Just as President Obama was preparing to sign the Agricultural Act of 2014 into law today, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) held a media conference to highlight how expansion of the new farm bill’s energy programs to include renewable chemical technologies can help advanced biofuel producers. “Renewable chemicals are now defined in the farm bill, an important and long overdue …
President Signs Farm Bill
President Barack Obama traveled to Michigan State University to sign the Agricultural Act of 2014 at the alma mater of Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). “Despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers,” President Obama told the small crowd invited for the signing. “Secretary Vilsack calls it a jobs bill, an innovation bill, an …
Impact of Lowering RFS on Advanced Biofuels
The comment period is now over for the EPA proposal that would lower the volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard this year, but it will be some time yet before a decision is made since the agency likely has tens of thousands of comments to read. In this Ethanol Report, several representatives of the cellulosic ethanol and advanced biofuels …
Biofuel Groups React to SOTU
Corn farmers and biofuels producers are questioning President Obama’s commitment to an “all of the above” energy strategy mentioned in the State of the Union address, considering the administration’s proposal to cut the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) this year. The address Tuesday evening came just hours before the comment period on the EPA proposal ended. “It was great to hear …
Nebraska Corn Collects 5,000 RFS Comments
The Nebraska Corn Board has received over 5,000 letters expressing opposition on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to lower 2014 volume requirements for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In early January, the Nebraska Corn Board sent out letters to Nebraska farmers alerting them of EPA’s actions and included a letter to EPA that farmers could sign. These …
New Analysis Shows RFS Lowers Gas Prices
A new independent analysis from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University has found that increased ethanol production under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program has reduced gas prices, not increased them as opponents of the RFS claim. “Our results should reassure those in Congress and the Administration who are worried that following the RFS …
Appeals Court Denies California LCFS Appeal
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied rehearing en banc a ruling last year which upheld California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), leaving the ethanol industry and others challenging the law to consider the next move. In a joint statement, ethanol producer groups Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) called the decision “a blow to California …
Lowering RFS Impact on Advanced Biofuels
Cellulosic and advanced biofuels producers are very concerned that the EPA proposal to lower 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets will have a chilling effect on investment in the next generation of renewable fuels. “Frankly, we have decided that we are placing a hold on our evaluations of future investment in bioenergy in the United States until we see what …
Wisconsin Resarchers Find Better Biofuels Chemical
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found a way to get more ethanol out of sugars used in the refining process. This university article says they’re using a plant-derived chemical, gamma valerolactone, or GVL. “With the sugar platform, you have possibilities,” says Jeremy Luterbacher, a postdoctoral researcher and the paper’s lead author. “You’ve taken fewer forks down the conversion …
Bi-Partisan Group Protests EPA Biofuels Reductions
A bi-partisan group of lawmakers is calling on the government to end its proposal to reduce the amount of ethanol and biodiesel that will be blended into the Nation’s fuel supply. Led by Democratic Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) and Republican Congresswoman Kristi Noem (SD-AL), the group has sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the agency’s proposal …