by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  On March 8, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., introduced companion bills that aim to dismantle the Renewable Fuel Standard and sunset blending obligations for conventional, advanced, …

(PR Web)  Several of the plants grown as biofuel crops have proved to be invaders in some environments – spreading rapidly and overwhelming surrounding natural ecosystems. Scientists at Virginia Tech used two of the best-respected …

by George Plaven (Capital Press)  One possible biomass fuel for the coal plant is giant cane, known as Arundo donax, which PGE has spent several years growing in small test plots. … As a potential source …

by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine)  The USDA has released the final rule for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, and though the general scope of BCAP is not changing with the recently published rule, there are …

by Dr. Doria Gordon (The Nature Conservancy/Biofuels Digest)   Cultivation of bioenergy crops is predicted to increase to between 27 and 120 million acres by 2022 in order to meet the renewable energy needs of the …

(University of Illinois  College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences/EurekAlert!)  If the hottest new plant grown as a biofuel crop is approved based solely on its greenhouse gas emission profile, its potential as the next …

by Lauren D. Quinn, Elise C. Scott, A. Bryan Endres, Tom Voigt,  Jody M. Endres (University of Illinois/FarmDocDaily)
Media coverage of the controversy surrounding the use of certain non-native feedstocks for bioenergy is as pervasive as invasiveness itself.   …

by Lauren Quinn (University of Illinois/Renewable Energy World)  … “When the topic of potential invasion by non-native biofuel crops has been raised at conferences I’ve attended, the ecologists in the room have suggested we use biomass from …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Miscanthus, sorghum, switchgrass, jatropha, camelina, carinata, and arundo. Who’s doing what to bring these crops to scale — and who are the potential big winners?
… Just when you start feeling great …

by Chris Bagley (Triangle Business Journal)    A fuels and chemicals company said it has nailed down a major supplier for its planned $200 million ethanol plant near Clinton.
Wilmington-based Chemtex said Murphy Brown LLC, a hog-farming company headquartered …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a supplemental final rule, containing a lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis for renewable fuels made from giant reed (Arundo donax) and napier grass, and a …

by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com)  A Virginia Tech researcher, along with several others, have offered a way to ensure that plants grown for biofuels do not become an invasive weed. According to Jacob Barney, an assistance …

(SFN Today)  At the North Carolina Board of Agriculture’s meeting on Tuesday, whether or not to classify Arundo donax as a noxious weed in the state was at the top of the agenda. Vernon Cox, …

(AP/Oregon Live)  Portland General Electric is in its second year of testing the giant cane known as Arundo donax as a potential replacement for coal at the Boardman Power Plant.
But the utility is also looking …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)   A drought tolerant grass known as elephant grass or napiergrass that is fed to cattle in the tropics is being studied as a possible cellulosic ethanol feedstock in …

By John Murawski  (News and Observer/Bradenton.com/Bradenton Herald)  It’s billed as a champion energy crop that yields three times as much ethanol per acre as corn, a fast-growing field grass that’s ideal for making clean auto …

by James Neal (Enid News and Eagle)  Enid Regional Development Alliance is hoping to turn one of Oklahoma’s liabilities into a national asset, and boost the local economy in the process, with an ambitious plan …

(Weed Science Society of America)  The biofuels industry is hitting its stride, with both small farms and large-scale plantations producing renewable crops that can be converted to energy. But scientists with the Weed Science Society …

by Aviva Glaser and Patty Glick  (National Wildlife Federation)  Without question, America needs to transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. As we move forward with our energy choices, we must be mindful of how …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the EPA withdrew the direct final rule to allow camelina, energy cane, napiergrass, and giant reed to meet the RFS2.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said: “EPA published a direct final rule …

(New Energy Focus)    The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (the Council of Europe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats), has adopted a new recommendation for biofuels.
The recommendation, which is legally …

(Environment News Service)  The risk that biofuel crops will become invasive and outcompete native species is increasing as more advanced biofuel crops are planted, according to new research into this previously neglected but potentially costly …

The Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, acting under the terms of Article 14 of the Convention;  Recalling that under Article 11, paragraph 2.b of the Convention, each Contracting …