by Ryan Tracy (Dow Jones NewsWires/NASDAQ.com) Shell Oil Co. President Marvin Odum gave a bullish outlook for biofuels Tuesday, saying that during the next 20 years, biofuels will likely be "the most practical solution" for reducing carbon emissions from transportation
government subsidies
Back TO HOMEObama to Congress: End ‘Unwarranted Tax Breaks’ for Oil Companies
by Zachary A. Goldfarb (The Washington Post) President Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to take “immediate action” to end tax subsidies for oil and gas companies, as he attempts to limit the political fallout of surging gas prices. A day before oil
April 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Why Only Fossil Fuels Deserve Subsidies — Just Ask Paul Ryan
by Kirsten Korosec (BNET) ...How can maintaining subsidies for the fossil fuels industry, while cutting incentives and funding for cleaner sources, be called anything but corporate welfare? Ironically, one of the stated primary goals of the GOP budget crafted by Rep. Paul
April 22, 2011 Read Full Article
MINN. LEGISLATURE ROUNDUP: Ag Bill Could Get Dayton Signature
by Don Davis (Grand Forks Herald) Gov. Mark Dayton likely will sign an agriculture funding bill despite earlier demands that the Republican-controlled Legislature agree on all of its spending plans before he approves any individual bill. ...The most-discussed item in the
April 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Freshman Republican Breaks Rank On Oil Subsidies
by Dan Froomkin (Huffington Post) A freshman Republican congressman from Wisconsin has broken rank with his GOP colleagues by calling on lawmakers to re-evaulate the multi-billion-dollar subsidies the federal government doles out to already highly-profitable oil and gas companies. Rep. Reid
April 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Shift Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Back Clean Tech-IEA
by Nina Chestney (Reuters) Fossil fuel subsidies worth $312 billion should be realigned to ensure the growth of renewable energy and curb the world's reliance on carbon-intensive fuels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report. Demand for fossil fuels
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Protecting Big Oil at the Expense of Consumers
by Daniel J. Weiss and Richard W. Caperton (GreenTechMedia) Paul Ryan’s budget proposal eviscerates green technology projects, but leaves massive subsidy loopholes for the oil industry. House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s(R-WI) proposed FY 2012 budget resolution is a backward-looking plan
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Next-Gen Biofuel Depends on Subsidies, Senate Told
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Even as President Barack Obama renewed his push for next-generation biofuels, an industry official warned that cuts in biomass subsidies could discourage farmers from providing corn residue and other needed feedstocks. If farmers “see the
April 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol: Pros, Cons Fuel Debate over Its Worth
by Tyler Ellyson (Columbus Telegram) Robeson, general manager of Frontier Co-op in Brainard, considers the corn-based fuel to be the crutch that the Midwest and Nebraska economies leaned on during the recent recession — keeping our heads above water while
April 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Combatting Today’s High Gas Prices
by Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo) (GlobeGazette) ...For too long, we’ve depended on foreign countries for our oil — and we’ve sacrificed our independence and our national security in the process. But there’s no one, easy solution to the problem. We need
March 28, 2011 Read Full Article
An Interview with General Wesley Clark
(Novozymes) General Wesley Clark: retired US Army general, 2004 Democratic Party presidential candidate, and now Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, an ethanol lobbying group. A lot of people, when they think of biofuels – ethanol – have a picture of good grain
March 24, 2011 Read Full Article
U.S. Sen. Grassley: Ethanol and Energy
(IowaPolitics.com) Floor Speech of Sen. Chuck Grassley Ethanol and Energy Independence Delivered Monday, March 07, 2011 ...We must look to alternative and renewable resources so we can improve our energy and national security. This includes supporting energy from wind, biomass, hydroelectric, solar,
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Letter to Editor: Ethanol Helps Stabilize Energy Prices
by Matt Hartwig (Renewable Fuels Association/Baltimore Sun) The Sun may have cut back its foreign bureaus, but your editorial writers ("End subsidies for corn-based ethanol," March 14) must still be aware of the turmoil in North Africa and the Middle
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Corn Growers To Explore Payment Shift
(Wallaces Farmer) ...NCGA (National Corn Growers Association) delegates attending the meeting in Tampa, Fla., adopted ethanol policy that states "NCGA supports reforming existing ethanol tax policy. Ideas to replace existing tax law, in the following priority order, should be a variable
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Cheap Food, Elevated Oil Prices Don't Mix
By Kevin Hursh (Postmedia News/Montreal Gazette) ...The ethanol industry, particularly in the U.S., is a prime target of those who worry about food prices. About 37 per cent of the American corn crop goes to making ethanol. Cancelling the ethanol incentives
March 14, 2011 Read Full Article
National Security Interests Require Tax Incentives for Biofuels and Advanced Biofuels
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) With the oil industry, a 150-year old mature enterprise, still receiving at least 2.5 times the subsidies of the renewable fuel industry ($72 billion 2002-2008, Environmental Law Institute 2009 study), it is disingenuous
March 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Big Meat and Its Big Lie
By Stephanie Dreyer (Growth Energy/RenewableEnergyWorld.com) Smithfield, the world's largest producer and processor of pork, reported record profits this quarter as the global economy continues to recover and exports rise. ...Despite these record earnings, just yesterday the American Meat Institute supported legislation introduced from Senators
March 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Klobuchar, Johnson Introduce Legislation to Promote Domestic Energy Production
(Senator Amy Klobuchar) Bill would reduce U.S. dependence on oil, strengthen rural economies, and spur innovation in the energy sector U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) introduced legislation today that focuses on developing and deploying safe, reliable domestically
March 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Growth Energy, Pacific Ethanol Speak Out on Ethanol Tax Credit
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Tom Buis, CEO, Growth Energy: “Anyone who blames ethanol for pain at the pump simply hasn’t looked at the market, where ethanol is historically cheaper than gasoline. In fact, ethanol is the cheapest motor fuel
March 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Budget Hawks: Does US Need to Give Gas and Oil Companies $41 Billion a Year?
by Mark Clayton (Christian Science Monitor) As President Obama and Congress look for budget cuts, some experts say federal energy subsidies are ripe for trimming. Among oil companies, nuclear power, and coal, who gets what from US taxpayers? ...But the American
March 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley Says Corn-Based Fuel Part of Overall Energy Picture
by Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa) At a political event in central Iowa last night, former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer promised to end ethanol subsidies if he’s elected president. Roemer’s comment didn’t wow the crowd in the heart of the nation’s
March 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Feels Squeeze as Congress Tightens Belt
by Elana Shor (Greenwire/New York Times) ...Major oil companies, Hartwig added, "make $50 billion a quarter in profits, yet still get billions of dollars of permanent subsidies in the tax code each and every year. Is that a wise
March 08, 2011 Read Full Article
Letter to Editor: Facts about Gasoline
by David Hallberg (JournalStar) Regarding "Figuring out the ethanol scam" (Local View, Feb. 26): Next time William Stone should do his homework before he tries to help people with distorted facts. To begin, he should honestly define gasoline for his readers. It
March 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue
by Gene L. Dodaro (Comptroller General of the United States/US Government Accountability Office) ...Domestic ethanol production: Congress supported domestic ethanol production through a $5.4 billion tax credit program in 2010 and through a renewable fuel standard that applies to transportation fuels used in
March 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Global Ethanol Leaders Together
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) ...(T)he 2011 National Ethanol Conferenceconcluded with a lively panel discussion featuring global ethanol leaders. Those on the panel were (LtoR) George Fitch, Director of theCaribbean Basic Ethanol Producers Association; Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association;
March 04, 2011 Read Full Article
House Thwarts Dem Bid to Kill Oil Tax Breaks
by Ben Geman and Mike Lillis (The Hill/E2Wire) House Democrats on Tuesday used debate on a short-term spending package to force a largely symbolic vote on ending tax breaks for major oil companies like Exxon and Shell. The "motion to recommit"
March 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Coalition of 90 Groups Blast Ethanol Tax Credits
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, a coalition of 90 organizations urged Congress to let the refundable Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) expire and to resist calls for spending on infrastructure for conventional biofuels. The coalition says: “Congress has
March 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Demand Topped off for Ethanol
by Leslie Brooks Suzukamo (Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com) 2010 saw record production for evolving industry. U.S. ethanol production pretty much hit a ceiling last year at 13.23 billion gallons, or about 10 percent of all gasoline production, according to an industry report Monday. To
March 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley and Ethanol: Industry Loses Key Ally in Deficit Battle
by Phil Brasher (Des Moines Register) Cutting the deficit is more important than protecting the ethanol industry if it comes to that, says Sen. Chuck Grassley, long the biofuel industry's most powerful ally in Congress. Grassley said Tuesday that he would
February 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Why We Still Don't Know How Much Money Goes to Fossil Energy
by Mike Casey (Renewable Energy World) The national conversation about wasteful welfare for highly profitable dirty energy corporations has gone from the dramatic statement by the Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency that fossil fuel subsidies are one of the
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Wall Street Journal Bigotry, Lies and Abuse of Power or a “Range Fiasco”?
by Vinod Khosla (GreenTechMedia) Mr. Khosla comes out swinging at the Wall Street Journal’s take on Range Fuels and biofuels. ...Regarding certain “facts” in the editorial, “The Range Fuels Fiasco” (Review & Outlook, Feb. 10): The WSJ persists in mischaracterizing my relationship
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Government Hands May Be Tied on Ethanol: USDA Official
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.'
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
House Turns against Ethanol in E15 Votes
(Des Moines Register) The U.S. House has rebuffed key initiatives to expand the market for corn ethanol, a sign that the industry's once legendary political clout is weakening with the conservative gains in Congress. The Republican-controlled House voted 285-136 early
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Blender Pumps Fuel Ethanol Growth
by Candace Krebs (AgJournal.com) Since Stratton Equity Co-op installed Colorado’s first “blender pump” offering a range of ethanol based fuels last April, interest has slowly been rising, right on track with national ethanol usage overall. “We’ve had a gradual increase in
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Top Dems Call on House GOP to Eliminate Oil Industry Tax Breaks
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) Top Senate Democrats are calling on House Republicans to agree to a plan to eliminate oil industry tax breaks as a means of reducing the deficit. The proposal comes as House Republicans have pledged to cut
February 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Editorial: Florida Should Be a Leader in Biofuels
If any state should be leading the way in biofuels development, it’s Florida. With abundant sunshine, a long growing season, and plentiful waste from agriculture and from a big human population, the possibilities are obvious for refining biological materials, including algae,
February 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Get the Energy Sector Off the Dole
by Jeffrey Leonard (Washington Monthly) Why ending all government subsidies for fuel production will lead to a cleaner energy future—and why Obama has a rare chance to make it happen. ...If President Obama wants to set us on a path to a sustainable
February 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Play Increasing Role in Reduced U.S. Oil Imports & Reduced Vulnerability
by Jon H. Harsch (Agri-Pulse) ...Energy Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. pointed to the EIA forecast that after peaking in 2005-06, U.S. oil imports should continue to decline – showing that the U.S. has already reduced its dependence on imports.
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
The Short View: Oil Industry Bracing for Cuts
by Eben Esterhuizen and Alicia Sellitti, Kapitall (Motley Fool) ...Up to now, the oil industry has been able to benefit from substantial tax breaks to the tune of $4 billion a year, which purportedly help keep prices in check and
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
State of the Union Talks Trade and Biofuels
(AgWired.com) President Obama made some folks in the ag industry happy with his State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday talking about the importance of both biofuels and free trade agreements. Corn farmers and representatives of the renewable fuels industry were especially pleased
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Senate Panel to Put Ethanol under the Microscope
by Ben Geman (The Hill) The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s agenda this year includes new scrutiny of ethanol. A spokesperson for committee Democrats said a hearing is in the offing but hasn’t been scheduled yet. Whenever it occurs, the session
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Egyptian Unrest, Rising Oil Prices Focus Attention on Biofuel
by David Louie (KGO) Last week, it was President Barack Obama renewing his call for U.S. energy independence. On Monday, crude oil hit a two-year high (a benchmark, Brent crude, closed today at $101.01 a barrel), reflecting fears that unrest in Egypt
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
The Corn Ethanol War: Wall Street Journal, Gingrich Get out the Slingblades
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In New York, the Wall Street Journal launched a bitter counterattack this week on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, after Gingrich remarked, at a meeting of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association that “Obviously big urban
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Is BCAP on the Chopping Block?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, sources indicate that “the interim final rule is at the printer for the federal register” with respect to Section 9003 (Farm Bill) loan guarantees from the USDA, indicating that the new round should
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Fate of the Union: 3-Point Plan for biofuels
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Biofuels Digest) ...While some would choose to ignore reality, the nation can produce more ethanol sustainably using grains like corn, wheat and barley. ...The nation can also produce significant volumes of renewable fuel from non-grain
January 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Energizing Agriculture
Editorial (Tampa Bay Online) ...Grassley's backing of the 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit for ethanol blended with gasoline is based, we suspect, less on contributions from corn farmers than on the fact that most Iowa voters like it. There's an important lesson here
January 22, 2011 Read Full Article
The Path Forward for Federal Biofuel Incentives
(25 x'25) The belief that the ethanol industry is entering a new era is nearly universal. As Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President Bob Dinneen put it this week, “new challenges to ethanol policies will be mounted from within the new
January 22, 2011 Read Full Article
The Time to Plan for Ethanol’s Future is Now
by Porter J. Martin and Gregory J. Lynch (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... Can ethanol survive without these supports? I believe the answer is yes, if we take steps to plan now. Why? Because we have seen ethanol producers start to
January 19, 2011 Read Full Article
The Elusive Green Economy
by Joshua Green (The Atlantic) It feels like 1977 all over again: economy in the doldrums, crisis in the Middle East, and a charismatic new Democrat in the White House preaching the gospel of clean energy. Can Obama succeed where
January 13, 2011 Read Full Article
View from the Top: Federal Investments in Energy Infrastructure: What’s Worked before Can Work Again
by Mary Rosenthal (Algal Biomass Organization/Biofuels Digest) ...The federal government must follow its long history of investing in national energy initiatives. ...Recently, any call for increased government funding or involvement in this nascent industry has been met with criticism or
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
With a Little Help From My Friends
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ...Yet while we lament about high energy costs, we downright howl over the higher costs of alternative energy and try to push today’s development aside for future progress and cost competitiveness. Let’s talk about cost parity for a
January 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Industry Primed to Flourish
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Boom times are ahead for a biodiesel industry that struggled just to stay alive in 2010. The industry could produce as much as a billion gallons in 2011, nearly triple this year's production, said Gary
January 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Both Sides: Ethanol Plants are Key to Rebuilding Rural Economies
by Mychal Wilmes (Agri News/Post-Bulletin) ...The conservative and liberal think-alikes want to kill the ethanol tax credit for different reasons. The liberals say that ethanol, at best, is environmentally neutral. The conservatives argue is that the tax credit is a
December 29, 2010 Read Full Article
Grassley Says Unity Is Vital to Ethanol Interests
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) The ethanol industry needs to stop its infighting to preserve its government support beyond next year, says Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia. "We can't stand any more division within biofuels," said Grassley, who led a successful fight
December 21, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Ethanol Industry Faces Subsidy Battle Next Year
by Charles Abbott and Timothy Gardner (Reuters) U.S. ethanol makers face a battle over reforming subsidies next year after current incentives are rolled over in the tax package signed into law by President Barack Obama on Friday. The new law extends the
December 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Military Signals Advanced Biofuels Demand: 336 Million Gallons per Year by 2020
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...This week in Honolulu, Chris Tindal of the US Navy joined advanced biofuels CEOs Jason Pyle of Sapphire Energy and Jonathan Wolfson of Solazyme at BIO’s Pacific Rim Summit, to discuss the scope and scale
December 17, 2010 Read Full Article
House Votes to Extend Ethanol, Biodiesel, Renewable Diesel Tax Credits; Senate Drops Biofuels-Slashing Omnibus Bill
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the US House of Representatives voted by a 277 to 148 margin to approve the Obama tax deal, which extends the ethanol tax credit through 2011, and retroactively extends the biodiesel tax incentive and the renewable
December 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Senate Tax Bill a Major Step Backwards for the Environment
by Jim Presswood (Switchboard) The tax bill agreed to last Thursday by Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell contains an energy package that would cause substantial environmental harm. ...The bill extends a 50 cent per gallon tax credit for liquid coal transportation
December 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Maine Gets Most Federal Biofuel Help of Any State
by Mal Leary (Capitol News Service/Bangor Daily News) Maine has received more cash from the federal government for the development of biofuels than any other state. The Biomass Crop Assistance Program, which was started in 2009 to encourage development of renewable fuels,
December 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Corn Growers Push for Tax Credits to Expand Ethanol Industry
by Amy West (KHAS TV) Want to see more ethanol blends at the pump? Well, the American Corn Growers Foundation has a plan and they're challenging Congress to help the industry by redirecting more than $15 billion in Foreign Tax
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Price of Ethanol and Price of Oil According to the New York Times
by Raymond J. Learsy (Huffington Post) In a classic example and contender for the Alfred E. Neuman "I Don't Get It" prize of the year the New York Times' editorial page of December 9th outdid itself. First we had a dissertation on
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Long Shots: Why Throwing Money at Today's Clean-Energy Technologies Could Keep Us from Discovering Tomorrow's.
by Vinod Khosla (Foreign Policy) ...A mid-2009 report by the reinsurance giant Swiss Re found that climate change could shave off anywhere from 1 to 12 percent of GDP in many countries thanks to shifting climate zones, floods, droughts, and
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Bi-Partisan Support for Biofuels Can Help to Achieve Energy, National Security Objectives
by Steve Maddox (The Hill) ...Although conventional, corn-based ethanol is not the darling of the environmental movement, it does have certain national security benefits that cannot be overlooked. And the next generation of biofuels being developed across the country offer
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Grassley Speaks Out on Renewable Fuels Tax
(Farm Futures) Iowa Senator says what's fair for oil should be fair for ethanol. ...During a speech on the Senate floor, Grassley said, "I'd like to remind my colleagues of a debate that we had earlier this year on an amendment
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Five Reasons the Tea Party Is Not Lobbying for End of Ethanol Subsidies
(Newsweek) Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma were Tea Partiers before the term existed. ...Now they've found a new, eminently worthy target: The 7 billion taxpayer dollars that annually go to subsidize the production of corn-based
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Energy Bills May Wait as US Congress Focuses on Taxes for Rest of 2010
by Brian Hansen (Platts) Republican leaders in the US Congress said Tuesday after a private meeting with President Barack Obama that they plan to focus on tax issues before legislators adjourn for the year, but did not mention plans for
December 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Getting the Facts Straight on Ethanol, Letters to the Editor
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association) Letter to the Editor, Chicago Tribune, Re: Dennis Byrne’s column “Time to stand up to ethanol interests.” ...First, Byrne’s facts and figures are accurate for the tax credits for domestic ethanol and the renewable fuels standards
December 01, 2010 Read Full Article
GOP Battle over Ethanol Heats Up: Grassley Swipes at Coburn and DeMint
by Greg Sargent (The Washington Post/The Plum Line) It looks like Chuck Grassley is not happy with fellow GOP senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn for calling on Congress to let billions in ethanol subsidies expire this year. ...Now Grassley has
November 29, 2010 Read Full Article
The Next Big GOP Intra-Party War: Ethanol Subsidies?
by Greg Sargent (Washington Post/Plum Line) Fresh off a big victory over the GOP establishment on earmarks, conservative GOP senators are opening up a new front in the battle on government spending that could be similar to the earmarks standoff: They
November 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Algae Fuel Inches Toward Price Parity with Oil
by Stacy Feldman ( SolveClimate/Reuters) With over 100 start-ups hard at work, industry predicts it can deliver success in under a decade if granted production tax credits ...The head of the 170-member Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), Mary Rosenthal, predicts the fledgling fuel
November 23, 2010 Read Full Article
Defending Ethanol Subsidies
by Bob Hague (Wisconsin Radio Network) ...Madison based environmental consultant Brett Hulsey said it’s important to realize that while corn-based ethanol is subsidized, it’s not as if petroleum based gasoline isn’t. “Depending on who you listen to, it’s subsidized anywhere from
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
The Thin Line Between Academics and Advocacy
by Matt Hartwig (Renewable Fuels Association) Earlier this week, Iowa State University Professor Bruce Babcock released a policy brief entitled “Impact of Ethanol, Corn, and Livestock from Imminent U.S. Policy Decisions.” Much of this analysis is predicated on anticipated fears
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Toward a Clean Energy Deployment Plan For Jobs, Security, and Broad-Based Economic Growth in 2011
by Bracken Hendricks, Lisbeth Kaufman, Ken Berlin, Monty Humble, Reed Hundt, Alex Kragie, Gerry Waldron (Center for American Progress) ... Congress must move immediately to reduce the cost of clean energy and remove infrastructure and regulatory barriers to its deployment so that
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels Industry CEOs Predict Parity with Oil in 12-36 Months, for Leading-Edge Companies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...In contrast to the “five years away” and subsidy-driven discussions that framed advanced biofuels conversations just two years ago, CEOs are widely reporting that they expect their companies to reach commercial scale within 12-36 months,
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Energy Subsidies Worldwide Reached $57 Billion in 2009, IEA Says
by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) Global subsidies for renewable energy totaled $57 billion in 2009, International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol said today, providing the agency’s first estimate of assistance for the industry. The support compares with $312 billion for fossil
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Report Slams G-20 Nations on Fossil Fuel Subsidies
by Ben Geman (The Hill) Two environmental groups are trying to ratchet up pressure on G-20 nations meeting in South Korea this month to make good on pledges to slash fossil fuel subsidies. White House officials say they’re looking to the Nov.
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Coming Clean on Energy Subsidies
by Paul R. Woodin (OregonLive.com/Community Renewable Energy Association) ...One of the topics sure to be front and center next year will be the topic of federal and state incentives for the renewable energy industry. Opponents will proclaim they should be
November 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Oil Receives More Taxpayer Dollars: DTN Finds Oil Industry Subsidized Much Higher Than Ethanol
by Todd Neeley (Progressive Farmer) In the eternal mudslinging between supporters and opponents of biofuels, "subsidies" are one of the opponents' biggest and most painful mud balls. "If ethanol is such a good idea, why does it need government help?" the
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Malaysia Mulls Ways to Boost Biofuel
(Jakarta Globe/Agence France-Presse) Malaysia will consider cutting a diesel subsidy next year in a bid to make its biofuel industry more attractive after production of the alternative fuel virtually ground to a halt. ...Plantations and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok said the
October 07, 2010 Read Full Article
The Health Benefits of Ethanol
(Ethanol Across America) C. Boyden Gray, one of the architects of the historic 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments that established the nation's reformulated gasoline program, called for increased regulation of air toxics by the Environmental Protection Agency and in so
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Deficit Hawks Not Talking Turkey About Ethanol
by Matt Hartwig (Renewable Fuels Association) A Bloomberg story today warned that deficit hawks in Congress – and potentially those that might be elected this fall – are targeting ethanol as an example of wasteful government spending. ...Our government spends
September 24, 2010 Read Full Article
New NRDC Fact Sheet Shows How Moving beyond Corn Ethanol Means More Investment and More Jobs in More States
by Sasha Lyutse (Natural Resources Defense Council) ... As a result, the VEETC has not only concentrated the ethanol industry in just a handful of states, but siphoned scarce resources away from more competitive biofuel technologies that create far less pollution
August 26, 2010 Read Full Article
Variable Subsidy for Ethanol Better for Producers and Government
by Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today) A variable subsidy for ethanol producers could cost the government less and provide more security for producers than current fixed rates, according to a Purdue University study. A variable subsidy rate would insulate producers
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Level the Playing Field and Ethanol Will Compete On Its Own
by Stephanie Dreyer (Growth Energy/RenewableEnergyWorld.com) Ethanol has been the Oil Industry’s favorite target for years. Big Oil has argued that the ethanol industry can't compete with gasoline without taxpayer support. Ironically, a recent study by the American Petroleum Institute concluded
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Update Ethanol Subsidies to Pressure OPEC
by John D. Graham (Lexington Herald-Leader/McClatchy-Tribune) Editorial ...Due to large swings in oil prices, which are partly manipulated by OPEC, a domestic ethanol industry wouldn't survive without government support. Countries with strong ethanol industries such as Brazil have pro-ethanol policies. ...Now is
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
The Benefits of Ethanol
byGen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.) (New York Times) Letter to Editor: ...The consequences include not only huge environmental risks, but a $300 billion-a-year drain from our economy to pay for imported petroleum. Growth Energy’s Fueling Freedom plan would redirect the ethanol
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Outpace Renewables
(Renewable Energy World) The research and consulting firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reports that subsidies for fossil energies are far outweighing those for renewables. While many governments are putting support behind clean energy, the figures show that renewables are
July 31, 2010 Read Full Article
Pickens Encourages Investment in American Energy
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel) “When do we stop investing in OPEC and start investing in America?” That’s the question that oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens asked at a House Ways and Means committee hearing Wednesday (April 14, 2010) on “Energy Tax
April 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Circling the Wagons, the Firing Squads and the Arguments: Ethanol Wars Explode in Print, TV
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...The ethanol cold war developed into a hot one this week when television and print advertising campaigns debuted both from Brazil’s UNICA and the US-based Growth Energy. ...The Growth Energy campaign is featuring six television spots
April 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Pomeroy, Shimkus Introduce Bill to Preserve American Energy Jobs
Joined by advocates of America's renewable fuels industry, Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) unveiled legislation that would extend tax incentives that are critical to the nation's ethanol industry and the preservation of hundreds of thousands of jobs. The
March 26, 2010 Read Full Article
The True Cost of Corn Ethanol: A Number of Recent Studies Have Missed the Mark.
by Joshua Kagan (GreentechMedia) ...While I am completely unapologetic in my belief that Congress and the White House are unwisely pursuing a biofuels policy in which corn ethanol, soybean biodiesel, and cellulosic ethanol have been chosen over radically transformative feedstocks
March 24, 2010 Read Full Article
Farm Economy Follows Lead of U.S. Recovery, Says Annual FAPRI Baseline Report to Congress
The livestock sector can lead the agricultural economy to higher net farm income, assuming the farm economy benefits from a recovering general U.S. economy. That analysis tops a 2010 baseline report prepared by the University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy
March 23, 2010 Read Full Article
The “Why” and “Why Not Better?” of the US Tariff on Brazilian Ethanol
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Q: Why is there a tariff on Brazilian ethanol? A. Under WTO rules the corn ethanol subsidy of 45 cents per gallon has to be made available to domestic and foreign ethanol. The tariff is designed
January 02, 2010 Read Full Article
White House Eyeing Phasing Out of Fossil Fuel Subsidies
(Chattahbox) The new study released by the Environmental Law Institute entitled, “Estimating U.S. Government Subsidies to Energy Sources: 2002-2008,” provides the Obama administration with an additional weapon for the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies in the United States. According