In the Philippines, Juan Miguel Zubiri, known as Mr. Biofuel for authoring the country’s biofuel mandate, has stepped down from his Senate seat amidst allegations of cheating during the 2007 election when he was in a tight race. In his resignation speech in the Senate, Zubiri denied any wrongdoing and vehemently denies the allegations of […]
In Malaysia, the government plans to develop a sustainability scheme for palm oil in response to outcry from NGOs and would-be importers. It, like Malaysia, is developing its own sustainability criteria because they feel that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil keeps changing the rules, which has slowed the growth of the palm oil industry. […]
Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol “ACE and our members are disappointed that the ethanol compromise was not included in the final debt limit deal just because some in Congress insisted that revenue-generating measures were sacred cows. This was truly a missed opportunity. We sincerely appreciate the efforts undertaken by […]
In New York, “How do we fix our fuel and energy problems?” is a question posed by Bloomberg Businessweek Chairman Norman Pearlstine to BP Capital Management’s T. Boone Pickens; Bob Shapard, chairman and chief executive officer of Oncor Electric Delivery and chairman of GridWise Alliance; Carol Browner, former director of the White House Office of […]
In Washington, a coalition including Growth Energy, Advanced Ethanol Council, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, National Sorghum Producers and the Renewable Fuels Association is opposing a series of amendments offered by Reps. John Sullivan, R-Okla., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Michael Burgess, R-Texas, that would block the legal implementation of […]
In Washington, a Senate compromise reached by Dianne Feinstein of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and John Thune, of South Dakota, that would end the ethanol tax credit immediately, generate deficit reduction and deploying $688 million in savings to blender pumps and small producer incentives, may not make it into tax law. Under the Constitution, […]
In Washington, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and US Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel provided a rousing opening to the DOE’s annual BIOMASS congress in Washington. Opening the conference, DOE Biomass Program Manager Paul Bryan noted that “Two years ago, we could have been called the […]
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the creation of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in six states to expand the availability of non-food crops to be used in the manufacturing of liquid biofuels. USDA has allocated approximately $45 million for contracts that range between less than five years up to 15 […]
In Texas, Celanese Corp. announced it would produce low-cost ethanol for US motorists using natural gas if US policy makers end subsidies for corn-based production and amend the law that allows only renewable sources of the fuel additive. Celanese currently produces ethanol from natural gas for approximately $60 a barrel, one-third less than the corn-based […]
In Illinois, a University of Illinois study focused on biobutanol has drawn attention to the need for changes in the regulatory processes of the US’s approach to biofuels. The study, conducted by Kesan and Timothy A. Slating of the UI Energy Biosciences Institute, indicated that the current US regulatory process does not foster commercialization or […]
