(The Maritime Executive)  Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187), which is currently providing logistical support for U.S. Pacific Fleet’s biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise off Hawaii, will deliver 900,000 gallons …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Can the harnessing of the powers of magnetism overcome cost challenges in algal biofuels?  Researchers across the globe pursue the answers.
…For the fossil molecule, its time within a living system …

(University of Wisconsin-Madison)  With the help of a $2 million grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research, mechanical engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will develop a tool to characterize the performance of a …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, a new study by the RAND Corporation says that the US military’s petroleum demand of 340,000 barrels per day, compared to global demand of 87 million barrels per …

by Jeremy Herb (The Hill/Defcon Hill)  A liberal-leaning national security group has a six-figure ad campaign attacking four Republicans, including potential vice presidential pick Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), …

By Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)  (Politico)  It’s disappointing that Congress may try to second-guess the Pentagon’s attempts to tackle one big problem: our dependence on foreign oil.
Without changes to …

by Tim Bryant   (STLToday.com)   The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is among five recipients of a $12.1 million federal grant to develop drought-tolerant grass as a sustainable source of biofuel.
Developing bioenergy grasses with …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  Six biofuel industry organizations have jointly petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers …

(The Bioenergy Site)  US-based Protabit, an off-shoot from the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research grant (phase one) for engineering cellulose enzymes.
The computational protein software platform designers will use …

by Zack Coleman (The Hill/E2Wire)  The biofuels industry is at loggerheads with House Republicans, who are eyeing its funding for elimination in the farm bill.
Biomass and biofuels groups warn that the loss of $800 million …

by Zack Coleman  (The Hill/E2Wire)  Congress “needs to get beyond short-sightism” that is stunting investment in and handcuffing Defense Department use of biofuels, a senior White House energy official said Wednesday at a conference in …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Out of 430 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) awards announced by the USDA June 25, four were for blender pumps or flex fuel pumps. In all, projects in …

Thomas Content (Journal Sentinel)  C5-6 Technologies of Middleton and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center in Madison are celebrating a milestone – the awarding of the first patent from the center’s next-generation biofuels research.
The patent …

(The Business Journal)   EdeniQ, a biofuels technology company based in Visalia, received a $3.9 million grant from the California Energy Commission to help in its efforts of researching the commercial potential of cellulosic ethanol.
The …

by Nick McCrea  (Bangor Daily News)  A research and technology hub that one day could help wean the United States off foreign oil opened Monday in a former paper products shipping bay on the grounds …

by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com)  Getting out the facts about ethanol is what the Renewable Fuels Association is all about. That’s why the RFA is partnering with car-talk host Bobby Likis to extend their ethanol educational …

by Pat Curtis  (RadioIowa)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today (June 15, 2012) gave final approval to retailers to sell gasoline containing up to 15-percent ethanol. However, it may be a while before motorists see …

by Ciindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  The Environmental Protection Agency has given its approval for the first retailers to sell 15% ethanol blended fuel.
…EPA announced today (June 15, 2012) the approval of the first Misfueling Mitigation Plans (MMPs) for …

by Timothy B. Wheeler (The Baltimore Sun)  Biodiesel producers told a congressional panel Wednesday that they’re struggling to stay afloat in the aftermath of fraud cases uncovered in Baltimore and Texas, and a spokesman for petroleum …

(The Hill/E2Wire)Five rural energy programs will end while others will be slimmed down if a draft version of the 2012 farm bill released Thursday becomes law.
The cuts, made by leaders of the House Agriculture Committee, will total …

By Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Blue Sugars Corp., formerly KL Energy Corp., can lay claim to a first in the world of cellulosic ethanol technology developers. “It was surprising to us when EPA confirmed [we …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Key proteins have been identified in a family of bacteria that help the microbes grab onto pieces of plant material in order to better degrade it. This was discovered …

(Solazyme)   Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, announced today the successful commissioning of its first fully integrated biorefinery (IBR) in Peoria, Illinois, to produce algal oil. Solazyme has been running routine fermentations at …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Of all the microbes we know – and, basically, the human body is a boutique hotel for hosting them, with researchers now estimating that for every human cell in a …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A coalition of agriculture and bioenergy groups, led by the 25x’25 organization, filed late comments with the U.S. EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on June 28 to draw attention …

(Federal Aviation Administration)  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is committed to developing a fiscally responsible action plan to meet the agency’s goal of making an unleaded fuel available for most of the general aviation fleet …

(TheBioEnergySite.com)  The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has joined forces with jet engine producer General Electric (GE) Aviation, in addition to the Ohio Aerospace Institute, air carriers and producer groups, to produce renewable jet fuel …

by Mark Harden (BizJournals.com/Denver Business Journal)  The U.S. Air Force has flown the first successful test flight using a type of biofuel provided by Colorado’s Gevo Inc.
The single-seat, twin-engine Air Force A-10 Thunder Bolt jet …

by Mauricio Espinoza (Ohio State University/North Texas d-News) Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) will play a key role in the engineering of a novel plant-based fuel, funded by a $5.7 million grant …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Myriant closes first bio-based chemicals loan under USDA’s Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program.  Industry’s first private bond placement under innovative structure developed to finance advanced industrial scale-up; Q1 2013 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The Obama Administration has laid out an integrated strategy for commercializing advanced biofuels, with a focus in this phase on military advanced biofuels at cost-competitive prices with conventional fuels.
The vehicle …

(CSP Daily News)  Would eliminate EPA mandates for use of biofuels that do not yet exist
Representative Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has introduced the Phantom Fuel Reform Act (H.R. 6047) to reform an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   The latest look at long-term projections by the U.S. DOE’s Energy Information Administration shows E85 use growing to a 37 percent share of domestic ethanol production by 2035. The …

by Galrahn (Information Dissemination)  With the Great Green Fleet putting to sea for the upcoming RIMPAC 2012 exercise, and more specifically now that the USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T AO 187) has 900,000 of super expensive …

by Ann E. Marimow (The Washington Post)  A Maryland man was convicted Monday of selling phony bio­diesel credits in a fraud case that has raised concerns about oversight of a renewable fuels program run by the Environmental …

(GreenAirOnline)  A longstanding fight between a coalition of four US environmental groups and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks set to continue after the EPA ruled out any short-term decision on whether greenhouse gas …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has selected for funding 450 projects nationwide, including 31 in North Carolina, that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The nearly $10 million awarded by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency to three energy crop project areas on June 13 will be the only funding distributed through the Biomass …

by Susanne Retka Schill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The latest chapter is near closure on the butanol patent dispute between Gevo Inc. and Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC. In an opinion filed June 19, U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson denied Butamax’s …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Yet, even in an era where venture capital has been harder to come by (Why? See these 42 article links under the rubric, “The VC Model is Broken” ) — some great …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  n Washington, the DOE released details of a long-awaited funding opportunity announcement for advanced biofuels for aviation and military applications, titled “Innovative Pilot and demonstration-scale production of advanced biofuels.”
According to …

by Doug Esser (Seattle Times)  The Coast Guard’s Everett-based buoy tender, Henry Blake, completed its first biofuel-propelled voyage Thursday. The Coast Guard is partnering with the Navy in research of algae-based biofuels for ships, a …

by Andrew Holland (Consumer Energy Report)  The RAND corporation recently released a report “Promoting International Energy Security” for the U.S. Air Force that, for the most part, contained the conventional wisdom about oil prices and …

(AutomotiveDiscovery)   While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially approved E15 biofuel for retailers to start selling, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute disagrees and calls E15 “dangerous” and sites that it could “destroy or damage …

by Chris Guy (US Department of Agriculture)  …ARS scientists say that barley leftovers such as straw, hulls, and dried distiller grains (DDGS) can be used to produce an energy-rich product called bio-oil. Bio-oil offers several …

(FarmProgress.com)  Ag interest groups filed comments with the National Highway Traffic Safety Council and others Thursday calling for increased incentives for biofuel use.
A coalition of agricultural interest groups says proposed new corporate average fuel economy …

(Observer-Dispatch)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $4.3 million to ReEnergy and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry to encourage growth of shrub willow as a renewable energy fuel, according to a news …

by Barrie Barber (Stars and Stripes/Dayton Daily News)  A top British envoy says the U.S. and the U.K. could collaborate more on the development and use of biofuels in the military to boost both nations’ …

Each year at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR) hydrogen, fuel cell and advanced vehicle technologies projects funded …

by Ron Kotrba  (Biodiesel Magazine)  An agreement has been struck between Genscape Inc. and Lee Enterprises Consulting to merge Lee Enterprises’ renewable identification number (RIN) verification program, RIN 9000, into Genscape’s trademarked RIN Integrity Network.
Supported …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In California, the California Energy Commission approved funding of $23,110,015 for projects that will advance the development of green fuels, and the installation of fueling stations.  The awards are provided …

by Max Frankel (ThinkProgress)   …But in the world of science, researchers around the world are working on some very innovative ways to produce gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from more sustainable feedstocks.
Here’s a look …

by Margaret Ryan (AOLEnergy)  Biofuels could be a “game changer” for both military and commercial aviation, says Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Terry Yonkers, because they’re proving to have advantages over petroleum-based jet fuels that go beyond …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Section 9011 of the Farm Bill – the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – USDA deploys $9.6M in new investments in bioenergy crops as questions revolve around the program’s future and …

(Chemtex International/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Chemtex International announced today (June 13, 2012) that it has been selected by the USDA to participate in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. The $3,996,000 award will support establishing and growing over 4,000 acres …

by Feoshia Henderson  (SoapboxMedia)  Fueled by a US EPA grant, University of Cincinnati faculty and students are leading an effort to transform cooking grease into biodiesel on a regional scale.
This project is a collaboration among UC, the …

(Amyris)  Amyris to develop improved DNA assembly and integration across biological platforms
Amyris, Inc. announced today (June 12, 2012)  it has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) …

by Emery P. Dalesio  (The Republic/AP)  An Italian company’s Wilmington-based subsidiary is geared up to build a factory that can convert grassy plants into fuel for cars and trucks amid Sampson County’s hog and turkey …

(Algae Industry Magazine)  The Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the U.S. Department of Transportation has released its analysis of a test conducted with algae-based biofuel on one of its large commercial-size vessels. This research used marine …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Terrabon CEO Gary Luce says the biofuels industry must rethink the Renewable Fuel Standard, to create the stability for capital formation and prevail over a coalition of wealthy, entrenched opponents.
…As …

by Meg Cichon (Renewable Energy World)  As a proposed ban on military investment and use of biofuels inches closer to fruition in Washington, several groups are speaking out against the bill.

Pentagon Budget Bill, H.R. 4310, …

by Greg Martin (AgInfo.net)  …DINEEN: The RFS is under attack in Washington today. I don’t see for a moment that it will be unraveled this year but they will continue to fight next year and …

(Association of Energy Services Professionals)  In launching MyEnergyGateway.org today (May 8, 2012), the AESP Foundation said the site will provide extensive information on the available training programs, degrees and certifications that focus on energy efficiency, sustainability, green …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In-field bioprocessing? Dramatically higher plant oil production? R&D breakthroughs offer new paths to victory for Millers vs Drillers.
If you haven’t been getting most of your information on the Renewable Fuel …

(Brookhaven National Laboratory)  Findings suggest ways to increase oil production for biofuels and industrial processes
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified key elements in the biochemical mechanism plants use to …

by Hugh R. Morley and Linh Tat   (NorthJersey.com)   FBI and local law enforcement officers raided a Montvale home and a Park Ridge building that houses several renewable energy companies Thursday in connection with a probe into fraud in the …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   American Ethanol’s partnership with NASCAR has extended with an official sponsorship of two upcoming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. The American Ethanol 200 will be held July 14 …

by Sara Sorcher (National Journal)  Nearly two-thirds of National Journal’s National Security Insiders agree with the military’s push for renewable energy, siding with the Obama administration over some Republicans in Congress who have charged that the …

by Mateusz Perkowski   (Capital Press)  The USDA has decide to again fully deregulate genetically engineered sugar beets that are resistant to glyphosate herbicides.
The agency has found that the crop doesn’t pose a plant pest risk …

Managing the Military’s Energy Needs with Tomorrow’s Power Sources Concept Technologies and Platforms
The Defense Department is projected to spend close to $4 billion in its utility bill and $25 billion in fuel costs this year; …

by Jill Sakai and Renee Meiller (University of Wisconsin-Madison)  A young generation of researchers are seeking biofuels in some unlikely sounding places: toxic algae blooms and cow stomachs.
Two University of Wisconsin-Madison professors are drawing on …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  The Biomass Program has recently developed Critical Technology Goals (CTG) related to a) converting biomass into processable sugars or other fractionation products and b) upgrading those processable sugars or biomass fractions …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Most of the stories we write at the Digest on the subject of biofuels feedstocks fall into the well-established realms of normal. But every once in  a while, a feedstock …

(Pacific Business News)  The University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources will receive a $6 million federal grant to continue its work to convert grass and other biomass into biofuel.
The college will …

by Brent Erickson (BIO/Biofuels Digest)  Ten years ago, Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law a Farm Bill that, for the first time, embraced the vital role American farmers, foresters and rural …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The U.S. EPA officially denied the petroleum industry’s request to retroactively waive the 2011 cellulosic biofuel volume requirements under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) on May 22, noting that …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Novozymes, a global biotech company, first considered building its newly built enzyme production plant in China but eventually zeroed in on the U.S. One big deciding factor was the …

by David Rogers (Politico)  …At issue are government-backed premium discounts designed to make the insurance more affordable to farmers. While not truly cash subsidies, the costs have soared in recent years and fit neatly into …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, staff members working for least eight US Senators will join a study group aimed at a “seed-to-wheel examination of the US Renewable Fuel Standard,” the Digest has learned.
The …

by Nate Brown (Federal Aviation Administration)  Power Point presentation with graphics illustrating the steps for new aviation fuel approval, graphic descriptions of anticipated aviation fuels (and progress of various pathways along the process).  Includes alcohol …

by Jen Alic (OilPrice.com)  The US Defense Department consumes more energy than any other department or sector in the country, spending around $20 billion annually by some estimates; but ambitious plans to make it the …

(CSP Daily News)  Installs ethanol blender pumps across southcentral Wisconsin
United Cooperative has been selected to receive a $448,500 Rural Energy for America Program grant to assist with the installation of 36 ethanol flex-fuel blender pumps …

(Pork Network)  With recent increased attention by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the use of antibiotics in livestock production, industry experts are turning their attention to potential non-farm sources of antibiotic residues. Could distillers’ dried …

(UPI)  …Now scientists led by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have discovered how certain bacteria can tolerate those man-made toxic chemicals used in making biofuels.
“Discovering microbes naturally tolerant to salty liquids and understanding …

by Simone Sebastian (FuelFix)  Increasing domestic production of oil won’t significantly boost energy security in the United States, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO advocated policies that reduce demand for oil, such as …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  USDA released its first estimate of the 2012 corn crop–and it is a big one.  According to today’s USDA projections, record U.S. corn production of 14.79 billion bushels is …

by Christopher Doering  (Des Moines Register)  The U.S. Energy Department said on Tuesday (May 8, 2012) it will make $5 million available in 2012 to expand the use of alternative fuel vehicles, including electric models.
The Energy …

by Blair Fannin (Texas AgriLife Research/Algae Industry Magazine)  Texas AgriLife Research scientist, Dr. Tryon Wickersham, and graduate student, Merritt Drewery, have been conducting feeding trials of algae leftover products (after oil extraction, in powdered form) …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What’s up? What’s next? New pathways, plus country-by-country yield data.
Sorghum. It’s a feedstock right out the pages of the old South –  sorghum syrup served with corn bread and Lowcountry …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In Washington, heartbreak came early in the season when the Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to nix the purchase of aviation biofuels, should they cost more than conventional fossil …

(MASBI)  Regional Initiative with National Reach Working to Achieve Energy Security
United Airlines, Boeing, Honeywell’s UOP, the Chicago Department of Aviation and the Clean Energy Trust today announced the formation of the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels …

by Robert Rapier (Consumer Energy Report)   A reader recently called my attention to a new and very interesting presentation from the Department of Energy’s Biomass Program:
Biofuels Design Cases
The presentation explored the question of whether …

by Fred Kaplan (Slate)  …The rationale for barring the Navy from buying the 450,000 gallons of biofuels necessary for the experiment is economic: These fuels are too expensive—about four times more costly than conventional fuels.
To …

As Capitol Hill works to identify smarter investments in clean energy fuels, the Better Fuels Moment takes a closer look at the robust and effective partnership advanced biofuels has with America’s Armed Services, building better …

(Beaver Dam Daily Citizen)  United Cooperative was selected to receive a $448,500 Rural Energy for America Program grant to assist with the installation of 36 ethanol flex-fuel blender pumps and seven biodiesel dispensers at 11 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) New tests conducted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have revealed that US warplanes are capable of flying faster and carry more payload on missions, when flying with synthetic fuels, including …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What engines failed, and when and why. Was this test designed to fail?
In Washington, the Coordinating Research Council, a non-profit research organization supported by the American Petroleum Institute and a …

(BusinessWire)  The Advanced Biofuels Association, the Algal Biomass Organization, Airlines for America, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Growth Energy, and the Pew Charitable Trusts today expressed disappointment that the Senate Armed …

(US Department of Agriculture)  On June 23, 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a strategic biofuels production report, “A USDA Regional Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) by …

by Troy Hooper  (The Colorado Independent)  …House Republicans passed a pair of provisions Friday that would stymie the military’s efforts to incorporate more renewable fuels into its supplies. The defense authorization bill now heads for …