There is also an exciting opportunity for American Chemical Society student chapter leaders to share their teams’ successes with the broader chemistry community at the next ACS National Meeting in New Orleans. ACS GCI and Beyond …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Yes, ARPA-E has unveiled its latest moonshot and is investing $22M in Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources — also known as MARINER.
The projects that comprise ARPA-E’s Macroalgae Research Inspiring …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Louisiana, reports surfaced in Alexandria’s TownTalk online paper that Sundrop Fuels has struck an agreement to sell the 1200-acre site where it once planned to build its $450 million, 50 million …

by Pam Radtke Russell (Engineering News Record)  From Seattle to Cape Cod, see what’s being done at 18 different locations  —  … In this special report, Engineering News-Record’s team of editors and reporters look at …

by Joe Heim (The Washington Post)   On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, rising seawater levels and chronic flooding threaten to disrupt daily life, damage homes and businesses, and swallow land in the relatively near future, according …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry today (July 17, 2017) announced $40 million in Department of Energy awards for the establishment of four DOE Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs), which …

by Barry Guillot  (Times-Picayune)  … Dillon Deshotel doesn’t worry about gas prices. Deshotel, a recent Destrehan High graduate, makes his own biodiesel at home. For him, fluctuating gas prices are irrelevant. His fuel is always less …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Iowa, Renewable Energy Group announced that Dan Oh has resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors.  The resignation was …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGI) is the US’  biggest producer of biomass-based diesel, and leading provider of cleaner, lower carbon intensity products and services. REG utilizes an integrated procurement, …

(Biofuels International)  US advanced biofuels producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) has hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the company’s operations centre in Amsterdam.
The team in Amsterdam will support the company’s international operations …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  The U.S. EPA recently posted a notice to its website approving a fuel pathway for Renewable Energy Group Inc.’s Geismar, Louisiana, biorefinery. The plant can now generate D5 advanced biofuel …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …  If you’re not chasing biosuccinic or at least salivating over it, check your pulse. DSM, PTT, Mitsui, Roquette, Corbion, Vinmar and BASF are just a few of the major …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  From Iowa we received news that Renewable Energy Group has agreed to acquire approximately 82 acres of land at its Geismar, Louisiana biorefinery from Lion Copolymer, for $20M. The goal? …

by Todd Masson (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)  Boating and fishing industry leaders sent a letter to President Donald Trump Wednesday asking the administration to reexamine the Renewable Fuel Standard that dictates how much of the …

by Ron Kotrba (Biomass Magazine)  U.S. imports of biomass-based diesel hit extreme heights in 2016, fulfilling a third of the consumption market, driving the domestic biodiesel industry to more actively seek counteracting measures to protect …

by Steve Hardy (The Advocate)  Environmentalists and industrialists find themselves standing shoulder to shoulder as they try to maintain a tax credit for low-emission vehicles.
The tax break encourages buyers to support Louisiana natural gas while …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  California Air Resources Board recently released a set of carbon intensity (CI) pathways for fuels certified under the readopted low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) using the CA-GREET 2.0 model. Eighteen …

(Growth Energy)  Louisiana is now the 29th state to offer consumers a better choice at the pump – gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol known as E15.
The latest in this market expansion is a RaceTrac …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Louisiana, the Diamond Green Diesel facility in Norco will expand its annual production capacity of renewable diesel from 10,000 barrels per day to 18,000 bpd (275 million gallons per …

by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association)  Half of U.S. states blended more than 10 percent ethanol, RFA’s president and CEO points out in his View from the Hill column —  Reps. Bill Flores, R-Texas, and …

(U.S. Department of Energy)  Today, the Energy Department (DOE) announced up to $7 million for eight universities to accelerate the introduction of affordable, scalable, and sustainable high-performance fuels for use in high-efficiency, low-emission engines. Under the Co-Optimization …

(AgriMarketing/Reuters)  Sarnia, Ontario, home to dozens of Canada’s refineries and chemical plants, is lobbying hard to lure a biotech plant to the city as the local petrochemical-powered economy braces for the impact of a provincial …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  Renewable Energy Group Inc. recently released third quarter financial results, providing updates of operations at its Geismar renewable hydrocarbon diesel facility, its biodiesel operations, and other activities.
During an investor call, …

(Convenience Store News)  More than 100 Southern stores to add the renewable product soon. — RaceTrac will expand its fuel offering this year with the debut of E15 fuel at its convenience stores throughout the …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  Renewable Energy Group Inc. is quietly celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a series of videos being released to commemorate the company’s—and the biodiesel industry’s—significant growth and maturation over the past decade. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for agricultural uses.  What can you use Aerial Data Analysis for? Says Precision Hawk’s Ally Ferguson, quite a lot. Crop health indices, Plant height, Canopy cover, …

by Almuth Ernsting (Biofuelwatch/The Biomass Monitor)  …  As far as Branson and his airline, Virgin Atlantic, were concerned, the flight was indeed no more than a stunt: The “biofuel test flight” burned 95% ordinary kerosene and …

(Prothom-Alo)   Bangladeshi computer scientist has been awarded in the United States for developing software and theoretical underpinning needed to help convert algae into biofuel.
Md Tamjidul Hoque, an assistant professor of the computer science department …

by Brady Dennis (The Washington Post)  The real estate data firm Zillow recently published a research analysis that estimated rising sea levels could leave nearly 2 million U.S. homes inundated by 2100, a fate that …

by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer)  Coalition Sees Opportunity in Higher Fuel Economy Standards  —  Leaders and founders of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition see a push for higher fuel-economy standards as the next opportunity to …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $8.8 million to boost the production of advanced biofuels and sustain jobs at renewable energy facilities …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  Renewable Energy Group Inc. recently released first quarter financial results, reporting its 75 MMgy Geismar renewable diesel plant in Louisiana restarted operations in March. The plant, formerly known as Dynamic …

(Next-Gen Transportation News)  Darling Ingredients Inc. is expanding the Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) facility in Norco, La., to increase annual production capacity from 160 million gallons of renewable diesel to 275 million gallons.
…
Production is expected …

by Curt Bennink (ForConstructionPros.com)  By now, most are familiar with biodiesel. It is a cost-effective and more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based diesel fuels when used in the correct applications.
“Biodiesel improves lubricity when compared …

by  Alan Neuhauser (US News and World Report)  America’s fracking boom promised big paychecks, but thousands of workers were exploited, the Labor Department says. —  … Despite booming industry profits and record oil and gas output …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Renewable diesel demand is booming, booming, booming. We’ve tipped it repeatedly in The Digest, not least with our March Madness webinar last week on “Renewable Diesel’s Boom”. Any doubts may …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … It’s been a couple of years since we visited REG and the difference is palpable. The company has become a little ADM, rather than a big Amyris or TerraVia. You …

(350.org)  “Break Free” protests this May will see actions at fossil fuel sites around the world  —  Hundreds of people marched around the Superdome in New Orleans on Wednesday and then headed inside to disrupt …

by Sebastien Malo (PlanetArk/Reuters)  A small Native American community in coastal Louisiana is to be resettled after losing nearly all its land partly due to rising seas, a first in the United States.
The band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, …

(St. Landry Parish/Biomass Magazine) St. Landry Parish has officially opened its expanded BioCNG Vehicle Fuel Facility at its sanitary landfill, which is now fueling Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. refuse vehicles collecting residential trash in St. Landry …

by Kay Ledbette (Texas A&M AgriLife)   …  Russ Jessup, an AgriLife Research perennial grass breeder in College Station, said he is introducing a new biofuel-biomass feedstock that is a hybrid “similar to seedless watermelons, …

by Katie Fletcher (Biomass Magazine) …The Raceland plant uses technology developed by Virdia and enables cellulosic biomass, such as wood or agricultural waste, to be converted into highly refined sugars. It is located in the vicinity of existing sugar cane plantations and will …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Virginia, Green Plains Inc. announced this week that it had acquired an ethanol production facility in Hopewell, Virginia, located approximately 20 miles south of Richmond, from Future Fuels LLP. …

The National Ethanol Conference (NEC) is the most widely attended executive level conference for the ethanol industry. Since 1996, the RFA’s NEC has been recognized as the preeminent conference for delivering accurate, timely information on …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  All have soaring ambitions, some will be realized on schedule, some later, some probably not now or possibly ever.  Where are 10 key projects that were announced in recent years …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  License agreement adds countries in Southeast Asia; Optional capacity for up to 75,000 metric tons per year; Targeting large-scale commercial production of renewable butanediol using Genomatica technology
In California, BASF and …

by  Anna Hirtenstein (Bloomberg Business)  As the digital age curtails use of newsprint and stationary, European paper makers are retooling their factories to produce more profitable materials that go into everything from fuels to sweeteners …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  USDA announces state finalists for the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership. Will it move the needle? The Digest investigates.  In Washington, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that 21 states will receive …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 21 states will receive grants through the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) to add infrastructure needed to supply more renewable fuel to America’s drivers. Since …

(Greenea)  Overcapacity, shortage of sustainable feedstock, blending wall… they all contribute to the increasingly challenging situation on the biodiesel market in Europe. At the same time, new HVO investments start to pop up like mushrooms …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  What are the infrastructure hold-ups with renewable fuels? What are 7 Blend Wall Busters that can get renewable fuels back into high gear? … Between 13.5 billion gallons and the 36 …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  It’s been around for a generation or so — fast pyrolysis, that is. Though in the original low-tech incarnation — known as “cooking fire” — pyrolysis has been around since …

(UPS/Globe Newswire)  UPS® (NYSE:UPS) today announced agreements for up to 46 million gallons of renewable fuels over the next three years, constituting a 15-fold increase over prior contracts and making UPS one of the largest …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …  AMCREF invests in projects and business located in the Southern U.S. that generate high quality jobs and provide environmental benefits. We provide low cost capital via a federal program …

by Chris Prentice (Reuters)  Valero Energy Corp, one of the biggest U.S. oil refiners, is preparing to sell ethanol for export for the first time, the company said, betting on the $2 billion overseas market …

(Las Vegas Review-Journal)  … Although auto manufacturers have longed warned against using gas containing more than 10 percent ethanol, the Environmental Protection Agency — along with misguided renewable-fuel advocates, the big agriculture lobby and their friends …

by Stephen Edelstein (Green Car Reports)  … Green Car Reports contributor and electric-motorcycle roadtripper Ben Rich encountered an unusual vehicle on U.S. Route 12 Sunday, while bypassing New Orleans on a cross-country ride.
He wrote us to ask …

By Timothy Cama (The Hill)  A new Republican bill introduced Tuesday (June 16, 2015) would completely repeal the federal mandate to blend ethanol into the nation’s gasoline supply.
Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) legislation would completely do …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … Lead organization in development of energycane and sweet sorghum for use as biofuel crops in the deep South … Bringing to fruition the first energy crop to sugar syrup processing facility …

by Sarah Shemkus (The Guardian)  Colorado-based startup Cool Planet says it has created a fuel that mixes seamlessly with gasoline and actually removes carbon from the atmosphere
The entrepreneurs and innovators at Colorado-based Cool Planet are betting …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to $100 million in a Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership to support the infrastructure needed to make …

by Damian Carrington and Harry Davies (The Guardian/MSN.com)   The world’s biggest and most profitable fossil fuel companies are receiving huge and rising subsidies from US taxpayers, a practice slammed as absurd by a presidential candidate given …

(The Advertiser)  BP is closing its biofuels plant in Jennings, ending jobs there for 56 people.  Aline Thoeny, human resources manager for BP, sent notice Monday to Andre France of the Louisiana Workforce Commission Dislocated …

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing during Earth Week examining the impacts of sea level rise and oil and gas extraction on Native American communities. Across the United States, …

ABFC is the gathering point for the top supply chain leaders in the Advanced Bioeconomy — bringing together the entire spectrum of CEOs and senior executives in business development, R&D, strategic partners, finance, policy and …

ABFC is the gathering point for the top supply chain leaders in the Advanced Bioeconomy — bringing together the entire spectrum of CEOs and senior executives in business development, R&D, strategic partners, finance, policy and …

by Aaren Gordon (Daily Comet)  Construction has started on a $60 million plant in Raceland that will convert sugar cane waste into chemicals, sweeteners and biofuels by 2017.

The project next to Raceland Raw Sugar Corp. …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  … “This past year we delivered solid results despite a rapidly declining energy market and market uncertainty,” said Daniel J. Oh, president and CEO of REG. “Our business model has enabled us …

by Rich Piellisch (Fleets & Fuels)  BioCNG is extending its work for the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District in Louisiana, upgrading an existing landfill gas-based compressed natural gas fueling station in Washington, La. …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Project of the Year, Deal of the Year, Partnership of the Year, Chemical of the Year, and Cap Raise of the Year — who are the big winners?  Each year, the …

by Denise Attaway (Louisiana State University)  LSU AgCenter researchers continue to evaluate energycane varieties planted in north Louisiana as a possible new crop for producers to grow as a biofuel feedstock.
About 1,000 experimental varieties of …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The complete details on BP’s exit and the considerable physical and intellectual assets available for acquisition, in part or in whole.  As BP continues to reel from its oil leak …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Oil prices continue to show incredible volatility. $106 in June, $50 today. Which biofuels ventures have the pro-formas to make money in a tough market? The Digest investigates.
…
Avello Bioenergy
Cost: $57.50 per …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bunnies, liposuction fat, Prince Charles’ leftover wine, day-old whale, the human poo bus, fire ants dipped in hexane, old beer, raging fireballs, vibrating blobs, dope, and even the New Orleans …

by Mark Hay (Good Magazine)  At some point in your life, Escherichia coli has probably brought you to your knees topray to the porcelain god. Common bacteria that often live harmlessly in the guts of …

by Tim Reid (Reuters)  … In Houston, Texas, the first oil industry layoffs have been announced, with realtors there predicting a sharp decline, up to 12 percent, in home sales next year.
Alaska’s 2015 fiscal year …

by Sheela Tobben (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)  BP Plc (BP/) plans to close down its U.S. cellulosic operation by the end of next year’s first quarter, according to a person familiar with the development.
The business was part of …

by Talla Buford (The Center for Public Integrity)  … By 2018, the land (Stacey) Ryan and other holdouts have fought to keep will be consumed by an $8.1 billion ethane cracker and a multibillion-dollar gas-to-liquids …

by Jennifer Larino (NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune)    Louisiana added 225 jobs in the biofuels industry during the third quarter, ranking alongside states such as Texas and Connecticut for clean energy job growth, according to the latest …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … In many ways, REG is the entire industrial biotech business in a nutshell. They’re fermentation (through REG Life Sciences), and thermocatalytic (through REG Geismar and their extensive biodiesel business). …

(Louisiana State University/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Sweet sorghum is not currently grown as a commercial crop in Louisiana, but in the future, producers may consider growing it for use as a biofuel feedstock.  To help guide …

Sharing of information and collaboration between algae producers, commercially-minded algae researchers, engineers and equipment companies are key factors in building the algae production industry.  NAA is technology neutral. Algae technologies must be proven outside the …

Sharing of information and collaboration between algae producers, commercially-minded algae researchers, engineers and equipment companie are key factors in building the algae production industry.  NAA is technology neutral. Algae technologies must be proven outside the …

by Brent Erickson (Biotechnology Industry Organization/The Hill)  In a recently released report entitled “Why Biobased?” the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) answers the question of why America should invest in a biobased economy.  The report …

(Renewable Energy Group)  Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGI) announced today that commercial-scale quantities of renewable hydrocarbon diesel (RHD) produced at the company’s Geismar, Louisiana biorefinery are now available for sale.
The first truckloads of REG-9000™/RHD produced …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) USDA issues $91M loan guarantee conditional commit to Cool Planet.  Obama Administration back building of the company’s first commercial plant in Louisiana, as it opens its first commercial-scale Cool Terra …

by Nikki Henderson (ArkLaTex Homepage)  Sweet sorghum is not currently grown as a commercial crop in Louisiana, but in the future, producers may consider growing it for use as a biofuel feedstock.
To help guide commercial production …

(National Algae Association/PR.com)  After over 6 decades of time, and billions of dollars spent at the direction of the Department of Energy and other government agencies, one thing is for sure – algae for fuels …

(Honeywell)  Emerald Biofuels LLC to produce renewable diesel under U.S. Department of Defense program
UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE: HON) company, announced today that its advanced process technology will be used to produce renewable diesel for the U.S. military …

by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA)  Golden Leaf Energy’s Troy A. Clark grew up in Louisiana. Studying chemical engineering at Tulane University brought him into contact with the oil industry. And yet, as his career …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Washington, the Department of Defense has awarded $210 million under the Defense Production Act to Emerald Biofuels, Fulcrum BioEnergy and Red Rock Bio towards the construction of biorefineries that produce cost-competitive, drop-in …

(Office of the Governor Bobby Jindal)  Governor Bobby Jindal and Chief Operating Officer Frank Randazzo of NFR BioEnergy announced the company will make a $312 million capital investment to install biorefineries at more than 10 …

Infocast’s 6th Annual Next Generation Bio-Based and Sustainable Chemicals Summit debuts in New Orleans, LA, co-located with informEx for the first time to provide attendees with unparalleled networking capabilities  and access to exhibitors. Bio-based tech start-ups, brand owners, chemical majors, …

(New Orleans City Business)  A Lafourche Parish mill will be the site of a $60 million biochemical facility that will turn the waste product of the sugar refining process into a useable product.
Virdia Inc. announced …

by Mark Waller (New Orleans Times Picayune) For Brandon Iglesias, there wasn’t a specific moment of revelation. Unlike some entrepreneurs, he didn’t spot a glaring gap in an industry and move in to solve the problem. …

by Jennifer Larino (NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune )  Cool Planet Energy Systems, a Colorado energy startup that aims to turn woodchips and other organic waste into gasoline as well as a crop-boosting soil enhancer, says it has …

by Ted Griggs (The Advocate)   Renewable Energy Group plans to spend $15 million in the next 12 months on the company’s Geismar facility, which makes diesel from animal fat.
“Some of that you’d probably consider just …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Will the old Buckeye Ethanol site in South Point, Ohio be transformed into an ultra-modern base for renewable diesel and jet fuel blendstocks?
That’s the vision for a new project origination …

By Mark Drajem   (Bloomberg)  In the arid Imperial Valley of California, Tim Brummels is trying to turn an agricultural cousin of sugarcane into low-carbon ethanol.
It’s the kind of climate-friendly project supporters have pined for …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  1. The Hot 50 and Hot 30:  A perennial favorite. This year, Solazyme topped the list while LanzaTech slipped into second place.  …
2. The Top 100 People:  Another perennial. This …

(National Algae Association)  The National Algae Association is pleased to announce that one of its algae incubator program companies, Natural Algae Production, LLC of Louisiana, has broken ground on a new 10 acre algae farm. …

(Arkansas Business)  Renewable Energy Group Inc. has reached an agreement with Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale to acquire Tyson’s 50 percent ownership of Dynamic Fuels LLC, the companies announced Wednesday.
The deal, contingent upon REG’s previously …

(Renewable Energy Group)  Deal to Result in REG Owning All of 75-Million Gallon Renewable Diesel Biorefinery
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGI) has reached an agreement with Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) to acquire Tyson’s 50% …

by Henry Fountain (The New York Times)  … “Biodiesel is made from all sorts of fats and oils,” said Ben Evans of the National Biodiesel Board, a trade group based in Washington. While oils made from …

By Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Researchers reported on a novel method this week at the 247th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, to produce biodiesel from crude animal fats, including waste fat from alligators, using supercritical methanol …

Leaders from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined top executives from the automobile and fuel industries Saturday at Sebring International Raceway to praise the International Motor Sports …

(Algae Biomass Organization)  Analysis can reduce time, cost associated with site development
The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, today (March 10, 2014) lauded a new publication from the Pacific Northwest …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … “You will never have enough affordable hydrogen.”   Perhaps that is the attractor in the news from little-known Solarvest Bioenergy, when they announced  third party confirmation of their bio-hydrogen expression system following the …

The Bioenergy Technologies Office is hosting a Workshop on Thursday, April 3, 2014 at the Renaissance New Orleans Arts Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. This workshop will explore the resource expansion potential for conventional refineries …

(Cool Planet/Biomass Magazine)  Cool Planet Energy Systems, a technology company producing green fuels and biochar products, has broken ground on the company’s first commercial facility in Alexandria, La., dubbed Project Genesis. Permits have been received …

The US Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office is hosting a Bio-Oil Co-Processing: Expanding the Refinery Supply System Workshop on April 3, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. This workshop will explore the potential to partner …

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  When the organizers of the American Le Mans Series announced the merger with NASCAR’s GRAND-AM series, we noted that the future of green racing was uncertain.  GRAND-AM vehicles never …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  As federal biodiesel policy uncertainty rises, low-cost biodiesel production with new technologies to allow processing of cheaper, lower quality feedstocks, is paramount. Biodiesel Magazine provides a cross-section of new technologies …

(Renewable Energy Group/Biodiesel Magazine)  Renewable Energy Group Inc. and Syntroleum Corp. announced Dec. 17 that they have entered into an asset purchase agreement pursuant to which REG would acquire substantially all of the assets of Syntroleum …

by Clare Foran (National Journal)  Senators are working on separate bills to aggressively reduce the amount of corn-based ethanol required under the renewable-fuel standard.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works held a hearing Dec. 11 on the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set 2014 volume requirements under the renewable fuel …

(US Department of Energy)  BETO recently published a new two-page overview document that highlights significant Office achievements from 2013. One noteworthy success was the demonstration of two cellulosic ethanol production processes at a cost of …

by Bruce Finley (Denver Post)   The federal government is launching a $10 million, five-year project to tap overgrown and beetle-ravaged Western U.S. forests as a new source of non-oil liquid fuel that could power cars, …

by Ned Stowe (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  For many supporters of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a key goal was to stimulate the development and use of low-carbon, next generation biofuels – to help …

by Jeff Thomas (Boulder County Business Report)  … “You have to have hydrogen to mass produce renewable biofuels. Natural gas is cost effective and it’s plentiful,” said Steven Silvers, spokesman for Sundrop Fuels Inc. “Every gallon …

by Vickie Vaughan (Fuel Fix)  Valero Energy Corp. has been making adjustments to its investments in renewable energy.
This year the San Antonio refiner quietly pulled out of a partnership to build a cellulosic ethanol plant …

(Biofuels International)  Diamond Green Biodiesel, a joint venture between Valero Energy and Darling International, has reached capacity during its start-up phase.
The plant, based next to Valero’s St Charles refinery in Louisiana, began operations in June …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  The complete Cool Planet story. What is it? Why transformational? What are the next steps?  New venture will convert wood waste to gasoline.
In Louisiana, Cool Planet Energy Systems CEO Howard …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  … It’s been quite a year on the four-carbon platform — also known as C4, 4C, buta-something, Fantastic Four, or what have you.
Though two-carbon fuels such as ethanol have long dominated …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture)  The Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that purchase invitations have been extended to solicit bids to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) through the Feedstock …

(PR NewsWire/Digital Journal/Domestic Fuel Solutions Group)  From Day One the Domestic Fuel Solutions Group (DFSG) has been advocating for reasonable RFS reform.  Congress is taking notice.
At the end of two days of recent House Energy …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In today’s Digest – visit our 5-Minute Guide to Loan Guarantees — INEOS Bio, Myriant, Sapphire Energy, Abengoa, Chemtex, Enerkem, Fiberight, Fulcrum, ZeaChem – Plus POET-DSM, Diamond Green Diesel, Coskata and Range Fuels
Projects open …

by Darryl Fears   (The Washington Post)  It was scary enough that a team of experts on sea-level rise projected that Maryland’s coastal waters could rise to six feet in this century. But to hammer …

by Alex Guillen (Politico)  The House late last night approved by voice vote a measure to block the Defense Department from buying most biofuels. The measure was an amendment to the chamber’s defense spending bill …

(Sonoran News)  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says this year’s Gulf of Mexico dead zone will be the biggest ever. According to researchers, corn production in the Midwest is a large reason why.
As if …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)   Advanced biofuels – mirage or reality? In January we wrote: “When these 12 projects open for business (or not) in 2013, you’ll know for sure.”  So, what do we know?
…
We …

by James Osborne  (Dallas Morning News)   For more than 130 years, Darling International has operated in a little-known corner of U.S. industry, breaking down the leftovers of the meat industry for products including cattle feed …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a new campaign featuring print and TV ads taking aim at E15 and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The ethanol industry responded and Bob Dinneen, …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Despite negative press from Bloomberg, biobased investing is surging, both direct and via strategics.  The Digest has the data and the scoop.
After we profiled, last April, 17 biobased ventures who …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A now-complete 142 million gallon green diesel monster project will easily deliver big on renewable energy targets and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
But it also offers a material path to profits …

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  NASCAR’s sportscar racing division, GrandAm, and Green Racing aren’t words that you see together.  For one thing, GrandAm competitors race on all-petroleum race fuel. Yet, GrandAm and the American Le …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  DoD goes forward, after internal wrangle, with advanced biofuels program via $16M phase 1 investment.
With industry cost share, project totals $33M: aims for sub-$4, drop-in military biofuels.
In Washington, the DoD …

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine)  During a call to discuss its first quarter financial results, Syntroleum Corp. announced that Dynamic Fuels LLC’s renewable diesel plant in Geismar, La., is expected to resume operations in July. …

by Jim Lane (BioBased Digest)  In Florida, BioNitrogen Corp. announced that it has signed a supply agreement with United Suppliers, Inc. for the offtake of urea fertilizer for its planned plants in Pointe Coupee Parish, …

Dr. Mike Strain (Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry/25 x ’25) … However, many do not realize that Louisiana’s strong agriculture and forestry industries have also primed us to be a national leader in new …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Although no commercial-scale cellulosic biofuels facilities are operating in the United States at present, at least ten projects exceeding 20 million gallons per year are expected to begin operations by …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Louisiana — hot as cayenne pepper in biofuels capacity development, but some cautionary tales there in the sauce.
When it comes to the first generation of ethanol and biodiesel-based biofuels, Louisiana …

by Jeff Matthews (The Town Talk)  Sundrop Fuels Inc. closed on the purchase of more than 1,213 acres of land in the Rapides Station area Thursday where the biofuels company plans to locate its plant …

(RSB Services Foundation)  The RSB Services Foundation, the implementing entity of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) which has developed a global sustainability standard and certification system for biofuel production, is pleased to announce that …

by Joann Muller (Forbes)  When the grueling 2013 Rolex 24 endurance race kicks off at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 26, the field will include three Mazda6 race cars powered by an unusual type of renewable fuel.
The ultra-clean, synthetic …

(The Town Talk)  The LSU AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute plans a Jan. 25 opening for a pilot plant designed to produce biofuels and biochemicals from agricultural crops and byproducts.
The centerpiece of the AgCenter’s sustainable bioproducts …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  A long war of opinion has been waged for years between advanced biofuels’ detractors and supporters.  Mirage or reality? Completion of 6 key projects 2012 decided much of the debate. …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  What do people in the Southeast think about biofuels? Do they support biofuel ventures? Who will grow the biomass? Will those in established industries fight against it? These are just a …

by Roy Robertson (Southeast Farm Press)  • Steve Kresovich is part of a team of USC researchers looking for crops that can be adapted to less productive and often under-utilized South Carolina soils.
• The end …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Brent Crude trades this past week at a transorbital $109 per barrel (West Texas Intermediate at a suborbital, if high, $85).  It puts the conventional wisdom that biofuels are too …