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by Laís Forti Thomaz and Cacia Pimentel (Estadão) O que a nova iniciativa dos Estados Unidos e a Organização Internacional da Aviação Civil (ICAO) podem representar para o Brasil? O governo dos Estados Unidos realizou uma reunião com integrantes de toda a cadeia produtiva do setor de combustíveis de aviação para
Federal Agency/Executive Branch
by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Democratic members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation are calling on the Biden administration to alter the Renewable Identification Number credits markets to protect union jobs at independent refineries, who typically purchase the credits to meet biofuel obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. They write that current
September 20, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Wildfires around the globe have been increasing but what about controlled fires? The U.S. Department of Energy and Pacific Northwest National Lab is looking at prioritizing how and where to target forest restoration (timber harvest and thinning) to have the greatest benefit for bioenergy, reduce
September 20, 2021
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(GrainNet) Thursday (Sept. 16), the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) delivered a letter to Michael Regan, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), renewing a request made in May 2021 to meet and discuss the findings of a new study, Assessment of Health Benefits from Using Biodiesel as a Transportation Fuel. The study from Trinity Consultants quantifies at a community level
September 17, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) The EPA is proposing to revise the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for light-duty vehicles for 2023 and later model years to make the standards more stringent. As part of an executive order issued in January by President Biden, the EPA has been ordered to consider whether to suspend,
September 16, 2021
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by Rebekah Orton (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Phys.Org) … Biologist Scott Edmundson, who has studied photosynthetic algal cultivation for bioproduct generation for more than 15 years, suggests that if algae-derived antivirals show promise in clinical trials, their extraction could help make biofuels more economically feasible. “We’ve proved it is technically feasible to
September 16, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The U.S. EPA on Sept. 8 issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comments to assist in the potential development of regulations for pyrolysis and gasification units that are used to convert solid or semi-solid feedstocks into useful products, such as energy, fuels
September 15, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) – United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson today announced that USDA will begin accepting applications on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, to expand the production of advanced biofuels. USDA will make $7 million available under the Advanced Biofuel Payment
September 15, 2021
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by Joshua D. Rhodes (The Conversation) … Relying more heavily on region-specific technologies … would require building more high-voltage transmission lines to move that energy over long distances, which could increase costs and draw opposition from landowners. … The report assumes that 10%-20% of this new solar capacity would be
September 15, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest reported a few days ago on the Biden administration’s goal of reaching 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050 but how do we get there? NREL shares this illuminating slide guide on how to reach
September 15, 2021
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by Christine Billau (University of Toledo) The U.S. Department of Energy awarded The University of Toledo a $3.2 million grant to continue advancing technology that speeds up the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow algae, a critical part of the process of turning algae into biofuel. It’s part
September 14, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) America’s top biofuel and farm advocates called on Democratic leaders to fix a major flaw in the House Ways & Means Committee text released Friday night for tax provisions of the budget reconciliation, which is set for consideration Tuesday. As drafted, the text could leave American farmers and biofuel producers
September 14, 2021
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(MENAFN) Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) today announced the launch of the India-US Task Force on Biofuels. The announcement was made yesterday during the India-U.S. Strategic Clean Energy Partnership dialogue led by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and
September 13, 2021
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(Federal Aviation Administration) The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded more than $100 million for companies to help develop technologies that reduce fuel use, emissions and noise. The award is part of a series of steps President Biden is taking to coordinate leadership and innovation across the
September 13, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuel Standard’s compliance credit market mechanism does not have any impact on retail gasoline prices, according to a new analysis released today by the Renewable Fuels Association. The analysis finds that while RFS compliance credits—known as RINs, or Renewable Identification Numbers—are a factor in wholesale gasoline prices, there
September 13, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Not so fast: But biofuel and agriculture advocates are sounding the alarm over the language of a proposed $1.25-$1.75 sustainable aviation fuel tax credit, which they argue would make the administration’s new SAF targets extremely difficult to achieve. Under the bill, sustainable aviation fuels would need to meet
September 13, 2021
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by Brendan Bane (Pacific Norwest National Laboratory) Methane made from CO2 and renewable hydrogen offers a new path toward cheaper carbon capture — In their ongoing effort to make carbon capture more affordable, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a method to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2)
September 13, 2021
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(American Chemical Society) The American Chemical Society (ACS), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announces the call for nominations for the 2022 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards to recognize businesses, academic institutions and nonprofits for innovative green chemistry solutions and products. “The Green Chemistry Challenge Awards is an opportunity
September 10, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration on Aug. 30 announced it is seeking public comments to help inform development of its U.S. Clean Technologies Export Competitiveness Strategy. The strategy aims to identify key issues influencing the deployment of clean technology goods and services, highlight
September 10, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association on Aug. 27 issued open letters to Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The letter to Sanders urges him to rethink his support for the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act, while the letter to Cruz asks him to revisit his
September 10, 2021
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by Tom (KOWA Radio) A key Senate ethanol backer says the Biden EPA’s threat to lower 2020 biofuel volume requirements on top of rumored cuts to levels for this year and next, would severely damage biofuel and corn producers. Senate Ag Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa says any move to further
September 10, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) About $700 million designed to help biofuels producers is still on the way three months after the USDA made the announcement to help producers hurt by the COVID-19 economic shutdown. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told reporters Thursday the proposal still is being reviewed
September 10, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) Projects Will Support Climate-Smart Solutions to Lower Energy Costs in 48 States and Puerto Rico — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Department is investing $464 million to build or improve renewable energy infrastructure (PDF, 631 KB) and to help rural communities, agricultural producers
September 10, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday denied a petition for rehearing regarding the recent American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA decision, in which the court vacated a 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of a fifteen percent ethanol fuel blend (E15). Petitioners the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy
September 10, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Energy) Projects align with administration’s new goal of decarbonizing the aviation sector by 2050 – – As part of a White House roundtable to launch the Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Grand Challenge to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $64.7 million in funding for projects focused on producing cost-effective, low-carbon biofuels. These investments will advance technologies to create replacements for petroleum fuels used in heavy-duty forms of transportation, like airplanes and
September 10, 2021
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(White House) New Actions Aim to Produce Three Billion Gallons of Sustainable Fuel, Reduce Aviation Emissions by 20% by 2030, and Grow Good-Paying, Union Jobs — Today (September 9, 2021), President Biden is taking steps to coordinate leadership and innovation across the federal government, aircraft manufacturers, airlines, fuel producers, airports, and
September 10, 2021
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U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2022 (AEO2022) Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels 2nd Working Group Meeting. During this meeting, we will discuss preliminary results for the upcoming AEO2022. Please note that any information shared at the meeting is preliminary and subject to change. The Second AEO2022 Working Group
September 9, 2021
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(United Airlines/PR Newswire) United agrees to purchase 1.5 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over 20 years – which is one and a half times the size of the rest of the world’s airlines’ publicly announced SAF commitments combined Honeywell first pioneered SAF production technology and will use its proven
September 9, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, on Aug. 24 introduced a bill that aims to establish a research, development and demonstration program for a commercially viable fuel cell system that uses biofuels as the main fuel source. The bill, titled the Biofuel Cell Research Act, or H.R.
September 9, 2021
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by David Shepardson and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) Major U.S. airlines plan to announce on Thursday that they will back a voluntary industry target of 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel in 2030 as the White House looks to reduce aviation sector emissions, sources told Reuters. … A White House
September 9, 2021
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by Scott Lyon (Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science) Princeton researchers have developed a new way to make fuel from cellulose — Earth’s most abundant organic compound, found in all plant cells — speeding up a notoriously slow chemical process and in some cases doubling energy yields over comparable methods.
September 9, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The White House Office of Management and Budget has scheduled 12 meetings with interested parties to discuss a proposed rule to set renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The U.S EPA on Aug. 26 delivered a proposed rule to set RFS RVOs to the
September 8, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Last night, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) motion to remand but not vacate the 31 small refinery exemptions (SREs) the Trump Administration granted in August 2019. The
September 8, 2021
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Auburn-Led Research Team Develops Biochemical Breakthrough for Renewable Fatty Acid Ester Production
by Jeremy Henderson (Auburn University) On-going, Auburn-led research into biofuel and biochemical production just got a lot more eyes on it. Supported by a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy award issued in 2018, as well as funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, insights from the
September 8, 2021
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(The Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition/PR Newswire) The Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition (“AFCC”), and its member companies are asking the Biden Administration to incentivize the production and use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) – since it would be critical to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. transportation sector and
September 8, 2021
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by Salim Rahemtulla (PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp./Biofuels Digest) As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) indicates in its Hydrogen Program Plan it published in 2020, “Hydrogen, as a versatile energy carrier and chemical feedstock, offers advantages that unite all of our nation’s energy resources—renewables, nuclear, and fossil fuels—and enables innovations
September 8, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) During a town hall style webinar with Farm Journal Editor Clinton Griffiths last week, USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said payments for biofuels producers impacted by the pandemic could come in the very near future. “We made the decision to put resources into the biofuel industry and I
September 7, 2021
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(NGVAmerica/NGV Journal) NGVAmerica President Dan Gage provided testimony at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) hearing on the Biden administration’s notice of proposed rulemaking to revise the greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles for Model Year 2023 and later. The much-expected action proposes to restore emission standards back to levels that
September 6, 2021
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(Argonne National Laboratory/Tech Xplore) Marine shipping traffic has grown steadily over the past decade—and so have the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from ships grew almost 10% between 2012 and 2018, and the industry is a large consumer of petroleum fuel. Substituting biofuel could reduce the amount of greenhouse
September 6, 2021
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(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) … NREL is validating utility-scale hydrogen-production processes that could provide tomorrow’s clean fuels and chemical feedstocks to produce low-carbon, high-value products. New IP To Simplify Renewable Hydrogen Reactions Renewable hydrogen could fit into future low-carbon energy systems like a missing puzzle piece: It can be produced
September 6, 2021
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by Zack Budryk (The Hill) Environmental advocacy group Earthjustice warned in a report published Tuesday that hydrogen cannot serve as a “silver bullet” against climate change if it is derived from fossil fuels. … In a statement to The Hill, Sadaat said the report illustrates that the Biden administration must make a
September 3, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Enabling biorefineries to achieve 50% reductions in time to bioprocess scale-up, as compared to the current average of 10 years, is what the U.S. Department of Energy aims to do by establishing a distributed Agile BioFoundry to productionize synthetic biology. Find out how they are
September 3, 2021
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(Colorado State University) Colorado State University scientists are partners in a three-year grant of up to $3.5 million from the Department of Energy, aimed at improving how algae-based biofuels and bioproducts are made. The Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office has announced its support for the project, titled “Rewiring Algal Carbon Energetics for
September 2, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bunge, REG and Bayer helped CoverCress raise a total of $22 million including $8 million in Series B in 2021. What does that mean for this low carbon cash cover crop and for growers? What is their commercial track? How are the harvest and oil
September 2, 2021
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by Samantha Watters (University of Maryland) Stephanie Lansing will serve as principal investigator, establishing a consortium of scientists and industry partners with the goal of creating renewable resources — Stephanie Lansing, professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland (UMD), is leading two new grants
September 1, 2021
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(Brookhaven National Laboratory) A team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has bred a plant that produces more oil by manipulating the availability of sugar for oil synthesis. The team, led by BNL’s John Shanklin, achieved these results in using leaves of the fast-growing plant Arabidopsis, to mimic stem cells of
September 1, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s Nichole Fitzgerald, Program Manager, shared this short but sweet slide guide on BETO’s goals for 2021-2030 with large volumes of biomass being critical to achieving those goals, why they are looking at CO2 removal, feedstock technologies program
September 1, 2021
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by Camila Domonoske (NPR) The final holdout, Algeria, used up the last of its stockpile of leaded gasoline in July. That’s according to the U.N. Environment Programme, which has spent 19 years trying to eliminate leaded gasoline around the globe. “The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a
August 31, 2021
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by Jeff Mower (S&P Global) Waiver valid through Sept. 15, 2021; Ida brings down roughly 2.2 mil b/d refining capacity; NYMEX RBOB prices edge lower — The US Environmental Protection Agency has issued a temporary waiver to federal RVP requirements for gasoline in Louisiana and Mississippi to address fuel supply
August 31, 2021
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(Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) … Traditional fermentation processes for producing such products rely on microorganisms that emit large quantities of CO2. If researchers could find a way to avoid such emissions and to actually incorporate CO2 into the product, important environmental and economic benefits would result. With the support of a
August 31, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) With Hurricane Ida impacting the nation’s liquid fuel supply and distribution, the Renewable Fuels Association today urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take two quick and simple steps that can extend fuel supplies and reduce price spikes expected at the retail fuel pump. The requested actions relate to pump
August 31, 2021
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(Inside EPA) EPA is asking a federal appeals court to voluntarily remand Trump-era decisions that granted 31 small refinery waivers from renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance and denied a smaller number of waiver requests, opening the door for the Biden administration to overhaul the agency’s waiver policies in light of
August 30, 2021
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(Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition) Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition was awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant through the 2021 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program. In partnership with the DC Department of Public Works and DC Water, this grant will be used to support the purchase of
August 27, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended retroactively lowering biofuel blending mandates for 2020, two sources familiar with the matter said, after the agency on Thursday sent a proposal on the mandates to the White House for review. The move could provide immediate
August 27, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Energy) Ten years ago, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced the opening of a brand new, 15,000-square-foot facility full of stainless steel state-of-the-art bioprocessing equipment – what we now know as the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit, or ABPDU, was officially open for business. Funded by the U.S.
August 26, 2021
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by Jeff Barber (OPIS) After four years of the Trump administration’s often-chaotic approach to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), many in the biofuels industry were hoping President Joe Biden would bring a level of stability and support to the program. While the new administration has provided renewable fuel producers with some
August 26, 2021
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(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) On Earth, plants and ocean microbes use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide, or CO2, into sugars for energy. Humans don’t have that ability, at least not yet. On Mars, there aren’t plants and oceans, but there is an abundance of CO2. NASA’s CO2 Conversion Challenge invited the public to
August 26, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The U.S Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office aims to verify integrated systems research at engineering scale for hydrocarbon biofuel technologies at mature modeled MFSP of $3.00/GGE with a minimum 50% reduction in emissions by 2022. And by 2030, build and operate 4-5 Demonstration scale
August 26, 2021
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by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) The release of the highly anticipated revision of the Safe Affordable Fuel Efficient Vehicle (SAFE) proposed rule this month was, for the biofuels industry, yet another poke in the eye as the EPA totally ignored reality and continued their long history of taking
August 26, 2021
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by Ron Kotrba (Biobased Diesel Daily) The USDA announced Aug. 19 that it is investing $26 million in biofuels infrastructure under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program to help expand the availability of higher blends of biofuels, such as B50 blends of biodiesel, by 822 million gallons in 23 states. Among
August 25, 2021
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(Farm and Dairy) An Ohio company received a chunk of $26 million given out through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program. Cincinnati-based United Dairy Farmers Inc. was awarded $634,000 to expand ethanol sales at its convenience stores and gas stations. Grants were awarded in 23 states, including Ohio. The projects
August 25, 2021
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Join the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office on September 16, 2021, at 3 p.m. ET, for a webinar on how Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is partnering with the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) to train the next generation of bioprocessing engineers to enable the U.S. bioeconomy.
August 25, 2021
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by Tim Theiss (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) A multi-laboratory team of scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is studying the feasibility of using energy-dense biofuels such as biocrude and bio-oil to meet new emissions regulations for cargo ships. Cargo vessels ferrying commodities around the world are powered by two-stroke
August 25, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The government of Colombia has delayed plans to reinstate its E10 blend mandate until January 2022. The blend mandate will be set at E6 in September, October and November, increasing to E8 in December. Last spring, the Colombian government temporary reduced its ethanol blend mandate from E10
August 25, 2021
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by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) After years of battles over oil pipelines, two companies are pitching carbon dioxide pipelines that would crisscross six states and combine to sink as much as 24 million metric tons of carbon emissions into geologic formations — if they can convince landowners and others their
August 25, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today, Growth Energy’s Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley testified before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during its hearing on the proposed rulemaking, Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. Earlier this month, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed greenhouse
August 25, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) In a hearing today on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for 2023-2026 light-duty vehicles, the Renewable Fuels Association is spotlighting the role high-octane, low-carbon fuels like ethanol can and must play in increasing fuel efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. “If our nation is to reach
August 25, 2021
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(Office of Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)) U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and 16 of his colleagues sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging the EPA to mitigate the harm imposed on consumers and refiners by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)’s unachievable mandates. In their letter, the
August 25, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Can you imagine 100% reduction in GHG emissions? Where 100% of agricultural feedstock nutritional value is returned to the food chain? Check out this illuminating slide guide highlighting Gevo’s Cradle to Cradle Lifecycle actions and plans for transportation fuels and net-zero products. READ MORE Learn
August 25, 2021
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by Salim Rahemtulla (PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp./Biofuels Digest) … In its Hydrogen Program Plan, the DOE demonstrates support for the International Energy Association’s Future of Hydrogen, released at the 2019 G20 Summit, in its effort to “Stimulate commercial demand for clean hydrogen.” This “includes scaling up both “blue” hydrogen from fossil
August 24, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting State Director for Rural Development Kansas Dan Fischer today announced that USDA is investing $5.19 million to build infrastructure to expand the availability of higher-blend renewable biofuels through three projects in Kansas. USDA is making the awards under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive
August 23, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Energy) Nine Research Projects Will Advance Cost-Effective Carbon Capture Technologies — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $24 million in funding for nine research projects to explore and develop new methods of capturing and storing carbon from the air. Direct Air Capture (DAC) is an expanding field in decarbonization and a key facet of the plan to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. “Finding ways to remove and store carbon directly from
August 23, 2021
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“Here’s what the future-of-fuel narrative should be: petroleum industry vs. electric vehicles and renewables, including biofuels. For obvious political reasons, Republicans want to keep ethanol tethered to the dying petroleum industry in the public debate. But with the political will, there is a future for biofuels independent of the petroleum
August 23, 2021
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by Matt Russell and Robert Leonard (Fern’s Ag Insider) … The GOP has framed the shift Biden seeks as a zero-sum game, pitting ethanol and the petroleum industry against electric vehicles. If Biden and Democrats are for electric vehicles, their argument goes, they must be against biofuels. “President Biden’s short-sighted stance
August 23, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters/Capital) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to recommend to the White House reducing federal biofuel blending mandates for 2021 to below 2020 levels in what would be a blow to the biofuels industry, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
August 23, 2021
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by Adam Bratis (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) … I recount that moment at Kitty Hawk because I believe we stand at another pivot in the rich history of aviation. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, we must rapidly and permanently reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across our economy,
August 20, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) Earlier this month, the EPA published in the Federal Register a rule proposing its Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. Seeking public comment through Sept. 27 (a public hearing is set for next Wednesday, Aug. 25), the agency aims to reverse the weakened emissions requirements adopted
August 20, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA published updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data on Aug. 19, reporting that there are currently 59 SRE petitions pending under the Renewable Fuel Standard, down from 64 that were pending as of mid-July. The data shows EPA has not acted on any
August 20, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Agriculture) Projects Will Increase Availability of Biofuels by 822 Million Gallons Annually — Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $26 million to build infrastructure to expand the availability of higher-blend renewable biofuels (PDF, 177 KB) by 822
August 20, 2021
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(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Phys.Org) A patented process for converting alcohol sourced from renewable or industrial waste gasses into jet or diesel fuel is being scaled up at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with the help of partners at Oregon State University and the carbon-recycling experts at LanzaTech.
August 19, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Biden administration is considering applying higher fines to car makers who missed fuel economy targets for model years 2019 to 2021, potentially reversing one of Trump’s midnight regulations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration increased the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) penalties from
August 19, 2021
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, Koole Tankstorage Botlek B.V. (Koole) and Neste Oyj (Neste) asked the Envrionmental Protection Agency to approve a pathway for the generation of biomass-based diesel (D-code 4) renewable identification numbers (RINs) for renewable jet fuel and renewable diesel bottoms produced from renewable diesel through a fractionation process,
August 19, 2021
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by Scarlett Evans (Bio Market Insights) … Now, a team from Colorado State University (CSU) is working to boost algae crop growth to reach industrial levels, with the team being awarded $3.2m from the US Department of Energy (DOE) in support of this goal earlier this month. We took a closer
August 18, 2021
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by John Eichberger (Fuels Market News) If the global priority with regards to the transportation sector is to reduce carbon emissions, then putting all our eggs in one basket and waiting for electrification to transform the world is already a failed strategy. With nearly 1.5 billion vehicles in the world, and
August 18, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The power of water – the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory knows what that means in many ways, but how about making fuel when and where you need it when deployed overseas or in remote island locations? Fuel at point of use translates into “Freedom of
August 18, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association filed a petition for rehearing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the recent American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA decision, in which the court vacated a 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of a fifteen percent
August 17, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Treasury Department warned multilateral development banks that the U.S. won’t support most future fossil fuel projects unless low-carbon alternatives aren’t feasible. The department issued its opinion in a Friday guidance, which follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s meeting with MDB heads last month, where
August 17, 2021
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by Sharon Kelly (DeSmog) Obama Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and major labor group AFL-CIO are behind the “blueprint” for a multi-billion dollar system to transport captured CO2 — and offer a lifeline to fossil fuel plants. — An organization run by former Obama-era Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, with the backing
August 16, 2021
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(Washington Post) President Biden and the Democratic Congress have ambitions to fight climate change and legislative plans to match. So far, however, those plans consist almost entirely of clean-energy mandates and subsidies. Mr. Biden, and even progressives in Congress, have ruled out what the policy economists — and common sense
August 16, 2021
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(Inside U.S. Trade’s World Trade Online) The U.S. ethanol industry wants its Brazilian market back, urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to press the country to remove its 20 percent tariffs on ethanol imports or “reevaluate” the U.S.’ lack of duties. USTR officials, led by Assistant U.S. Trade
August 16, 2021
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(Wisconsin Ag Connection) Several senators from the Midwest have signed a letter to President Joe Biden and members of his cabinet requesting a meeting to discuss climate and energy solutions. Among solutions considered to be of key emphasis in the Biden administration’s climate and energy agenda that the senators contend
August 13, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) In response to this week’s announcement by the White House calling on OPEC+ member countries to increase oil output, the Renewable Fuels Association today sent a letter to President Biden supporting the Administration’s call for an investigation into the true causes of recent higher gas prices. The letter also underscored
August 13, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) PRIVATE HELP: Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst program is planning to spend $1.5 billion over three years in partnership with the Biden administration to boost clean energy technology. The group, founded by Bill Gates and private investors in 2015, aims to build commercial demonstration projects in sustainable
August 13, 2021
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(American Coalition for Ethanol) The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) today called on U.S. President Joe Biden to set the maximum statutory volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard in the 2021 and 2022 Renewable Volume Obligation rulemaking and pursue all options to ensure uninterrupted market access for E15. In a letter to President
August 13, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Bioindustrial Manufacturing Innovation Institute was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and aims to propel R&D products towards commercial viability and enable U.S. domestic bioindustrial manufacturing at all scales. Get the latest on BioMADE’s work to scale-up engineered strains, partnerships to make it
August 13, 2021
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(Strategic Biofuels/Business Wire) Successful sequestration test well significantly de-risks the project while demonstrating carbon dioxide can be safely stored underground–Strategic Biofuels LLC, the leader in developing negative carbon footprint renewable fuels plants, announced today that its Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Test Well Program was successfully completed at the company’s
August 12, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biomass is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy and this slide guide from BETO’s Acting Director, Valerie Reed, highlights the role that bioenergy and biomass plays in decarbonizing the economy, worldwide SAF production projection, BETO’s strategies to accelerate demonstration and deployment and more. READ
August 12, 2021
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by Laura Sanicola (Reuters) … The companies (Exxon and Chevron) are looking into how to process bio-based feedstocks like vegetable oils and partially-processed biofuels with petroleum distillates to make renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable gasoline, without meaningfully increasing capital spending. Commercial production of renewable fuels is costlier than
August 12, 2021
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(Washington Post) President Biden on Aug. 11 outlined steps that his administration is taking to combat rising gas prices in the United States. WATCH VIDEO Biden’s OPEC Plea Is Really Directed at Anxious Drivers (Washington Post/Bloomberg) Why the OPEC+ Crisis Has Sparked an Oil Price Frenzy (Washington Post) White House
August 12, 2021
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by Ben Cathey (WVLT) … “You know, we’ve been doing that for a long time. East Tennessee’s famous for its production of alcohol,” Dr. Jerry Tuskan laughed as he told us about an old version of fuel, made new again. Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists are going even higher octane.
August 11, 2021
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by Sean Szymkowski (Roadshow) The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, but once it reaches President Biden’s desk, it will create a national EV charging network. — On Tuesday morning, the US Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, better known as the bipartisan infrastructure bill. After weeks of negotiations
August 11, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable TransportationMichael Berube shared this slide guide at ABLC Digital on EERE’s 5 priorities, context for transportation decarbonization, low-carbon fuel for large vehicles (like planes, trains, trucks, and ships), how DOE can help enable SAF deployment, and more. READ MORE
August 11, 2021
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by Allison Lampert and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters/US News and World Report) U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is quietly discussing a target date of 2050 for weaning aircraft off fossil fuels as part of the White House’s broader push to fight climate change, sources familiar with the matter said. The Biden
August 11, 2021
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(WNAX) President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order that sets a goal to get to 50 percent of new vehicle sales to electric vehicles by 2030. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says goals of this type set by the President are often forgotten and or changed later on.
August 10, 2021
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(Climate Now) How do we reach global net-zero emissions by 2050, when there is almost no chance of completely ending our dependence on fossil fuels by that time? The solution will require Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) – a host of natural and technological techniques for drawing CO2 out of the atmosphere,
August 10, 2021
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by Virginia Speirs (Auburn University College of Engineering) … Sushil Adhikari, professor and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts, and his team were recently granted nearly $500,000 from the Department of Energy-Fossil Energy to produce hydrogen energy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste plastics problems. … To
August 10, 2021
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(National Farmers Union) On Friday, Growth Energy, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Biodiesel Board, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, and the Renewable Fuels Association sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means outlining its recommendations for
August 10, 2021
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(Dakota Ag Energy) Speaking to the 14th Annual Bioenergy Conference hosted by Brazilian government and industry stakeholders, the founder of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) charged U.S. EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) bureaucrats with a “shocking miscarriage of their environmental justice responsibilities” and for defying a
August 10, 2021
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by Zia Abdullah (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers can accurately predict reaction rates and optimal conditions for making biofuels. Their secret? Complex math to sketch the intricate chemistry and physics that drive catalytic fast pyrolysis. Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) reactors transform the renewable carbon in
August 9, 2021
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by Glennda Chui (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) Their work aims to bridge two approaches to driving the reaction – one powered by heat, the other by electricity – with the goal of discovering more efficient and sustainable ways to convert carbon dioxide into useful products. Virtually all chemical and fuel
August 9, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Leveraging existing refining infrastructure leverages billions US$ in CAPEX and 5 million bpd of crude refining. NREL, PNNL, and LANL is tackling how to accelerate adoption of co-processing biomass-derived feedstocks with petroleum streams in operating petroleum refineries to produce biogenic carbon containing fuels. READ MORE
August 9, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is behind schedule in reviewing the Trump administration’s delay of a congressionally mandated increase in the penalties for missing fuel efficiency targets under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, program. (Reg. 2127-AM32) “Review of the interim final
August 9, 2021
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(Gevo) Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), is extremely pleased to announce today that its wholly-owned dairy manure-based renewable natural gas (“RNG”) project company located in northwest Iowa, Gevo NW Iowa RNG, LLC (“NW Iowa RNG”), has signed binding, definitive agreements with BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and BP Products North America Inc.
August 9, 2021
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by Mike Bunge (KIMT) New Energy Blue says the biomass refinery would be on a 155-acre site and convert 275,000 tons of cornstalks and wheat straw into 20 million gallons of ethanol and 95 tons of lignin, a solid biofuel and natural binder. “Our Iowa project can keep one million tons of
August 6, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) President Biden on Aug. 5 signed an executive order that sets a target to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles. Representatives of the ethanol industry, however, say biofuels can make meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions now. … Zero-emissions vehicles
August 6, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA on Aug. 5 released a proposed rule to set light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards through 2026. Despite calls from government officials and industry trade groups, the rule does not address biofuels or a high-octane standard. The proposed rule aims to
August 6, 2021
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(Environmental Protection Agency) Today (August 5, 2021), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to set robust federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks to secure pollution reductions through Model Year (MY) 2026. The proposal, which revises standards set by the previous administration, also outlines the Agency’s
August 6, 2021
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by Ariana Fine (NGT News) A clean hydrogen production technology from Southern Company Gas, Electro-Active Technologies and T2M Global has been selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The DOE awarded Southern Company $1 million for research and development for the project to advance next-generation clean
August 5, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) President Biden today announced a plan to greatly expand the production of clean cars and trucks, including a goal for electric vehicles to comprise 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030. The following is a statement from Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper: “We agree with the Biden
August 5, 2021
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by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) The president will sign an executive order to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 “zero-emission” vehicles, including battery, fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The executive order also will set new long-term fuel-efficiency and emission standards “to save consumers money, cut pollution,
August 5, 2021
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by Ben Foldy and Katy Stech Ferek (Wall Street Journal) General Motors, Ford and Stellantis executives with union leaders are expected to join President Biden in announcing voluntary targets — Auto makers including General Motors Co. , Ford Motor Co. and Jeep maker Stellantis NV will aim to make electric
August 5, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The recent D.C. Circuit Court decision overturning EPA’s approval of year-round E15 sales could have a strongly negative impact on the rural economy and environment in the coming years unless action is taken to allow unimpeded sales of E15 all year long, the Renewable Fuels Association reported in a new analysis
August 5, 2021
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by Trevor Smith (U.S. Department of Energy) … But new fuel blendstocks from biomass and waste resources, combined with advanced engine designs, are bringing us ever closer to a vision of clean transportation. Achieving this vision is critical for meeting our nation’s renewed goals for reducing greenhouse gases in the
August 4, 2021
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(California Energy + Power/Business Wire) California Ethanol + Power (CE+P) announced today (August 3, 3021) that it is partnering with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a Bioenergy Research Center of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop scalable next-generation renewable energy products using biomass from CE+P’s planned sugarcane ethanol facility
August 4, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algae biofuel AND high value co-products from residuals across algae strains? Are there co‐products that lead to increased LEA value, while maintaining biofuel production, to drive down the overall cost of biofuel? That is what the Consortium is tackling via marine algae strain selection, production
August 4, 2021
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(U.S. Department of Energy) 11 University- and Industry-Led Projects will Develop Biomass Resources to Convert to Low-Carbon Fuel for Planes and Ships — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced nearly $34 million in funding for 11 projects that will support high-impact research and development to improve and produce biofuels,
August 3, 2021
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by Kelsey Adkisson (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Newswise) Possibility of cheaper, greener fuel for remote, coastal Alaska communities — Kelp is plentiful in remote, coastal Alaska. Fuel is not. And it’s expensive. Many isolated communities rely on diesel generators for energy because they are not connected to pipelines or the electrical grid.
August 3, 2021
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by Adam Willis (Forum News Service/Twin Cities Pioneer Press) For some of North Dakota’s legacy industries, like coal power, the future could depend on the capacity of companies to deliver on bold promises around carbon capture. The pricey and so far sparsely used technology has nonetheless elevated the ambitions of North
August 3, 2021
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by Sarah Main and Shailesh Sahay (Foley Hoag) … On July 16, 2021, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision that resolved several challenges to its 2019 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) rulemaking. … Renewable fuel producers challenged the volume requirements set in the 2019 RVOs as too low; petroleum groups challenged the 2019
August 3, 2021
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(Oak Ridge National Laboratory/Phys.Org) Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a new catalyst for converting ethanol into C3+ olefins—the chemical building blocks for renewable jet fuel and diesel—that pushes the amount produced to a record-high 88%, a more than 10% gain over their previously developed catalyst. Increasing the yield from
August 3, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) How can anaerobic membrane bioreactors increase wet waste’s net energy yield? That’s exactly what University of Illinois scientists are working on to develop improved AnMBR and integrate it into pilot demonstration. Find out their results so far, if they were able to improve wet waste
August 3, 2021
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by Oliver Peoples (Yield10 Bioscience/Biofuels Digest) During President Biden’s April 22nd climate plan speech at the Virtual Leaders’ Summit on Climate, he announced his goal of cutting 50 percent of U.S. carbon-emissions levels by 2030. This is no simple task, and consumers, investors and businesses alike are aware of the difficult but
August 3, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) The talk among policy makers in Washington to promote a market in which farmers, ranchers and forestland owners can be fiscally rewarded for their efforts to retain carbon in their soil has excited many. The prospect for additional revenue sources is alluring for a high-risk sector whose
August 2, 2021
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(Climate Now/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Bioenergy is a renewable energy for its carbon neutrality – plants absorb CO2 during photosynthesis and emit the same amount when combusted for energy. But to significantly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, substantial amounts of biomass, or organic matter, are required. What types of
August 2, 2021
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by Allan Brettman (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Discerning leaf-cutter ants know what food they like to eat. They turn up their scent-detecting antennae at some plant material in soils in favor of others that fungus has degraded just the way they like it. That’s partly because the ants helped cultivate the
August 2, 2021
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(U.S. Grains Council) The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) brought members together in person Wednesday for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, launching its summer annual meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, and online through a virtual meeting platform. Joining for his first in-person meeting since taking on his role
August 2, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today marks the four-year anniversary of the July 2017 ruling in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA. The 2017 ruling required EPA to address its improper waiver of 500 million gallons for 2016 renewable fuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). To date, EPA has failed to reconsider the 2016 RVO and
July 30, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biological gas-to-liquid conversion offers a means to valorize biogas, improve bioprocess sustainability, and reduce risk of waste and biomass processing. How big is the biogas market? What are the newest biocatalysts and gas fermentation tech to enable gas-to-liquid conversion? Does it improve economics and sustainability?
July 30, 2021
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(National Renewable Energy Laboratory) By Combining Electrochemistry With Fermentation, NREL’s Biorefining Process Could Both Increase Fuel Yields and Recycle Carbon Dioxide — As much as one-third of the carbon in sugar is lost as carbon dioxide (CO2) during fermentation processes that use biomass to make renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel
July 29, 2021
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(Office of Senator John Thune R-SD) U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today led several of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden requesting a meeting with him and representatives of his cabinet to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard and promote biofuels as a key solution for America’s energy and climate agenda. The
July 29, 2021
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by Savannah Bertrand (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) U.S. direct subsidies to the fossil fuel industry are estimated at roughly $20.5 billion per year, including $14.7 billion from federal subsidies and $5.8 billion from state subsidies. When externalities such as health, environmental, and climate factors are included, it is estimated the United
July 29, 2021
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OMB Schedules Additional Meetings on RFS Proposal
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The White House Office of Management and Budget has now scheduled 16 meetings with interested parties to discuss a proposed rule to set renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard, up from 12 meetings that had been scheduled as of Sept. 7.