In Thailand, the government has boosted the price paid to farmers to cut down rubber trees following a 20% cut in global rubber prices and is encouraging them to instead plant oil palm trees to increase biodiesel production. The plan is to cut down 350,000 rubber trees per year, up from 250,000 trees originally, while […]
In Washington, the EPA has extended the deadline for complying with the 2013 RFS to 30 days after the official publication of the 2014 RFS mandate. This is the third time the EPA has extended the compliance deadline. The agency says the extension is because oil companies need to know how many credits they need […]
In Washington, USDA released a report that, for the first time, provides uniform scientific methods for quantifying the changes in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage from various land management and conservation activities. The report is titled Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity-Scale Inventory, and USDA said that, among other […]
In Canada, Sustainable Development Technology Canada announced that it is accepting Statements of Interest from August 27th to October 15th, 2014. SDTC invests in late-stage development and pre-commercial demonstration of clean technologies by Canadian companies in a range of innovative solutions across all industries. These technologies increase efficiency and productivity while addressing climate change, clean […]
In Washington, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa filed amendments to restore the wind energy and domestic biodiesel tax incentives to the Bring Jobs Home Act before the Senate. The Bring Jobs Home Act has been widely criticized as a political messaging bill from the Senate majority that isn’t expected to pass and won’t accomplish its […]
In Kansas, Kansas Association of Ethanol Processors, the Kansas Corn Growers, Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association along with ICM, Conestoga Energy Partners, Western Plains Energy, Nesika Energy and Kansas Ethanol have all sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp demanding he withdraw his co-sponsorship of a bill that would […]
In Washington, the U.S. Grains Council has called on agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack to personally intervene on the Chinese ban of DDGS that include MIR 162. is calling for China to approve MIR 162 following this week’s announcement of new biotech certification requirements for distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) by the Chinese import inspection […]
In Washington, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is looking to introduce legislation that would reform the RFS from 2015, apparently hoping for a consensus approach once people come to the table following the EPA’s long-overdue blending mandates for 2014. Preparatory work is being done so that when […]
In Washington, the White House has indicated the administration plans to raise the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supply. White House Advisor John Podesta met with a group of senators last week, indicating that the adviser mentioned that the final blending mandates would likely be higher […]
In Washington, the ethanol industry is hitting back at the DOT’s proposal to require tighter regulations on transporting ethanol and oil by railcar, saying that the two are completely different fuels with very different levels of volatility. The RFA and the IRFA say treating the two fuels the same is a mistake and rules specifically […]
