In Washington, the USDA has called the heads of nearly every major biofuels association into a “friendly, open” discussion, but on an urgent timetable, to discuss opportunities to find common ground and synchronize biofuels industry policy. The March 21 meeting, which will be led by USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager and senior […]
In Washington, President Barack Obama’s economic advisors say they don’t expect progress to be made on the question of ethanol import tariffs during his trip to Brazil later this week. Though the Brazilians are likely to raise the issue, the US doesn’t appear ready to make concessions yet. Overall discussions on biofuel cooperation will be […]
In Florida, farmer representatives from 26 states at the annual National Corn Growers Association conference said they agreed with reforming ethanol subsidy programs including a variable ethanol tax credit followed or an ethanol tax credit at a reduced rate. Non-tax policies should include biofuels infrastructure, higher blends, including corn starch ethanol as an advanced biofuel, or […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is seeking applications for loan guarantees under the Biorefinery Assistance Program, and payments to producers under the Repowering Assistance Program, and the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels. This funding round includes: $463 million in loan guarantees under the USDA’s Biorefinery Assistance Program; $25 million under […]
In Washington, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tim Johnson introduced the Securing America’s Future with Energy and Sustainable Technologies (SAFEST) Act, which according to Senator Johnson “invests in jobs on the farm and in manufacturing in America. It is the path to our energy future by investing in a range of renewable energy from biofuels […]
In Washington, the top trade groups representing the advanced biofuels industry in the United States met today to continue industry-wide collaborative efforts begun last year aimed at improving communication among stakeholders while building a more cohesive industry to develop clean energy alternatives that strengthen our nation’s economy. 70 senior industry leaders attended the briefings. The […]
In Washington, as BIO, the Advanced Biofuels Association and the Algal Biomass Organization joined forces to seek unity in the biofuels policy debate, a number of other voices were raised as the din over the ethanol blender tax credit (VEETC), loan guarantees, EPA legislation and more reached fever pitch. Among the voices in a crowd […]
In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority has pulled an ExxonMobil TV ad off the air because a viewer complained that burning algae-based biofuels did indeed release carbon emissions whereas the commercial insinuated that using algae as a feedstock absorbs CO2. ExxonMobil said it did not study algae specifically but felt that it was generally […]
In California, Propel Fuels hosted Judith Canales, Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), at the company’s fueling station in Oakland, a visit highlighting the USDA’s plan to fund the build-out of 10,000 renewable fuel pumps across the nation in the next five years. According to Propel, there […]
In Washington, a routine media query turned up an interesting fact in the way that support for agricultural research is divided in the US government. Reporter Bob Brooks followed up on the Digest’s story on phosphorus reserves with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, asking about opportunities with and research in aqua farming and salt-water tolerant […]
