by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In Michigan, US Senator Debbie Stabenow expanded her “Grow it Here, Make it Here” initiative into a $5 billion proposal designed to dramatically expand bio-based manufacturing and job creation, funded through what she described as reductions in
Legislation-Federal
Back TO HOMEPolicies of Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America in a 2012 Farm Bill
by Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) With a refreshing sense of focus, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, opened the hearing on Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America by stating the importance of
February 21, 2012 Read Full Article
Alliance between Natural Gas Industry, Environmental Groups Fractures
by Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) Just four years ago, shale gas king Aubrey K. McClendon told shareholders of Chesapeake Energy that “finally, we made some new friends this year.” The chief executive sketched a vision of working hand in
February 20, 2012 Read Full Article
Senate Ag Committee Hearing Focuses on Farm Bill Energy Programs
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and a handful of bioenergy stakeholders were given the opportunity to present the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry with their opinions on the importance of the Farm Bill’s
February 16, 2012 Read Full Article
DOE Increases Funding Request for Biomass, Biorefinery Activities
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) ...Of the nearly $2.34 billion requested for energy efficiency and renewable energy, a total of $270 million has been specifically requested to support biomass and biorefinery systems development. That is an increase over the FY
February 16, 2012 Read Full Article
Northwest Producers Unite, Tell Congress to Reinstate Tax Credit
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Last week as the National Biodiesel Conference took place in Orlando, a group of biodiesel producers and stakeholders in the Northwest U.S. came together in a joint statement to support the reinstatement of the $1
February 16, 2012 Read Full Article
Advanced Ethanol Leaders Urge Tax Extensions in Farm Bill
(Renewable Fuels Association/Advanced Ethanol Council) The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) today urged Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS) to include two key tax extensions for advanced and cellulosic ethanol producers. In a letter to the committee
February 15, 2012 Read Full Article
BP Biofuels Says the Technology Works, Rejects "Pixie Dust" Headlines
(sys-con.com/Advanced Biofuels Association) In the third episode of Biofuel STAT, released today, BP Biofuels North America PresidentSue Ellerbusch rejects recent headlines describing the industry as "pixie dust" by declaring "the technology works." "There are lots of stories because it makes good media
February 15, 2012 Read Full Article
Obama Budget Would Cut $40 Billion in Fossil-Fuel Credits
by Jim Snyder and Brian Wingfield (Bloomberg) President Barack Obama, who pledged an “all of the above” energy strategy that included fossil fuels, renewed his proposal to cut more than $40 billion in tax breaks for oil, gas and coal producers
February 14, 2012 Read Full Article
Coalition for E85 Issues Call to Action
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The Coalition for E85 is calling on members and other supporters to urge Congress to give E85 credit for being an alternative fuel. The coalition is asking members of Congress to support the inclusion of E85 in the Alternative
February 14, 2012 Read Full Article
Keeping Our Eye on the Ball
by Michael McAdams (Advanced Biofuels Association/Biorefining Magazine) ...It has been four years since Congress passed the revised RFS2 legislation creating a 36 billion gallon mandate for conventional and advanced biofuels. For all you partisans out there, don’t forget this was
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Sensenbrenner's Position Isn't Best for Wisconsin
by Bob Sather (Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel/Wisconsin Bio-Industry Alliance) This week, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) once again failed to support Wisconsin, instead choosing to target an industry that generates more than a billion dollars annually for the state's economy. Sensenbrenner's
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
Vilsack Says Rules on Biofuels Face Threat
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) He says diluting standards could hurt Midwest interests U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack warned an Iowa group Friday in Ankeny that “the Midwest could be damaged” if oil interests succeed in weakening the federal
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
What Do We Do with Rufus? RFS, That Is, the Elephant in the Room
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Around the halls of the Digest, we call him Rufus, the elephant in the room. Elsewhere, RFS, or the Renewable Fuel Standard, is the accepted descriptor. Under any name, there’s been an awful lot of talk
February 13, 2012 Read Full Article
House Committee Members, Industry Slam Effort to Delay E15
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology met Feb. 7 to markup H.R. 3199, a bill introduced last fall by committee Vice Chairman Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., that would require the National Academy of Sciences
February 08, 2012 Read Full Article
Oil Refiners and Biofuels: 2012 to Feature Fight over RFS, Cooperation on RIN Fraud
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In Florida, the National Biodiesel Conference — biodiesel’s grandest show — opened with exuberance over 2011 results, and resolve to meet the industry’s two major issues in 2012, defense of the Renewable Fuel Standard, and
February 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Renewable Fuels Standard Modification Attempts Unnecessary
(Farm Futures) Hartwig says legislation is attempt to eliminate RFS altogether. Congressman Pete Olson, R-Texas, recently introduced the Domestic Alternative Fuels Act of 2012. The measure seeks to modify the renewable fuel standard to include ethanol and other fuels produced from
February 07, 2012 Read Full Article
Republicans to Investigate EPA Handling of Renewable-Fuel Rules
by Mark Drajem (Bloomberg) The House Energy and Commerce Committee said it will investigate the actions of the Environmental Protection Agency in combating fraud in the renewable-fuels program. The EPA discovered that fuel credits, which can be traded, are being fraudulently
February 06, 2012 Read Full Article
Senate Energy Outlook Hearing Focuses on Fossils First
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Witnesses projected strong growth for renewable fuels use in both the power generation and transportation sectors over the next 20 years during a Senate energy committee held Jan. 31, but committee members, many of
February 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Senate Agriculture Committee Announces Hearing on Farm Bill Energy Programs
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) Will federal programs critical to the development of sustainable bioenergy and the bioeconomy be renewed in the next Farm Bill? The authorization for current programs will expire at the end of 2012. The Senate Agriculture
February 03, 2012 Read Full Article
Bernie Sanders Pledges Legislation Ending 'Absurdity' of Federal Fossil Fuel Subsidies
by Mat McDermott (TreeHugger) We just learned, based on IEA calculations, if all fossil fuel subsidies were eliminated it would result in greenhouse gas emission cuts deep enough to get us halfway to preventing dangerous climate change. Indeed, cutting fossil fuel subsidies has
January 27, 2012 Read Full Article
2012 Farm Bill Biomass/Biofuel Recommendations
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Retain Agricultural Land: Agricultural and forest lands are vulnerable to loss due to reduction of the dairy and pulp/paper industries and conversion to residential or commercial development. They could retain their agriculture and
January 24, 2012 Read Full Article
Policies for Bioenergy in an Era of Austerity
By Douglas L. Faulkner (Biofuels Digest) What should be the priorities for federal government support for bioenergy, in an era of fiscal austerity and a broken consensus on energy policy? My goal is develop interactively with you, bioenergy thought leaders, a
January 24, 2012 Read Full Article
POET Abandons Plan for Pipeline to East Coast
by Cody Winchester (Argus Leader) Lack of federal money causes ethanol giant to shift priorities Ethanol giant Poet has scuttled plans for a $4 billion pipeline that would have carried Midwestern ethanol to the East Coast, citing lack of government support. The
January 23, 2012 Read Full Article
Defining Biomass: ACORE Presents Its Unified, Simplified Biomass Definition to Congress
by Lisa Gibson (Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine) When the American Council on Renewable Energy’s Biomass Definition Subcommittee pitched its unified biomass definition to members of Congress in early November, the consensus was clear: no one could remember ever seeing
January 20, 2012 Read Full Article
RFA Critical of Effort to Include Fossil Fuels in RFS
(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is rejecting the notion that greater efforts need to be made to include fossil fuels in the nation’s fuel supply. Specifically, the RFA is very critical of efforts by Texas Republican Rep.
January 19, 2012 Read Full Article
Ethanol Makers Shrug off Expiration of Key Tax Credit
by Chris O'Malley (Indianapolis Business Journal) ...But it looks like motorists, rather than ethanol makers, stand to feel the pain. The reason is the survival of another federal measure, known as the Renewable Fuels Standard. It requires that an increasing amount
January 09, 2012 Read Full Article
RFA: Industry Will Fight for Cellulosic Tax Credits
by Ken Anderson (Brownfield Ag News)The federal ethanol blenders’ tax credit for grain-based ethanol expired without protest from the ethanol industry at the end of 2011. But the head of the Renewable Fuels Association—Bob Dinneen—says the industry will work to ensure
January 09, 2012 Read Full Article
Algae Perspectives: A Look Back…a Look Forward
by Mary Rosenthal (Algal Biomass Organization) ...Many of you will remember that 2011 began with a discouraging report that claimed algae biofuels could never play a role in US energy security. We at the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) easily refuted
December 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel Subsidies Need Reform
by Nathanael Green (Energy Now/Natural Resources Defense Council) ...Our dependence on oil hurts our economy, helps our adversaries and puts our security at risk. Each day we send over $1 billion overseas for oil, often to hostile nations like Iran,
December 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Looking at Life Without an Ethanol Subsidy
(Farm Futures) Failure to renew the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit will create a new world for the industry. ...What many consumers don't realize is that the tax credit didn't go to ethanol plants, it went directly to oil companies as
December 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Expiring Ethanol Credit to Add to Gas Price Jump
(WRAL) Lack of action by state lawmakers and Congress is expected to raise gas prices in North Carolina by more than 8 cents a gallon, starting Sunday. Half of the increase comes from the state. North Carolina's gas tax is linked
December 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel, Renewable Chemical Advocates Push Reliable Tax Incentives, S. 1764
by Jeanne Roberts (Energy Boom) On Wednesday, December 14, representatives from the nation’s biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products industries provided written testimony to a U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee aimed at insuring the smooth continuation of various biofuel tax incentives due
December 27, 2011 Read Full Article
On Electric-Vehicle Incentives, Diesel Defenders Cry Foul
by Paul Stenquist (New York Times) The U.S. Coalition for Advanced Diesel Cars, a Washington-based advocacy group whose members include Bosch, Honeywell and BorgWarner, all major automotive suppliers, released a white paper on Monday to make the case for technology-neutral policy-making
December 27, 2011 Read Full Article
U.S. Ethanol Tax Break Ends, Brazil Sees an Opening
by Charles Abbott and Reese Ewing (Drovers Cattle Network) A U.S. ethanol tax credit costing roughly $6 billion a year will expire on Dec. 31, with the U.S. industry declaring itself ready to stand on its own and Brazil hoping for
December 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Reaching the E15 Summit: Getting the Waiver Was Easy, Compared to the Work Required to Fulfill Requirements for E15 Implementation
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...The industry believed it had the scientific backing to support the use of higher ethanol blends in all vehicles and said allowing higher blends into the market would create jobs, lessen dependence on foreign
December 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Why the Farm Bill Needs a Robust Energy Title
byJames C. Greenwood and Robert Johnson (The Hill Congress Blog/BIO/National Farmers' Union) Maintaining agricultural productivity in America is indispensable to our economic security, so a safety net for farmers is very important. But abundant affordable clean energy and a healthy
December 14, 2011 Read Full Article
US and Brazil Spar Over Ethanol Trade Policy
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Brazilian and U.S. ethanol interests are challenging each other over ethanol trade policy. The U.S./Brazil Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote a joint letter to Congress last week asking that the U.S. secondary tariff on imported
December 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Level the Playing Field for All Energy Sources
(25 x '25) Amid the political clamor surrounding congressional efforts to cut federal spending over the next decade and reduce the nation’s deficit, the ethanol industry has conceded that a seven-year subsidy benefiting the sector will end Dec. 31. ...Elsewhere, Congress
December 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Halting Harmful Invaders: Research Identifies Acceptable Biofuel Feedstocks
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Good biofuel feedstocks are highly productive, have low input requirements and are widely adaptable. Unfortunately, those same traits are also common with invasive species. Language addressing invasive species is included in the Biomass Crop Assistance
December 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Livestock, Poultry Groups Request Hearing to Evaluate RFS
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A coalition of livestock and poultry lobby groups submitted a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leaders on Dec. 7, requesting a hearing to evaluate the economic impact of the renewable
December 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Our View: On VEETC, We Won
by Garry Niemeyer (National Corn Growers Association) Back in August, the Green Scissors Project identified ways the federal government could shave $380 billion from the federal budget over five years. But their $380 billion in proposed cuts included a major
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Congress ‘Lost faith’ in Advanced Bioenergy, Key Lawmaker Says
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Programs the Obama administration has been pushing to promote next-generation biofuels are likely to have little funding in the next farm bill, according to the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Collin
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
RFA Responds to Letter Sent to Senate Committee
by Ann Marie Edwards (DomesticFuel.com) The Renewable Fuels Association(RFA) has sent a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leadership refuting statements that were made in a Nov. 30th letter sent to the committee by ethanol critics. According to RFA, the
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae InSight
by Mary Rosenthal (Algal Biomass Organization) ...There are four key takeaways from these meetings that I think are critical for our industry as we close out 2011 and plan for 2012. 1. Support for renewable energy overall, and biofuels in particular,
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Rangel Introduces Bill to Extend Ethanol Duty, Benefitting U.S. Producers and Refiners in the Caribbean and Central America
(Congressman Charles Rangel (D- NY 15) Congressman Charles Rangel on December 2, 2011, introduced legislation to extend "other duty or charge" (ODC), a key component of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), that provides duty-free treatment to ethanol imports
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Sugarcane Ethanol Producers Respond to Unfair Legislation to Extend Tariff
(Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association/PR NewsWire) In response to the introduction of H.R. 3552, legislation sponsored by four members of the U.S. House of Representatives to extend the import tax on foreign ethanol, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) issued the
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Group Seeks Classification as Advanced Biofuel for Energy Beets
by Sue Roesler (Farm & Ranch Guide) Cole Gustafson, department chair of the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University, said while there’s more concerns about corn ethanol at the Congressional level with the “food
December 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Clean-Energy Policies Create Jobs, and Congress Should Take Note
(The Boston Globe) Editorial: ...But Solyndra’s subsequent failure isn’t a sign that the administration has gone too far; rather, it’s a sign that Congress, which tolerates all manner of explicit and implicit subsidies for fossil fuels and corn ethanol, hasn’t
December 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Carbon Tax Bill Introduced: Great Idea; Needs Some Amending
(Environment and Energy Study Institute) A steadily rising tax on the carbon content of fossil fuels would be a powerful, market-based approach to addressing one of the greatest crises of our time – global climate change. It could also help
December 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Industry Hunkers Down for Hard Times
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Reuters) ...Coming off several years of steady industry growth but facing a difficult 2012, Advanced Biofuels Markets 2011 was tinged with exigency. With deficit reduction at the forefront of policy objectives for Congress, a reexamination of cornerstone
December 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Margins to Fall: Blender Credit Will Expire at Year's End
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Ethanol producers will lose about 25 to 30 cents per gallon on operating profits when the tax credit for blenders goes away after Dec. 31. ...(Walt) Wendland, who also is president of the Iowa Renewable Fuels
November 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Lawmakers Nearing Deal on Farm Subsidies
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) A draft summary of the new farm bill that lawmakers have been finalizing says farmers will have a new subsidy system to supplement the coverage they now have through crop insurance. ...The Senate and House
November 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Supercommittee Should Preserve Farm Energy Programs in the Farm Bill for in the Best Interest of the Nation: William Richards and Dennis McGinn
by William Richards and Dennis McGinn (The Plain Dealer) Guest Columnists: The future of the government's role in U.S. agriculture remains about as uncertain today as it was before the 1933 enactment of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the nation's first
November 21, 2011 Read Full Article
SIGMA Joins Coaltion for E85
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) has officially joined the Coalition for E85 in the effort to have 85 percent ethanol designated as an alternative fuel under the tax code. … “E85 as an alternative fuel is defined everywhere
November 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Out from Solyndra’s Shadow
by Brent Erickson (Biofuels Digest/BIO) Federal loan guarantees may be scuttled after the Solyndra affair – but should the baby really be thrown out with the bathwater? ...But the programs’ untimely end may coincide with the first commercial successes for advanced
November 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Outlook 2012: VEETC is Old News--Matt Horton, CEO, Propel Fuels
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) From the standpoint of Matt Horton, CEO of Propel Fuels, efforts in 2011 to extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit imperiled the future of the industry. “For so long, the industry has been
November 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Subsidy Foes Sponsor $64,000 Per Truck Natural gas Subsidy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Recently, it became clear what fuel Rep. Boren did like in his truck, natural gas, when the Oklahoma congressman co-sponsored legislation that would pay American truck owners up to $64,000, per vehicle, for converting their fueling
November 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Faces Headwinds
by Abby Schultz (CNBC) ...“We have a lot of customers who are ethanol investors and plants have been very diligent paying down debt in 2011,” says Jason Ward, director of grain and energy for Northstar Commodity. “Kudos to them, but
November 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels Feedstocks – Who’s Got Game?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As POET lands a record biomass harvest in prep for a 2013 cellulosic ethanol launch, the Digest looks at stover, jatropha, miscanthus, switchgrass, MSW, wood and animal residue. Are costs going down, and capacity going
November 11, 2011 Read Full Article
7 Decision Points in the Race for Scale in Advanced Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In the Race for Scale, the industry has excelled in driving down operating costs. Capital costs have proven more perplexing, and sticker shock has been a hold-back. Feedstock availability at affordable cost and appropriate scale
November 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Independent Petroleum Marketers Group Joins E85 Coalition
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producers Magazine) Just more than a week after announcing the formation of the Coalition for E85 the group said Oct. 21 that it had a new member. The Petroleum Marketers Association of America, which represents 8,000 independent
November 04, 2011 Read Full Article
The REFRESH Act Is as Important to Fueling America as It Is to Feeding It
by Adam Monroe (Novozymes/The Hill E2Wire) ...We are thankful the REFRESH Act’s energy title includes baseline funding. The problem is that the current farm bill does not, putting in jeopardy programs that our farmers and economy depend on, including the
November 04, 2011 Read Full Article
House Hearing Witnesses Bash RFS, Call for Repeal of E15
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) It was déjà vu all over again on Nov. 2 as representatives of the ethanol industry were forced to watch a House of Representatives Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing on motor fuel standards from
November 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Stabenow to Introduce 'Grow It Here, Make It Here' Initiative
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) ...While (Sen. Debbie) Stabenow has yet to introduce the legislation in the U.S. Senate, her office did provideBiorefining Magazine with a draft of the bill. According to that draft, titled the “Make It in America Tax
November 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Ammo for Defending the RFS
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Interesting article turned up this week from Australia, showing just what could happen with no RFS or mandate. The Courier-Mail reported “Queensland motorists dudded as fuel retailers pull ethanol blend petrol from service stations.” Coles
November 01, 2011 Read Full Article
“Are You Any Less Worried about Energy Security Today than You Were 4 Years Ago?” Asks BP
by Bill Lundberg (Biofuels Digest) Should the Renewable Fuel Standard be scrapped, or revised? BP North America chief Susan Ellerbusch makes the case for “No”. In Chicago, BP Biofuels North America president Susan Ellerbusch, in addressing congressional attempts to re-write the
November 01, 2011 Read Full Article
The Uncertain Tomorrow
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Expiring biofuel tax credits and a dysfunctional Congress ...But given Congress subsidizing an obviously profitable oil industry, coupled with subjecting biofuels to stringent GHG emissions reductions while the petroleum industry has none, in addition to expiring
October 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel Industry Lobbying for Aid in Farm Bill
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) The biofuel industry is lobbying lawmakers to continue some subsidies and financial assistance that they got in the last farm bill. The programs are set to expire next year if Congress doesn’t do anything, so
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
House Dems, Swimming Upstream, Push Carbon Tax
by Ben Geman (The Hill/E2Wire) Nine liberal House Democrats are floating legislation to impose a carbon tax on fossil-fuel producers and importers, a measure they say would cut the deficit by a half-trillion dollars and steer $2 trillion to consumers
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Ethanol Cuts Dependence, Pollution
by John R. Block (The Washington Times) As Secretary of Agriculture during the Reagan administration, I helped the American ethanol industry take off. Imagine my surprise to read an editorial in The Washington Times (“Corn-fueled politics,” Oct. 17) contending that American
October 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Dems Press Supercommittee to Go after Oil subsidies
by Ben Geman (The Hill/E2Wire) The latest effort came in a Friday letter from 38 members, spearheaded by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), that argues “the United States can no longer afford to give away billions of
October 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Wisconsin Congressman Introduces Bill to Require More E15 testing
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Citing “serious concerns” with the U.S. EPA’s decision to allow E15 to be used invehicle models 2001 and newer, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced legislation to the House of Representatives on Oct. 13 that
October 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Op-Ed: Research Key to Food and Fuel Production
by Gale Buchanan & Bobby Moser (AgriPulse) ...Government-funded research can help solve another of our greatest problems - our dependence on limited and declining supplies of fossil fuels - with cleaner, renewable energy sources. And by making the investment that
October 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Jobe, Huber Kick off Northeast Bioheat Workshop
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) The biodiesel and oilheat industries have a long-standing history working alongside each other respectively serving the home heating needs of their customers, particularly in the Northeast, and delivering clean-burning Bioheat was the sentiment echoed by
October 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Coalition for E85 Urges Retention of Ethanol Tax Credit
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.org) A coalition of retailers, producers, equipment manufacturers have formed the Coalition for E85with the stated purpose of protecting consumer access to 85% ethanol blends. According to the coalition, if the current tax credit for ethanol expires at the end
October 12, 2011 Read Full Article
RFS: It’s Not Perfect, But It’s Working
by Brent Erickson (BIO/Biofuels Digest) The Renewable Fuel Standard is the key foundation policy supporting the commercial development of advanced biofuels. It is not working as fast as some would like, but given the current economic situation it is indeed
October 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Proposed Farm Bill Includes Advanced Biofuels
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R, IN-3rd) have introduced a farm bill that they say would save $40 billion and includes provisions that support the development of advanced biofuels. “We offer our bill as a
October 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Denham: Ethanol Policy Closed Turlock Farm
(Modesto Bee) Rep. Jeff Denham is citing the state's policies in the closure of Fulton Valley Farms of Turlock, set to happen by mid-January because of rising feed costs. The high cost of feed is a direct result of ethanol mandates
October 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Memo to Congress and Candidates: American Biofuels Boost Job Creation
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/The Hill's Congress Blog) ...Many quintessentially American industries with proven records of job creation hold the promise of exponential job growth if given a chance. American ethanol is one such industry, and it deserves a
October 06, 2011 Read Full Article
The Subsidy Debate: Oil vs. Ethanol
by Kate Bechen and Porter J. Martin (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...But what often is missing in criticisms of ethanol is an acknowledgement that the oil industry significantly benefits from a variety of tax credits, incentives and other publicly-funded subsidies. Bloomberg
September 28, 2011 Read Full Article
RFA Urges Super Committee to Look at Oil Subsidies
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) In a letter to the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the so-called “super committee” assigned to find ways to cut the deficit, the Renewable Fuels Association today urged them to “focus on comprehensive
September 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazil-US Ethanol Tariff Discussions Pick Up as Expiration Nears
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) As the U.S ethanol industry confronts the reality that the 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit and 54-cent ethanol import tariff will end on Dec. 31, some industry representatives are ramping up efforts to
September 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Tax Incentive Creates Jobs
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The biodiesel tax incentive is helping to create jobs across the country, according to testimony submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee today by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). “While we understand the pressures facing Congress, this
September 28, 2011 Read Full Article
The Future of Biorefining Policy
by Erin Voegele (Biorefining Magazine) ...While some in the industry doubt that a Congress so focused on debt reduction will extend VEETC and the biodiesel tax credit, Greg Jenner, a partner in Stoel Rives LLP’s tax practice, offers a unique
September 27, 2011 Read Full Article
House Bill Would Lower Mandate to Use Ethanol
by Charles Abbott (Reuters) Legislation was being drafted in the U.S. House that would reduce the federal mandate to use fuel ethanol when corn supplies are tight. ...According to consulting firm MF Global, the legislation would reduce the ethanol mandate by
September 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Continued Progress in Advanced Biofuels Relies on the RFS
by Jim Greenwood (Biotechnology Industry Organization/The Hill's Congress Blog) There is widespread agreement among experts, policy makers and the public that the United States must overcome its addiction to fossil fuels to protect the environment and for reasons of
September 26, 2011 Read Full Article
SAFER Makes Information about Farm Bill Energy Program Proposed Cuts
(Southeast Agriculture and Forestry Energy Resources Alliance) As you know, Congress is in the midst of negotiations regarding FY2012 appropriations for the Farm Bill. Of particular interest to SAFER is the proposed cuts to the Farm Bill’s energy programs —
September 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Fast Food Chains Place Order for No New Ethanol Subsidies
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Anti-ethanol interests have launched their latest campaign focused on ensuring the demise of ethanol subsidies with a letter sent Sept. 15 to all members of Congress urging them not to pass any last-minute extensions
September 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Congress Needs Courage to End Oil, Gas Subsidies
by Ryan Alexander (Taxpayers for Common Sense/Seacoastonline.com) ...For 16 years, Taxpayers for Common Sense has been advocating for the elimination of federal spending that does not deliver a fair return to taxpayers. Topping our list are a menu of tax
September 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Crapo, Udall Introduce Bill to Level Playing Field for Advanced Biofuels
(Senator Mike Crapo) Would make renewable fuels standard more "technology neutral" U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID)and Tom Udall (D-NM)recently introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that would help level the playing field for advanced biofuels like algae by reforming the Renewable
September 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Reigniting Subsidy Debate, Obama Takes on Oil, Gas
by Amy Harder (National Journal) President Obama on Monday (September 12, 2011) asked Congress to end subsidies for all oil and gas companies, which could save the government more than $4 billion a year, to help pay for his jobs
September 14, 2011 Read Full Article
House Hearing Ignores Critical Facts about America’s Ethanol Industry
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) America’s ethanol producers are on pace to produce nearly 40 million metric tons of livestock feed in 2011 – a volume greater than all the corn used on cattle feedlots all across the country.
September 14, 2011 Read Full Article
25x'25 Brief Offers Tool for Engaging Policy Makers in Push for Clean Energy Future
(25 x '25) The renewable energy sector has been the fastest growing domestic energy sector for the past five years, yet the expansion of biomass energy solutions in America is at risk. As Congress and the White House seek
September 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Critics Target Mandates as Subsidy Ends
by Philip Brasher (Gannett/Des Moines Register) ...The industry likely stands a better chance of protecting the annual usage mandates, known as the Renewable Fuel Standard, from being weakened by livestock or environmental interests. “I don’t see that as an avenue
September 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Landrieu Secures $1B in Emergency Funding to Restore Flood Protection Infrastructure
(Office of Senator Mary Lnadrieu (D-LA) United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today secured more than $1.26 billion for Louisiana to restore flood protection infrastructure, $30 million to invest in algae biofuel research, and new provisions to strengthen enforcement
September 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Appealing to Obama
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) President Obama’s speech to Congress on the economy has given an ethanol industry trade group to pitch biofuel as a job creator. In an ad that will run tomorrow in the Politico newspaper, the
September 08, 2011 Read Full Article
An 'Energy Policy' Bought and Paid for
(Ocala.com) Editorial: Here's what's wrong with America's energy "policy." Reeling under a crippling deficit, Congress steadfastly refuses to eliminate lucrative tax breaks and subsidies for the most profitable companies in the world — the oil and gas industries. And never mind
September 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Federal Policy for Reducing Uncertainty for Advanced Biofuels Producers
by Brent Erickson (BIO/Biofuels Digest) As any number of economic analysts have noted, continued policy uncertainty is holding businesses back from the hiring and investment needed to get the economy moving again. The advanced biofuel industry has been trying to
September 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Vitter Seeks ‘Parity’ over Alternative Energy
by Alan Blinder (American Press) U.S. Sen. David Vitter vowed again Tuesday to push Congress to consider objectively the merits of potential alternative energy sources instead of giving preferential treatment to some. “Congress has been using exactly the wrong model,” Vitter
August 29, 2011 Read Full Article
US Biodiesel Industry Producing Record Volumes
(Farm Business) US biodiesel production reached a new monthly high of 81 million gallons in June, according to the latest EPA statistics, marking a third consecutive month of record volumes and continuing a remarkable turnaround in which biodiesel production in
August 29, 2011 Read Full Article
The Unicorn and the Fairy: Corn Declares War on Cellulose
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The National Corn Growers Association declares War on cellulosic biofuels, calling them “non-existent”, then mysteriously removes the blog post. What gives? Ten days ago, Cathryn Wojciki, communications manager for the National Corn Growers Association, wrote a
August 26, 2011 Read Full Article
Lights, Camera, Congress…
by Michael McAdams (Biorefining Magazine) ...Washington’s jolting performance and the economic aftershocks have those of you on the verge of commercializing your replacement fuels questioning whether Congress and the White House can successfully provide the policy tools needed to ensure
August 24, 2011 Read Full Article
The XTL Diet: New Paths to Feasible, Domestic Low-Carb Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Can synthetic biology capture and utilize CO2 to such an extent that it not only can make money – but can mitigate the carbon intensity of no-no feedstocks like coal, gas and oil, opening up
August 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Weighs Options
by Joseph Morton (World Herald Bureau/Omaha.com) The ethanol industry is preparing itself for life after federal subsidies. Key tax credits that pay blenders for using the renewable fuel are set to expire at the end of 2011. At a cost to
August 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Industry Producing Record Volumes, Fueling Job Creation
by National Biodiesel Board (Biodiesel Magazine) ...The new numbers, coming after Congress reinstated the biodiesel tax incentive this year, demonstrate the power that strong domestic energy policy can have in helping create jobs and economic activity. Despite the weak economy, the
August 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Washington’s New Era
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ...But the mischief that lawmakers are hiding behind a veil of budget concern extends far beyond the tax credit for ethanol blending. Using the appropriations process, lawmakers from the oil patch and elsewhere
August 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Gassed out, cont.
(The Economist/Free Exchange) LAST week I noted that volatile oil prices have played an underappreciated role in recent business cycles. Over the weekend, James Hamilton published additional analysis of oil-price changes since last year, and he presents some sobering findings. Mr Hamilton
August 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Army to Spend Billions to Save Billions (Hopefully)
by Paul McLeary (Aviation Week) The Army says that it wants to drop about $7.1 billion over the next decade on renewable-energy technologies, in order to try and shave some zeros off of the annual $15 billion it currently spends on
August 16, 2011 Read Full Article
OPINION: Domestic Biofuels Are Economic and Energy Security
by Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Thomas W. Ewing (The Daily Republic) For decades, securing our nation’s energy future has been a national priority — yet policymakers still have not reached consensus on a long-term, comprehensive platform that will ensure our
August 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Udall to Introduce Bill that Would Level Playing Field for Advanced Biofuels
(Senator Tom Udall) U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) today announced his plans to introduce bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that would help level the playing field for advanced biofuels like algae by reforming the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to
August 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Franken Visits Farmfest
by Janet Kubat Willette (AgriNews.com) Expect direct payments to take a hit in the next farm bill, Sen. Al Franken told a Farmfest audience Aug. 3. The Minnesota Democrat said the super committee of 12 Congresspeople could shape the new farm bill
August 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Mandate Emerges as Ethanol’s Sacred Cow
by Amy Harder (National Journal) ...By year's end, the congressional “super committee” charged with reducing the federal deficit likely will topple the $6 billion in annual ethanol industry tax credits and a corresponding government tariff on imported ethanol. But another prong
August 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Green Groups: ‘Supercommittee’ Should Repeal Oil Industry Tax Breaks
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) A dozen environmental groups Tuesday told congressional leaders that lawmakers who support slashing oil industry tax breaks and other subsidies should be appointed to the deficit-cutting “supercommittee.” In a letter, the groups urged the 12-member panel to come
August 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Cantwell Applauds Launch of Jet Biofuels Program that Will Support Green Jobs Statewide
(AirportBusiness.com) Today (August 9, 2011) U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) toured the cutting-edge laboratories at Targeted Growth in Seattle and announced the launch of Washington state's first large-scale program for the growth of camelina sativa, a promising non-food feedstock for
August 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Aviation Calls For Government Backing To Boost Biofuels
by Graham Warwick (Aviation Week) The U.S. aviation industry is pressing Congress to extend funding for goverment programs providing support to start up commercial-scale production of renewable biofuels. ...Work on the 2012 Farm Bill is getting under way, and witnesses at
August 09, 2011 Read Full Article
OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Dems Face Uphill Battle on Oil Tax Breaks
by Andrew Restuccia and Ben Geman (The Hill/E2Wire) ...Some Democrats are acknowledging that their push to strip billions of dollars in oil-and-gas industry tax breaks through the debt-ceiling deal faces big hurdles. Democrats see the bipartisan special committee tasked with finding
August 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Reid: Clean Energy on Democrats' Agenda after Recess
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) Clean energy will be part of a broader jobs agenda that Senate Democrats will pursue when lawmakers return from their August recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday. “Clean energy jobs, they are changing
August 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Financing as Innovative as Clean Energy Technology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Financing of clean energy got you down? The Green Bank clears a key Senate hurdle, and Bank of America chairman Chad Holliday helps explain why that’s important Last month, amidst the brouhaha of the US debt
August 03, 2011 Read Full Article
US Debt Deal: Biofuels Industry Reaction
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol “ACE and our members are disappointed that the ethanol compromise was not included in the final debt limit deal just because some in Congress
August 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Washington Plant Restarts Biodiesel Production, Canola Crushing
by Bryan Sims (Biodiesel Magazine) After sitting idle for a year, Inland Empire Oilseeds LLC managed to restart production at its 8 MMgy canola-based biodiesel facility, including an adjacent canola crushing plant, in Odessa, Wash. ...Edmonds added that he expects the
August 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Energy Programs Prepare for Debt Deal Pain
by Darren Goode & Darren Samuelsohn (Politico) Popular energy and environmental programs should prepare for a decade of spending cuts under the debt deal reached late Sunday between the White House and congressional leaders. Less clear, however, is the effect that
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Still Time to Get Biofuels Support Right
by Brent Erickson (Biofuels Digest) Reports of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit’s (VEETC) early demise have been a bit overblown. Though several groups and reporters believed the die was cast and the potential revenue savings would be redirected to
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Imported Oil Driving U.S. Trade Imbalance; Domestic Ethanol, Feed Providing Some Counterbalance
(Renewable Fuels Association) America’s trade deficit is growing and one reason for that is our crippling dependence on imported oil. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, our appetite for foreign oil accounted for 60% of the nation’s $50 billion trade
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Advocates Pay to Tout Oil, Debt Agendas at Iowa Straw Poll
by Jennifer Jacobs (Des Moines Register) An air-conditioned “igloo” paid for by the Iowa Energy Forum will rise up from the straw poll campus in Ames next month, an attraction meant to woo Iowans’ affection with free treats, kids’
August 01, 2011 Read Full Article
House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment Hearing: Hitting the Ethanol Blend Wall – Examining the Science on E15; Testimony of W. Steven Burke ∙ President and CEO, Biofuels Center of North Carolina
W. Steven Burke (Biofuels Center of North Carolina) ...America will continue to seek more augmentation of petroleum-based fuels and thus needs new models to gain large amounts of liquid fuel from sources other than corn in places other than the Midwest. North Carolina
July 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Energy and Forestry Programs Examined During Farm Bill's Title IX (Energy) Hearing
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Many programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill will expire in 2012 unless they are included in a new Farm Bill. Among those programs that would expire are all the bioenergy initiatives
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Woodside Says Ethanol Industry Willing to Give Back Tax Break for Debt Reduction
by Lori Potter (Kearney Hub) The ethanol industry is willing to immediately give up $1.3 billion in tax breaks for federal debt reduction. However, that probably can’t happen unless authorizing legislation is attached to a successful debt ceiling-budget reduction bill, said
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Power Shifts
by Erin Ailworth (The Boston Globe) ...“One of the big challenges with the federal budget is whether ARPA-E is going to be funded,’’ said Peter Rothstein, president of New England Clean Energy Council, a trade group in Boston. ...Alternative fuels Despite several
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Celanese to Make Low-Cost Ethanol From Gas if U.S. Policy Changes
by Jack Kaskey (Bloomberg) Celanese Corp. (CE) would make low-cost ethanol for U.S. motorists using natural gas if policy makers end subsidies for corn-based production and amend the law that allows only renewable sources of the fuel additive. Celanese can make
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
The Work at Hand for E15 Market Expansion
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Back in October, I wrote on the RFA blog, “The E-Xchange,” about the steps that would be necessary to make E15 the standard fuel available in the United States, in much the
July 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Farm Bill Energy Title: Rural Energy for America Program
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On July 19, 2011, the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) and Environmental and Energy Study Institute(EESI) held a briefing on the energy title of the Farm Bill, with a special focus on the Rural Energy for
July 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Don't Turn the Clock Back on Building Better Fuels: ABFA Letter to Senate Committee
(Advanced Biofuels Association) The Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) today sent the following letter to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chairman Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ranking Member, opposing any efforts to repeal Section 526 of
July 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Makers Losing $6 Billion Tax Break Keep $6.9 Billion
(San Francisco Chronicle/Bloomberg) Ethanol manufacturers are set to thrive even if they have to give up $6 billion a year in U.S. tax subsidies because a government mandate for increased use of the fuel may add $6.9 billion a year
July 20, 2011 Read Full Article
National Security, Energy Security, and Environmental Imperatives
by General Charles F. Wald and David W. Conover (Bipartisan Policy Center/The Hill/Congress Blog) News reports indicate that some Senators may seek to repeal a provision of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) during Thursday’s consideration of
July 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Oil Is Biggest Military Weakness
by Senator Mark Udall (Politico) The Pentagon released its first-ever operational energy strategy last month — a plan that could dramatically cut costs and save service members’ lives. The plan is not about fielding a new weapons system, but rather
July 19, 2011 Read Full Article
Wyden Act Promotes Alternative Fuels
(MyCentralOregon) Legislation introduced by Senator Ron Wyden and Michigan's Debbie Stabenow to promote the implementation of viable alternatives to oil passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday. Wyden said the Alternative Fuels Vehicles Competitiveness and Security Act will increase
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Navy Secretary Mabus Unabashed about ‘Choosing Winners’ in Fuel Market
by John Tomasic (Colorado Independent) Makes case again for Udall Energy Security Act Coming on the heels of Colorado Senator Mark Udall’s reintroduction of the Energy Security Act, which would boost efforts to power the military with alternative energy, U.S. Navy Secretary
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
House Vote on Section 526 Raises Questions of Commitment to Energy Security
(25 x '25) The House of Representatives seems to have gotten things backwards. Lawmakers there say they were shoring up national security and supporting U.S. military fuel flexibility when they voted to end a provision in federal law that requires
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels 2.0
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The rise of themochemical biofuels, the power of markets, and the anarchic essence of energy development ...The “failure” of cellulosic ethanol is a failure of the policy framework, I said. It was suicidal to pass legislation that
July 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Ending US Ethanol Subsidies Could Be Bullish for European Prices
(Platts) A plan by US senators to end ethanol subsidies on July 31 could prove bullish for the European market, trading sources said Wednesday. "It should be pretty supportive, the EU needs the [US ethanol] supply," one source said. ...Europe's ethanol market
July 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley Q&A: Looking Forward with Biodiesel
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) (Biodiesel Magazine) Q. Why do you support the production of biodiesel? A. Too much of America’s energy comes from fossil fuels imported from countries that don’t like us. We can reduce dependence on foreign oil, and be
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Klobuchar Calls Out Oil Companies to Give Up Subsidies
by Larry Bivins (SCTimes) Sen. Amy Klobuchar urged oil companies Tuesday to follow the lead of the ethanol industry and give up government subsidies to help defray the nation’s burgeoning deficit. In a speech on the Senate floor, Klobuchar
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
House Rejects Republican Study Committee Cuts to Energy Subsidies
by Pete Kasperowicz (The Hill) The House on Monday night rejected an amendment proposed by the Republican Study Committee that would have cut $3.25 billion from the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, effectively gutting the Department of Energy's alternative energy funding
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
A Good Compromise on Ethanol Policy
by Brooke Coleman (Advanced Ethanol Council/The Washington Post) Letter to Editor: ...The compromise that Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have announced is not perfect. But it rightly involves using innovations in U.S. ethanol policy
July 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Witnesses Blast EPA Decision to Allow Higher Ethanol Blends
(US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology) Today the Energy & Environment Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the science behind the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to grant a waiver permitting the use of mid-level ethanol blends of up
July 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Klobuchar, Thune Announce Bipartisan Compromise on Renewable Energy
(Office of Senator Amy Klobuchar) Agreement would put savings toward deficit reduction, infrastructure U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Thune (R-SD), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today announced that a bipartisan agreement has been reached that allows for a transition to a
July 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Algal Biomass Organization Policy Alert Section 526 of EISA
by Mary Rosenthal (Algal Biomass Organization) A few weeks ago we let you know of attempts being made to repeal Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which prohibits the Department of Defense from procuring fuels
July 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Editorial: No Need for ‘Compromise’ in Trimming Ethanol Subsidies
(The Washington Post) ...Either way, the supports must go. Congress has protected ethanol three ways: with a $6 billion-a-year tax subsidy to those who blend it into gasoline, a tariff on competing imports and a mandate that billions of gallons
July 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Lugar Introduces Practical Energy Plan on Facebook
(Office of Senator Dick Lugar) Senator Dick Lugar today introduced his Practical Energy Plan exclusively via Facebook. Lugar was joined in the live stream by Dave Conover, Senior Vice President of the Bipartisan Policy Center and former Bush Administration official. Video