In Australia, Rob Katter’s push for a 10% ethanol blending mandate is dividing the agricultural industry yet again, after having drawn the ire of the feedlot industry when he proposed the move in years past. The issue has also divided the US agricultural industry, with grain growers in favor and livestock producers against. Feedlot owners […]
In Germany, the government has lowered the required biodiesel blending volumes, saying that the GHG emissions reductions resulting from the fuels are high enough to lower the actual volume required to meet the GHG targets. Biodiesel producers are protesting the shift in policy, saying it’s paradoxical to reduce the volumes blended when the environmental peformance of […]
In Washington, the National Corn Growers Association has caled on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule on “Waters of the U.S.” The NCGA’s concerns were exacerbated when it became known that the Corps of Engineers, which had been partnering with EPA in the process, expressed significant reservations on the science and legality of the […]
In South Africa, the government has had to adjust its biofuel subsidy plans in light of lower oil prices. The new subsidy plan will now be on a competitive bidding basis, not far from the mechanism for contracting solar power, a move that local project developers are concerned may not work. The idea of a […]
In Washington, U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in support of Illinois’ application for additional federal funding to advance the Illinois biofuels industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering up to $100 million in competitive grants to states that are testing innovative ways […]
In India, the government has announced an E10 blending mandate from October’s start of the 2015/16 cane crop in an effort to boost the economic viability of sugar mills that are currently drowning in debt due to high sugarcane prices, also mandated by the government. Demand will double to 2.3 billion liters from the current […]
In Australia, Manildra is calling for a national ethanol mandate to help boost demand for the fuel it produces. Though New South Wales is meant to blend 7% ethanol, only about 2.7% is actually blended into gasoline. The failure of the state’s mandate is creating losses of 10s of millions of dollars to the company. […]
In Washington, more than fifty grassroots events are now scheduled take place at state and county fairs throughout the month of August, starting August 7th. Farmers and consumers will have the chance to inform and educate elected officials, and local and national media on the successes of the RFS in the past decade. Constituents from […]
In Washington, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 3228, legislation that requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit the volume of cellulosic biofuel to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply to what is commercially available until a comprehensive study from the National Academy of Sciences is completed. “The EPA sets unachievable standards for our […]
In Iowa, Jeb Bush has come out against the RFS after having been evasive on the issue since the start of his Presidential campaign, saying that though the policy worked for a time it needs to be phased out. He says instead, the best way to energy security is to let markets work. Republicans are […]
