implied by the E10 blend wall and will avert the impact of the …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published updated data on alternative fuels and vehicles through 2011. The analysis addresses several alternative transportation fuels, including E85, hydrogen, electricity, natural gas …
(EV-olution.org) President Obama’s FY 2014 budget proposal submitted to Congress provides $28.4 billion in discretionary funds for the Department of Energy, an 8% increase above the 2012 enacted level. Among the direct transportation-related highlights of the department’s …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Eager to understand the bio investor impact from the EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook – but not crazy about reading 46 pages of dense text and graphics?
Our 3-Minute Guide can help.
…We …
by Justin Loiseau (Motley Fool) Alternative and replacement fuels are making moves, according to the most recent data released by the Energy Information Administration on Monday. From 2007 to 2011, traditional fuel use dropped 7.8% to 171 …
Advanced Biofuels USA, co-hosting with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, invites you to be a supporter of Biomass 2013: How the Advanced Bioindustry is Reshaping American Energy. This year’s conference will be held July …
(Farm Futures) National Corn Growers Association says more stringent emissions standards create a place for ethanol’s higher octane levels to shine
…The tier 3 standards increase the level of stringency with which vehicle emissions are regulated …
by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) CME Group Inc. (CME), owner of the world’s largest futures exchange, plans to start a contract for ethanol Renewable Identification Numbers by the end of May amid concern that higher RINs …
by Ben Goad (The Hill E2Wire) A key industry group is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ratchet back this year’s volume requirements for biofuel production, arguing the proposed standards are unrealistic.
In formal comments submitted Monday, …
by Charles Abbott (Reuters) The White House will decide in coming weeks whether to attempt to blunt low prices in the U.S. sugar market by buying hundreds of thousands of tons of surplus sugar and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …You’ve probably seen it, in some way, for years — a local pond seems suddenly crowded with algae — or there’s news of a “red tide” blooming at sea — …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA has proposed Tier 3 emission standards for cars and gasoline. The new goals for lower sulfur content got the attention in the first days after …
(American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers/PR Newswire) The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) filed formal comments detailing the problems and harmful consequences caused by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule Regulation of Fuels and Fuel …
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today (April 5, 2013) responded to the questions posed by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce in a white paper entitled, “Examining ‘Blend …
by Andrew Childers (Bloomberg BNA) The Environmental Protection Agency will voluntarily reconsider the cellulosic ethanol blending requirement for 2011, the agency told a federal appellate court in an April 3 motion (American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers v. …
(US Department of Agriculture/Federal Register) This Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) announces the acceptance of applications under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for Fiscal Year 2013 for financial assistance as follows: grants, guaranteed …
(Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute/PR NewsWire) The $100K ACC Clean Energy Challenge, a business plan competition supported by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) encouraging students from universities in the southeastern United …
(Virginia Tech News) A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting applications for federal REAP funds to help gasoline retailers install blender pumps designed to give consumers flexibility and choice in …
(Department of Energy) The U.S. Department of Energy today announced it would fund its three Bioenergy Research Centers for an additional five-year period, subject to continued congressional appropriations. The three Centers—including the BioEnergy Research Center …
by Brandon Howell (MLive) Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin will continue their partnered research of advanced biofuels thanks to $125 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) We go through the renewable fuels math — and find that the nattering nabobs of negativism might have crowed too soon.
…Lately, the nattering nabobs appear to have landed at the …
by Diana Johnsen (KCAUTV.com) …The Jackson Express Gas station in Jackson, Nebraska has what are called ethanol “blender pumps”, which allows drivers to customize how much ethanol goes into their fuel.
And the more ethanol, the …
by Bob Dinneen (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Renewable Fuels Association) As Congress and the country debate the renewable fuel standard (RFS), Big Oil and Big Food are flooding the zone with bought-and-paid-for “studies” seeking to discredit American …
by Amy Harder (National Journal) As policy makers in Washington DC and across the country confront the costly consequences of mandating renewable fuels, some have suggested a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) as an alternative. …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A numbers of readers responding to “Biofuels from a raging fireball” (Friday’s Top Story, on research work with the raging fireball, Pyrococchus furiosus, to make biofuels and renewable chemicals from …
by Lynn Yarris (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) When blessed with a resource in overwhelming abundance it’s generally a good idea to make valuable use of that resource. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant organic material …
(Associated Press/Quad Cities Times) U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack signed an agreement Friday with DuPont that will help establish guidelines for how the company will collect corn-plant residue for a new ethanol plant in central …
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Jeffrey David Gunselman, 30, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 188 months in federal prison, fined $175,000 and ordered to pay more than $54.9 million in …
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Based on extensive input from auto manufacturers, refiners, and states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed sensible standards for cars and gasoline that will significantly reduce harmful pollution, prevent …
