In Belgium, Transport & Environment says food-based biofuels can still be counted towards the EU’s renewable energy target, the European Commission has proposed – in a stunning U-turn on its commitment to phase-out first-generation biofuels that are worse for the climate than fossil fuels. Member states will be able to use a maximum 3.8% share […]
In Washington, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa convened a meeting among several senators from biofuels-producing states and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Grassley organized the meeting because he wanted to convey the importance of biofuels to job creation, energy security, the environment and meeting the country’s […]
In New York, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov and the RJ energy team write: “One year ago, we thought that 2016 oil prices would rally in the back half of the year, natural gas prices would be stagnant, and energy stocks in general would meaningfully outperform the broader market. Check. Oops. Check. After bottoming in […]
In Washington, on January 4, 2017, the EPA issued a notice of intent to revoke the ability of Genscape to verify Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) as a third-party auditor under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Quality Assurance Program. Under RFS, obligated parties and exporters must obtain and retire RINs to meet their compliance obligations and […]
In Washington, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers association filed a petition requesting that EPA waive the 2016 RFS cellulosic volumes to avoid “phantom fuel” compliance payments arising from a shortfall in 2016 cellulosic production. AFPM estimates that a favorable decision on this petition would reduce payments for these non-existent fuels by $50-75 million. In […]
In China, the government announced it will push for a major boost in bioplastics production in an effort to eat its way through its giant corn glut, in addition to boosting ethanol production from corn through 2020. The focus on PLA is a way to add value to the more than 200 million metric tons […]
In Australia, as Queensland introduced its E3 blending mandate on January 1, some opponents voiced concerns that smaller retailers who couldn’t afford to have three pumps with regular unleaded, E10 and premium unleaded would opt to eliminate the regular unleaded pump as was the case when New South Wales implemented a similar mandate. That forced […]
In Minnesota, former US senator and renewable fuels advocate Rick Santorum writes in Inside Sources that “Diving deeper into this year’s striking election results, there’s one trend that nearly all the analysts agree on, at least in hindsight. Candidates ignore rural America at their peril.” Santorum added that rural voters will expect positive action on […]
In Australia, the introduction of the Queensland Biofuel Mandate, on Jan. 1, is not only set to give consumers cleaner fuel choices at the pump but allow them to choose fuel made in Queensland, Australia. The mandate means liable fuel retailers will be required by law to ensure up to 3 percent of their total regular […]
In Washington, President-elect Donald Trump’s special advisor on regulations who also is a major shareholder in independent oil refiners and an outspoken critic of the Renewable Fuel Standard says there are others on Trump’s team who have an even more negative view of ethanol than he does. Though Icahn doesn’t specifically criticize renewable fuels, he […]
