In Washington, Friends of the Earth relates that the EPA is expected to announce tomorrow that diesel produced from palm oil releases too many greenhouse gas emissions to qualify as a renewable fuel. “EPA gets it right: Palm Oil is not “renewable”, said FOE’s Michal Rosenoer, adding, “Friends of the Earth applauds the EPA for […]
In Washington, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a new energy website to provide quick access to the agency’s renewable energy and energy efficiency data. The website, usda.gov/energy, provides access to all USDA energy resources, including: agricultural, forestry, economic and social data. This is done in part through a set of new complementary web-based […]
In France, the government’s auditor has released a new report showing the environmental benefit of the country’s ethanol policy was hard to determine, while fossil fuel use was only down by 5%. The big winner in the policy are farmers who have more outlets for their crop production. The auditor is recommending that tax breaks […]
In California, Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill denied the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) motion to stay the decision he issued on December 29, 2011 that had halted the enforcement of the California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulation because that regulation is unconstitutional. Last Friday, CARB filed papers asking the Court to reverse its decision […]
In Washington, Capitol Hill observers are tipping the Digest that President Barack Obama will announce his Bioeconomy Blueprint on January 28th, with a significant mention of the initiative expected in tomorrow’s State of the Union address. However, in a recent poll from GEN revealed that 50 percent of respondents thought that suggestions made in support […]
In Washington, Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) introduced the Domestic Alternative Fuels Act, bill HR 3773. The bill would change the current Renewable Fuel Standard to include ethanol source from other sources such as domestic coal and natural gas, as a new independent fuel category called Domestic Alternative Fuel. At his website, Olson has written endorsements […]
In Washington state, many organic tree fruit growers and biofuel crop growers across the state are very surprised by the Washington State Horticultural Association’s unilateral opposition of this widely supported legislation that would allow farmers to obtain a small amount of new water from the Columbia River and the Snake River to help increase production […]
In California, the California Energy Commission has launched a $37 million call for proposals looking for new technologies to produce biomethane, diesel and gasoline replacements that have better environmental performance than methane, biodiesel from soy, and ethanol produced for existing feedstocks in the state. Funds can cover the entire development chain from early technology development […]
In Illinois, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with officials from Boeing, Honeywell and United Airlines at Boeing’s headquarters in Chicago to discuss biofuels and their future role in military and civil aviation. “We know they are very interested in this because they are confronting greenhouse gas regulations in Europe; we know this fuel […]
In Colombia, ethanol blending levels have been reduced temporarily because floods in the Cauca Valley have cut sugarcane and molasses supplies, putting production at only 750,000 liters of ethanol per day rather than the standard 1.15 million liters.
