Ethanol production is actually helping keep food and fuel prices lower than they would be, notes the Renewable Fuels Association, citing recent news reports. Without the expansion of biofuel production and use in the US, Brazil and elsewhere, world oil demand would increase and so would the price. Merrill Lynch analyst Francisco Blanch told the Wall Street Journal that world …
POET Opens Second Indiana Plant
The grand opening of POET’s 23rd ethanol production facility was a grand event in Alexandria, Indiana on Thursday. POET Biorefining – Alexandria is the company’s second plant in the state of Indiana and Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman told the crowd on hand for the official ribbon cutting that the new plant further strengthens Indiana as a national leader in the …
Brazilian President Jumps into Food vs. Fuel Debate
After a week of criticism of biofuels that included the U.N. special rapporteur for the right to food, Jean Ziegler calling biofuels a “crime against humanity” and protests in Brazil and Europe, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is defending his country’s right to produce biofuels. This Reuters story has more information: “Don’t tell me, for the love of …
Bush: Stop Greenhouse Gas Growth by 2025, Biofuels Part of Plan
President George W. Bush announced today his initiative to curb greenhouse growth in the United States. And according to this White House press release, ethanol and biodiesel are part of the plan: [T]he United States has launched — and the G8 has embraced — a new process that brings together the countries responsible for most of the world’s emissions. We’re …
Economists Discuss Food and Fuel Prices
Rising food prices continue to make headlines and all too often the blame is placed on the use of corn for ethanol. In this DomesticFuel Cast, we hear from two economists who have spent their entire careers studying farm and food prices – Jim Duffield with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and John Urbanchuk with the global economic analysis firm …
Imperim CEO Says “Don’t Blame Biofuels”
The food vs. fuel debate is still going strong with the chief executive officer of a major biofuel producer telling a technology summit not to blame his industry for the rise in food prices. This story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says that at the Technology Summit in Bellevue, WA today, Imperium Renewables Chief Executive John Plaza told attendees that there’s …
Report: Government Key to Green Investment
Investing in green technology is still a good investment… with a little help from the government. U.S. News and World Report says a new report by Laurence Alexander, Paul Clegg, and Michael McNamara at Jefferies & Co. says what is being done to be green, such as biofuels, wind, and solar technologies, is very good with demand remaining strong. But …
Saudi Oil Minister Blasts Biofuels
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources last week denounced ethanol as an alternative to petroleum-based motor fuels. In a speech to the International Oil Summit in Paris, Minister Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi said, “Let’s be realistic, ethanol and biofuels will not contribute to the protection of the global environment by reducing (carbon dioxide) emissions, they will not increase …
Deadline Approaching for Ethanol Video Contest
The deadline for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council’s “Fuel the Change” sweepstakes is fast approaching and new entries have been rolling in. The final deadline for entries is April 21. The contest calls for a 30 second video about how ethanol is a part of your life and how you’re fueling American independence and a greener, cleaner future one …
Texas Report Studies Ethanol and Food Prices
A study done by Texas A&M’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center concludes that corn prices have had little to do with rising food costs. The report, “The Effects of Ethanol on Texas Food and Fuel,” also finds that relaxing the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) would not result in lower corn prices for livestock and poultry feeders. According to the study, …