Today in Biofuels: Euro Parliament wavering on E10 target; General Motors hybrid chief calls global warming “a crock of s—”; list of 118 US ethanol projects

Top Story:

In Europe, the rapporteur in the European Parliament for the European Union’s Fuel Quality Directive said that the EU goal of 10% of all transport fuels coming from biofuels is in trouble in the European Parliament. “The second generation of biofuels are not yet in practice and, currently, there are not enough good ones. There is a feeling among some MEPs that a 10% target is too high,” said Dorette Corbey, a Dutch socialist, speaking the World Biofuels Markets expo in Brussels.

Producer News:

In South Dakota,  US BioEnergy Corporation announced that its 110 Mgy plant in Marion began production this week. The plant had been acquired in August 2007 while under construction. The plant has an additional capacity of 320,000 tons of distillers grains.

In New Mexico, American Renewable Fuels said that it will delay its proposed 75 Mgy tallow biodiesel plant, citing conditions in financial markets and feedstock prices. The company says that it expects to commence construction by July. An $18 million biodiesel project was halted in Clovis earlier this year, while ConAgra canceled an ethanol project at the Clovis Industrial Park in January owing to market conditions.

In Kansas, the Gateway Ethanol plant will resume production in Wichita this month after being closed for several weeks during a financial restructuring. Terms of the refinancing were not available, but company officials said that arrangements were nearly complete and the plant could resume production as soon as this week. after being shut down for several weeks.

International News:

In India, Tata Chemicals will invest $185 million between now and 2012 to develop ethanol production capacity. The company announced that it would invest the first $12 million of that fund in a 3 Mgy sweet sorghum ethanol demonstration plant in Maharashtra.

In the Netherlands, Biopetrol announced the delay of its 400,000 tonne biodiesel plant in Rotterdam, citing construction delays owing to late deliveries and permitting slowdowns.

In Canada, Methes Energies announced the completion of its 1.3 Mgy biodiesel plant in Mississauga, Ontario. The demonstration plant is intended to showcase the company’s Denami 600 biodiesel processor.

In Myanmar, the first national jatropha crops are ready for harvest, with up to 7 million acres planted by small farmers, after a national directive in 2006 that all farmers with more than 1 acre of land had to plant a minimum of 200 jatropha seeds to establish a hedge around their landholdings. The ruling junta developed the plan in light of soaring oil import costs, and the biggest anti-junta protests since the 1980s which erupted last year over cuts in diesel subsidies.

Research News:

118 proposed US ethanol projects with a total of 8 billion gallons in planned capacity are available in an updated list from Ethanol Producer. The directory of projects in planning, development or construction includes details on ownership and capacity for each project.

Policy and Policymakers:

In South Dakota, state Governor Mike Rounds signed legislation reducing the state tax on biodiesel blends of B5 or higher, from 22 cents per gallon to 20 cents. The tax break is structured, like a recent biodiesel standard in Oregon, on a minimum level of in-state production; the threshold at which the law goes into effect is set at 20 Mgy in total state biodiesel production capacity.

In Missouri, the state Senate passed a measure mandating a B5 or higher blend in all diesel fuel sold in the state. The measure now moves to the House for approval. Missouri, which enacted an E10 mandate in January, would become the sixth state to establish a biodiesel mandate.

Consumer and Fleet News:

In Michigan, General Motors vice-chairman Bob Lutz said that “global warming is “a crock of s—.” GM’s CEO, Rick Waggoner, said that the comments did not reflect GM’s position, adding that his belief is that  “the data is pretty clear that the temperature on the earth is rising.” Bob Lutz is in charge of developing GM’s flex-fuel and hybrid vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt which is due to debut in 2010.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Index™ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, gained 3.57 percent Tuesday to close at 122.54, after the US Federal Reserve injected $200 billion to improve liquidity and ease strain in credit markets.   For the day, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) rose 3.80 percent to $44.52, while The Andersons (ANDE) rallied 3.66 percent to close at $43.7.  Among ethanol stocks, VeraSun Energy (VSE) fell 1.18 percent to close at $6.68. Among small caps, MGP Ingredients gained 9.02 percent to close at $6.89. Declines led advances 2 to 1.

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