The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is pleased with the preliminary Indirect Land Use Change (iLUC) values presented by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) at a workshop on Tuesday. “We applaud the Air Resources Board for recognizing the need to reduce carbon from transportation and fossil fuels to mitigate climate change,” said Don Scott, National Biodiesel Board Director of Sustainability, …
CARB Stresses ILUC Update is Preliminary
California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff spent four hours on Tuesday afternoon detailing reviews made of Indirect Land Use Change (iLUC) models and analysis for the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), strongly stressing that their results are preliminary. “This is a work in progress,” said Air Resources Engineer Anil Prabhu as he began his power point presentation detailing the …
CARB Considers Small ILUC Change for Ethanol
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) today is proposing potential changes to indirect land use change (iLUC) penalties under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) which some scientists and the ethanol industry say are a start, but don’t go far enough. Based on a review of materials made available by CARB prior to the workshop, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President …
California to Consider Updating ILUC for Biofuels
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is holding two public workshops regarding the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) this week – one to discuss general updates to the LCFS regulation, and the second to discuss updates to the indirect land use change (iLUC) values. Stakeholder feedback is being solicited for both workshops. The board will discuss a proposal to update …
Study Aims to Debunk Indirect Land Use Change
A new paper, “Wood Bioenergy and Land Use,” authored by Roger A. Sedjo, Brent L. Sohngen, Anne Riddle on behalf of Resources for the Future attempts to debunk indirect land use change theory (ILUC). The paper looks at how the use of biomass energy will affect the forests. Back in 2008, Timothy Searchinger examined the issue related to corn ethanol …
Argonne National Lab Releases Updated GREET Model
The Argonne National laboratory has announced the release of the updated GREET fuel cycle model. The GREET model was first released in 1996 and since its release, Argonne has continued to update and improve the model. GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable …
Study Refutes Land Use Change Myth
A recent report released from researchers in the Netherlands shows that current models assessing the impact of crops grown for biofuel production on land use (indirect land use change /ILUC) do not accurately reflect current production and land use realities. Given the impact of these models on bioenergy policy, the paper, “Biomass Research,” makes a strong case for updating the …
Emotions Mixed on EU Biofuels Vote
There are very mixed emotions with the European Union’s (EU) vote on the biofuels and indirect land use change (ILUC) that took place earlier this week. The EU voted for 6 percent cap. In October of 2012, MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) were voting to cap the amount of land-based and food-based biofuels used in transport fuel. In October, …
Europe Votes to Limit Crop-based Biofuels
Biofuel makers in Europe could be facing a real uphill battle, as the European Parliament votes to limit the amount of green fuels made from crops in transportation. Bloomberg reports the 6 percent limit on the use of crop-based biofuels comes from concerns about indirect land use change. The vote … in Strasbourg, France, sets the stage for talks among …
New FOE Study Slams Biofuels
A new study by Friends of the Earth slams biofuels and bases many of its conclusions on indirect land use change (ILUC) a hotly debated theory. The report, “Understanding the Biofuel Trade-offs between Indirect Land Use Change, Hunger and Poverty,” authored by Timothy Searchinger, relies on ILUC theory and leaves out several underlying causes of global hunger when making an …