Advanced Biofuels are high-energy liquid transportation fuels derived from: low nutrient input/high per acre yield crops; agricultural or forestry waste; or other sustainable biomass feedstocks including algae. The key word is “sustainable.”
A technical definition that …
Political news and views from Capitol Hill.
Conferences and Events List in Addition to Coming Events Carousel (above)
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 Bill Chameides (The Green Grok/Duke University) …As a libation, ethanol’s been around for a long, long time. As a fuel, it dates back to 1826 when it was first used in an internal combustion engine. …
by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) There is enough land available to produce more food, more feed and more biofuels, which are not the cause of global malnutrition problems, according to the World Bioenergy Association.
WBA makes …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine/MarketWire) Below is breakdown of the latest, sourced information as to why investment in biodiesel is a sound decision written by Ron Kotrba, Editor of Biodiesel Magazine.
1. Jump in on a growing …
(Algae Industry Magazine) Founded in 2009 by Pierre Calleja, Fermentalg is a French-based industrial biotechnology company specializing in the bio-production of chemical compounds from microalgae, for use in everyday products. Its patented technologies allow the …
( SCS Global Services/PR NewsWire) SCS Global Services has announced the expansion of its biofuel certification services in Southeast Asia. The veteran third-party environmental certification body will now conduct audits under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) …
(U.S. Department of Energy) Supplying high-quality feedstock for use in a broad range of sustainable conversion processes to produce advanced biofuels is a complex, multi-step process. Each step in the feedstock supply and logistics chain—from …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On March 27 the European Commission published its first Renewable Energy Progress Report under the Renewable Energy Directive, showing that the EU as a whole is on its trajectory …
(Sustainable Development Technology Canada) Between research and commercialization lie the critical stages of development and demonstration: the points at which technologies leave the laboratory and undergo conclusive real-world testing.
Traditionally, development and demonstration have suffered from …
by Beth Evans (Platts) Ratings agency Moody’s expects US refiners to increase investments in renewables blending and infrastructure if federal renewables targets are not lowered.
“In the absence of any EPA waivers to meeting the renewable …
by Mario Parker (Bloomberg) A surge in the value of Renewable Identification Numbers for ethanol compliance isn’t one of the reasons for higher gasoline retail prices, the Renewable Fuels Association said, citing a study by …
With speculation swirling around EPA rulemaking on quality assurance programs, EcoEngineers has announced that it is offering a free webinar for renewable fuel producers to offer clear direction for successfully implementing policies currently in process.
The …
On July 31–August 1, 2013, US Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and Advanced Biofuels USA will co-host the sixth annual biomass conference, Biomass 2013: How the Advanced Bioindustry is Reshaping American Energy, at the …
On Thursday, April 25, 2013, from 10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. EST, Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will talk about the latest joint efforts between the Department of Energy and the U.S. Navy to use biopower and …
On April 15, 2013, from 1–2:15 p.m. ET, Dr. “Gnana” S. Gnanakaran—of Los Alamos National Laboratory—will present a webinar on his team’s molecular research on lignocellulosic biomass. Lignocellulose is a promising carbon-neutral source of energy …
(European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy and Transport) In the current European energy policy framework, biogenic CO2 emissions from combustion of forest biomass used for energy and transport purposes are set to zero.
Biomass …
by Tendai Mugabe (AllAfrica.com) Green Fuel resumed operations at its ethanol plant here yesterday, raising prospects that the country could soon start the mandatory blending of fuel that has been on the cards for sometime.
There …
(Bangkok Post) Oil giant aims to prove quality of green fuel.
PTT Plc, the national oil conglomerate, will hold a field trial of B7 biodiesel on public buses in Bangkok starting next month, with commercial sales …
by Carrie Napoleon (Post-Tribune/Chicago Sun-Times) The deal to transfer ownership of the long-delayed trash-to-ethanol plant in Schneider has been scrapped.
SMC LLC, the local construction consortium established to purchase the technology rights and contract for …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …As can be seen in the research by Perrine, Negi, and Sayre — a more optimal light distribution strategy is available to algae but they don’t take it, because they …
by Howard Schneider (The Washington Post) Government subsidies of gasoline, electricity and other energy sources amount to about $1.9 trillion a year and should be ended or offset with taxes used to battle climate change and pay …
by Brad Plumer (The Washington Post) What’s the simplest way to tackle global warming? Make sure that fossil fuels are priced properly and not subsidized.
That’s the core idea behind a large new report (pdf) from the International Monetary …
Every three years, ICAO organizes a major environmental event to share information on the latest developments in the area of aviation and environment with its Members States and other key stakeholders. The purpose of these …
The only event to be jointly organised in cooperation with the leading industry associations: ACI, CANSO, IATA and ICCAIA.
The aviation industry has joined forces like no other industry to work on common programmes to reduce …
(GreenAirOnline) The aviation industry regards market-based measures (MBMs) as a temporary fix in achieving the carbon-neutral growth (CNG) goal from 2020 onwards until the benefits of new technology and operational advances, together with the uptake …
(GreenAirOnline) A team of NASA researchers has begun a programme of flight tests that will compare the environmental impacts from emissions and contrails of a blended fuel containing 50 per cent biofuel against those from …
(GreenAirOnline) A group of 32 leading US economists, including eight Nobel Prize winners, have written an open letter to President Obama urging him to advance proposals at ICAO for a global market-based measure that would …
(Algae Biomass Organization) The Algae Biomass Organization is pleased to announce that it is offering a minimum of seven $500 travel grant scholarships to attend the 7th Annual Algae Biomass Summit in Orlando, FL, USA, …
(Lund University) …The ash is what is left when rubbish has been burnt in thermal power stations. A researcher from Lund University in Sweden has now developed a technique to use the ash to produce …
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) …And some, such as the folks at Algae.Tec, are looking to green shipping containers to grow a literal green feedstock.
“What we wanted was a significant bulk outcome, in other words fuels and …
by Jim McMahon (Biodiesel Digest) Since 2008, the San Diego Center for Algal Biotechnology (SD-CAB) has been conducting research into algal applications for biofuel. This has been a joint collaboration between several departments of the …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) For biodiesel fans in the Washington, D.C., area, American University is the place to be April 2 as the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition co-hosts an engagement highlighting American …
by Solrun Dregelid (University of Bergen) The marine animal tunicate can be used both as biofuel and fish food, according to prize-winning research at UiB and Uni Research.
On the ocean floor, under the pier, and …
(BioNitrogen) BioNitrogen Corporation, a cleantech company that utilizes proprietary technology to build environmentally-friendly plants that convert biomass into urea fertilizer, announced today that it has signed an agreement with the Battle River Agri-Ventures Co-op in …
(HoosierAgToday) For the second year in a row the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has created an ‘infographic’ promoting the benefits of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Entitled “An American Success Story,” the new infographic …
(U. S. Department of Energy) As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to revitalizing America’s manufacturing sector, today the Energy Department launched the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI), a new Department initiative focused on growing American manufacturing …
by James Hataway (University of Georgia) Excess carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere created by the widespread burning of fossil fuels is the major driving force of global climate change, and researchers the world over …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ARPA-E aims to drive liquid fuel production from abundant, affordable methane — and sees biobased technology as the path forward.
In Washington, ARPA-E released its long-awaited funding opportunity announcement for Project …
by David Shephardson (Detroit News) Major automakers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to approve a higher blend of ethanol for vehicles from 2001 and newer.
The …
(Center for Climate and Security) The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAS, recently released a set of recommendations for President Obama on addressing climate change. The top-line recommendations include:
Focus on national preparedness for climate …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) A bill has been introduced in the Florida legislature that would repeal the state’s Renewable Fuel Standard Act.
Currently, the Florida law requires that all gasoline sold or offered for sale by a terminal …
by Chris Hanson (Biomass Magazine) Southern Research Institute won a $925,000 energy award from the U.S. DOE to develop a mild liquefaction process to convert biomass to petroleum refinery-ready bio-oils.
“We hope the project will advance …
(Platts) Prices for 2012 and 2013 US ethanol renewable credits, also known as RINs, on Monday fell to their lowest levels in March on slowing demand from obligated parties, sources said.
On Monday, 2012 and 2013 …
by Brooke Coleman (National Journal/Advanced Ethanol Council) First, let’s assess what we know to be true …
RFS2 is just five years old. We are about one-third of the way through a 15-year commitment to diversify …
(EurActiv) Several European ministers are blocking the EU’s proposal to curb the use of conventional biofuels, while some dispute claims the demand for crop-based oils drives deforestation and food insecurity in other parts of the …
by Gregg Hennigan (The Gazette) Estimates indicate plan could reduce landfill waste by up to 80 percent
Iowa City is moving forward with exploring a project that could divert solid waste from the landfill for use in …
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, …
(Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) Teacher-collaborators will field test a 3-credit, online, graduate-level course designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge and practice related to energy concepts. The course is titled Energy: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Teachers (EMAT). Teacher-collaborators and …
(Great Lakes BioEnergy Research Center) In this board game, players take on the role of bioenergy crop farmers trying to earn a living while being good environmental stewards. In the process, players explore the economic …
(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) Institute dates: June 24-29, 2013 Application dealdine: March 31, 2013,
In this one-week summer program, teams of educators core areas of GLBRC research, get hands-on experience with our education materials, and …
by Ron Lamberty (American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) …The subhead of the article was “The U.S. will be the world’s leading energy producer, if we allow it.” That was a remarkably incomplete description. A more …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …“Ethanol’s value proposition, as a very cost-effective molecule in the motor gasoline pool, has proven itself over time, and we’re very confident of that in the future,” says …
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The world will be capable of meeting its needs for food, fuel and fiber in 40 years, according to a paper from the Council for Agricultural Science and …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have sent a letter to U.S. EPA administrator nominee Gina McCarthy, asking her to outline “how she will protect American citizens …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A new report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyzed wind and bioenergy resources in the U.S. and Brazil using a lifetime production method, allowing for more accurate comparisons …
(Clean Fuels Development Coalition) Background: The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later modified through the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The RFS requires that …
Dr. Mike Strain (Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry/25 x ’25) … However, many do not realize that Louisiana’s strong agriculture and forestry industries have also primed us to be a national leader in new …
(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 …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) In the heart of Wisconsin, a project is underway to produce energy from a resource that is in little danger of running low: cow manure, or “brown gold.” Thanks to a …
(Associated Press/Washington Post) Amid the vast almond orchards and grape fields that surround Five Points in California’s Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappeared from the state’s farms is making a comeback: sugar …
by Dana Blankenhorn (TheStreet) These are desperate times for Big Oil. Fracking (which involves shooting water and sand into a wellhead, at high pressure, fracturing the surrounding rock) brings enormous profits, but anyone can frack. The …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) There’s a fight for the future of American motor fuels – renewable fuels versus fossil fuels. Environmentalists shouldn’t have much trouble deciding which side they’re on.
After all, the major …
(CNBC) …there’s fierce debate that ethanol requirements may be driving up gas prices. from the investor perspective, is there real opportunity inethanol, or is ethanol maybe the enemy? here to debate, retired four star general wesley clark with a big bet on ethanol …
by Thomas H. Clarke (The Daily Chronic) A bill that would establish a two-year hemp pilot program in Hawaii passed a second reading with amendments on the floor of the Senate last week, and has …
(Science Codex) Rapidly growing trees like poplars and willows are candidate “biofuel crops” from which it is expected that cellulosic ethanol and higher energy content fuels can be efficiently extracted. Domesticating these as crops requires …
by Jessica Nelson (Auburn University) Maobing Tu, an assistant professor in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, has received a $401,155 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award for his research in biofuels …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The first wave of cellulosic biofuels projects are now reaching completion. But what does the next wave look like – from technology to financing? We explore the trends in our …
by Peter Brown (Biodiesel Magazine/ Euro Marketing Tools) Biodiesel, ethanol and livestock production, wind turbines and photovoltaic installments situated in close proximity make energy—and economic—sense
The concept is that if alternate forms of energy can be produced …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) When Pacific Biodiesel Technologies’ Big Island Biodiesel refinery came online last year, it was marketed as a state-of-the-art, zero-waste plant. The facility, scaled at 16,000 gallons a day, was Hawaii’s …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) A sit-down with Dave Elsenbast, vice president of supply chain management for Renewable Energy Group Inc. For more than 25 years, Dave Elsenbast has been a leader in agricultural business …
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comments from stakeholders on the EPA’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standards for 2013. The proposed final standards would require the blending of more domestic …
(Ship & Bunker) A.P. Møller-Maersk (Maersk) says it is working with partners on two projects designed to develop biomass-based marine fuels.
Both projects involve work on an organic polymer called lignin found in plants, which is …
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) In regard to your recent editorial (“Bloated biofuels,” March 20), you don’t need Bill Gates’ IQ to really understand what is going on with the so-called “ethanol blend wall” …
(Platts) A third key congressional committee has entered the debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard, calling for comment on a series of questions and issuing a “white paper” detailing concerns about the biofuels mandate and …
by Jon LeSage (AutoBlogGreen) Ethanol advocates are continuing to throw down the gauntlet with Big Oil. Jabs have been thrown through satire and blogging – now the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is throwing a hook by going after ConocoPhillips, …
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Gasoline prices remain stuck above $3.50 per gallon despite the highest monthly domestic oil production in 21 years.
Big Oil and renewable fuels advocates on Wednesday blamed each other for …
by Steve Tarter (Journal Star) …But Ron Miller, the former CEO of Aventine Renewable Energy, the Pekin-based ethanol supplier, and now an industry consultant, said that the past year wasn’t unique.
“No doubt 2012 was a …
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) …Still, all this rhetoric from Big Oil about the economic impacts of RINs and the so-called “blend wall” got us thinking about a simple question: If oil refiners and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Although no commercial-scale cellulosic biofuels facilities are operating in the United States at present, at least ten projects exceeding 20 million gallons per year are expected to begin operations by …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week in Washington, it has been one for the record books, emailwise and biofuelswise. Reams and reams of emails attest to the seriousness of the stakes — as NGOs, …
by Scott Irwin and Darrel Good (University of Illinois/FarmDocDaily) …The suggestion to waive the mandate assumes that ethanol production and blending is motivated only by the RFS and that a lower mandate would result in less …
by Amy Harder (National Journal) …Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., released the first in a series of white papers on Wednesday seeking input on how—or whether—Congress should …
by Zack Coleman (The Hill E2Wire) An amendment to a $984 billion Senate government funding bill that would have stripped funds from the Defense Department’s drop-in biofuels program failed by a 40-59 vote on Wednesday.
Sen. …
by Leah Small (Progress-Index) The future of the Appomattox Bio Energy Plant is ripe with uncertainties and unexpected turns after Future Fuels LLP of Great Britain agreed to buy the facility for an unknown sum …
by Brooke Hasch (ConnectTriStates.com) … If only for a few hours, Roger Law’s Service Station provided ethanol, or E-85, for just 85 cents a gallon. Customers could fill up to 10 gallons worth that amount.
E-85 …
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Major oil companies called on Congress Wednesday to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard, the six-year-old federal law mandating biofuels use that is the base of demand for both ethanol …
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. ethanol industry is responding to the oil industry’s latest attack on the renewable fuel standard (RFS). On March 20, the American Petroleum Institute released the results of …
(Canadian Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association has announced a new committee and classification of membership to advance next generation biofuels in Canada. The new committee and its members represent leaders …
(News Day) Acting President Joice Mujuru has assured villagers and other stakeholders that the closed Chisumbanje ethanol plant will be reopened next week.
…The ethanol plant has not been operating since last year owing to fighting …
by Alison Sider (Dow Jones Newswire/Lloyds) Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) said it will have to spend two or even three times as much as it did last year to comply with the federal ethanol blending …
(Biofuels Digest) In California, the state’s Energy Commission approved $5,580,773 for clean-energy transportation projects ranging from producing biofuels to making trucks run cleaner. Buster Biofuels, LLC, based in the San Diego area, will receive $2,641,723 to …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …To Gevo, Butamax we now attend,
And their legal record, we now amend.
The Federal judge overseeing the complex patent infringement litigation between Gevo and Butamax has issued a series of pre-trial …
by Katie Feherenbacher (Gigaom) Companies that are still looking to produce biofuels from plant waste (and not corn) are making slow, but steady progress on milestones in 2013.
On Monday, KiOR, which was largely funded by …
by Meg Cichon (Renewable Energy World) Happy birthday, Big Oil! A group gathered in Washington D.C. this week to celebrate 100 years of tax subsidies for the oil industry – but attendees certainly weren’t oil-industry insiders …
by Grant Gerlock (KBIA) Ethanol is an up and down industry, and right now it’s down. Ethanol plants in at least 13 states have stopped running over recent months because of higher corn prices and …
by Ian Branam (Scientific American) Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found that nearly 14 percent of land in the continental United States, or roughly the combined area of Texas and New Mexico, …
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Dave Sovereign from Cresco, Iowa has been busy. Last week he helped to convert the Fast Stop station he owns in his hometown to E15. Then he caught an airplane to …
Founded in 2006, Pilot International was the first private sector driven International Organization based in Uganda, whose purpose is to promote global sustainable development for the benefit of humanity and the planet. Since its foundation, …
Founded in 2006, Pilot International was the first private sector driven International Organization based in Uganda, whose purpose is to promote global sustainable development for the benefit of humanity and the planet. Since its foundation, …
