by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Just a quick review of yesterday's speech to Congress by President Donald Trump reveals a lot about his priorities in what he didn't say. Not since President George W. Bush said "switch grass" in
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Back TO HOMEWhere Is the Technical Solution for Overcoming the “Goldilocks Pricing” Problem for the Biofuel Industry?
by Bob Kozak* (Atlantic Biomass, LLC) In Part 1 of this 3-part series we discussed how “Goldilocks Oil Pricing” is causing major problems for the US fuel ethanol industry. In this Part 2 we’ll discuss why US R&D hasn’t been
February 20, 2025 Read Full Article
Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Strongest-Ever Pollution Standards for Cars that Position U.S. Companies and Workers to Lead the Clean Vehicle Future, Protect Public Health, Address the Climate Crisis, Save Drivers Money
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Final standards will expand consumer choice in clean vehicles and build on historic progress in U.S. auto manufacturing under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda -- Today, March 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced final national pollution
March 20, 2024 Read Full Article
Biden in State of the Union Had Nothing to Say about Biofuels; Little to Say about the Environment
by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) If you were looking for support from the President in his State of the Union speech for renewable fuels as a way to mitigate climate change, you were sorely disappointed last night. Not a word
March 08, 2024 Read Full Article
Key Words from ABLC
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Every ABLC, held each Spring in Washington, DC, reveals the zeitgeist of the renewable sustainable fuels world and bits of the bioeconomy it intesects. This year was no exception with the following Key Words
March 27, 2023 Read Full Article
Why Big Oil Is Less Worried about Biden Phasing out Fossil Fuels
by Timothy Puko (Washington Post) For industry executives, the president’s slower approach is evidence that pragmatism is winning out. Climate activists are less than pleased. Oil and gas industry leaders say they’ve seen a big shift in tone from the Biden
March 13, 2023 Read Full Article
Gov. Reynolds Receives Renewable Fuels Association All-Industry Award and Addresses National Ethanol Conference
(Office of Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA)) Today (March 2, 2023), Gov. Reynolds received the Renewable Fuels Association’s All-Industry Award and addressed the National Ethanol Conference. Below are excerpts from her remarks: “Receiving the All-Industry Award is a personal honor and a humbling
March 03, 2023 Read Full Article
Questions and Answers on the EU Delegated Acts on Renewable Hydrogen
(European Commission) 1. What is the Commission proposing today and what are the objectives of these rules? Hydrogen plays a key role in our European Green Deal and in the REPowerEU plan. Upscaling the use of renewable hydrogen, ammonia and other derivatives will accelerate the
February 15, 2023 Read Full Article
Trade Groups Want More Incentives for Clean Energy
by Ann Meyer (CSP Daily) NACS among that that see cost of EV chargers as obstacle to Biden administration’s goals -- While the Biden Administration aims to take giant steps toward clean energy, three industry trade associations representing convenience stores and
February 13, 2023 Read Full Article
Biden Takes Climate Victory Lap, Slams Big Oil
by Nico Portuondo (E&E News/Politico Pro) President Joe Biden focused his address on the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, while sparring with Republicans on energy policy. -- ... The president
February 08, 2023 Read Full Article
Collaborative Conversations: Is the Hydrogen Economy Here? --- February 21, 2023 --- Washington, DC

Please join GW Law's Environmental & Energy Law Program for a roundtable discussion for a thought-provoking off-the-record discussion about the challenges facing the hydrogen industry. In 2003, President George W. Bush set forth a $1.2 billion initiative in his State of the
February 01, 2023 Read Full Article
Biden’s Ethanol a Winning Bid: Republican Candidates Need to Come up with Something Better than “You Can’t Put that Ethanol in Your Lawn Mower.”
by Chris Woodward (Splice Today) ... Biden wants to see Americans driving electric vehicles (EVs) as opposed to vehicles running on ethanol and other fuels. This is why Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) was smart to bring up biofuels in this year’s Republican
April 14, 2022 Read Full Article
Our Response to the State of the Union Address: Ethanol Checks All the Boxes
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) In his first State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden spoke about many of the challenges facing our nation and world today, from the Ukraine invasion to domestic inflation, from climate change to the COVID pandemic.
March 03, 2022 Read Full Article
Missed Opportunity? Biden's State of the Union Hits Big Meat, Neglects Renewable Diesel
by Tyne Morgan (AgWeb) ... As the crisis in Ukraine continues to overtake the world’s attention, President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address Tuesday night. And while he stated the U.S. is in a better place than it
March 02, 2022 Read Full Article
Clear Evidence of How Higher Ethanol Blends Lower Gasoline Prices
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Pictures worth 1000 words show the prices on March 1 at a Sheetz in Virginia. Compare the E10 Regular to E15 Unleaded 88 and E85 FlexFuel. Compare those to the price of E0 --
March 02, 2022 Read Full Article
What's Lining up for Phase Four?
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) ... Both the House and Senate have begun work on surface transportation bills ahead of a September deadline to act, but lawmakers haven't been able to settle on how to pay for the legislation, Pro's
March 30, 2020 Read Full Article
The U.S. Is Not Energy Independent
by Amy Harder (Axios Generate) A short new Energy Information Administration report provides a breakdown that's useful in light of all the discussion these days about the U.S. energy posture. Driving the news: The report shows that while late last year the U.S. became a consistent
February 07, 2020 Read Full Article
How House Republicans Won over Conservatives to Gain Consensus on a Climate Agenda
by Josh Siegel (Washington Examiner) House Republicans have convinced their most conservative members to support a forthcoming plan for the federal government to address climate change. Republicans have long been skeptical of federal efforts to curb climate change. But now, even conservative
January 31, 2020 Read Full Article
The Green New Deal Is Generating Lots of Left-Wing Enthusiasm. But Not Every Democrat Is on Board.
by Dino Grandoni (Washington Post) ... But fault lines within the Democratic caucus were already visible before the end of the day, with some members urging caution about setting vague and, at times, impossible-to-achieve goals to only fall short. And perhaps most
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Republicans Say They Want Free-Market Innovation. Then They Should Want a Carbon Tax.
by Catherine Rampell (Washington Post) ... Alternatively, some Republicans suggest that, yes, the planet may be warming and, yes, humans may be the reason, but it’s too darn expensive to do much more than we are. ... As Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) equivocated on CNN’s
November 27, 2018 Read Full Article
2019 Proposed RFS Volumes: The Deep-Dive Analysis
by Antoine Schellinger (Biofuels Digest) In what has now become the final RFS2 issued policy under Scott Pruitt, there is no change from the policy established in the proposed and final 2018 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO). The use of cellulosic waiver
August 24, 2018 Read Full Article
California Gears Up for Trump Battle on Car-Emissions Rules
by Mark Chediak, Dana Hull and John Lippert (Bloomberg) Official sees ‘war’ if state’s rule-setting rights revoked; Air Resources Board planning zero-emissions bus proposal -- ... The state has special authority under the 1970 Clean Air Act to make its own pollution
February 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Broin Brings E15 Message to Pence Summit at Trump Hotel
(The Fence Post/Hagstrom Report) Jeff Broin, founder and CEO of POET, the South Dakota company that builds and manages ethanol plants, brought his view that the government needs to authorize the sale of E15 blend year-round to a State of the
February 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Reaction to President Trump’s SOTU
by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) President Donald Trump did mention energy in his first State of the Union address, albeit briefly. “We have ended the war on American energy, and we have ended the war on beautiful clean coal,” said the president. “We are
January 31, 2018 Read Full Article
Looking at the Sudden Growth of Cellulosic Ethanol
by Ben Nuelle (Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network) In April, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a little over 1 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol was produced in the first quarter of 2016. Production is well ahead of 2015 where only 2.2
May 18, 2016 Read Full Article
Obama, with No Elections Left to Lose, Drops Mention of Fossil Fuels
by Eric Wolff (Politico Morning Energy) President Obama's final State of the Union address made no mention of an "all of the above" energy policy, nor of natural gas or fracking, and it only mentioned oil to either criticize it
January 13, 2016 Read Full Article
Compilation of US State of the Union 2016: Selected Remarks on Energy and Climate Change
(compiled by Biofuels Digest) "Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either.” ... We need the same level of commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources. Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change,
January 13, 2016 Read Full Article
WTHU Focuses on Advanced Biofuels in "Eye on Our Community" Call-In Show
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) At the foot of the presidential Catoctin Mountain retreat, Advanced Biofuels USA's executive director, Joanne Ivancic, met with WTHU (AM1450, The Source) talk radio host Katherine Heerbrandt during drive time on July 1 to
July 03, 2015 Read Full Article
The Good News on Ethanol: U.S. a ‘Biofuels Superpower'
by Dan Morgan (Des Moines Register) ... President Barack Obama didn’t mention ethanol, biofuels, or agriculture in his State of the Union address, even as he boasted that the country was “number one in oil and gas.” Yet a thriving renewable
March 02, 2015 Read Full Article
The Words that May Not Be Said: Biofuel, Ethanol, Biodiesel, Renewable Jetfuel
by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Absent from President Barak Obama’s State of the Union Message and from remarks made by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at the DC Auto Show, the words “biofuel,” “ethanol,” “biodiesel,” “renewable jetfuel” or any variation
January 23, 2015 Read Full Article
Energy Secretary Moniz Unveils More Than $55 Million to Advance Fuel Efficient Vehicle Technologies
(US Department of Energy) Following the State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 20 in which President Obama highlighted the surge in U.S. manufacturing and the strong growth in the auto industry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today announced more than
January 23, 2015 Read Full Article
A View of Biofuels History in the US from the Mountains of Tennessee: An Interview with Genera Energy’s Dr. Sam Jackson (Part 1)
by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) In January 2006, President George W. Bush said “switchgrass” in his State of the Union Address as he enthusiastically envisioned a renewable transportation fuels future.1 Within weeks, the price of switchgrass seed soared, along
November 06, 2014 Read Full Article
Obama Skips Biofuels in State of the Union, Touts Clean Energy
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) President Barack Obama stressed the need for the nation to “double-down” on clean energy during his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, but neglected to include biofuels in his list of domestically available
January 31, 2014 Read Full Article
Obama Touts All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy in State of the Union Speech; Draws “Trying to have it both ways” Ire from Biofuels, Environmental Groups
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Draws fire from biofuels, environmental groups for emphasis on fossil fuels, back-off on renewables; 110,000 sign VoteVets.org petition in support of RFS ... Biofuels reaction: rhetoric nice, but reversal on RFS hits only clean energy, climate policy
January 31, 2014 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels USA Urges Introspection on Climate Change at Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum in Washington, D.C
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Robert E. Kozak, Advanced Biofuels USA founder and board member began his remarks at the Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum in Washington, D.C June 12, with the unpleasant reminder of the
June 13, 2013 Read Full Article
Energy Department Launches New Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative
(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 of clean energy products and
March 27, 2013 Read Full Article
EPA Calls for 2013 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award Nominations
(Environmental Protection Agency) New green chemistry technologies grow markets and save businesses money. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the nominations for the 2013 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards for companies and institutions that can design chemicals or a
February 22, 2013 Read Full Article
Weighing Obama's SOTUS Proposal: More Oil Drilling to Fund Clean Energy?
by Jim Snyder (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World) President Barack Obama's proposal to fund clean-energy research with fees paid by oil and gas producers is renewing a debate over whether the promise of innovation tomorrow is worth expanding drilling today. Obama's "Energy Security Trust"
February 15, 2013 Read Full Article
NRDC Post-State of the Union Poll: 60 Percent of Americans Support Presidential Action to Fight Ravages of Climate Change
(Natural Resources Defense Council) NRDC's polling immediately after the State of the Union made clear that Americans consider climate change a serious problem and want the President to take action. Sixty-five percent of Americans think that climate change is a serious
February 15, 2013 Read Full Article
Big Steps in Biofuels: ACORE’s Renewable Energy Policy Forum ‘13
By Joshua Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) Thinking about the back and forth on EPA’s cellulosic fuel mandates in the last month, the press on the harmful effects of diverting food crops for fuel processing in certain cases, and the general
February 15, 2013 Read Full Article
White House Wants $2 billion to Give Cleaner Transport a Boost
by Patrick Rucker (Reuters) President Barack Obama wants Congress to create a $2 billion clean-energy transportation fund using fees paid by oil and gas producers on federal lands, the White House said Wednesday, expanding a plan announced in Obama's State of the
February 14, 2013 Read Full Article
The POTUS and His SOTUS: RT@moreofthesame TL;DR
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The SOTUS contained 18 references to energy — more than enough for the Digest to take a close look at what was said, what was not — and the likelihood of all (or any) of the President’s
February 13, 2013 Read Full Article
Oil Prices, Gas Prices and Domestic Production
(US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, has a well-deserved reputation for focusing on facts. He worries about the many myths surrounding gasoline prices, oil prices and domestic production. Today, on
March 08, 2012 Read Full Article
Policy Day at the Washington DC Auto Show
by Robert Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) On the day before the Washington DC Auto Show opens to the public, there is an event called Policy Day. Administration officials and high ranking auto company executives give short presentations and spend time
January 30, 2012 Read Full Article
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Support for a New Advanced Biofuel Production Facility in Oregon: Project will Create Jobs, Expand Production of Biofuels
(US Department of Agriculture) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has approved a conditional commitment in the amount of $232.5 million to ZeaChem Boardman Biorefinery, LLC (ZBB) through the Biorefinery Assistance Program. ZBB will operate a 25 million
January 26, 2012 Read Full Article
Obama Calls for End to Oil Subsidies
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama voiced strong support for renewable energy and an end to oil subsidies. “We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough,” the president
January 25, 2012 Read Full Article
"ALL-of-the-Above" Except Biofuels
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Here’s the President’s new energy policy. “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy – a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs”. Okay that sounds
January 25, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Group Makes Suggestions for State of the Union Speech
by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) American ethanol production is creating jobs, energizing rural economies, reducing oil imports, and helping all consumers save money at the pump emphasized the Renewable Fuels Association today in a letter to President Obama as he prepares
January 24, 2012 Read Full Article
The Death of Range Fuels Shouldn't Doom All Biofuels
by Kevin Bullis (MIT Technology Review) This month, Range Fuels, one of the first companies in a wave of startups that promised cheap biofuels made from sources such as wood chips rather than corn, shut its doors for good and
December 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Taking the American Biofuel Industry to the Next Level; From Talk to Action
(Novozymes) The United States has a lot riding on the success of its biofuel industry – energy independence, job creation, and environmental stewardship. But really, how far is the country in achieving its goals? There is no definitive answer to
March 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Funding for Projects to Create Jobs and New Economic Opportunities for Rural Residents
(USDA) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 16 projects in 10 states for funding to create jobs and provide new economic opportunities. The projects are being funded through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG), which
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Top Dems Call on House GOP to Eliminate Oil Industry Tax Breaks
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) Top Senate Democrats are calling on House Republicans to agree to a plan to eliminate oil industry tax breaks as a means of reducing the deficit. The proposal comes as House Republicans have pledged to cut
February 18, 2011 Read Full Article
RAND Van Winkle: an Inside Look at RAND’s Controversial Survey of Military Alternative Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...A large number of leading companies, and industry associations, reported that they had had no contact with the RAND report team. There have been allegations that the RAND team, either through naivete or deliberately, ignored projects
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
State of the Union Talks Trade and Biofuels
(AgWired.com) President Obama made some folks in the ag industry happy with his State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday talking about the importance of both biofuels and free trade agreements. Corn farmers and representatives of the renewable fuels industry were especially pleased
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Energy Industry Braces for Cuts
by Darren Samuelsohn (Politico) ... In his State of the Union speech last Tuesday, Obama cracked a smile as he repeated a call he’s made the past two years for the elimination of billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies.
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Gingrich to Obama: Focus on Energy
by Kathie Obradovich (Des Moines Register) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a 2012 run for president, called on President Obama to use his State of the Union speech tonight to make the American energy production a “major
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
“Stay Midwest, Young Biofuels Entrepreneur”: a Counterpoint
by Todd Taylor with Christina Connelly, Ralph Groschen, Mark Lindquist, Gregg Mast, Tim Welle and Doug Cameron (Biofuels Digest/Minnesota) ...Venture capitalists in California support and encourage these and many other companies and deserve ample credit for the Cambrian-like explosion of new
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Summary of Cellulosic Biofuels Feedstock Supply Chain Forum
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Animated discussion characterized the fourth day of the Infocast series on cellulosic biofuels. Much is at stake. The industry is so close to being able to find success. If gasoline was $4.00/gallon, implementation would
December 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Corn and Cellulosic Ethanol Fight for Viability, Government Favor
(HybridCars) ...It's been more than four years since then-President George W. Bush told the country in his State of the Union speech that it would soon be using corn, wood chips and switch grass to power its automobiles. Biofuels, Bush
July 14, 2010 Read Full Article
BIO Welcomes President Obama’s Remarks on Advanced Biofuels
The United States can lead the world in deploying advanced biotechnology for biofuels and create thousands of new jobs by implementing policies to support the emerging industry. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today applauded President Obama’s call in the State