by Ayesha Rascoe (Reuters) ..."The fact is the industry has pretty much been built," USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber told reporters on the sidelines of a Commodity Markets Council conference. "This isn't a question of just saying 'cut it off.'
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
Back TO HOMEBiodiesel Boom Catches Drivers In Grease Trap
by Jeffrey Ball (Wall Street Journal/MarketWatch) ...It takes grit to be a greaser: Stalwarts must recruit restaurants as back-alley sources, filter the smelly liquid in the garage or backyard, and modify a vehicle with a diesel engine to burn it.
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
RIN-Tin-Tin: Will the RINs Mechanism Save the Day, Power Biofuels to New Heights?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...RINs- those pesky Renewable Information Numbers that have so many digits they give 140-character tweets on Twitter a run for their money. The bar code of biofuels – the thing that virtually no one understands,
February 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Algal Biomass Organization's Response to EPA's "Biofuels and the Environment: First Triennial Report to Congress"
(Algal Biomass Organization) We support the EPA's effort to quantify the potential for algal biomass to serve as a long term, viable option for low carbon fuel and the potential environmental impacts of algae-to-fuel technologies. The authors of the study focused
February 07, 2011 Read Full Article
RFA Analysis of EPA’s “Preliminary” Triennial Report on Biofuels and the Environment to Congress
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) In compliance with Section 204 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to report to Congress every three years on the environmental and resource conservation
February 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Gingrich to Obama: Focus on Energy
by Kathie Obradovich (Des Moines Register) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a 2012 run for president, called on President Obama to use his State of the Union speech tonight to make the American energy production a “major
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels and the Environment: the First Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft)
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The "Biofuels and the Environment: The First Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft)" (EPA/600/R-10/183A) report, prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA’s Office of Research and Development, is the first report
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
EPA Announces a Waiver to Allow the Use of Gasoline Containing Greater than 10% Ethanol in 2001 though 2006 Light-Duty Vehicles.
(US Environmental Protection Agency) In response to a request by Growth Energy under section 211(f)(4) of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has partially granted a waiver to allow fuel and fuel additive manufacturers to introduce into
January 22, 2011 Read Full Article
EPA Delays Climate Rules for Biomass Industry
by Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) In another sign that the Environmental Protection Agency is moderating its climate policy, it announced Wednesday it would exempt the biomass industry from limits on greenhouse gas emissions for three years. More than two dozen lawmakers had urged EPA
January 13, 2011 Read Full Article
RFA Proposes Alternative E15 Label to EPA
(Renewable Fuels Association) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed label for E15 (15% ethanol/85% gasoline) “will do little, if anything, to promote the successful introduction of a new fuel to the marketplace” the Renewable Fuels Association wrote in comments
January 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Growth Energy Proposes New E15 Label to EPA
(Growth Energy) In formal comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday, Growth Energy proposed a new label for E15 (a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline) that will more accurately provide consumers with the
January 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Will Biogenic Emission Regulation Curb Biomass Growth?
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ...In December 2010, Forisk Consulting released a study titled, “Economic and Regional Impact Analysis of the Treatment of Biomass Energy Under the EPA Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule.” According to NAFO, the study found that the U.S.
January 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Court Rejects Refiners' Challenge to EPA Biodiesel Blending Rules
by Jenny Mandel (New York Times/Greenwire) An appeals court rejected a challenge today (December 21, 2010) by petroleum industry groups to U.S. EPA's biodiesel blending requirements, in a move affirming the agency's implementation of the renewable fuel standard (RFS2). A three-judge panel of
December 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Ford, GM Join Legal Fight against E15
by Steve Gelsi and Jeffry Bartash (MarketWatch) Blend of 15% ethanol may cause problems, group warns A trade group that includes automotive giants Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. has joined forces with other vehicle and engine makers to sound a
December 21, 2010 Read Full Article
USDA Joins Effort to Increase FFV Awareness
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Surveys show that as many as 75 percent of flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) owners don’t know they can fill their vehicles with E85. Now, a new public awareness campaign will aim to change that. ...On Dec.
December 16, 2010 Read Full Article
EBOOM CAPITAL: New EPA Regulation May Discourage U.S. Biomass Projects
by Terry McDonald (EnergyBoom) ...The EPA agrees with the (U.S. Energy Information Agency) that biomass is a renewable fuel with no impact on the environment: “Although the burning of biomass also produces carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, it is considered
December 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Cello Energy Finally Out of EPA ’11 Projection After Bankruptcy
by Katie Fehrenbacher (GigaOM) Cello Energy, the beleaguered, infamous biofuel company that was hit with fraud allegations, has finally dropped off of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of potential cellulosic ethanol suppliers for 2011. ...What’s the reason? Well, first off,
December 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Cargill, Copersucar among 8 Brazil Mills Cleared to Export ethanol to US
(Platts) Eight Brazilian ethanol producers have registered as advanced renewable fuel producers with the US Environmental Protection Agency, easing controls on their exports to the world's largest fuels market, Unica, Brazil's main sugarcane group said Friday. The companies registered are Cargill,
November 29, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Proposes Guidance for Underground Storage Tanks
(US Enviromental Protection Agency) As part of its commitment to help ensure that biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are safely stored in underground storage tanks (USTs), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft guidance for UST owners and
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Bogus Logic in E15 Suits
by Mike Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In a thinly veiled attempt to further line their pockets, the meat and poultry industry, and the grocery and convenience store associations, are once again trying to stop the advance of ethanol use in
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Gevo’s Isobutanol Secures EPA Registration
(Gevo) First Isobutanol to Receive Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Registration as a Fuel Additive Gevo, Inc., a privately held renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, announced November 11, 2010, that it received notification that its isobutanol had successfully cleared registration with the U.S.
November 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Argentine Researchers Find Major Flaws in US EPA’s Indirect Land Use Change Methodology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Argentina, researchers from INTA, analyzing the assumptions of the US EPA’s indirect land use change models, concluded that “• Significant errors have been verified in the determination of the original use of lands in
October 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Reduce the Potential for Misfueling
(EPA) EPA is concurrently proposing a regulatory program to promote the successful introduction of E15 into commerce by ensuring that E15 is used in approved motor vehicles and reducing the potential for the misfueling of E15 into vehicles and engines for
October 20, 2010 Read Full Article
New Math: Will E15 Rules, Biomass Supply Barriers Frustrate Biofuels’ Best Intentions
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In the long term, major oil companies like Shell and ExxonMobil see global transition in the 30-40 percent range by 2050. That may sound like small potatoes. Voters, project developers, and politicians would like to see
October 20, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Grants E15 Waiver for Newer Vehicles/A New Label for E15 Is Being Proposed to Help Ensure Consumers Use the Correct Fuel
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today waived a limitation on selling fuel that is more than 10 percent ethanol for model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks. The waiver applies to fuel that
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA and NHTSA Announce a First Step in the Process for Setting Future Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Economy Standards for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), are announcing the next step toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel
October 08, 2010 Read Full Article
NREL Releases BioEnergy Atlas – a Comprehensive Biomass Mapping Application
(US Department of Energy) BioEnergy Atlas, a Web portal that provides access to two bioenergy analysis and mapping tools, was released September 28, 2010, by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The visualization screening tools, BioPower and BioFuels
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Awards Grants for Students to Design Sustainable Technologies to Help Environment and Economy
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded 55 grants to teams of college and university students across the country who will design creative solutions to sustainability challenges in the developed and developing world. The People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3)
September 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Big Oil, Other Industries Work to Delay E15
Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...The push against approving E15 has heated up in recent weeks. The U.S. EPA delayed the E15 decision until sometime this fall and industry groups on both sides of the issue have been waiting on
September 01, 2010 Read Full Article
New Fuel Economy Window Stickers Chock Full 'O Numbers
(Jalopnik) One of the draft window stickers released today will give buyers of 2012 models efficiency data for gas and electric vehicles. U.S. regulators want you to decide: How do you like letter grades? UPDATE: Automakers give it a "F." ...A
August 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels Association Analysis Reveals More Problems With EPA GHG Accounting
(Renewable Fuels Association) Further analysis of EPA’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) reveals more errors in the agency’s calculation of corn ethanol and other biofuels’ carbon intensity, according to new analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). In a letter to EPA
August 09, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Releases Data on Canola Biodiesel Pathway
By Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine) The U.S. EPA has released a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) for its recent modeling of the canola oil biodiesel pathway. As of March 26, when the EPA officially announced the final rule for the
July 23, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Proposes Cellulosic Ethanol Short of U.S. Goals
(San Francisco Chronicle/Bloomberg) The Environmental Protection Agency proposed requiring less cellulosic ethanol to be blended into gasoline next year than sought under U.S. law because production of the alternative fuel hasn't reached commercial scale. ...Cellulosic ethanol, made from switchgrass, wood chips
July 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in 2011
(Renewable Fuels Association) ...Of note, EPA has revised down cellulosic ethanol use from original RFS targets for the second year in a row. While this may be prudent for EPA based on market conditions, it does send a chilling effect
July 13, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Proposes 2011 Renewable Fuel Standards
(US EPA) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) July 12, 2010, proposed the 2011 percentage standards for the four fuels categories under the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program, known as RFS2. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established the annual renewable
July 13, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Awards Small Businesses to Develop New Environmental Technologies
(US Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded nearly $2.5 million to 11 companies to support their work in eight key environmental areas: monitoring and control of air emissions, biofuels, green buildings, drinking water monitoring, hazardous
May 13, 2010 Read Full Article
230 MPG For Chevy Volt? Not Likely
by Reilly Brennan (AOL Autos) EPA Mulls New Fuel Economy Guidelines The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon draft a new regulation for the way it calculates fuel efficiency for electric cars, potentially deflating the stratospheric fuel economy numbers trumpeted by
April 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Growth Energy: Oil Companies Should Not Dismiss Intent of Congress to Increase Renewable Fuel in 2010
Growth Energy, the coalition of US ethanol supporters, announced today that it has filed papers to intervene on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a lawsuit filed against EPA by the petroleum industry challenging a key part
April 09, 2010 Read Full Article
DOT, EPA Set Aggressive National Standards for Fuel Economy and First Ever Greenhouse Gas Emission Levels For Passenger Cars and Light Trucks
Responding to one of the first major directives of the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today jointly established historic new federal rules that set the first-ever national greenhouse gas emissions
April 07, 2010 Read Full Article
Petroleum Industry Files Suit Over Renewable Fuel Standard
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) ...Both the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) filed the lawsuit Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the EPA rule, officially published
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Awards Small Business Grants for Biofuels and Vehicle Emissions Reduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $2.38 million to 34 small businesses to develop innovative, sustainable technologies to protect human health and the environment. These efforts will help improve air quality, protect our water, work to decrease the
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program; Final Rule
Under the Clean Air Act Section 211(o), as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), the Environmental Protection Agency is required to promulgate regulations implementing changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard program. The revised statutory requirements specify
March 26, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Proposes Regulation to Prevent Misfueling of Vehicles--Pump Labeling
EPA's Abstract: Regulation to Prevent the Misfueling of Vehicles and Engines with Gasoline Containing Greater than Ten Volume Percent Ethanol and Modifications to the Reformulated and Conventional Gasoline This rulemaking does two things. First, it will help prevent the misfueling of
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels Association Publishes "What All Ethanol Producers Need to Know" about New RFS2 Registration
With full implementation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) now in full swing, ethanol producers will be required to register with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In an effort to provide them with information they will need before registering,
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
EPA Action May Signal E-15 Ethanol Blend Rate
(Pork) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to “develop a pump label to prevent misfueling of vehicles and engines not authorized to use E15 fuel and to provide manufacturer certification to sell E15,” according to the publication InsideEPA. That
March 23, 2010 Read Full Article
House GOP to Launch Another Salvo at EPA Emission Rules
(New York Times) House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and other key Republicans plan to unveil a formal resolution that would effectively veto EPA's "endangerment" finding. That determination, issued last December, finds that greenhouse gases threaten public health and
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Groups Challenge EPA on Greenhouse Finding
by Light and Medium Truck (Transport Topics Online) A group including motor carriers, businesses, several members of Congress and a conservative public interest legal foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal appeals court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s finding
March 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Is Ethanol from Corn Bad for the Climate? The Obama Administration Says No, California Says Yes. Who Is Right?
by Douglas Fischer (Scientific American) The Obama administration last week gave the green light to corn ethanol as a low-carbon renewable fuel – in apparent contradiction to California's declaration last summer that the biofuel's carbon footprint was too big to
February 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Panic Reported at the National Biodiesel Conference Over EPA Implementation of the Biodiesel Mandate
Jim Lane and Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest) In Texas, Biofuels Digest columnist Will Thurmond, covering the National Biodiesel Conference, reports that “EPA’s half-baked, not ready for prime time beta version of RFS2 report to NBB on RIN tracking system,” used
February 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Groups Want More Tests on Higher-Ethanol U.S. Fuel
by Tom Doggett (Reuters) The agency already said it was waiting until this summer, so it can review test data on how a higher ethanol-gasoline ratio would affect engines. ... Initial tests showed vehicles built after 2001 would likely be
January 08, 2010 Read Full Article
US Environmental Protection Agency Interactive Map Updated
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) RE-Powering America’s Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites initiative Web site has been updated. Some of the highlights of the updated Web site are below. The Google Earth interactive mapping tool,
January 06, 2010 Read Full Article
No New Regulations Announced, Reasonable Causes For Challenges Abound: EPA’s Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) EPA’s much ballyhooed finding that CO2 and five other greenhouse gases (GHG) meet Clean Air Act requirements as health hazards is being treated by the Administration and the media as a significant decision
December 07, 2009 Read Full Article
DTN Guest Editorial: EPA Appears Caught in a Catch 22
by Clayton McMartin (DTN Ethanol Center) Two key timing issues have essentially paralyzed the Environmental Protection Agency at this point regarding the Renewable Fuels Standard. The first is the pending issuance of the much-awaited final rules for RFS2, and the
December 04, 2009 Read Full Article
EPA Indicates E15 Blending OK is Likely, But Delays Ruling to Mid-2010
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the EPA announced that it will delay its determination on E15 ethanol blending until the middle of next year, citing that only 2 of 19 DOE tests are complete at this stage. EPA
December 04, 2009 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Biofuels and RFS2
by Paul Argryropoulos (EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality) This presentation given at the Cellulosic Biofuels Summit November 2009, provides the EPA OTAQ perspective on issues pertinent to discussions related to the Renewable Fuel Standard and its proposed revisions. Of note is
November 30, 2009 Read Full Article
Request for Nominations to the Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites nominations from a diverse range of qualified candidates to be considered for appointment to the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee (FRRCC). The FRRCC is a federal advisory committee chartered under
November 30, 2009 Read Full Article
US May Reduce Cellulosic Mandate for 2010
(FarmOnline; North Queensland Register) Not enough cellulosic ethanol may be produced to fill the United States proposed 100 million gallon mandate for 2010, prompting a rethink from officials. At a recent conference, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Transportation and Air Quality
November 13, 2009 Read Full Article
Senator Charles Grassley Speaks Out Against Inappropriate Use of International Indirect Land Use Change Analysis
Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley: Biofuels and the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday, October 29, 2009 ... The first issue I’m speaking about relates to the EPA’s proposal to penalize biofuels for greenhouse gas emissions from supposed changes in international
October 30, 2009 Read Full Article
10 Midwest Governors Urge EPA to Allow E-15 Gasoline Blends
In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Governors from Indiana, South Dakota, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin urged increasing the percent of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline from 10% to 15% as
July 17, 2009 Read Full Article
EPA Extends Renewable Fuel Standard Comment Period to September 25
EPA is extending the comment period for the proposed rule "Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard Program." Under the Federal Register Notice, published May 26, 2009. the public comment period was set to end