Articles in Policy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) was a cold Wednesday afternoon in January when the news came through that a consortium called the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts had received a $44 million grant …
· Fuels Focus Day! Take part in this series of workshops to enhance your knowledge about a particular area of defense that is receiving a lot of attention
· Representation from all branches of the services …
(New Energy Focus) The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (the Council of Europe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats), has adopted a new recommendation for biofuels.
The recommendation, which is legally …
(ETA) The environmental impact of clearing forests to make way for biofuel crops is such that using fossil fuel in cars is better for the environment than biofuels made from crops such as palm oil.
Under …
by Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson (Washington Post) Three key senators are engaged in a radical behind-the-scenes overhaul of climate legislation, preparing to jettison the broad “cap-and-trade” approach that has defined the legislative debate for …
by Naureen S. Malik (Dow Jones Newswires) Makers of cellulosic ethanol warn that ambitious U.S. government goals to significantly boost production of the technologically advanced fuel over the next 12 years won’t be met without …
by Clayton McMartin(Clean Fuels Clearinghouse) To say the RFS2 rule is complex would be a huge understatement. In reality this rule is much more complex than RFS1. Recognizing this, and the fact that thousands of companies …
Joelle Dent (Biofuels Digest) In India, the state oil companies were discovered to have systematically defied the government’s biofuel blending mandates with the help of paid insiders in the oil ministry. As a result the government …
(Advanced Biofuels USA) Contemplating the continued inability of the US to meet the biofuels and advanced biofuels production and sales expectations codified in the Renewable Fuels Standard, the Advanced Biofuels USA board passed a resolution …
(Advanced Biofuels USA) Since the provisions of the RFS were written into the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 without a realistic funding provision, RFS and RFS2 are, as a practical matter, “Sense …
by James Kanter (New York Times) A European lobbying group weighed in Tuesday on a fierce debate over the environmental value of using algae to produce biofuels for vehicles.
The group, the European Algae Biomass Association, …
by Mark (Corn Commentary) …The next issue can already be seen on the horizon and it can be seen clearly because it is not a “new” criticism. It is called the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax …
In response to a paper published by two Cornell University professors – a paper that is critical of the Environmental Protection Agency’s calculations that grain ethanol emits far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional gasoline …
A recent EPA announcement that corn-based ethanol achieves a 21 percent greenhouse gas reduction compared to gasoline is based on false accounting assumptions and could actually lead to more fossil fuel consumption, according to Cornell …
(DTN Ethanol Center) President Barack Obama will continue championing biofuels as a job creator, said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack when he spoke to members of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition on Monday. Vilsack is hopeful …
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) …Although biodiesel has many positive attributes, it is not immune from the criticisms leveled at first-generation ethanol, specifically the “food vs. fuel” debate. Biodiesel production uses at least 10% of the …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) At least one ethanol industry representative has been appointed to an expert work group attempting to assess the true carbon footprint of all fuel sources under the California’s proposed Low Carbon …
(Environment News Service) The risk that biofuel crops will become invasive and outcompete native species is increasing as more advanced biofuel crops are planted, according to new research into this previously neglected but potentially costly …
Our industry produced a record 10.6 billion gallons of ethanol in 2009. Efficiency enhancements and innovations in production combined with improved farming techniques allowed us to achieve this record with existing corn acreage and reduced …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …(S)aid Sarah Dunham of the EPA, the EPA received real data during the comment period that helped shape the rule, including indirect land use change (ILUC). “I can safely …
by Lisa Hare (Yankton Press & Dakotan) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent final ruling on the national Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was met with mixed responses by farm state politicians and organizational leaders.
“This is …
(NASC Online) General Motors Co. is asking for more U.S. ethanol stations to help fuel its growing fleet of hybrid vehicles, Reuters reports. The car maker is producing more vehicles able to run on ethanol-gasoline …
by Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) The brains trust of the Pentagon says it is just months away from producing a jet fuel from algae for the same cost as its fossil-fuel equivalent.
The claim, which comes …
(New York Times) letters to editor Re “Sensible Rules for Ethanol” (editorial, Feb. 11): While American corn farmers are pleased the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that corn ethanol offers significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared …
by Douglas Fischer (Scientific American) The Obama administration last week gave the green light to corn ethanol as a low-carbon renewable fuel – in apparent contradiction to California’s declaration last summer that the biofuel’s carbon …
by Tom Humphrey (Knoxnews.com) A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by the American Petroleum Institute that sought to invalidate North Carolina’s “ethanol blending” statute, which is similar to a 2009 law passed by the …
(OPIS) The New York Times is praising U.S. EPA for including the international indirect land use change (ILUC) calculation in its lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction threshold as part of the finalized expanded renewable fuels standard …
by James Kanter(New York Times)…In a memorandum, Jean-Luc Demarty, the top civil servant in the agriculture department at the European Commission, wrote to a colleague in December that “an unguided use of I.L.U.C. would kill …
by Charles Zusman (NJ.com) Boating interests are on guard against a move by the ethanol industry to increase the ethanol content of gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent, an action they fear might be …
By Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The expected EPA approval of E15 later this year will be only the beginning. In order to bring E15 to market, the ethanol industry needs to support petroleum marketers …
by Brian Baskin (SugarcaneBlog.com, Dow Jones) U.S. ethanol producers are facing their toughest fight yet to keep long-standing trade protections intact. Producers of ethanol, which in the U.S. is usually distilled from corn and then …
Editorial (The Washington Post) … Is there no alternative between simple do-nothingism and House complexity? In fact, there is. An alternative proposal increasingly capturing interest on Capitol Hill is the CLEAR Act, sponsored by Sens. …
David M. Lapola, Ruediger Schaldach, Joseph Alcamo, Alberte Bondeau, Jennifer Koch, Christina Koelking, and Joerg A. Priess (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Abstract: The planned expansion of biofuel plantations in Brazil could potentially …
by C. Boyden Gray (Washington Times) Little noticed outside a small policy community, an issue has quietly arisen in recent years that, while seemingly technical, has the potential to derail the nation’s attempts to address …
by Paul Bollinger (The DOD Energy Blog) It appears that the Obama Administration is close to formally announcing a nominee for the Department of Defense (DOD) Director of Operational Energy Plans and Programs. The Director …
(edmunds.com) Oil refiners and truckers have sued California to overturn the state’s low-carbon fuel standard. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges that the LCFS violates the …
The study “2nd Generation Biofuels and Trade“ explores the potential supply and demand of 2nd generation biofuels up until 2030, and discusses various impacts on biofuel trade, ranging from cost advantages over shipping capacities and …
by Vivek Wadhwa (TechCrunch.com and The Washington Post) …China, in particular, is making massive investments and has a huge advantage from focused policy and large markets. Even though China is not likely to produce its …
by James Bruggers (Courier-Journal.com) Kentucky should join 27 other states that have adopted laws requiring that at least some electricity be generated from renewable energy sources, a governor’s task force recommends. The task force also …
by Catherine Saillant (Los Angeles Times) Members of the Southern California Assn. of Governments reject $11 million in federal stimulus money to set up 55 stations throughout the Southland. They say ethanol causes environmental problems. …
by Rhett A. Butler (Mongabay.com) The European Union may be planning to classify oil palm plantations as forests, raising fears among environmental groups of expanded conversion of tropical rainforests for biofuel production, reports the EUobserver, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the Biotechnology Industry Organization followed up on a shift in US biofuels policy with a call for four new steps it said would increase the pace of biofuels …
Jim Lane and Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest) In Texas, Biofuels Digest columnist Will Thurmond, covering the National Biodiesel Conference, reports that “EPA’s half-baked, not ready for prime time beta version of RFS2 report to NBB …
President Obama announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a proposed rule for the new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that intends to spur the expansion of dedicated non-food crops for renewable energy and …
by Heather Zichal (White House Blog) … The President’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group released its first report – Growing America’s Fuel, which lays out a strategy to advance the development and commercialization of a sustainable …
(Biofuels Digest) Roundup of reaction to the new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) and related announcements. Included are: Nathanael Greene, NRDC’s director of renewable energy policy; Bob Dineen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association; Joe Jobe, …
Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest) California, a long-time pioneer in the area of environmental law and policy, is now the target of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of its recently adopted Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), …
Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest) In 1973 the world experienced the first major supply shock from OPEC, leading to petrol shortages, and a sustained period of economic stagnation, and rampant inflation. As a response, US President …
Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (MN) issued the following statement on Renewable Fuel Standard regulations announced by the Obama Administration today.
“Typical of most decisions made in Washington, there is some good and some bad …
President Barack Obama announced a series of steps his Administration is taking as part of its comprehensive strategy to enhance American energy independence while building a foundation for a new clean energy economy, and its …
