(MarketWire)  An article in F1000 Biology Reports (http://f1000.com/reports/biology) published today (May 2, 2012) argues that recent advances in knowledge mean that plant-derived biofuels could meet about 30% of the global demand for liquid transportation fuels, …

(Wall Street Journal/Governors Biofuels Coalition)  Top European Union policy makers will next week be faced with one of Europe’s most controversial climate policies, as they consider whether biofuels do more harm than good when it …

by Kris Bevill (Ehtanol Producer Magazine)  A recently published article in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Royal Society Interface suggests that in order for life cycle analyses (LCA) of biomass-based products such as biofuels to be most …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Sugar prices are booming, good news for producers in Brazil, India and elsewhere, but in Brazil it has created, shall we say, a certain reluctance to maximize ethanol production.
Part of …

by Robert Vierhout   (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …In my opinion, the delay in putting a bill on the table is caused by the fact that the ILUC ‘science’ is simply not conclusive. A study by the …

by Charlie Dunmore and Ivana Sekularac (Reuters)  The European Union will almost certainly not meet their targets for cutting emissions of fuels in the transportation sector if policymakers act on the basis of scientific warnings …

(EurActiv)  The European Commission has asked airlines to report on “the amount of biomass” they use so that biofuels can be accounted as “zero emission” in the greenhouse gas emissions reports they are requested to …

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe)  There is mounting concern that increasing biofuels production is having significant biodiversity impacts. A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimated that achieving the EU target would lead to a global …

By Alessandro Torello (Wall Street Journal)  …But this plant, with a capacity of 800,000 metric tons a year, and others built by different companies around Europe face a new challenge: a possible shift in EU …

by Susanne Retka Schill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Looking for a middle ground where environmentalists and ethanol advocates could meet, the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released a paper by Julia Olmstead reflecting on the lessons learned …

(EurActiv)  Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed are higher than those for fossil fuels when the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) are counted, according to leaked EU …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  California’s low carbon fuel standard is a hot topic at this week’s California Biodiesel & Renewable Diesel Conference in San Francisco. During a panel titled “California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard …

by Bob Dineen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine)   …The scientific community has better data, improved modeling tools, and a better appreciation of the uncertainty and complexity involved in ILUC analysis. But, above all, they …

by Nathanael Green (Energy Now/Natural Resources Defense Council)  …Our dependence on oil hurts our economy, helps our adversaries and puts our security at risk. Each day we send over $1 billion overseas for oil, often …

(BiofuelsChat.com)  An in-depth analysis of U.S. land use patterns released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows total cropland decreased by 34 million acres from 2002 to 2007, the lowest level since USDA began …

by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association)  There’s a hot new craze called the “Ethanol Shuffle” that’s sweeping seaports from Sao Paulo to Los Angeles. No, it’s not a new dance, this shuffle is all about …

by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE)  In various circles, the current thinking on indirect land use change (ILUC) is very much driven by negative perceptions. In the EU, the concern is that biofuel policy is …

by Achten, W. M. J., and L. V. Verchot (Ecology and Society)  Biofuels are receiving growing negative attention. Direct and/or indirect land-use changes that result from their cultivation can cause emissions due to carbon losses in …

(Transport & Environment)  Biofuels produced from palm oil grown in tropical peatlands are a significant source of greenhouse gases. This is the finding of a new study done for the International Council on Clean Transportation …

by John C.K. Daly (http://oilprice.com)   Greening the European Union has suffered a setback.
The European Biodiesel Board is reporting that the European Union biodiesel industry production forecasts are noting a 2011 decrease in output, the first …

by Robert Vierhout (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ePURE)  …Even if that extra demand would not exist, why would European politicians want to increase idled land, knowing that year-on-year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the …

by Guariguata, M.R.; Masera, O.R.; Johnson, F.X.; von Maltitz, G.; Bird, N.; Tella, P.; Martínez-Bravo, R  (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Bogor, Indonesia)  With the rapid growth of biofuel production and consumption and the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …ILUC mitigation practices identified by Ernst & Young include the development of advanced generation biofuels, improvements to crop yields on existing agricultural land, the use of co-products for animal feed …

by Charlie Dunmore   (Reuters)  European bioethanol producers have broken ranks and urged EU policymakers to introduce rules on the indirect climate impacts of biofuels that distinguish between “good and bad biofuel pathways,” Reuters has …

(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe News)  Deployment of innovative biofuels technologies, possible, but requires strong political commitment, say European biofuels stakeholders. The annual meeting of European biofuels stakeholders stressed that advanced biofuels technologies are now available and called …

by Charlie Dunmore  (Reuters)  The European Union’s top climate and energy officials have agreed to delay by up to seven years rules that would penalize individual biofuels for their indirect climate impacts, details of the dealshowed.
The …

by Maggie Koerth-Baker (BoingBoing)  …In a nutshell, that’s why liquid fuel is so valuable. So far, it’s the clear winner when we need energy for transportation—especially air transportation and heavy, long-distance shipping—because it allows you …

(Argus Media)  Europe’s biodiesel producers have commissioned an independent review of a policy document on biodiesel’s indirect effects on land use change, which the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) maintains has skewed the European Commission’s thinking …

by Julia Olmstead (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Traveling together to Brazil, Americans representing a range of perspectives on ethanol and environmentalism attempt to forge a shared path toward ethanol sustainability
…The divisiveness of the indirect land use …

(PR NewsWire/– Prior studies failed to compare land use predictions to historical data
A new study published in the July 2011 Biomass and Bioenergy Journal on indirect land use change (ILUC) due to biofuels production indicates that the …

(European Commission)  Brussels, 19 July 2011 – Biofuels can represent an environmentally-friendly replacement of fossil fuels. However, we need to make sure that tropical forests and carbon rich peatlands are not turned into oil palm …

by Charlie Dunmore  (Reuters)  The EU will protect existing investment in its $13 billion biodiesel sector even as it acts on new evidence that suggests making the fuel from food crops can do more harm …

by Charlie Dunmore  (Reuters)  Europe’s biodiesel industry could be wiped out by EU plans to tackle the unwanted side effects of biofuel production, after studies showed few climate benefits, four papers obtained by Reuters show.
Europe’s …

by Chuck Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  …(A)t the 2011 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop, the 2011 Award of Excellence was presented to Dr. Bruce Dale, Michigan State University, by BBI International VP, Tom Bryan.
Dale, professor of chemical engineering …

(E-Energy Market/European Voice)  Biofuel from palm oil, soybean and rapeseed produces more greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuel, once the environmental side-effects of its production are taken into account, an impact assessment prepared by the European …

(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 …

by Sarah Pilgrim and Mark Harvey  (Sociological Research Online)  In this paper, we argue that a consortium of NGOs has played a significant role in shaping the market for, and restricting the use of, biofuels …

by Jerry Hagstrom  (AgWeek)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told a gathering of international agricultural development activists recently that U.S. biofuels should not blamed for most of the increases in food prices in recent years. “With …

by Kevin Bullis  (MIT’s Technology Review)  A new study fuels the debate over the impact of growing crops for fuel.
Greenhouse-gas emissions from biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, may be lower than many researchers have …

by Robert Kozak  (Advanced Biofuels USA)  The UK Committee on Climate Change, an “independent statutory body which was established under the Climate Change Act (2008),” recently published their recommendations on future renewable energy in the …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  In a new study released today (May 16, 2011) by Michigan State University (MSU), biofuel production in the United States through 2007, “probably has not induced any indirect land use change.” The …

Russell W. Stratton, Hsin Min Wong, and James I. Hileman  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)   The presence of variability in life cycle analysis (LCA) is inherent due to both inexact LCA procedures and variation of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  An interview with James Garton, president of Mission Biofuels USA subsidiary. We look at the jatropha 1.0 catastrophe, actual biodiesel capacity in the US, palm biodiesel, the RFS, and more.
…The …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Over the past 12 months, it has become hard to count the number of advanced biofuels companies that are setting up partnerships, or exploring them, in Brazil – but it …

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  This was one of the best weeks yet in the Asian biofuels industry. China decided to promote 2G biofuels production and reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 45 …

by Yeh, Sonia, Sarah Jordaan, Adam Brandt, Merritt R. Turetsky, Sabrina Spatari, David W. Keith  (Institute of Transportation Studies/University of California-Davis)   Debates surrounding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land use of biofuels production …

(Milken Institute Global Conference)  With oil prices spiking and concern over climate change growing, biofuels hold tremendous appeal. But they must overcome considerable hurdles. Further process and technology refinements are needed to ensure that biofuels …

by Pete Harrison  (Reuters)  A divisive European debate over the green credentials of biofuels has stalled investment and threatens the future of some producers, but could also create lucrative opportunities, companies said on Tuesday.
After a …

by Heather Thorstensen  (AgriNews.com)  Four Minnesota farmers were part of a group that traveled to Brazil in March to learn more about indirect land use change, a divisive issue surrounding biofuels.
The Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and …

(Industrial Fuels and Power)  A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the widespread deployment of biofuels can play an important role in reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector and enhancing …