In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy is soliciting nomination for members to fill vacancies on the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The deadline for Technical Advisory Committee member nominations is June 30, 2016. The Committee advises DOE and USDA points of contact with respect to the Biomass R&D Initiative (Initiative) and priority […]
In Australia, the Queensland premier has announced A$20 million in funding towards developing the state’s biofuels industry in hopes of converting the A$100 million sector into a A$1 billion sector in 10 years as the Asia-Pacific hub for biofuels. Currently 160 million liters of biofuel is produced in the state. The move is to compliment […]
In the UK, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative appointed top P&O Maritime executive Ian Petty as its first General Manager as the organization turns towards implementation of its 2040 Roadmap. Alastair Fischbacher, the SSI’s current CEO, will be appointed Co-Chair of the organisation, and will continue to have an oversight responsibility for the SSI. The Sustainable […]
In Switzerland, on May 31 Argentina also appealed the World Trade Organization decision regarding the EU’s anti-dumping duties on Argentina’s biodiesel exports to the trade bloc despite winning a majority of the issues during the dispute panel process. The European Union already appealed on May 20 the decision challenging three of the decisions while Argentina […]
In New York state, a councilman for New York City is pushing legislation that would boost blending of heating oil with biodiesel to 5% from the current 2% with an eye on eventually reaching a 20% blend. Environmental groups are supporting the bill. Achieving the 20% blend would reduce emissions by 40%, while the 5% […]
In Malaysia, the biodiesel blending mandate for transport will increase to B10 from the current B7 on June 1, while the industrial sector will have to boost its consumption to 7% biodiesel. As a result, domestic consumption of crude palm oil with increase to 709,000 metric tons. Crude oil prices have fallen significantly during the […]
In California, in comments recently filed with the California Air Resources Board, the Urban Air Initiative made a case for higher octane, lower carbon fuels like midlevel ethanol blends to help the state meet its carbon reduction goals. Specifically, CARB had requested comments on its efforts to deal with brown and black carbon through what the […]
In Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing a public hearing to be held in Kansas City, Missouri on June 9, 2016, for the proposed rule “Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2017 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2018.” The hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposal. All […]
In Belgium, the European Commission has decided to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the EU for establishing restrictions in Polish law against certain imported biofuels and raw materials for biofuel. Polish law is not fully in line with EU law. Firstly, fuels can only be marketed if specific fuel requirements are in place, […]
In California, the state’s biofuel industry is calling on state legislators to allocate $210 million in the Governor’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to incentivize in-state production of low carbon biofuels. For the first time, biodiesel, ethanol and biomethane trade associations and companies are united by the common goal of getting the biofuel initiative passed as […]
