In Texas, the National Algae Association said that “the DOE’s Aquatic Species Program has completely failed in any commercialization efforts. For years, they focused their research on algae raceway ponds and not on any of the more advanced growing, harvesting and extraction systems.” The group contended, in a statement released on the wires last week, […]
In Washington, consensus is beginning to emerge that a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard will do little to reduce corn prices or ethanol demand. A report from the McClatchy Washington Bureau quoted analysts saying that the spread between ethanol and gasoline prices, and the octane spread that allows lower-cost, lower octane gasoline to be […]
In Virginia, the National Science Foundation has announced 15 Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation grants for fiscal year 2012, awarding nearly $30 million to 68 investigators at 26 institutions. Over the next four years, teams of researchers will work in three emerging areas. One set of research teams will investigate the large-scale use of […]
In Canada, the Oshawa Port Authority (OPA) announced that it had given approval for FarmTech Energy Corporation (FarmTech) to build and operate an ethanol refinery at the Oshawa Harbour. Construction of the ethanol refinery (to be located on the shoreline of Lake Ontario, adjacent to the Second Marsh, a provincially significant 123-hectare coastal wetland) is […]
In Texas, Governor Rick Perry has become the seventh governor to write the EPA asking it to waive the RFS2 ethanol-blending mandate, claiming the policy is doing more harm than good despite good intentions. Not all seven states, however, including Texas, have formally petitioned the agency to waive the mandate.
In Washington, the Biotechnology Industry Organization thanked Gov. Mitt Romney for his stated intention to “support increased market penetration and competition among energy sources by maintaining the RFS” in “The Romney Plan For A Stronger Middle Class: ENERGY INDEPENDENCE,” released last week. BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood said, “The Renewable Fuel Standard is the […]
In Washington, the lengthy Romney-Ryan energy plan was published yesterday. For biofuels supporters, one phrase stood above all others. “The RFS must be maintained.” In Washington, in response to Governor Romney’s support of the Renewable Fuel Standard and market access for alternative fuels in his energy plan released today, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO […]
In Georgia and New Mexico, governors of both states have joined the call for the EPA to suspend the ethanol blend mandated by the RFS2. Georgia is the country’s top poultry producers while New Mexico is a big cattle producer, and both states claim that the RFS will lead to higher livestock feed prices that […]
In Washington, the EPA will open a 30-day comment period to seek public opinion on the proposed waiver to the RFS put forward last week by the governors of North Carolina and Arkansas. The comment period will open when the request is published in the national register. The EPA has until Nov. 13 to make […]
In Brazil, the government is again toying with the idea of raising the ethanol blending level in gasoline at the end of the year after it finishes analyzing existing supplies. Higher ethanol use means better returns for Petrobras who loses money selling imported gasoline.
