In South Africa, at long last the country’s E2 and B5 mandates will come into effect from Oct. 1, 2015. Tax incentives for both ethanol and biodiesel producers have been on the books since 2007 but that hasn’t been enough to encourage production. A Biofuels Pricing Framework will be released before year’s end.
In Washington, the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation purchased 136,026 short tons of refined beet sugar for approximately $65.9 million. CCC then immediately re-sold that sugar to bioenergy producers for approximately $12.6 million, resulting in a net expenditure to CCC of $53.3 million. The sugar purchased by CCC requires sugar loan repayments, preventing forfeitures of loan […]
In Washington, Frontiers of Freedom, Americans for Tax Reform, Tea Party Nation and 18 other groups have sent a letter to Congress demanding the end of the Renewable Fuel Standard rather than reforming it. They claim that the RFS leads to higher food prices, higher gasoline and diesel prices, is incompatible with many cars and […]
In Brazil and Belgium, the the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, issued the following statement on the European Parliament’s vote on biofuels and the issue of indirect land use change, or ILUC. In part, the statement reads: “UNICA very much appreciates the efforts over the past several months of Members of the European Parliament to push […]
In Washington, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase the transparency of the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market and provide assurances that the market is functioning for its intended purpose, rather than acting as a profit mechanism for Wall Street banks and other financial institutions.
In India, peasant farmers in Maharashtra are demanding government permission to produce ethanol directly from excess cane rather than just from the molasses byproduct, especially since Praj—who designs and manufactures ethanol plants for the global market—is located in the state. Producers say the government won’t allow direct ethanol production because it would lose out on […]
In Washington, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to review recent allegations about possible manipulation of the markets for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). Stabenow called on the CFTC, which is tasked with overseeing markets for commodity futures, options and swaps, […]
In Washington, of the nearly 490,000 metric tons of sugar held as collateral for $246.7 million in commodity loans that are due in less than two weeks, sugar producers have offered nearly 377,000 tons of sugar to the USDA under the feedstock flexibility program. It is the second round of the program that only saw […]
In Washington, The Washington Times raises questions regarding the timing of LanzaTech’s $4M award, as it comes after important financier Vinod Khosla hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic Party at his home. Khosla, one of the company’s most active investors, hosted President Obama and Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) […]
In Washington, the USDA has again opened up a tender for ethanol companies to buy sugar at a discount under the Feedstock Flexibility Program. The first tender only saw 7,000 tons of sugar sold to an ethanol producer in Colorado but there is hope that more ethanol plants will bid this time.
