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 …

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 …

(Blacksea Grain)  Jim Peterson’s corn contains a magic ingredient: alpha amylase. This ethanol-fermenting enzyme arrives at the plant on the cob, along with the starch for brewing ethanol, as part of Syngenta Enogen corn hybrids.
Peterson …

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 Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register)  The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said the amount of biodiesel blended into diesel in Iowa has more than tripled from 7.4 million gallons in 2010 to 23.3 million gallons in …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Popke’s, Inc. in Rock Rapids, Iowa has joined the E15 “club” now joining four other stations in Iowa to sell the 15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gasoline fuel blend.
…Retailers interested in installing a …

(Associated Press/Quad Cities Times)  U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack signed an agreement Friday with DuPont that will help establish guidelines for how the company will collect corn-plant residue for a new ethanol plant in central …

(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 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)  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 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 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 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 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 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Is ConocoPhillips unlawfully attempting to limit competition in the fuels marketplace? We’ll find out soon.
In Florida, Biofuels Digest filed an antitrust violation complaint against ConocoPhillips with the US Department of …

by David Dreeszen  (Sioux City Journal)  …What makes it more valuable?
The variety, called Enogen, is genetically engineered to boost ethanol output and reduce energy costs and water use. The hybrid, developed by Syngenta, contains a …

(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … Fast Stop in Cresco, Iowa, is now offering E15 as a registered fuel, joining Kountry Korner in Baxter to be the second station to offer the fuel to 2001 …

by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register)  EcoEngineers tapped by EPA to help audit RFS compliance.
In a small office in the East Village of Des Moines, a handful of engineers and statisticians are hard at work …

By Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) In a recent webinar hosted by the American Council of Renewable Energy (ACORE), biofuel experts from Dupont, POET, Novazymes, and China’s Tsinghua University convened to discuss the next five …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Kountry Korner in Baxter, Iowa has become the third retail location in the state to offer E15 as a registered fuel. E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, has been approved by …

by Molly Craig (Iowa State Daily)  In the spring of 2012, Tyler Cain had an idea. A year later, his idea has grown into his passion project: the REV club.
REV stands for Renewable Energy Vehicle. …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  …Iowa is also the largest producer of corn-ethanol in the world with 41 plants producing between 3.5 and 4 billion gallons of fuel per year. This is enough fuel for the state to …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Wondering when affordable algae-based transportation fuels might arrive at your local retail outlet?   Might be sooner than you think. Here’s the lowdown.
…Further, we have to take into account that, …

(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has released an online version of an industry scrapbook that illustrates how far the renewable fuels industry has come and how profound its impact …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Bloomberg New Energy Finance has published a white paper outlining eight issues is has identified as being central to the biofuels industry in 2013. The report, titled “US biofuels …

by Ed Ulch (The Gazette)  … World Grain stated in its February issue that “Grain-based food companies had record stock performance in 2012.”
Big oil companies are touting high food prices to stir the public and …

by Katie Fehrenbacher (GigaOm)  The leader of the 210-year-old science giant DuPont, Ellen Kullman, sits down with GigaOM to give us her take on the future of energy for a world population that will boom …

by Bryan McBournie (SmartBlog on Leadership)  … DuPont Chairwoman and CEO Ellen Kullman said it is important to ensure that the world’s energy mix is diverse, sustainable and accessible, and adding partners is key to innovation. …

byDave Dreeszen  (SiouxCityJournal.com)  The Iowa Economic Development Authority board awarded financial aid packages Friday to two Northwest Iowa manufacturers planning to expand and add new jobs.
American Natural Processors, a specialty oilseed and grain processor in …

by Christopher K. Wright and Michael C. Wimberly (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)   In the US Corn Belt, a recent doubling in commodity prices has created incentives for landowners to convert grassland to …

(Associated Press/Omaha.com)  After decades of talk, the ethanol industry is building multimillion-dollar refineries in several states that will use corn plant residue, wood scraps and even garbage to produce the fuel additive.
The breakthrough comes at …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  … Biodiesel can be a good tool in a farm business but Alicia Clancy, Manager of Corporate Affairs for the Renewable Energy Group (REG) said that biodiesel can play a bigger role than …

(FlexFuelUS)  The Iowa Army National Guard is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the deployment of ethanol. More than half o f its 577
non-tactical vehicles a t Camp Dodge nowrunonE85thankstoaconcerted commitment to meet or …

by Mary Solecki (California Progress Report)  …And I think that is what’s at the heart of the biofuels movement: doing more with less. How can we deliver our energy needs from domestic sources and still deliver …

by Jeremy Martin and Jim Collins (Politico) The fuels of the future are here today, and we can thank Congress for enacting the Renewable Fuel Standard. This bedrock policy has brought us to the point where …

(PR NewsWire/Yahoo! News)  Top 5 States For Advanced Biofuel Companies: Calif., Ill., Colo., Texas and Iowa; New Web Site at www.FuelingGrowth.org Documents Impact of Growing Industry
California is home to nearly 30 advanced biofuel companies, but dozens of …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  The winners of the 3rd Annual High School Renewable Fuels Video Contest hail from Muscatine, Iowa and wow are they clever. Alli Burns, Ana Arzate and Sariah Garrido of Muscatine took …

(Iowas Renewable Fuels Association)  A group of Iowa businesses and organizations today congratulated President Obama on his Inauguration and announced the formation of the Iowa RFS Coalition.  In a letter to the President, also copied …

(Inside Indiana Business/POET)  Twenty-five of POET’s network of 27 biorefineries have now installed its patent-pending corn oil technology, bringing its total capacity to approximately 250,000 tons per year, enough feedstock to produce 68 million gallons …

by Robert Rapier (Consumer Energy Report) …DuPont is currently engaged in two major projects to commercialize advanced biofuels.
The first is a 30 million gallon per year corn stover-fed facility in Nevada, Iowa. DuPont  has been working on …

(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has announced that Fredericksburg Coop in Fredericksburg, Iowa now offers E15 as a registered fuel to 2001 and newer vehicles, joining Linn Coop Oil …

(Brownfield Ag News)  …Fredericksburg Coop in Fredericksburg becomes the second station to offer the blend of gasoline and 15 percent ethanol to owners of 2001 and newer vehicles.
…Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuels.com)  Based on gasoline sales data released today (December 28, 2012)  by the Iowa Department of Revenue, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) said that Iowa motorists could have saved $69 million …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A long war of opinion has been waged for years between advanced biofuels’ detractors and supporters.  Mirage or reality? Completion of 6 key projects 2012 decided much of the debate. …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Germany-based enzyme developer Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH has announced the successful scale-up of its BluZy-D and BluZy-P enzymes. Lab-scale and pilot-scale trials to test the effects of the technology …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association)  …E15 is now for sale in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.
…As if that weren’t enough, the fierce battle to protect the renewable fuel standard (RFS) is already underway. Fortunately, the …

by Monte Shaw (Des Moines Register)  …The issue of fueling choice is in the news again because the American Petroleum Institute recently called for the complete repeal of the renewable fuel standard, one of the …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  A research project conducted by several Iowa State University (ISU) researchers is studying the feasibility of growing algae in poultry houses. Poultry manure generates ammonia, a health and safety concern for both animals …

by Amy Mayer (KBIA.org)  Since the introduction of the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005, the EPA has had to radically reduce expectations. Today, there still isn’t a single commercial-scale plant producing cellulosic ethanol.
Several plants are being built …

(Renewable Fuels Association)  The Advanced Ethanol Council this morning released a report giving a snapshot of cellulosic ethanol producers in the U.S. and around the world. A look at facilities owned by companies such as …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  This could be you at your video premier of your biofuels campaign ad debuted during the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association’s 7th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and Trade Show being held on January …

by Andrew Herndon  (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World)  Cellulosic biofuel companies will boost production almost 20-fold in 2013 as the first high-volume refineries go into operation, signaling a shift from an experimental fuel into a commercially viable …

(US Department of Agriculture)    Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $10 million in research grants to spur production of bioenergy and biobased products that will lead to the development of sustainable regional systems and help …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Next-gen renewable oils producer achieves first linear scale-up to 500,000 liter fermenters — clears path for large commercial production volumes.
…To date, no next-generation producer had successfully achieved linear scale-up in …

by Tina Casey  (Clean Technica) DuPont is building one of the world’s largest cellulosic biofuel plants in Nevada, Iowa; and it’s going to take a lot of corn stover to keep this baby humming, to the tune of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … In Iowa, DuPont broke ground today on its $200 million, 30 million gallon cellulosic biofuels facility in Nevada, Iowa. Expected to be completed in mid-2014, the new facility produce cellulosic …

(Biofuels International)  …The South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Harms Oil Company, National Biodiesel Foundation and Clean Cities have partnered to expand the availability of biodiesel in southwestern …

by Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)  For years, scientists and engineers have been juggling various combinations of acids, steam, bacteria, catalysts and the digestive juices of microorganisms to convert agricultural waste and even household …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Since E15, a fuel blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, has been sold in Iowa, drivers have already successfully driven more than 125,000 thousand miles, or the equivalent …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is asking all auto makers to recommend the use of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) for use in new model vehicles.
IRFA has sent letters to the heads …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  A group of 17 farmers from Canada, Honduras, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Swaziland, United Kingdom, Uruguay, US, Zambia, and Zimbabwe had the chance to visit a livestock operation …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A total of $16 million in investment for 244 projects received funding from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program, including several blender pumps and a few biomass-related projects. …

(POET)  POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels has contracted for a key technology/process component in breaking down cellulose to produced advanced biofuel.
POET-DSM has contracted with International Technology Group ANDRITZ, through its U.S. subsidiary ANDRITZ Inc., to supply a …

(National Corn Growers Association)  State corn associations across the country are working diligently to make the increased use of higher ethanol blends a reality through programs to put the necessary infrastructure in place. Laying the …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Can local communities pyrolize their wastes and residues, to make renewable fuels and chemicals at biobased super-refineries?   Two-step processes could be the ticket to the future, according to an …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Today, we’ll look at the bigger balance sheets to see who is investing what, and when, with whom, and why.
…We’ve also focused here, for the sake of brevity, on those …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  The 4th Annual Biofuels: Science and Sustainability Tour took place recently hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). The three-day tour brought several Washington, D.C. policymakers and regulators to Iowa for a inside and …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Quad County Corn Processors is working toward production of both grain-based and cellulosic ethanol from the same feedstock.
Travis Brotherson, plant engineer at the 30 MMgy ethanol plant in Galva, …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  …Clariant Corporation recently acquired Süd-Chemie, which has been developing its proprietary sunliquid® process since 2006, including the successful operation of a pilot plant since 2009. Clariant started operation of the largest cellulosic ethanol …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Every biofuels contender has its own route to the top – with unique advantages and technical challenges.  Who is nearing the Summit, what’s their Hillary Step, who’s got Sherpas, who’s …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …But carbon dioxide emissions remain. In fact, large corn ethanol plants are considered “major emitters” under EPA rules because one-third of the corn kernel, by weight, is released as carbon …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  E15 sales in Iowa are proving to be strong right out of the pump. This may be a poor metaphor, but the good news is that Linn Co-op Oil Company, the first …

by Laura Millsaps (DOE Pulse)  Pioneering mass spectrometry methods developed at DOE’s Ames Laboratory are helping plant biologists get their first glimpses of never-before-seen plant tissue structures.
The new method opens up new realms of study, ones that might …

by C.-C. Tsao , J. E. Campbell, M. Mena-Carrasco, S. N. Spak, G. R. Carmichael, and Y. Chen  (Environmental Science and Technology)  Although biofuels present an opportunity for renewable energy production, significant land-use change resulting from …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  …Twenty-nine local investors applied and were approved for a Resource Enhancement and Protection grant (REAP). They group also received Iowa Infrastructure funding to aid with the costs of installation. The FAST …

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 Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  Magellan Pipeline Company has completed a new biodiesel distribution facility in Des Moines, Iowa. The new equipment will allow for unloading, storage and blending of biodiesel at the terminal. The infrastructure …

by Colleen Lerro  (BIO)  Wednesday at the National Press Club, several advanced biofuels companies joined BIO to showcase the progress the industry has made in recent years.
U.S. companies have worked to rapidly scale up advanced …

(The Gazette)  The Linn Co-op Oil Co. in Marion will get a big helping of promotional support next week as it becomes one of the first Iowa fuel retailers to offer E15 for mainstream vehicles.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels …

(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association)  As a part of its 10th Anniversary celebration of progress and prosperity, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today released a list of the ethanol and biodiesel industry’s Top 10 efficiency …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  New Holland was all about American Ethanol at the 2012 Farm Progress Show this past week in Boone, Iowa.
“This year we’ve got a whole emphasis on a brand new partnership with American Ethanol,” said …

(Renewable Fuels Association)  …Gas prices have been increasing as well. However, relief at the gas pump is possible thanks to America’s growing use of ethanol.
According to updated research released by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development …

(National Science Foundation/Biodiesel Magazine)  Researchers contend that manufactured nanomaterials—now popular in consumer products such as shampoos, gels, hair dyes and sunscreens—may be detrimental to the quality and yield of crops, as reported in a paper in …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …In our investigations in Iowa this week, we noted 6 trends worth carefully watching, which take us from opportunities with existing feedstocks to exotic newcomers like algae.
Our thesis now is …

By Gregg Hennigan (KCRG.com)  Iowa City is considering participating in a trash-to-ethanol project that could result in an 80-percent reduction in the amount of solid waste going to its landfill.
City staffers have been talking with …

(PhysOrg)  In separate feeding trials, nursery pigs and chickens have eaten high-protein fungi that Hans van Leeuwen and other Iowa State University researchers have produced in a pilot plant that converts ethanol leftovers into food-grade …

(R&D Magazine)  Pioneering mass spectrometry methods developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Ames Laboratory are helping plant biologists get their first glimpses of never-before-seen plant tissue structures.
The new method opens up new realms …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  … (E)thanol production provides multiple benefits to Midwestern livestock producers:
1. The ethanol industry has driven the production of a larger corn crop. Simply put, there is more corn to go around.
2. The …

by Brent Erickson (BIO/Biofuels Digest)  Despite oil industry claims of “$10 million in fines for non-existent fuels” – they paid exactly $19,010.16 for cellulosic ethanol waivers in 2010, costing US consumers 14 millionths of one …

(Biotechnology Industry Organization)  BIO recently introduced a picture book of biorefineries across the United States,“Visible Progress in Commercialization of Advanced Biofuels, Biobased Products and Renewable Chemicals”, which showcases commercial, demonstration and even new pilot facilities. Some of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The recent focus on drought, and the scarcity scare, shows that diversification and yield enhancement remain the bioeconomy’s chief weapons in the war on availability and affordability.   The USDA and …

by Kris Bevill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Massachusetts-based Agrivida Inc. is conducting the first year of USDA-permitted field trials to grow corn that has been engineered to include enzymes in the corn stalk. The addition should …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The once futuristic vision of integrating traditional and second-generation ethanol facilities appears more attainable as various companies emerge with technology improvements that will allow corn ethanol producers to add …

(KAUTV.com)  STAR Energy in Storm Lake, Iowa is now offering a wide range of ethanol blends due to the installation of the city’s first blender pump.
Iowa is the nation’s largest producer of ethanol and biodiesel. …

by Dan Piller  (Des Moines Register)  Fossil fuels’ attacks on mandates, subsidies put renewables at risk
A surge in domestic oil and natural gas production and a decline in national political support for grain-fed biofuels threatens …

(SpeedwayMedia.com)  …Also for the first time ever, there will be a ‘mini airshow’ during the pre-race festivities for the fans in attendance. The Vanguard Squadron, from Sioux Falls, SD, and whose planes fly on 100% …

(IowaCorn.org)  A new study conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago found a statistical correlation showing that as prices increase, farmers make changes that result in higher …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  The independent Linn Co-op Oil Company in Marion, Iowa is all set to be the first in the nation to sell 15% ethanol blended gasoline to customers, except for one little detail. They …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …Yet, even in an era where venture capital has been harder to come by (Why? See these 42 article links under the rubric, “The VC Model is Broken” ) — some great …

by David Shaffer (Star Tribune)  Four more ethanol plants are considering retrofits to produce the new biofuel, bringing planned conversions to seven.
A third Minnesota ethanol plant is considering a shift in production to a new …