Surprise, surprise… petroleum giant Texas has cut some of the state’s incentives to biofuels makers.
The Dallas Morning News reports that lawmakers in the state legislature removed funding for biodiesel and ethanol because some complained that they were competing with the state’s petroleum industry. But some lawmakers see the move as short sighted:
Rep. David Swinford, a Republican lawmaker from West Texas who wrote the original legislation, said Texas was betting the state’s future on “a depleting entity” by ignoring alternative fuels.
He said the program was meant to spur an industry in Texas, where “we did not get one [ethanol] plant in 10 years.”
“We have been subsidizing oil and gas in Texas for a long time, and I voted for it,” Mr. Swinford said. “But the federal government is saying, ‘We want everybody to go and do these things – we are willing to give incentives.’ It would be like Texas having its head in the ground … to say, ‘We don’t want to do that.’ “
The move is already causing some renewable fuel plant builders to reconsider plans for refineries in Texas, and it has drawn the ire of biofuel advocates:
“We can’t dally for a whole lot longer if we expect to have an industry in this state,” said Russel E. Smith, executive director of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association. “You have to lay the groundwork for producing the fuels in a state and help stimulate the market for them.”
Meanwhile, other states and the federal government seem to be going in the other direction… with no time to wait and see if Texas catches up.
The U.S.’s first wholly-owned canola biodiesel plant has opened near Velva, North Dakota. The ADM plant is right next to ADM’s crushing facility and will produce 85 million gallons of biodiesel when it’s fully operational.
“This is an exciting time for North Dakota,” said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. “Our state has the potential to serve as the nation’s powerhouse. North Dakota’s vast resources can be used to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, control energy prices and grow our state’s economy. This plant in Velva is leading the way.”
The plant will use the equivalent of 600,000 acres of the state’s canola crop… a fact not lost on North Dakota’s Governor John Hoeven:
Kansas flex-fuel motorists can take advantage of bargain prices while pumping up the local economy at an E85 grand opening in Manhattan, Kansas on Friday. E85 will be available for $1.85 a gallon at the 
Next week, on Tuesday, Kum & Go, the 
“This event is meant to celebrate ethanol use in Iowa and to ramp up excitement for ISU’s homecoming week,” said Jerry Main, a corn grower and chairman of the Usage and Production Committee at Iowa Corn. “This event marks a great set of anniversaries: Iowa State is celebrating 150 years and Iowa Corn has been promoting ethanol for 30 years. I am also glad to see the partnership between Iowa Corn and Kum & Go benefiting Iowa consumers.”
“Switching to the new labels is voluntary but it enables fuel retailers to capitalize on growing consumer awareness and the national brand-building activities that are being spearheaded by EPIC,” said White. “More and more consumers are seeking out ethanol-enriched fuel and this branding program will help consumers find it simply by looking for the brand image that will be consistent from pump to pump and from city to city across Illinois — and, eventually, across the entire United States.”
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U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) was among those attending a a grand opening and open house this week at Magellan Midstream Partners’ biodiesel blending facility in Mason City, Iowa.
“This is a perfect example of cooperation between energy companies — of companies working arm in arm instead of in competition with one another to solve a problem,” said Grassley.
Gusts of energy from 
Ohio has a lot of it, and now, one company has a breakthrough way of using it. 
Chicago-based biodiesel refinery builder Benefuel, Inc. will build the world’s first industrial-scale biodiesel refinery that uses a novel solid catalyst to convert low-grade fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel. The 10-million-gallon plant is to be built in Seymour, Indiana in conjunction with Seymour Biofuels.