Articles in Policy
by William C. Holmberg (Physicians for Social Responsibility) Asthma, $16 billion. Premature births, $26 billion. All cancers, $227 billion. Autism, $126 billion. Heart disease, $272 billion. Obesity, incl. Type 2 diabetes, $190 billion. These are …
(Environmental Protection Agency) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a proposed rulemaking for modifications to the Renewable Fuel Standard program, E15 misfueling mitigation regulations, ultra low
sulfur diesel survey requirements as well as other technical …
by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/Biofuels Digest) …Renewable chemicals offer cost-competitiveness with petrochemicals or new properties and features that add value to innovative consumer products. In that way, they’ve captured some market share and created …
by James Stafford (OilPrice.com) … Mark Thoma is a macroeconomist and time-series econometrician at the University of Oregon. His research focuses on how monetary policy affects the economy, and he has also worked on political …
(Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining) The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) has set a general binding target for the European Union to derive 20% of its final energy and 10% of its transport fuels from renewable sources …
by Sandra I. Erwin (National Defense Magazine) …Although the Pentagon consumes just 1.5 percent of the nation’s fuel, biofuel investors and green-energy advocates have looked upon the military as a catalyst for a massive expansion of …
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 Enos Shumba, et al (World Wildlife Fund for Nature) The bio-fuel debate has largely focused on large feedstock plantations that produce products for the export market. It has not acknowledged and seriously considered the …
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 an exclusive Digest interview, Shell’s VP for Alternative Energy, Matthew Tipper, reveals the company’s thinking about RFS2, their increasing re-focus on North America and the EU. Plus, Shell’s ambition …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Canada, around 200 delegates from 44 countries are meeting in Montréal today, in a meet-up organized by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), to explore: the commercialization of aviation …
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 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 …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Oil refiners have been waging a well-funded war on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which requires oil companies to reduce the carbon pollution from gasoline and diesel by 10 percent …
by Vicki Ekstrom (Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change/Renewable Energy World) …Their study, recently released in Geophysical Research Letters, found that land-use changes caused by a major ramp-up in biofuel crops — enough …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) has launched an Advanced Energy Legislation (AEL) Tracker, a database tracking energy-related state legislation pending in all 50 states. Types of energy include solar, …
by William La Jeunesse (Fox News) …”We just feel that it is not safe for the consumer. It’s not safe for their engines,” said Charles Drevna, executive president of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
…
“Look, this is …
(EurActiv)
Leaders of the EU and their partners in the G8 nations are under mounting pressure to reconsider their support for biofuel targets amid concern that plant oil production competes with food output in poor countries.
Britain, …
(E2B) According to the Department of Transport, between 15 April 2012 and 14 January 2013, 965 million litres of renewable fuel were supplied, of which 66 per cent have so proven to be sustainable. 18 per …
(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 …
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 …
(Algae Industry Magazine) The National Algae Association’s (NAA) Algae Farming Workshop, held in the Houston, Texas, area on April 11-12, focused on NAA’s battle cry of getting algae production out of research and development and …
(25 x ’25) With global demand for food, feed, fiber and energy on the rise, the need for critical ecosystem services like flood control, water filtration, biodiversity and carbon sequestration is even greater. The development …
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 …
(Tallahassee.com) Having spent some time on the ground in Tallahassee and talking with several legislators over the past few years, it is clear the ethanol program the state has developed is not understood and certainly …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The University of California-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies has published a new status review of the state’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). The review is the second in a …
(EurActiv) …This conflict is not one between green ambitions and trade rules – it is a conflict between trade rules and a biofuels policy aiming to favour domestically produced biofuels at the expense of foreign …
(Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper) The Government of Canada is committed to investing in innovative clean energy technologies that create high-quality jobs, generate new economic opportunities and protect the environment.
To this end, on May …
by Mark Green (The Energy Collective) …What we see is that despite an aggressive push with promotions and massive state investment, the state has gone from recorded E85 sales of just under 18 million gallons in …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, penned the following letter in response to a recent Palm Beach Post ethanol editorial.
Some say “where there is smoke, there is …
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 …
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 Janet Kubat Willette (Post Bulletin) It all started last fall when Dan Brandt called his fuel supplier to see if he could get a higher blend of biodiesel delivered in the spring.
His supplier told him …
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 …
(European Geosciences Union) …Attention has now turned to second generation biofuels, produced from non-edible sources such as wood or waste plant residual like straw. In the next decade, these biofuels are expected to replace three …
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 …
(EnergyDigital) In the ethanol fuel market, the US takes the lead. Pilot and demonstration plants to commence in late 2013.
Ethanol is the most widely acclaimed alternative or additive for gasoline used for running vehicles, and …
by Yuthana Praiwan (Bangkok Post) After several years of consideration, Shell Co of Thailand eventually decided to jump into the gasohol E20 fray, as it foresees a steady rise in local demand.
Shell officially began selling …
by Amy R. Remo (Philippine Daily Inquirer) The Department of Energy is set to issue a circular that will require the blending of 10-percent ethanol in all gasoline products. In the same order, the energy …
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 Jessica Shankleman (BusinessGreen.com) …Three campaign groups, backed by 12 organisations in the timber, paper and furniture industries, yesterday warned that a surge in demand for wood as a result of renewable electricity subsidies …
by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) …“The only thing that worries me is the gasoline demand category,” said Jason Ward, an analyst at Northstar Commodity Investments Inc. in Minneapolis. “It’s key because if you start fading on gasoline demand, …
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 …
(25 x ’25) …It is interesting to see the advances in renewable energy being made in, of all places, nations with the largest oil reserves in the world. According to a recent report from Ernst …
(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 Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)
Last week the biofuel industry took a hit when Florida voted to repeal its Renewable Fuel Standard, HB4001, that required fuel retailers to blend ethanol into their gasoline. The charge against ethanol was led …
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 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. …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Tim Engstrom reports in Gannett’s news-press.com that a bill to repeal Florida’s Renewable Fuel Standard passed in the current legislative session and sent to Gov. Rick Scott for signing is putting Algenol’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 …
by Joe Jobe (The Wall Street Journal/National Biodiesel Board) It is not true that all renewable fuels are the same and that advanced biofuels aren’t being produced on a commercial scale (“An Ethanol Spring,” Review & …
by Kent Peppler (Denver Post) …But predictions of more off-the-charts wildfires this summer are a reminder of how fragile it all is and how much we have to lose. Renewable fuels can help us protect …
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 Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) If RFS detractors get their way, biodiesel may become a casualty of the war against ethanol. It’s up to all of us to make sure this doesn’t happen
In editorials and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Germany, the EU funded research project on bio-based product standards, (Knowledge Based Bio-based Products’ Pre-Standardization (KBBPPS), held a workshop in Cologne to inform stakeholders about the project’s objectives and …
by Eva Murray (Bangor Daily News) …Rep. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, has been heading up an effort in the Maine Legislature to revisit ethanol and to encourage fuel suppliers to make a non-ethanol product available to …
by Bruce Dale (The Hill/Michigan State University) The oil industry hopes to protect its control over America’s fuel supply by undermining renewable fuels. By confusing us with misleading claims and outright falsehoods, oil companies hope …
by Michael Thede (Kearney Hub) Letter to Editor: Recent efforts by several members of Congress to dismantle the federal Renewable Fuel Standard are a direct attack on a domestic biofuels program that generates enormous benefits …
(Asociación de Productores de Energías Renovables Biocarburantes – Spain; Associação Portuguesa de Produtores de Biocombustíveis – Portugal; Krajowa Izba Biopaliw – Poland; Renewable Energy Association – United Kingdom; Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie – Germany) We support the current target …
by by Francis X. Johnson (Public Service Europe) Policies should focus on long-term approaches to a sustainable biofuels market development, rather than short-term reactive approaches
Europe’s relationship with biofuels has been marked by dramatic turns. Biofuels for …
(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 …
By Paul Brown (Climate News Network/ClimateCentral.org) Fossil fuel subsidies provided by both rich and poor countries to keep their citizens happy are holding back the world economy, accelerating climate change and damaging the health of …
(25 x ’25) …But the growth in new, clean energy is only just beginning, driven in large part by the energy programs first enacted in the 2002 Farm Bill and renewed again in 2008. Now …
(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.” …
(Environmental Research Web) …It referred to a report by North Energy Associates (NEA) and Forestry Research (FR) produced for DECC, which tried to answer the question: ‘Is it better to leave wood in the forest …
by Nicole Lederer (Huffington Post) … One thing I’ve noticed over the years: The changing face of the clean energy industry. Increasingly, clean energy business leaders come from rural areas. They are farmers. They are community …
(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 …
(NorthEscambia.com) Sen. Greg Evers is applauding the passage of his bill that allows Florida consumers to choose gas that is ethanol free.
…The bill passage prompted a joint statement from a joint statement, Bob Dinneen, President …
by Clifford Krauss (The New York Times) …Possibly profound changes are taking shape right now. Newly mandated corporate average fuel economy standards are expected to double the number of miles that the average car travels …
(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 …
by Robert Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …Member states, however, are faced with the reality of an economic crisis and cannot think of any good reason to kill investments and opportunities for more investments in agriculture.
Maybe …
by Tom Buis (Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The industry has matured and is operating freely without any federal subsidies.
Yet, 100 years later, Big Oil refuses to give up its excessive tax subsidies.
The petroleum industry continues …
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) Apparently tired of false claims that biodiesel takes from the food supply, biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group has put out a whitepaper that actually shows how the green fuel is helping …
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 …
by Alonso Soto and Reese Ewing (Reuters) * Brazil cuts PIS/Cofins tax, extends credit for ethanol
* Ethanol industry says measures do not go far enough
* Measures will help industry’s margins, competitiveness
Brazil’s government threw its sugar-ethanol …
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) Pending legislation in Minnesota could alter the state’s ethanol mandate, allowing for the use biofuels under than ethanol to meet the current 10 percent renewable content requirement for gasoline.
…
Current bill text posted …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) … (Robert) Murphy simply regurgitates Big Oil’s false argument that the RFS is driving up fuel costs. There’s not a shred of evidence to support that notion, but that’s never …
by Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register) The battle between U.S. ethanol producers and oil companies has reached a turning point, with the winners poised to gain an advantage over the future of the country’s energy …
(EurActiv.com)
A European Parliament report into the EU’s proposals for addressing the problem of indirect land use change (ILUC) in its biofuels policy will propose today (17 April) the application of unique ‘factors’ to account for …
(Argus Media) Biodiesel trade terms are becoming increasingly complicated as buyers and sellers haggle over sustainability clauses, payments terms and water content.
Much of the wrangling has appeared over Fame 0 biodiesel compliant with the EU …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Belgium, PANGEA (Partners for Euro-African Green Energy) launched an update to its report “Who’s Fooling Whom? The Real Drivers Behind the 2010/11 Food Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
The report demonstrates …
(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 …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Confusion remains over how to interpret and compare various estimates of renewable identification number (RIN) availability, said Nick Paulson, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), an operator of global markets and clearing house, has announced the introduction of new North American environmental futures contracts for three categories of renewable energy numbers (RINs), …
(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 …
Food production and distribution are dependent on energy, and some say renewable forms of energy make food production more sustainable in the long run. In this webinar, part of a National Biodiesel Board webinar series, we’ll …
by Ken Root (High Plains Midwest Ag Journal) …But there were sectors of agriculture that saw a dramatic change in the cost of their feedstock and began to align with each other and any other …
by RP Siegel (TriplePundit) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad appeared together recently defending the Renewable Fuel Standard from recent attacks from people like Robert Bradley Jr. who writes for Forbes. Bradley, an adjunct scholar …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) If the editorial writers of the Wall Street Journal consider themselves students of mine, “An Ethanol Spring,” (April 17), I am saddened to report to you that you’ve failed. …
by Pavel Molchanov (Raymond James and Associates/Biofuels Digest) …There is no question that there have been growing pains along the way, more than we would have hoped, but the industry continues along its trajectory towards scale. We …
by Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register) A meaningful change to the country’s renewable fuel mandate would drastically curtail the market opportunity for a cellulosic ethanol plant being built in Emmetsburg by ethanol producer Poet and …
by Ayesha Rascoe (Reuters) * Wyden says committee will explore ethanol mandate
* Energy committee to look at gasoline prices this Spring
* Lawmakers introduced bill ending corn ethanol targets
The chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural …
