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 […]
In Washington, Platts is reporting that traders expect the 2014 RFS to have a final biodiesel blending mandate of less than 1.5 billion gallons or even as low as 1.28 billion gallons. Biodiesel production reached 1.22 billion gallons as of September and the National Biodiesel Board has sought a mandate of 1.8 billion gallons. If […]
In Washington, Growth Energy submitted initial comments to the state of Washington on their draft report regarding the potential implementation of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Growth Energy’s comments outline how an implementation of a LCFS could potentially displace clean burning, domestically-produced renewable fuels without significant environmental benefit. Upon submission of the comments, Chris […]
In Brazil, UNICA says that Petrobras boosting gasoline prices by 3% won’t have a significant impact on demand for ethanol as pump prices will only go up by about 1.5%. UNICA’s secretary general says that the modest move in prices shows that the government continues to care more about Petrobras than for the ethanol industry […]
In California, the Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) is being overhauled, and the California Air Resources Board (ARB) is requesting input during the rulemaking comment period by November 17th. Two of the issues most important to the low carbon fuels industry are the carbon intensity curve and cost containment issues including a potential ceiling and […]
In India, a Cabinet note is being circulated by the oil ministry proposing a 5% biodiesel blend that could help reduce the country’s fossil fuel import bill while also boosting the local biodiesel industry. The policy would only apply to bulk users such as government agencies and the railroad, however, until the quality of the […]
In India, the national railway is set to start blending 5% biodiesel for use in its locomotives during 2014/15, a move which should support the fledgling domestic industry. Current policy forbids the bulk sale of biodiesel, so even though the country has 1.2 million metric tons of installed capacity, much of it is exported. Indian […]
In Washington, some analysts expect that any legal case on the EPA’s delayed implementation of the 2014 RFS will hinder on the term “distribution capacity” because it was dropped in the final law passed in 2005. Though the Renewable Fuel Standard grants the EPA the right to wind down blending targets if there isn’t enough […]
In Illinois, the City of Chicago’s finance committee is voting for a second time on a bill that would enable E15 throughout the city. This time, as opposed to the measure that failed over the summer, the proposed legislation includes an exemption on all filling stations selling less than 850,000 gallons of fuel per year and […]
