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by Cheri Bustos (D IL 17th) (FOXBusiness) A solution to high gas prices is being planted across the American Heartland — … I’m lucky enough to represent more than 7,000-square miles of Northwest and Central Illinois — home to nearly 10,000 family farms and seven biofuels plants in and around our
Federal Legislation
by Ron Kotrba (Biobased Diesel Daily) A number of organizations, including state energy associations and Clean Fuels Alliance America, sent a letter to federal policymakers May 12 highlighting several policy priorities for the heating oil industry. The industry is pursuing goals for reduced carbon, with Bioheat® fuel as a key tool.
May 17, 2022
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(Carbon 180) Carbon removal startups working across tech and agriculture have penned two letters calling for the Senate and House Appropriations Committees to increase support for both geologic storage (the final resting place for carbon collected via direct air capture and BECCS) and agricultural soil carbon. The variety of signatories paints a picture
May 17, 2022
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by Scott Richman (Renewable Fuels Association) If you watched the Sunday morning talk shows last weekend, you might have noticed a new advertisement (paid for by oil refiners) that attacks the Renewable Fuel Standard. The ad notes that consumers are paying record-high prices at the pump (something that has nothing to do with
May 13, 2022
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by Thom Patterson (Flying) As fuel prices skyrocket, will sustainable aviation fuel ever be a less-expensive alternative? With the price of conventional aviation fuel skyrocketing in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, could sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offer any relief? For a while now, governments, major airlines, and several aviation
May 6, 2022
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Washington Post) Americans should be thanking President Biden for allowing the continued sale of lower-cost, lower-carbon E15 this summer (letters, “No more ethanol in gas,” April 22). E15 is saving drivers as much as 30 cents per gallon, cutting the typical U.S. household’s annual fuel bill by
May 4, 2022
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by Ron MacDonald (Zinc8 Energy Solutions/Biofuels Digest) … While the U.S. Congress funds billions in grants to chipmakers including goliaths such as Micron and Samsung, many emerging alternative energy companies – who don’t have billions in the bank like the chipmakers – beg for their supper. It’s time for Congress to
May 3, 2022
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(Office of Congresswoman Cory Bush (D-MO-01)) Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06) introduced the Energy Security and Independence Act, a historic effort to strengthen America’s renewable energy supply chain through the Defense Production Act and invest in programs to lower utility prices. “The days
May 2, 2022
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(Office of Congressman Tom Rice (R-SC 7th) Bill Would Lower Price of Food and Gasoline by Repealing Ethanol Mandate Law — Congressman Tom Rice (R-SC) introduced the Food Before Fuel Act with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) to repeal the ethanol mandate in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS drives up
May 2, 2022
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by Mark Heller (E&E News) The House Agriculture panel’s top Republican said he thought a revised “Growing Climate Solutions Act” was on the way to passage — until it wasn’t. — The top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee said a bill to bolster carbon sequestration in farming seemed to be
April 27, 2022
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(National Business Aviation Association) Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a proven and essential component of the aviation industry’s drive toward decarbonization, and federal tax policies such as a dedicated blender’s tax credit are necessary to spur investment in commercial-scale production of this vital next-generation fuel, a large group of stakeholders said
April 26, 2022
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(Great Lakes Energy) Says E30 Blends Can More than Offset the loss of Russian Oil, No RVP Waiver Needed — – Opening the door to 30% ethanol blends would save consumers billions of dollars at the gas pump and reduce imported oil by as much as one billion barrels per
April 26, 2022
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by Matt Reese and Dusty Sonnenberg (Ohio’s Country Journal) … “In a life cycle analysis of ethanol and electric vehicles, you have to look at the base load of carbon intensity. Right now, that number is 114 grams of CO2 per megajoule for the U.S. on average. If you took a
April 22, 2022
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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on green hydrogen. Green hydrogen—hydrogen produced using renewable energy—will likely be necessary for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like steel production and providing a low- and no-emissions alternative to the existing carbon-intensive hydrogen industry. The problem? Green hydrogen currently makes up
April 19, 2022
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(Agri-Pulse) The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its first 2023 farm bill hearing later this month in Michigan, Chair Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member John Boozman announced Wednesday. The highly anticipated hearing entitled “Growing Jobs and Economic Opportunity: 2023 Farm Bill Perspectives,” will be held on April 29 at Michigan State
April 18, 2022
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by Jacqui Fatka (Farm Progress) … It is hard to predict the demand picture under the expanded E15 scenario, but lower estimates of a continued status quo indicate at least 300 million gallons of additional ethanol could be used by consumers with the year-round use of E15. “But (if you
April 15, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA on April 5 released its fiscal year (FY) 2023 congressional budget justification, outlining the agency’s plans for the $11.88 billion in agency funding requested by President Biden in his FY 2023 budget request on March 28. Initiatives related to the Renewable Fuel Standard are
April 12, 2022
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by Erin Burns (Carbon 180) Our vision for legacy emissions involves the world’s largest customer –There is unprecedented action on carbon removal in the US today. The bipartisan infrastructure deal of 2021 included billions of dollars for direct air capture (DAC) and forestry. The Biden Administration has reoriented existing agency efforts around
April 12, 2022
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(Green Car Congress) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and John Barrasso (R-WY) led their colleagues in introducing the Renewable Diesel and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Parity Act of 2022. The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Steve Daines (R-MO). The bill would require the Department of Energy to track
April 11, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Last week’s IPCC report called for a buildout of the world’s carbon dioxide removal capacity to mitigate both legacy carbon emissions and to neutralize difficult-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy industry. Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) hope to boost U.S. direct air capture technology by creating demand
April 11, 2022
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(KLGR) Two Senate Ag Committee members recently urged the Environmental Protection Agency to update its greenhouse gas modeling for biofuels. Senators John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, and Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, asked the EPA to adopt the Argonne National Lab’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation,
April 7, 2022
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by Marc Heller (E&E News) House Agriculture Committee lawmakers pressed the administration to expand ethanol use in response to high gasoline prices. — House Agriculture Committee Republicans yesterday bashed the Biden administration’s energy policies, saying the White House focus on long-term alternatives to fossil fuel ignores a more immediate crisis in
April 6, 2022
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) Representatives from Iowa questioned Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young Tuesday on the lack of biofuels in the $6 trillion White House budget unveiled this week. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Ashley Hinson (R-IA) both pressed Young on why there was no mention of biofuels in
March 31, 2022
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by Spencer Chase (Agri-Pulse) The Biden administration is fielding a steady stream of requests for emergency action to allow for summertime sales of E15, but those calls are coming up against the realities of the fuel supply chain as demonstrated by the actions of a pro-biofuel company. In various outreach
March 30, 2022
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by Michael Bates (NGT News) Hydrogen electrolyzer designer and manufacturer Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc.’s fully owned subsidiary, Next Hydrogen Corp., has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), along with an initial total of 40 hydrogen ecosystem partners, to develop a proposal to
March 29, 2022
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(Environmental Defense Fund) The window to make historic climate and clean energy investments at the federal level is now. We are in a fight for our future. Our economic dependence on oil has left us vulnerable to geopolitical conflicts, and investments in our clean energy future will help insulate our
March 28, 2022
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by Ryan Jeltema (ABC 12) Legislation in the U.S. House aims to lower gas prices while supporting Mid-Michigan farmers. The Year-Round Fuel Choice Act was introduced last summer, but it’s being considered now because of the near-record high gas prices. The bill would allow gasoline to be sold with 15% ethanol year-round.
March 25, 2022
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(Congressional Research Service) The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues. In addition to developing and enacting farm legislation, Congress is involved in overseeing its implementation.
March 22, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn.; Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa; Cheri Bustos, D-Ill.; and Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, on March 21 introduced the Home Front Energy Independence Act, a bill that aims to expand access to biofuels and ban Russian oil. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate on March 9.
March 22, 2022
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by Ashley Davenport (Hoosier Ag Today) … “We have the Next Generation Fuel Bill, which would bring energy security to our fuel situation with higher gas prices,” says Matt Frostic, a Michigan farmer and at-large member of NCGA. “It allows higher compression engines that the automotives would like to build, which would
March 18, 2022
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by Tik Root (Washington Post) … But some urge caution, noting that almost all the hydrogen currently produced is derived from fossil fuels, especially natural gas. And a study published last year found that, if those embodied emissions are considered, purportedly “clean,” hydrogen can have a greater climate impact than natural
March 17, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) House progressives are planning to request Biden use emergency measures to ban future fossil fuel drilling on federal lands and deploy the Defense Production Act to ramp up clean energy generation, POLITICO’s Josh Siegel reports. The call will also touch on other progressive priorities like immigration,
March 16, 2022
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by Daniel Grant (Farm Week Now) While the U.S. scrambles to fill the void in the oil market created by the ban of Russian imports, commodity group leaders believe the solution is closer to home than Venezuela or Saudi Arabia. “If ever there was a time that underscores the need to
March 15, 2022
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by C. Boyden Gray (Boyden Gray & Associates/Real Clear Politics) … Currently, the EPA regulates fuels and automobiles separately, instead of as a single system. Automakers have the technological know-how to make much more efficient car engines, but regulatory barriers prevent them from doing so because they do not permit the
March 14, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Lawmakers in both parties and chambers hope to reduce heavy trucking emissions, and they view hydrogen as just the ticket to make that happen. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), as well as Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), are introducing the Hydrogen for Trucks Act today in a
March 10, 2022
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(Solutions from the Land) … The news of increased fuel costs comes as the Biden administration is considering a relaxation of federal requirements calling on blenders to mix specific amounts of ethanol or biodiesel when producing the nation’s petroleum-based fuel supply. To even consider backing away from the statutory obligation to
March 10, 2022
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by Charles Lane (Washington Post) … Ramping up oil and gas production is part of the solution, as Republicans argue. So is increased use of renewables, as Democrats argue — …. … A substantial increase in the federal gas tax would put powerful market forces — which our adversaries have
March 9, 2022
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by James Arkin (Law360) The United States and United Kingdom will ban imports of Russian oil and gas, the countries announced Tuesday in the latest round of sanctions to target Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden said the move targets “the main artery of Russia’s economy.” “We’re banning
March 8, 2022
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by Cristel Zoebisch (Carbon 180) One giant leap for soil carbon – Farmers and ranchers play a central role in the health of our climate and planet. Today, they face more and more pressure from climate change, and one solution — soil carbon sequestration — has the potential to radically transform their
March 4, 2022
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by Ellen Friedman and Ben Reiter (Law360) The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, includes over $12 billion in funding for carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, programs.[1] At the heart of this massive investment in CCS is the new Carbon
March 2, 2022
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by Suriya Jayanti (Time Magazine) … If this is what we have to work with, let us at least make it truly hurt by including embargoes of Russian energy, too. … Oil prices have insulated Russia from sanctions hits, at least in the short to medium term. … Yet so far
February 27, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Geoff Cooper, head of the Renewable Fuels Association, said Tuesday that the trade group heard from EPA that it’s aiming to propose a rule for the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard by late spring or early summer. Under legislation from 2007, Congress set
February 23, 2022
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by Julia Bayly (Bangor Daily News) … The 2018 farm bill may have legalized hemp production, but it’s going to take language in the 2023 farm bill to remove lingering red tape regulating the crop. Those regulations stem from laws governing production of marijuana and, according to hemp growers, cast an unfair net
February 23, 2022
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Enacted in 2005 and expanded in 2007, the Renewable Fuels Standard has been a “resounding success” by any measure, the Renewable Fuels Association told the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in testimony submitted today ahead of a hearing on the landmark energy and environmental policy. “In addition to
February 16, 2022
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by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) Biofuel producers will urge U.S. Congressional leaders on Tuesday to change the methodology used in the Build Back Better Act to account for life-cycle emissions in the production of lower-carbon aviation fuel. Makers of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are angling for tax credits to
February 15, 2022
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by Rebecca White, Lieve Laurens, Nate Kommers (Algae Biomass Organization/Biofuels Diges) Among the dozens of policy innovations that Congress must consider in climate change legislation is a tool that could help trigger the next stage in decarbonizing one of the most significant industries in the world: aviation. The provision is a
February 15, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The Climate Leadership Council, a GOP-backed group supporting a carbon tax, is launching a new research center to explore how the U.S. could impose a border carbon adjustment or other policy to punish imports of high-polluting goods. Greg Bertelsen, CEO of the Council, told
February 15, 2022
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by Jeff Overton (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) During transportation day at COPO26, the focus for the aviation sector was setting targets and commitments for aviation emissions reduction, as well as the announcement of plans and strategies for lowering aviation’s climate impact. This final article in our series on sustainable aviation fuel
February 14, 2022
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by Jeff Overton (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) … The Biden-Harris Administration and Congress are focusing on expanding the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through multi-agency coordination to reduce climate emissions from aviation…. … On September 9, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge (the Grand Challenge)
February 14, 2022
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(Solutions from the Land) Members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry held a hearing with key USDA officials Wednesday that marks an important first step in the development of a 2023 Farm Bill that can be crafted to give farmers, ranchers and forestland owners the best opportunity to
February 3, 2022
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by Laura Sanicola (Reuters) Tax incentives for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in U.S. President Biden’s stalled Build Back Better legislation are not enough for oil refiner Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) to consider producing it instead of renewable diesel, executives said Thursday. … Refiners such as Valero have been exploring the production of
February 1, 2022
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by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … I (Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association CEO and President) also think the industry understands that we have a vision for the future of ethanol production that’s progressive and exciting. Too many people are pessimistic about the future of ethanol and obsessed with the
January 28, 2022
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Recognizing this, the governors of seven Midwest states sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan in early November seeking guidance from the agency on how best to pursue a specific—and little known—provision of the Clean Air Act that allows independent
January 27, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, provided an overview of political and regulatory issues impacting the biofuels sector, stressing that Iowa’s biofuel industry is “fed up but fired up.” The industry entered 2021 with renewed optimism, he said. “Vaccines were
January 26, 2022
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) You may have seen the breaking news last week that the National Biodiesel Board changed its name and expanded its mission, becoming the Clean Fuels Alliance America, but before the NBB did that, Kurt Kovarik, NBB’s VP of Federal Affairs, shared this illuminating slide guide at ABLC.
January 25, 2022
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(Diesel Technology Forum) A robust renewable fuels policy that recognizes today’s value and the future potential for expanded use of renewable fuels is no less important than writing a large $7.5 billion check for investments in infrastructure to boost electric or hydrogen fuel options. If we want to get working
January 18, 2022
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by Jasmin Melvin (S&P Global Platts) Ethanol group CEO calls out singular focus on EVs; Says ethanol ‘available now to jumpstart decarbonization’ — Emissions reductions benefits from electric vehicles are poised to make a big dent in the US’ carbon footprint over the long term, but the long lead time to overturn
January 13, 2022
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What clean fuel standards are on the horizon? Graham Noyes, Executive Director of the Low Carbon Fuels Coalition shared this illuminating slide guide on clean fuel standard fundamentals, LCFS and how it promotes investment in low carbon fuels, 6 big state clean fuel standards in progress,
January 13, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group representing the offshore energy industry, is calling on policymakers to lay the groundwork for Exxon Mobil and other companies to make the Gulf of Mexico a hub for carbon capture and storage projects. NOIA is releasing
January 12, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called on Congress to pass the bipartisan Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 2339 (117)) to allow year-round sales of fuel with higher blends of ethanol after the Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the issue. Selling fuel with 15 percent
January 12, 2022
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(The Messenger) Keeping industry strong is a top priority — The evolving renewable fuels industries – ethanol and biodiesel – are important contributors to our state’s prosperity. A recent study conducted by ABF Economics, based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, concludes that the state’s ethanol and biodiesel producers have a major impact.
January 10, 2022
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by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) … When Bob Dole agreed to co-sponsor an amendment with Tom Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota, it set in motion a series of events that became the building blocks for the modern ethanol industry. If we sketched out a family tree of
January 7, 2022
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper will testify at a House Agriculture Committee hearing on January 12 on the “Implications of Electric Vehicle Investments for Agriculture and Rural America.” “I look forward to participating in this timely and important hearing,” Cooper said. “I’m excited to share RFA’s views
January 6, 2022
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by Robert White (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … While the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit expired at the end of 2021, it still provides fuel marketers the ability to claim a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, up to $30,000, for fueling equipment for E85 and other alternatives
January 6, 2022
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by Hugo Martin (Los Angeles Times/Aviation Pros) … In a first, one of the two engines on the 737 Max 8 was powered exclusively by fuel made from used cooking oil and rendered waste fat from beef, pork and chicken. Refined at a Southern California plant, the fuel produces about 80%
January 5, 2022
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by Karl Plume (Reuters) … The purpose of cover crops is to restore soil, reduce erosion and to pull climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The carbon trapped in roots and other plant matter left in the soil is measured to create carbon credits that companies can use to offset
January 4, 2022
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by Dan Gearino (Inside Climate News) This 1970s Minnesota Farmers’ Uprising Tried to Block One. What Can it Teach Us? As the country moves toward a massive build-out of transmission lines, a decades-old rebellion offers a way through potential opposition. — If the United States is to make a transition to clean
January 4, 2022
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Ekrem Korkut and Lara B. Fowler (Frontiers in Energy Research) The United States, spurred in part by international developments, is expanding its law and policy to incentivize the use of sustainable aviation fuels. While the U.S. has agreed to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO’s) Carbon Offsetting and
January 3, 2022
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by Larry Lee (Brownfield Ag News) A Wisconsin Congressman remains optimistic about legislation that would require the EPA to stay on track with setting biofuel blending requirements. Representative Ron Kind tells Brownfield the Defend the Blend Act simply requires the EPA administrator to not reduce any volume of biofuel blending or
December 30, 2021
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by Amy Mayer (Agri-Pulse) A minor oilseed may be poised to take on a larger role as climate-smart policies emphasize low carbon fuels and the soil health benefits of cover crops. Camelina is seen by some as a cover crop that recoups a farmer’s investment because it can be harvested instead
December 29, 2021
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by Timothy Gardner and Valerie Volcovici (Reuters) … The bill contains billions of dollars to extend so-called 45Q tax credits for power and industrial plants to capture carbon emissions and store them underground or use it for other purposes. Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat who has sponsored 45Q legislation, said she
December 21, 2021
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(Office of Congressman Joe Neguse (R-CO 2nd)) Congressman Joe Neguse introduced the Clean Cooking Support Act,bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would address the health, environmental, and economic problems caused by exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires. The Clean Cooking Support Act reinforces the U.S. government’s commitment to spurring the adoption of
December 20, 2021
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(National Biodiesel Board) Economic and environmental benefits exceed $6 per gallon of biodiesel — The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) welcomed the release of a new report, “The Economic Benefits of the Biodiesel Blenders’ Credit,” from Capital Policy Analytics. The report calculates annual economic benefits of $15 billion and environmental benefits of
December 17, 2021
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by Ian Duncan (Washington Post) A Provision in the Budget Bill Would Reward Transportation Agencies for Bringing down Missions from Driving, while Penalizing Others — A measure in the House’s $2 trillion economic initiative would require states to cut greenhouse gas emissions, promising rewards for transportation departments that post reductions
December 16, 2021
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(U.S. President Joe) Biden’s plan could make buying and charging electric cars easier, but electric vehicles are only as clean as the grids that power them. Studies have shown that electric cars drawing power from coal-heavy grids can actually be worse for the climate than hybrids. — Neel Dhanesha, VOX READ
December 16, 2021
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by Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg Quint) The Biden administration is preparing to impose more stringent limits on car and truck emissions in an effort to clamp down on a top U.S. source of the greenhouse gases fueling climate change. The standards, set to govern passenger cars and light trucks from model
December 16, 2021
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by Tyne Morgan (AgWeb Farm Journal) As airlines work to reduce their carbon footprint, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel are taking flight. Earlier this month, United Airlines successfully completed the first flight running on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a 100% renewable fuel made from products such as cooking oil, vegetable
December 15, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Rep. Ro Khanna, who led the House Oversight Environment Subcommittee’s probe into the oil and gas industry earlier this year, wants to end tax credits for carbon capture that is used to pump more oil out of the ground. Khanna introduced the End Polluter
December 14, 2021
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by Thor Benson (Daily Beast/Yahoo!) … Hydrogen fuel cells—which aren’t electric batteries themselves but can work in lieu of them without the need to recharge—are another potential solution to the intermittency problem. These types of fuel cells, according to Sadoway (Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at MIT), are currently too
December 13, 2021
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by Philip Brasher (Agri-Pulse) The biofuel tax incentives in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill could insure a growing market for soybean oil and other farm commodities, but the trucking industry worries the subsidies will kick off a war with the airlines over feedstocks. READ MORE
December 9, 2021
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by Marc Heller (E&E News) Thirteen years ago, Congress decided a tax credit for companies that blend biodiesel shouldn’t go to refineries that put just a drop of the alternative fuel’s main ingredient — crops, animal fat and other organic material — into petroleum. The idea, lawmakers said, was to use
December 8, 2021
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by Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa) Iowa Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says two Democrats are co-sponsoring a bill with her dealing with ethanol. “There are a lot of rumors circulating that the EPA might retroactively reduce the biofuels blending requirements for 2020. So, I felt it was imperative that we had to act,”
December 6, 2021
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by Robert White (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … What is clear, however, is that true energy security and resilience lies in greater fuel diversity, not greater dependence on crude oil. The benefits of ethanol and other biofuels are also clear. Ethanol offers a less-expensive octane enhancer for the fuel mix that
December 3, 2021
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(Office of Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)) U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) announced that their bipartisan Carbon Capture Improvement Act has been signed into law as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IIJA recently passed the House in a vote of 228-206, having previously passed the Senate in
November 30, 2021
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by Peter Minor (Carbon 180) In discussions of promising carbon removal technologies, direct air capture (DAC) can often steal the limelight. That tracks with the industry narrative: a futuristic technology that will cheaply “solve” climate change by literally sucking CO₂ out of the air, without the verification and land use
November 24, 2021
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by Leah Douglas (Reuters) … The project, dubbed the Midwest Carbon Express, had ambitions to become the world’s largest carbon dioxide pipeline, moving climate-warming greenhouse gases from Midwest biofuels plants to North Dakota for permanent storage underground. … The 65-year-old is among dozens of landowners along the route who are
November 24, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) A bipartisan group of Midwestern lawmakers is taking aim at the potential for EPA to retroactively lower biofuel blending mandates under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Ron Kind (D-Wis.) introduced the Defend the Blend Act on Tuesday that would prevent the agency from
November 24, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) On Monday, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, the National Biodiesel Board, National Corn Growers Association, and National Farmers Union thanked Congress for efforts to “build new markets for farmers and biofuel producers and help lower the carbon intensity of agriculture.” In a joint letter to the chairs of the
November 23, 2021
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by Timothy Gardner and Alexandra Alper (Reuters) … The White House on Friday pressed the OPEC producer group again to maintain adequate global supply, days after U.S. discussions with some of the world’s biggest economies over potentially releasing oil from strategic reserves to quell high energy prices. The Biden administration has asked
November 22, 2021
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by Leticia Phillips (UNICA/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Successful programs like California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and RenovaBio remind us that not all climate answers emanate from Capitol Hill. Absent consensus on climate policy at the federal level, following the Golden State’s lead seems prudent. … Even if Democrats agree to a
November 19, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Just back from the AFCC (Alternative Fuels and Chemicals Coalition) event in Washington, and I have to say, the mood was reasonably glum in the world of Sustainable Aviation Fuels, where you’d think that the leaders would sound like brides and bridegrooms on the brink of
November 19, 2021
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by Jenna Hoffman (AgWeb) BioUrja Ethanol Trading Manager Jordan Fife shared blending insights with AgriTalk’s host Chip Flory earlier this week. Fife says when you pull up to the pump, 10% ethanol blended fuel is going to be cheaper than straight gasoline, even if they’re both at the 87 percent octane. He
November 18, 2021
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by Rachel Pannett (Washington Post) New research casts doubt on the environmental credentials of ‘blue’ hydrogen produced using fossils fuels — … But a new study published in the journal Applied Energy found making hydrogen from fossil fuels produces “substantial” greenhouse gas emissions that are the driver of global warming, even with carbon
November 18, 2021
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(American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) During its Nov. 10 meeting, the American Coalition for Ethanol board of directors voted to support new policies that credit farmers and ethanol producers for activities helping ethanol reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mid-century. THE RESOLUTION: The ACE Board of Directors supports the
November 17, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit on Nov. 16 hosted a hearing on the renewable economy to help inform development of the next Farm Bill. The event featured testimony on the importance of biofuels, the Renewable Fuel Standard, year-round E15, and
November 17, 2021
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by Ben Lefebre (Politico) “Feeling pain at the pump? Biden doesn’t care,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel posted on Twitter last week. … And some of those discussions would likely backfire on Democrats, especially any effort to reduce ethanol blending levels in the nation’s gasoline pool, a program that the
November 17, 2021
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by Keith Reid (Fuels Market News) LEADING FUELS-FOCUSED GROUPS SEE ALTERNATIVE FUELS AS KEY PLAYERS IN A NET-ZERO ENVIRONMENT. … From international political centers to state governments, there seems to be a rush to not only work toward low-carbon goals but to ban internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). … Meanwhile,
November 12, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Poitico’s Morning Energy) STAFFING UP: The Energy Department expects to add about 1,000 jobs to its ranks to help implement the new spending laid out in the bipartisan infrastructure deal. “Over the coming days, weeks [and] months, we are going to have to staff up and we’re
November 11, 2021
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by Siddharth Vikram Philip and Ben Elgin (Bloomberg Green) Plant-based fuels are expensive and not entirely clean. — Airlines rolled out a slew of sustainable fuel initiatives in the run-up to COP26, aiming to prove they’re serious about the fight against global warming. … If scaled quickly, SAF could help
November 10, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., on Nov. 5 introduced the Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act, which aims to require the U.S. EPA to process long-delayed Renewable Fuel Standard pathway applications to generate eRINs, allowing biomass facilities generating electricity to participate in the federal RFS
November 10, 2021
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by Jennifer Nichols (Atlantic News Telegraph) … (Congressman Cindy) Axne, along with USDA’s Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small visited Elite Octane Tuesday morning, and said the bill includes $2 billion for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to provide grants to farmers and small
November 10, 2021
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by Jeff Beach (AgWeek)Gevo’s Luverne, Minnesota, plant is again making isobutanol and next year will be converting into a hydrocarbon facility to make sustainable aviation fuel. — After shutting down in March 2020 in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gevo’s Luverne plant is again making isobutanol and next year will
November 9, 2021
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by Michael Bates (NGT News) … Late Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1 trillion federal infrastructure spending bill that will not only modernize the nation’s roads and bridges, but also provide a boost to transit agencies’ efforts toward decarbonization and help build a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging
November 9, 2021
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by Mychael Schnell (The Hill) House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Wednesday will introduce a bill that aims to bolster President Biden’s commitment at COP26 to end and reverse deforestation by allocating billions of dollars to the effort. The bill, first reported by CNN, calls for creating a $9 billion trust fund at the
November 4, 2021
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by Cassie Mullen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Retailers will need to soon make major decisions about replacement, and there has never been a better time to replace or upgrade, thanks to a number of state and federal programs that can help defray the cost. We covered some of these
November 4, 2021
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(Office of Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17)) Today (November 3, 2021), during a House Agriculture Committee hearing on the immediate challenges to the nation’s food supply chain, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17)responded to testimony urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set lower 2021 and 2022 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) mandates for biodiesel
November 4, 2021
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by Larry Lee (Brownfield Ag News) … (Geoff) ”Cooper says RFA is concerned about the language regarding how the carbon emissions of different sustainable aviation fuel pathways are assessed and measured. Cooper says he is excited about the carbon performance tax credit included in the framework. “We’re pleased to see that
November 2, 2021
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ABLC 2021 continues today with its theme of ““building a bridge to Net Zero” after a flurry of announcements buzzed around the floor yesterday, as the 560 delegates grappled with the immense opportunities and supply chain challenges posed by the world’s rapid turn towards charting a
October 30, 2021
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by By Rep. Randy Feenstra (Agri-Pulse) … As gasoline prices skyrocket and President Biden and congressional Democrats are increasingly compelled to reduce carbon emissions, the facts paint a clear picture: Now is the time for Biden to embrace biofuels. Iowa leads the nation in biofuels production, and it is a critical
October 30, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) Solutions from the Land applauds the inclusion of much needed agricultural climate action investments in the $1.75-trillion Build Back Better Act (BBBA) spending and tax framework introduced Thursday that would increase investments in climate smart agriculture (CSA) and boost biofuels. It is anticipated that the CSA
October 29, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) are introducing a trifecta of legislation, dubbed the Hydrogen Infrastructure Initiative, to bolster hydrogen deployment and support new infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like shipping and heavy industry. Two of the bills would create new grant programs
October 28, 2021
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(Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Amid a global energy crisis and rising fuel prices at pumps across the country, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Emily Skor released the following statement slamming the legislation for trying to reduce Americans’ access to homegrown,
October 27, 2021
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(Good News Network) Replacing petroleum-based aviation fuel with a sustainable alternative derived from a type of mustard plant can reduce carbon emissions by up to 68%, according to new research from a University of Georgia scientist. Puneet Dwivedi led a team that studied the break-even price and lifetime carbon emissions
October 26, 2021
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(Office of Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04)) “These proposals aim to help consumers and taxpayers save money while also bolstering demand for corn, soybeans, and biofuels produced in the 4th District.” — In an effort to expand uses for biofuels, Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04) has introduced the Comparison of Sustainable Transportation (COST)
October 22, 2021
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by Will Englund (Washington Post) … Seventy-four times last year, the wind across Upstate New York dropped so low that for stretches of eight hours or more barely any electricity was produced. Nearly half the year, the main transmission line feeding the metropolitan area was at full capacity, so that
October 13, 2021
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by Gene Lucht (Iowa Farmer Today) Things are looking up, but they are also very much up in the air when it comes to ethanol this year. While ethanol production facilities have benefited from an improved national economy as the U.S. emerges from the economic doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry experts
October 12, 2021
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(LanzaTech) Visit highlights the potential of rural America to create domestic supplies of sustainable fuels and chemicals. — LanzaTech and LanzaJet welcomed Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Senator Jon Ossoff to the Freedom Pines Biorefinery in Soperton, Georgia. The site is a center of research, development and scale-up
October 12, 2021
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by Paula Martinez (Iowa Labor News) These bills represent a once-in-a-lifetime investment in our recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and the ongoing crises of our failing roads and bridges, climate change, and low wages. READ MORE Rep. Axne on Delayed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Vote: “All-At-Once or Nothing is No Way
October 8, 2021
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(Government Accountability Office) … From 1970 to 2018 (the most recent data available), plastic waste in the U.S. grew tenfold. While recycling rates remained low, advanced recycling technologies could help increase recycling rates, and in turn reduce waste and pollution, especially if a few key challenges are overcome. Today’s WatchBlog post
October 8, 2021
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by Robert White (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Significantly increasing the use of low-carbon renewable fuels like ethanol follows along different tracks. Legislatively, for example, there’s the bipartisan Clean Fuels Vehicle Act of 2021, which would provide incentives for automakers to build more flex-fuel vehicles that can run on higher blends like
October 7, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) … The California oil spill is drawing scrutiny in Washington, with the White House closely monitoring the situation and Democratic lawmakers pushing to curtail offshore drilling. … OC OIL SPILL SPURS CALLS FOR ENDING OFFSHORE DRILLING: Local, state and federal forces are joining with industry
October 5, 2021
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(Solutions from the Land) … Those who advocate for no- and low-carbon fuels and other energy solutions come from across political parties – Democrats and Republicans – and from all along the spectrum of partisan views – from liberals to conservatives. The spread of support across the aisle comes at a
October 2, 2021
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(AgNewsWire) U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) have introduced bipartisan legislation to create a program within USDA to provide loan financing to farmers and ranchers interested in purchasing precision agriculture equipment. Sen. Fischer spoke on the Senate floor Monday about the Precision Agriculture Loan (PAL) Act, highlighting the importance of
September 29, 2021
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by Laura Davison, Ari Natter, and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Carbon tax gains momentum as talks on spending bill heat up; Plan would use tax proceeds to send cash payments to Americans — Senate Democrats are developing a carbon-tax proposal that could potentially be used to offset some of the costs
September 27, 2021
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by Anna Simet (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … While “accelerate” was the theme of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s 34th annual conference—market growth being vital—the myriad policy, investment and operational issues explored at the event orbited largely around the industry’s overarching low-carbon ambitions. And with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs)
September 25, 2021
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by Melissa Anderson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Defour Group’s Dean Drake, a former GM public policy analyst, says liquid fuels have a shared future with electric vehicles if ethanol blending methods, engine technology and policy can align. His plan involves match blending mid-level blends. … Drake, however, says we should
September 25, 2021
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by Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA 3rd) (Agri-Pulse) … Starting this spring, I made it my mission to help members of the Biden Administration, the Senate, and my own colleagues in the House understand the key advantages of biofuels – from the fact that it’s been proven to be more than
September 24, 2021
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by Ben Nuelle (Agri-Pulse) The key committee provisions in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package show that Democrats in Congress are in line with President Joe Biden’s vision to put electric vehicles — not biofuels — at the forefront of the fight against climate change. READ MORE Inclusion of Tax Credits
September 22, 2021
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by Irina Slav (OilPrice.com) … Last week, the House Oversight Committee wrote to the executives of the biggest oil companies operating in the United States along with the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to inform them that it is now investigating these companies for disinformation on climate change.
September 21, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) During an appearance before the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City and Agri-Pulse Ag Outlook Forum Monday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed concerns about the proposed tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel that it might leave out corn and soybean feedstocks. Agri-Pulse editor and president Sara Wyant asked the secretary
September 21, 2021
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by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The key to cleaner and more affordable energy for American consumers lies not in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Russia, but in the farm fields of our nation’s heartland. Our leaders in Washington should be looking to American farmers for
September 21, 2021
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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
September 20, 2021
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by Daniel Gage (NGVAmerica/ACT News) The recently approved Senate Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 includes multiple opportunities to improve not just the health of our planet, but of its people. The Senate bill rightfully recognizes that natural gas vehicles (NGVs) can and should play an important role in
September 20, 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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by Matthew Choi and Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) … The draft bill is subject to amendment and already agriculture and biofuels groups are sounding the alarm on language that would provide a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel that they argue should be changed, or else risk undercutting the
September 14, 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 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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(Office of Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)) U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) – joined by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) – announced new legislation to require the biggest polluters to begin paying their fair share for a just
September 10, 2021
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(Biofuels International) US senators are urging Congressional leaders to include support for homegrown renewable fuels in the upcoming reconciliation package. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Cindy Axne (D-IA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), and Mark
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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(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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(Office of Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)) U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Cindy Axne (D-IA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of
September 3, 2021
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Growth Energy Submits Comments to EPA on Biofuels’ Role in Reducing Emissions from Aviation Sector
(Growth Energy) Growth Energy submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the agency’s particulate matter (PM) emissions standards and test procedures for jet engines, and the role biofuels play in reducing PM and greenhouse gas emissions in mobile sources including the aviation sector. “As we have already seen with higher