In Brazil, Cosan is positive about the ethanol market in 2015 thanks to two policies it expects to come through shortly that will support producers: the potential reintroduction of a tax on gasoline known as Cide that would in turn make ethanol more competitive, and the boost in demand resulting from increasing the blend to […]
In the UK, the Environmental Agency has released guidance on quality for biodiesel. If producers can demonstrate they’ve met the standard set out in the quality protocol then their product will be regarded as fully recovered and no longer subject to waste controls.
In France, the national ethanol industry is working to push the new European Commission to re-think the post-2020 biofuel policy and go for 15% biofuel blending rather by 2030 rather than keeping mum on targets when the Renewable Energy Directive expires. Unsurprisingly, the association wants to see equal treatment for first generation and advanced biofuels […]
In Washington, the Algae Biomass Organization is reporting favorably on the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office’s report that the agency’s program to finance new energy technologies is expected to take in some $5 billion in interest payments-far exceeding many expectations and throwing cold water on claims that the program was a failure. The financial […]
In Indonesia, the country’s president has asked the outgoing European Commission president specifically to help lower the barriers against his country’s palm oil products, primarily to help support farmers benefit from export trade. Palm oil exports accounted for more than 10% of the country’s overall exports in 2013. The EU president said he would take […]
In Minnesota, student-led Fossil Free Minnesota is pushing for higher alternative use, saying that token amounts of blended biofuel “isn’t going to cut it”. They’re cutting for a total transition away from fossil fuels. Though discussions in the Legislative Energy Commission that met last week centered around the possibilities for hydrogen and green electricity for […]
In Washington, comprehensive analysis of real-world land use data recently released by Iowa State University raises serious doubts and concerns about the reliability and accuracy of economic models used by regulatory agencies to penalize ethanol for purported “indirect land use changes,” or ILUC. The new report found that farmers around the world have responded to […]
In Washington, the new wave of Republican legislators heading to the national capital in 2015 aren’t likely to have a major impact on the Renewable Fuel Standard, though one in particular may try. The three main ethanol groups agree that the fuel is bipartisan, having more to do with regions than parties, as congressmen from […]
In Iowa, the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition has announced the 2015 chairman and vice chairman, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, respectively. “I look forward to working with Governor Nixon to advance the bipartisan work of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, as the production and use of biofuels increases family incomes in rural America, […]
In the Netherlands, a new study from Ecofys says that the European Commission is underestimating the GHG savings of biofuels by as much as 50%. The recently published Commission methodology proposal on the Fuel Quality Directive (98/70/EC) sets the 2010 baseline greenhouse gas intensity of fossil fuels at 94.1 gCO2eq/MJ. It still, however, proposes to compare […]
