(US Department of Energy)  On July 31–August 1, 2013, the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Advanced Biofuels USA will co-host the Office’s sixth annual conference, Biomass 2013: How the Advanced Bioindustry is Reshaping American Energy, at …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  DoD goes forward, after internal wrangle, with advanced biofuels program via $16M phase 1 investment.
With industry cost share, project totals $33M: aims for sub-$4, drop-in military biofuels.
In Washington, the DoD …

by Matthew Landau (Aquatic Biosystems) In 2010, Qatar University initiated an algal biofuel project funded by Qatar Airways, and Qatar Science and Technology Park with a 3-year budget of USD 12 million. Completion of the first …

(Green Car Congress)  The California Energy Commission unanimously adopted the 2013-2014 Investment Plan Update to support the development and use of green vehicles and alternative fuels. The update sets funding priorities for the approximately $100 million in …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 39 group recently published a report that outlines progress on more than 100 advanced biofuel projects under development worldwide. The report, titled “Status …

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 …

(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 …

(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 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 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 …

(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 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 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 …

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 …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  The Biofuels Center of North Carolina recently awarded $684,058 for six projects to accelerate the renewable fuels industry in western North Carolina. Awards are made through the 2012-2013 targeted biofuels …

(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 Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Maryland, the “Monthly Energy Review” by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with data through December 31, 2012 is showing that renewable energy sources and natural gas expanded rapidly during the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Today in part II, we look at a new set of technologies coming along that are redefining our ideas about scale and cost.
… A barrier to long term deployment? The …

by David Glass (DGlassAssociates.com)  In two blog entries in 2010, I described the possible regulatory regimes that might affect the use of genetically modified microorganisms or plants in the production of biofuels or bio-based chemicals, …

(25 x ’25)  The ethanol industry has some good news to share. And it comes in an arena where the domestically produced biofuel has often been challenged – carbon sequestration and the life-cycle assessment of …

(National Academies of Science)  A new National Research Council report finds that by the year 2050, the U.S. may be able to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent for light-duty vehicles — cars …

(Home Grown Cereals Authority) An HGCA-led review of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions figures has reopened market opportunities in the biofuels supply chain potentially worth several million pounds each year. 
Revised GHG figures, supplied by HGCA, …

by Jim Snyder (Bloomberg)  People attending a Washington event this week may witness something almost unheard of in political circles: Republicans praising a clean-energy program supported by President Barack Obama.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy, …

(Internal Revenue Service)  The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-240) retroactively extends certain fuel tax credits that expired on Dec. 31, 2011. The retroactively extended fuel tax credits are the biodiesel mixture …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently published experimental statistics on the area of crops grown for bioenergy from 2008 through 2011. According to DEFRA, approximately …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In the new USDA long-term forecasts, rising global meat consumption stands out as a driver of rising food prices, exports.
…But you might ask yourself — in a world where you …

by Jim Lane (Biobased DIgest)  Bringing your biobased technology forward through the Valley of Death may require a bridge over troubled waters.  Here are partners worth knowing.
… Bioenergy commercialization is long, expensive and risky. Derisking …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  The Biofuels Center of North Carolina announced Monday, 4 February 2013, it will award up to $1.1 million for projects that address identified areas of critical need related to the …

by Mona-Maria Brinker & Roger Coombs (Waste Management World)  Rising prices, continued conflict in producing regions and the spectre of peak oil have highlighted uncertainties about the future of fossil transport fuels in Europe. Mona-Maria Brinker …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  Food prices rose just 1.8% in 2012, the second-lowest annual rate in the last 20 years, according to recently released consumer price index (CPI) data. The new data demonstrates …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Strong biofuels flight results, advances in algae, new commitments in venture capital and revived interest from the Canadian Navy.   Biofuels are off to a fast start in 2013 in …

by Mary Rosenthal (Biomass Magazine)  Just a few weeks ago, the National Research Council released its report on the sustainability of biofuels derived from algae, affirming the potential of our industry to meet global fuel …

by Erin Voegele  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …Overall, the reference case predicts that total primary energy consumption will grow by 7 percent, from 98 quadrillion Btu in 2011 to 104 quadrillion Btu in 2035. This is …

(US Department of Energy)  The Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) provides information, data, and tools to help fleets and other transportation decisions makers find ways to reduce petroleum consumption through the use of alternative and …

(International Energy Agency)  The 2012 edition of the World Energy Outlook was released on 12 November 2012. Drawing on the latest data and policy developments the report presents analytical insights into trends in energy markets …

by Steven Mufson  (The Washington Post)  Here’s a riddle: If Congress doesn’t want to raise income tax rates but wants to raise revenue, what can it do?
One answer: Pass a carbon tax.
A relatively moderate-sized carbon tax could …

by Brian Winter (Reuters/Chicago Tribune)  After years at each other’s throats, Brazil and the United States are working together to promote the use of ethanol in a collaboration that could revolutionize global markets and the makeup of …

by Todd Woody (Forbes Magazine)  …Funded with $85 million from Bill Gates and other investors – plus $104 million in government cash and loan guarantees – the world’s only commercial outdoor algal biorefinery went online this summer …

(US Department of Energy)  On August 1, the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration held a workshop with video conferencing.  Specifically, the Office of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Analysis conducted a workshop to explore …

(U.S. Energy Information Administration)  Biodiesel production data were reported for the first time in U.S. and regional petroleum supply and disposition balances as published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the Petroleum Supply Monthly(PSM) …

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 …

by Megan Sapp (Biofuels Digest)  In Kenya, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published its Global Renewables Status Report 2012, which showed that renewables accounted for almost half of the estimated 208 gigawatts (GW) of …

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 John Kemp (Reuters COLUMN)  Widespread use of alternative motor fuels has been hampered by lack of fuel distribution infrastructure, despite strongly favourable economics for alternatives to gasoline and diesel, and a range of financial …

(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 Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the Senate Agriculture Committee has approved $800 million in mandatory biofuels-related funding for the proposed energy title in the upcoming Farm Bill.
…Yesterday, Senators Kent Conrad of North Dakota …

(U.S. Federal Register)  The United States Department of Navy (DoN) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (DOT FAA), …

(Biofuels Digest)  In Virginia, the NSF is calling for proposals for biological and chemical technologies, with a deadline of June 19, 2012.  The proposals must deal with the potential for commercialization of the innovation and how …

(U.S. Geological Survey)  USGS scientists have developed a new method for mapping grasslands that demonstrate high potential for growing biofuel crops with relatively little energy input and environmental impact.
The pioneering investigation used remote sensing data …

(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center)  Students in Craig Kohn’s biotechnology classroom are on the hunt for biomass degraders. Scavenging for unique samples in piles of leaves or compost bins, they can use a simple filter …

(Biofuels Center of North Carolina)  The mission of the Biofuels Company Accelerator is to provide a place, intelligence, and connections to grow businesses, ideas, and relationships that contribute to the development of a biofuels industry …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the launch of a USDA energy website that will provide stakeholders fast and efficient access to USDA energy efficiency and renewable energy data. Today’s announcement builds …

by Emily Chad and Todd Taylor (Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine)  A veritable alphabet soup of government funding programs exist that can help you get your project off the ground. These programs include:
• USDA Biorefinery …

by Carol D. Leonnig and Joe Stephens (The WashingtonPost) The Obama administration has poured roughly $5 billion in taxpayer funds into the electric-car industry, offering incentives to manufacturers, their suppliers and even car buyers who might want …

by John Daly (OilPrice.com)  Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel …

by Bruce V. Bigelow (Xconomy)  …Jason Pyle:  …So soon, we will see the U.S. military as the leading customer for crude oil replacements. As pressure rises on the commercial airline industry (which uses most of …

(US Department of Agriculture)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year. Camelina is an oilseed crop …

by Brent Erickson (Biofuels Digest/BIO)  Federal loan guarantees may be scuttled after the Solyndra affair – but should the baby really be thrown out with the bathwater?
…But the programs’ untimely end may coincide with the …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A recent USDA report echoes what ethanol producers have said for years: distillers grains are a valuable addition to the nation’s feed supply and can be used to reduce …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The USDA Economic Research Service has released a 24-page report offering an overview of renewable identification numbers (RINs) and outlining how the RIN market works in relation to the …

(National Science Foundation)  A sustainable world is one in which human needs are met equitably without harm to the environment, and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.  Growing evidence for …

by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine)  The 2011 Southeast Biomass Conference & Tradeshow kicked off in Atlanta today. Nearly 325 professionals and 60 exhibitors are taking part in this year’s event, which has a strong regional …

(US Department of Energy)  Developer.nrel.gov empowers Web developers to use renewable energy data for Web and mobile applications
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory is home to a cornucopia of data on renewable energy, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The fact that the US government doubled-down, by allegedly subordinating the loan to investments by a pair of hedge funds, during a Solyndra financial reorganization, is going to cost Energy Secretary …

(US Department of Energy)  The Biomass Program released the “Land-Use Change and Bioenergy” summary report. This publication describes the Biomass Program’s efforts to examine the intersection of land-use change and bioenergy production. It outlines legislation …

(US Department of Energy)  With support from the Biomass Program, as well as other DOE programs, including the Vehicle Technologies, Fuel Cell Technologies, and Geothermal Technologies programs, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has completed and released …

by Philip Brasher (Gannett/Des Moines Register)   Developers of biofuels already have been struggling to attract private investment. Now they’ll have even fewer financing options with the sunsetting of the loan guarantee program that financed …

by Steven Mufson and Carol D. Leonnig    (The Washington Post)  …The Obama administration’s vaunted initiative to catalyze the U.S. clean-energy industry — under attack for betting half a billion dollars on the solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra, which closed …

(Southeast Agriculture and Forestry Energy Resources Alliance)  As you know, Congress is in the midst of negotiations regarding FY2012 appropriations for the Farm Bill. Of particular interest to SAFER is the proposed cuts to the …

(Sustainable Development Technology Canada)  If you have an innovative clean technology, we want to hear from you. That is the message Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) sent out today as it announced its 20th round …

by David Hughes (Post Carbon Institute)  This week the USGS released anew assessment of gas resources in the Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin. The report is a reasonable effort by the USGS to sort out some …

(CNN Money)  Among the many incentives pushing the military to use less oil, reducing the number of casualties it takes to protect vulnerable fuel convoys is one of the most important.
1 in 8 soldiers killed …

(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)  The ailing United States’ economy would receive a much needed boost with the commercial development of a domestic source of transportation fuel – especially if that fuel were to be clean, …

by Tiffany Stecker (ClimateWire/Scientific American)  A study looks into giving farmers permission to harvest cellulosic feedstocks on land set aside for wetlands and wildlife conservation
Growing cellulosic feedstocks on federally subsidized conservation land could balance the biofuels emissions …

(EurObserv’ER) …The EurObserv’ER Barometer regularly publishes indicators reflecting the current dynamics in renewable energies (solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass, biogas, biofuels) worldwide and within the European Union. In ‘The State of Renewable Energies in Europe’ two additional technologies have …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  As the Defense Department looks at its options to directly jump-start drop-in biofuels production at scale, we look at the Defense Production Act – the rationale, the process, the funding, …

by Yuliya Chernova   (Wall Street Journal)  The Department of Defense, an emerging market force in biofuels, is working on a new program to finance non-petroleum fuel production, in collaboration with the departments of energy and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership – ho-hum, you say, and I think I hear you yawning.
…“Invent here, make elsewhere” is a failed industrial policy, according to …

(US Department of Energy)  The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program will be conducting detailed biennial peer review meetings of its activities throughout the first half …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Projects Further Obama Administration’s Effort to Produce Clean Home-Grown Energy, Create Sustainable Rural Jobs
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the establishment of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas …

(US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee) The House Appropriations Committee today (May 23, 2011) released the subcommittee draft of the fiscal year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which will be marked up in the Agriculture Subcommittee …

by Jim Lane and Ben Lazarus (Biofuels Digest)  …To be an ideal location for bioenergy projects, a site must have an advantaged combination of feedstock, infrastructure for production and distribution. Access to local markets is …

by Jonathan Silver (US Department of Energy)  …One of the three types of loans or loan guarantees offered by our office – Section 1705 loan guarantees from the Recovery Act – will expire by statute …

Projects will help develop sustainable, renewable biofuels in the U.S.
As part of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive plan to address rising gas prices, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced …

by Mark Rosenzweig  (Sustainable Planet) …However, moving promising biofuels technology from the lab to demonstration scale often poses a significant financial as well as technical hurdle.
Now, though, developers can take advantage of an expanded government …

(Renewable Fuel Association)  The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today praised the legislation offered by a bipartisan group of senators, led …

by Ben Geman (The Hill/E2Wire)  Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is planning a committee vote before Memorial Day on legislation that would create a federal “Clean Energy Deployment Administration” to …

(US Department of Education)  The U.S. Department of Education announced today the creation of the Green Ribbon Schools program to recognize schools that are creating healthy and sustainable learning environments and teaching environmental literacy. The …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced research grants awarded to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products that will lead to the development of sustainable regional systems and help create jobs. …

(Western Farm Press)  A coalition of 34 U.S. governors from Washington to New York to Texas have called on U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to alter the way his department reports the use of corn …

by Gene L. Dodaro (Comptroller General of the United States/US Government Accountability Office)  …Domestic ethanol production: Congress supported domestic ethanol production through a $5.4 billion tax credit program in 2010 and through a renewable fuel standard that applies …

by Patrick Canning (US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service)  A new ERS food dollar series measures annual expenditures on domestically produced food by individuals living in the United States and provides a detailed answer …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The U.S. DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched a new interactive website meant to integrate a wide variety of data and resources related to bioenergy in an attempt …

by Tom Vilsack (USDA)  At President Obama’s direction, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working hard to unleash the power of America’s innovators and entrepreneurs to build a green energy economy.   By producing renewable energy – …

by Jonathan Silver (DOE/Biofuels Digest)  …After a year of unprecedented growth, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has emerged as one of the largest and most productive project finance organizations in the …

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced January 18, 2011, two grants that will create educational opportunities in math and science for students interested in bioenergy and bio-based products.
“Bioenergy and bio-based products hold …

(US Department of Energy)  …As part of the Department of Energy’s comprehensive strategy to support the production of advanced biofuels, Secretary Chu also announced the launch of a new online collaboration tool and data resource …

by Robert Pirog (Congressional Research Service)  …These proposals included repeal of the enhanced oil recovery and marginal well tax credits, repeal of the expensing of intangible drilling costs, repeal of the deduction for tertiary injectants, …

by John Funk  (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)  Americans who are upset about $3 gasoline won’t like the latest long-term projection from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Over the next 25 years, even as the nation’s thirst for …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced the Department is now accepting applications for up to $30 million in total funding for small-scale process integration projects that support the development of …