Reports of the demise of the ethanol tariff in the new White House budget were apparently greatly exaggerated.
Despite hints from Energy Secretary Sam Bodman last week that changes might be made to the expiring U.S. ethanol import tariff in its new 2009 government budget that was sent to Congress on Monday, no such changes were included.
Reuters reports that an energy department spokesperson said while the 54-cent-a-gallon tariff is set to expire at the end of December during the 2009 budget year, which begins this October 1, the administration will have discussions with lawmakers later this year on what should be done with the tariff.
The tariff is designed to protect the U.S. ethanol industry from other countries taking advantage of the 51 cent per gallon blenders’ tax credit.
Domestic Fuel is here at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, bringing you the latest updates from this gathering of biodiesel industry experts.
Just after we flew into the sun and warmth of a beautiful Central Florida day, Cindy was off to track down Ed Hegland, chairman of the National Biodiedsel Board. She caught up with Ed at a session on sustainable biodiesel production where it was announced a new task force would be formed to look at making biodiesel more sustainable and possibly move away from more expensive feedstocks, such as soybeans.
The 2008 National Biodiesel Board Conference and Exp is underway in sunny Orlando, Florida, where thousands of biodiesel producers, marketers, and industry folks gathered for the four-day event.
Domestic Fuel is there as well, covering the events of the conference. We’ve already heard presentations on sustainable biodiesel efforts, the state of the industry, and even a Super Bowl party featuring NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood (shown with me… Jack is on the left), who was signing footballs and helmets to raise money for the National Biodiesel Foundation… a group that is promoting education and research efforts to advance the biodiesel industry.
A food bank association and a renewable energy company have joined to produce electricity from food and food by-products that would have been just thrown away.
The Ontario Association of Food Banks and StormFisher Biogas, an Ontario-based renewable energy utility will work together to produce the power through what’s being called Plan Zero, according to 
Well, if you don’t, you will by the end of the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida next week. I’ll be there covering the event for energy.agwired.com and posting on 
One of the best things about a conference like this is all the new information that will debut… including the results of testing BioExtend , a high-performance antioxidant for biodiesel fuels that increases shelf life and enhances product protection. 
Colleen Crowninshield, manager of the Pima Association of Governments’ Clean Cities Program, said, “It has been a long time coming. I receive phone calls and e-mails every day with people asking when Phoenix will have a retail station. Now I can actually have a positive response and tell them that they can find fuel for their flex-fuel vehicles in the market.”
Indications are that the Bush administration will make changes to the ethanol tariff in its budget to Congress scheduled to be released Monday. Earlier this week, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman hinted that the White House’s 2009 budget may propose scaling back or eliminating the 54-cent-a-gallon import tariff.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) 