Advanced BioFuels USA

(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association was honored to welcome George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, to the 25th Annual National Ethanol Conference today in Houston. By championing an all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy production while in office, President Bush put the United States on a course toward greater energy security and made an indelible mark on agriculture and the renewable fuels industry.

“Our industry cannot effectively ‘Focus Forward’ without first celebrating and reflecting on the achievements of the past,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, referencing the theme of the 2020 NEC.  “We simply would not have the robust and dynamic renewable fuels industry we have today without President Bush’s enduring leadership and vision. The Renewable Fuel Standard has been a tremendous success and provides a firm foundation upon which we will build the future of renewable fuels. We were thrilled to welcome President Bush to the NEC and thank him for all he has done to promote a stronger and more secure energy future.”

The RFS was originally created as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law by President Bush in August 2005. In December 2007, he signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which extended and greatly expanded the RFS. Between these two signature events, in April 2006, President Bush spoke to RFA members in Washington, D.C., where he addressed the importance of energy independence and security.

At the 2007 signing ceremony, President Bush remarked that the expanded RFS program was a “…major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding production of renewable fuels and giving future generations a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure.”

Taking place February 10-12 in Houston, the 25th Annual National Ethanol Conference provides an unequaled opportunity to engage key decision makers and industry executives about the latest opportunities and challenges affecting the renewable fuels industry today. Click here for more information.  READ MORE

Conference Celebrates a President Who Helped Transform Ethanol Industry (Hoosier Ag Today)

Excerpt from Hoosier Ag Today: Bob Dinneen, Senior Strategic Advisor for the Renewable Fuels Association was there when the president from the oil producing state of Texas helped reduce dependence on $100 a barrel oil.

“President Bush had a vision, and it really was about reducing consumer cost,” Dinneen said. “I remember when the president was first campaigning in 2000 and people were skeptical that this guy who hailed from the oil industry could ever wrap his arms around the ethanol industry. But, I kind of knew that he understands what octane means. He understands what it would mean to have a domestically produced fuel additive. And he did. He understood what it meant to consumers and consumer cost.”

He said Bush became the ethanol industry’s most effective and strongest advocate, “and really pulled this industry from less than a billion gallons from when he was first inaugurated in 2000, to more than 8 billion gallons when he left in 2008. It was a phenomenal record of achievement and growth and it was largely all due to his effort to transform our U.S. energy policy.”  READ MORE