In Minnesota, the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, who announced their 2014 Minnesota legislative agenda today at the Minnesota Green Chemistry Conference, is proposing the creation of a new production incentive program for renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels. The incentive program has the potential to spur the creation of up to 12,000 new jobs and help […]
In Washington, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson on Wednesday hosted a meeting with members of Congress and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to express their disappointment in EPA’s proposed volume numbers for 2014. The EPA has proposed significant reductions to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
In Zimbabwe, rains have reduced ethanol production below estimates, which has in turn forced the government to keep the blending mandate at 10% rather than raising it to 15% as previously planned. The policy move is only a temporary move, however, until sufficient ethanol can be produced and stored to ensure supplies for the E15 […]
In New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill requiring 2% biofuel in heating oil because he said it was incompatible with current law that provides a tax credit of 2 cents per gallon. The proposed law would have been a fiscal burden on the state, he said. He did encourage the legislature to […]
In New York, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proposed in his State of the State address on Wednesday a $105 million partnership between the NYGC and the University at Buffalo’s Center for Computational Research, enabling genetic discoveries that will potentially save lives by transforming how health care impacts patients. Governor Cuomo’s commitment to vastly enhancing the […]
In Washington, the EPA has revised up its estimate of gasoline usage for 2014 to 134.6 billion gallons, the fourth month in a row where the demand estimate has gone up, making room for more ethanol and lower cuts to the RFS. Illinois Republican John Shimkus, a member of the House Energy and Commerce committee, […]
In Sri Lanka, the illegal import of ethanol from Malaysia continues, with another 16,000 liters being seized. This time the ethanol was mislabeled as palm oil. The ethanol has been confiscated and two people in connection with the illegal import have been arrested.
In Ohio, citizens of the state overwhelmingly support the Ohio Clean Energy Initiative, which would provide $1.3 billion a year in funding for public infrastructure projects including biomass projects. If approved, the funding would continue for ten years. The legislation has 45% strong approval, with an additional 26% of people indicating they would be somewhat […]
In Minnesota, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote a column defending the Renewable Fuels Standard, whose rollbacks are estimated to cost Minnesota $600 million in lost economic activity. The senior Senator asserted that the program is working in her state and across the nation, with E85 sales alone doubling in Minnesota in 2013. Klobuchar indicated that […]
In China, the government imposed a 13 cents per liter consumption tax on biodiesel as of Jan. 1, following a surge in imports that passed 1.7 billion liters. Higher biodiesel blends were outselling Sinopec and Petrochina’s domestically refined diesel, forcing them to export.
