In Washington, the Congressional Black Caucus wants the White House to pull back on the RFS, claiming that ethanol production is pushing up food prices. The Caucus said in a letter to the EPA administrator that food prices increased last year by $2,000 for a family of four due to higher corn prices. They are […]
In Washington, the Farm Bill contained a provision removing subsidies for biofuel blending pumps in rural areas. This provision, another in a series of struggles for ethanol industry beginning with the EPA rollbacks in November, represents a blow to the executive branch, which had aimed to help gasoline station owners install 10,000 blender pumps over […]
In Canada, Methes Energies Canada Inc., Great Lakes Biodiesel and Noroxel Energy Ltd. have teamed to create the Ontario Biodiesel Association in an effort to better represent their policy interests at both provincial and national levels. Between the three, they have invested $80 million in biodiesel production in the province. The association is promoting implementation […]
In Minnesota, more than 7,000 corn farmers submitted letters to the EPA in support of the RFS thanks to a huge push by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. The public comment period closes Jan. 28. The state’s department of agriculture estimates that reducing the RFS could result in 1,532 job losses and loss of $610 […]
In Missouri, the Senate rules committee held a hearing on Thursday looking at legislation that would block the implementation of E15 in the state. The agriculture department already approved E15 for sale in retail fuel stations last year but a legislative committee cited a 2006 law allowing only up to E10. To keep the agriculture […]
In Washington, the EPA has announced that it will reconsider the 2013 cellulosic biofuels quotas as new information came forward from the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. “We believe that KiOR’s Aug. 8, 2013, announcement of reduced anticipated production in 2013, which your petition noted, justifies reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic […]
In Washington, 31 Senators sent a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy regarding their concerns over the EPA’s 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations for the RFS. After the proposal was announced with significant cuts, a bipartisan group of Senators wrote to the EPA, urging the RVOs to reflect more accurately the expansion of production capability in […]
In Washington, in response to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ denial of rehearing en banc in the litigation regarding California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy issued the following statement: “Today’s decision by the Court of Appeals to allow a clearly discriminatory LCFS to stand is […]
In Washington, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says that Obama will hand the oil industry a big win if he doesn’t intervene directly to save the RFS. He says that only the White House stepping in on the EPA’s proposed reduction of the ethanol blending mandate will keep the policy from being watered down. Industry support […]
In Thailand, the palm oil producers association wants the government to make the biodiesel blending policy more flexible, allowing prices to rise when supplies fall rather than capping cooking oil prices as is currently being done. The group says that capping cooking oil prices distorts the market, as does exports. Exports rose 39% year-on-year in […]
