In Washington, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, was applauded by Novozymes after she included an extension of the Cellulosic Producer Tax Credit and Accelerated Depreciation Allowance for Cellulosic Biofuels Plant Property as an amendment to her transportation reauthorization bill, which is currently under debate in the Senate. Said Adam Monroe, president of Novozymes North America, “Long-term, […]
In North Carolina, speaking at the Daimler Trucks North America facility in Mount Holly, President Obama made the following statement: “To cities and towns all across the country, what we’re going to say is, if you make a commitment to buy more advanced vehicles for your community — whether they run on electricity or biofuels […]
In Brazil, the country’s national monetary council CMN has approved $ million in loans at 8.7% interest from the Central Bank and the Planning and Finance ministries to help sugarcane mills pay for long-term storage of ethanol in order to bridge the supply gap during the intra-harvest period. The current benchmark lending rate is 10.5%.
In Brazil, The Institute of Applied Economic Research believes one of the solutions for consolidating the country’s biodiesel program could be the diversification of agricultural outputs, reducing dependence on fiscal incentives and the lowering final production costs. Their new study shows that, of the total installed industrial biodiesel capacity, about 57% is idle. Most biodiesel […]
In Washington, the EPA withdrew the direct final rule to allow camelina, energy cane, napiergrass, and giant reed to meet the RFS2. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said: “EPA published a direct final rule on January 5, 2012 (77 FR 700) to amend the Renewable Fuel Standard program regulations. The amendments would have expanded Table 1 […]
In Tennessee, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the Commodity Classic on Friday, focusing on strengthening agriculture and rural economies through the 2012 Farm Bill. He closed his address by discussing the role of biofuels in energy and national security. Vilsack asked attendees to spread support for the understanding that biofuels currently reduce prices at […]
In Washington, Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced The Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, introducing a Clean Energy Standard (CES), requiring a percentage of nation’s electricity to come from renewable sources such as biomass. The bill summary says: “Over the past decade, Congress has […]
In Virginia, congressman Randy Forbes who sits on the House Armed Services Committee has criticized Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for spending taxpayer money on expensive biofuels that cost four times as much as traditional fuels. He told local press, “That’s why I said ‘Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, you’re not the Secretary of Energy, […]
In Washington, FedEx CEO Fred Smith said that ARPA-E is the best investment the government can make to get the country weaned off oil, and said that aviation biofuels are a priority for the company, and should be for the country. He said the technology is already proven so it’s just a matter of surmounting […]
In Washington, the USDA is forecasting an increase of US corn acreage in 2012, to 94 million acres, the fourth consecutive year of increases, and what would be the largest acreage planted for corn since 1944. At the same time, the USDA said that it expected corn prices to fall to $5 per bushel by […]
