In Illinois, as many as 20 ethanol plants are expected to be shuttered as a result of the cutbacks in ethanol blending for the RFS in 2014. Citigroup expects gasoline demand to be 13% less next year than estimated in 2007 when blending mandates were set, just 133 billion gallons compared to the 154 billion […]
In Virginia, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad testified in front of the EPA at a public hearing on Tuesday in support of the RFS. The governor believes the EPA is following Obama’s marching orders to dismantle the RFS in favor of supporting the oil lobby to the detriment of Iowan families dependent on the ethanol industry.
In Brazil, the country’s agriculture secretary says the ministry is exploring subsidies for ethanol production from corn and is looking to develop a policy to support its production. The country’s corn production has doubled in the past 11 years and the secretary says that ethanol is likely the best outlet for the surplus because it’s […]
In Washington, the RFS must be adjusted to reflect commercialization realities, rather than completely thrown out, argues a University of Illinois paper. The paper also argues that the categories of the RFS should be expanded to include all emerging technologies, as well as relaxing the sourcing constraints on biomass. The paper argues in favor of […]
In Washington, ethanol may find an enemy in the hunting lobby as Pheasant hunting groups speak out against the effect ethanol production has on wildlife acres. The groups claim that while Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has lauded the success of conservation efforts despite dwindling conservation lands, the amount of land enrolled in the grassland […]
In Zambia, the country’s biofuels association BAZ is discouraging the government from importing ethanol from Zimbabwe, saying that it is jeopardizing domestic producers who the government should be supporting instead. Domestic producers have been waiting for eight years for the government to implement blending targets.
In Canada, Ontario is one step closer to being the first place in North America to eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation. Over the next year, Thunder Bay Generating Station will stop burning coal and will be converted to use advanced biomass, a fuel for electricity generation. This is the last major step in […]
In Washington, Biodiesel Magazine is hosting a policy webinar on Dec. 5 to talk about the future of the RFS, state mandates, bioheat and other hot topics relevant to the biodiesel industry. Speakers on the webinar will include the National Biodiesel Board, Nazzaro Group, the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture and Environmental Defense Fund.
In Washington, the Agriculture Committee has still not reached an agreement on a new farm bill after House Chair Frank Lucas, House Ranking Member Collin Peterson, Senate Chair Debbie Stabenow, and Senate Ranking Member Thad Cochran met several times last week without reaching a compromise. Stabenow and Lucas had both stated that it was important […]
In Iowa, Governor Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov Kim Reynolds, Senator Chuck Grassley, Representative Steve King, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey joined the RFS Coalition urging the Obama Administration and the EPA to restore stronger blending levels for 2014 at the “Defend the RFS” event at Lincolnway Energy. Branstad rallied the crowed, reminding attendees […]
