Biofuels Making Progress on Two Continents

(RenewableEnergyWorld.com) New Hampshire, USA -- ... In a move that could restore biofuel market uncertainty in Europe, this week (June 11, 2014) energy ministers are expected to reach political agreement on measures to incorporate indirect land use change (ILUC) into EU biofuels policies on Friday, which would effectively bring a close to almost two years of investment-blocking policy paralysis in the low carbon fuel sector, according to the Renewable Energy Association, an organization that represents renewable energy producers and promotes the use of all forms of renewable energy in the UK across power, heat, transport and renewable gas.

The Energy Council will vote on ILUC proposals agreed last month by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), including:

A 7 percent cap on transport energy from crop-based biofuels
Mandatory reporting of ILUC factors for crop-based biofuels
Multiple counting of transport energy sources towards EU renewable transport target and overall renewable energy targets:
- biofuels from non-crop feedstocks (including used cooking oil and tallow) at x2
- electric rail at x2.5
- electric vehicles at x5
- A target of 0.5 percent transport energy from advanced biofuels from non-crop feedstocks (excluding used cooking oil and tallow)

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These proposals, if agreed, will then go to second reading in the new European Parliament before becoming law.
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US Department of Defense Seeks Biofuels
In the U.S. the Department of the Navy announced that it is seeking biofuels for operational use as part of its efforts to increase operational readiness and mission effectiveness by reducing its reliance on petroleum.
The Navy said that it is seeking at least 37 million gallons of drop-in biofuels as part of its F-76 marine diesel and JP-5 shipboard jet fuel supply in the upcoming Inland/East/Gulf Coast bulk fuels solicitation released by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy this week.
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...Currently, two biofuels pathways have been tested and qualified for use in Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, ships, vehicles and equipment and efforts are underway to adopt more pathways.
The DLA will purchase the biofuel blends only if they are cost competitive with their conventionally-derived counterparts. $27.2 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds, capped at 71 cents or less per neat biofuel gallon, are available to defray any additional costs that may exist for fuels derived from domestic feedstocks on the USDA-approved list...READ MORE and MORE and MORE