In Lithuania, the national parliament has voted to eliminate excise duty exemptions on E85 and B100 as well as all over levels of biofuel blends, which is expect to add EUR66 million per year to state coffers. Of the 104 legislators who voted or abstained, 90 voted in favor of scrapping the tax breaks. Excise […]
In Washington, in a letter submitted Dec. 8 to the U.S. EPA, the Renewable Fuels Association urged the agency to take immediate administrative action to eliminate an arcane regulatory barrier that is impeding growth in the use of E15 and other higher-level ethanol blends. “Many gasoline retailers have rejected E15 because EPA’s current gasoline volatility […]
In Canada, British Columbia’s Energy and Mines Minister has challenged Alberta and other provinces to follow its lead on low carbon fuels in response to other COP 21 pledges that focus on GHG emissions reductions that don’t tackle fuel. The province introduced a Low Carbon Fuel Standard in 2008 mandating a minimum of 5% renewable […]
In Belgium, the European Commission has opened an investigation into potential ethanol price fixing among Abengoa, Alcogroup and Lantmännen following information gathered from raids during the past two and a half years. The Commission has concerns that these companies may have colluded to manipulate ethanol benchmarks published by the price reporting agency Platts, for example […]
In Iowa, lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate introduced updated legislation this week to reinstate the biodiesel tax credit through 2016 and reform it to more directly benefit the domestic biodiesel industry. The legislation would turn it from a blender’s credit to a producer’s credit starting next year. The Senate version was introduced by […]
In Canada, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance has called upon world leaders participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris to signal their support for biofuels as one of the tools to fight climate change. So far, 36 countries have already recognized the opportunity presented by biofuels in reducing GHG emissions and combating climate […]
In Australia, Queensland’s parliament has passed a bill mandating 3% ethanol blending and 0.5% biodiesel blending from Jan. 1, 2017. The start date is six months later than originally planned to give the oil industry time to adapt to the blending requirements. Ethanol blending will then rise to 4% in 2018, according to the bill. […]
In Iowa, America’s Renewable Future is running radio ads against Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who is gaining popularity in the state, criticizing against the Texas Senator’s position on the RFS. The ads claim the candidate supports subsidies for oil but is against supporting ethanol, putting thousands of jobs in Iowa at risk. The campaign […]
In Australia, the national biofuels industry is calling for the state and federal governments to establish policy support and subsidies in order to promote the fledgling industry. Tasmania especially has no specific policy supporting bioenergy. The industry says that stable policies and other kinds of government support were necessary to get biofuels industries off the […]
In Iowa, Sen. Marco Rubio speaking about the Renewable Fuel Standard in Council Bluffs Iowa, said “Whether you like it or not, it isn’t fair to yank away something in the middle of it, after people have invested in it based on an existing government program. So, what I have argued is since it is […]
