In Belgium, the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE) has warned the European Commission of surging ethanol imports from Peru since the entering into force of the free trade agreement in August 2013. It is apparent that an inadvertent change in the pattern of trade is occurring as a direct consequence of this trade agreement, it says. […]
Following House passage, the five-year Farm Bill and its Energy Title head to the White House for assent. In Washington, the U.S. Senate voted 68-32 to approve the bipartisan Farm Bill coauthored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. The bill represents rare bipartisan agreement on legislation […]
In Iowa, the state’s Attorney General says that according to the law, the EPA does not have the authority to cut the amount of biofuel blended under the RFS. The clause the EPA is apparently using to justify cutting the blend refers to the domestic ability to produce enough biofuel to satisfy the demand, something […]
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 […]
