In Iowa, former Minnesota government Tim Pawlenty kicked off his 2012 presidential campaign promising to tell the truth even if it made him unpopular. He began by telling Iowans that he was going to get rid of ethanol subsidies: “The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to […]
In Iowa, a recent speech made by Newt Gingrich cites job-creation and self-sufficiency through domestic production of ethanol as a prime goal of the presidential hopeful. While promising not to raise taxes and to cut capital gains to zero, Gingrich also identified America’s need to depend on Midwest production of ethanol. During the speech, Gingrich […]
In Washington, the DOE announced that they have committed $25 million over the next five years to support the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC). This was the result of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy announced by President Obama and Prime Minister Singh of India last November. This first-of-a-kind effort is […]
In Washington, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash. tabled a bill that would authorize the Dept. of Defense to sign 15-year contracts for advanced biofuel supply, up from the current five-year limit. The proposal has been referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Armed Services.
In Washington, five major biofuels associations called on Congress “to stand firm in the face of calls to waive or repeal the groundbreaking biofuels provisions included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), including the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).” The group emphasized “the domestic biofuels industry is already creating jobs, helping to […]
In California, Hoover Institution Press released Corn Ethanol: Who Pays? Who Wins? by Ken G. Glozer. In Corn Ethanol, Ken Glozer— who spent 26 years at the White House Office of Management and Budget in the energy, environment, and agriculture areas— presents the history, the promises, and the truth about federal corn ethanol policy. The book […]
In Washington, the House Armed Services Committee OK’d a defense budget bill that exempted the Department of Defense from Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which had since 2007 required that fuels purchased by the military be no more carbon-intensive than standard fossil fuels. The provision, if passed by the Congress and […]
In Belgium, the China Air Transport Association has stated that they oppose having their flights into Europe included in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. The ETS requires that all emitters to buy permits for each tonne of CO2 released, above a certain cap. The program is scheduled to start on January 1, 2012 and […]
In Angola, the country is pushing to finalize its National Strategy on Biofuel because it seems opportunities for cane-based ethanol as a way to diverse its energy matrix despite having abundant energy sources such as oil. The $256 million Biocom project led by Brazil’s Odebrecht and national oil company Sonangol expect testing of sugar ethanol […]
In Namibia, the country’s Environment and Tourism Minister is recommending that large-scale jatropha production projects be limited to 500 hectares to reduce chances of competition with food production. The country has limited amounts of available arable land and planting jatropha would compete with national plans for ‘green schemes’ that would boost food supplies.
