The National Biodiesel Board today called for passage of the U.S. House’s version of the Farm Bill – H.R. 2419, the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 – especially the parts referring to biodiesel.
NBB officials say the energy title portion of the bill includes an expansion of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Bioenergy Program and the Biodiesel Education Program. According to an NBB release, the CCC would support production of biodiesel and other bio-based renewable fuels using domestic feedstocks by providing subsidies to help biodiesel producers in this country offset rising feedstock costs. Those costs make up about 80 percent of their overall production expansions.
Funding for the Biodiesel Education Program increases from $5 million to $10 million over five years. NBB officials say the program has been a major reason why consumer awareness and support of biodiesel continues to rise:
“The NBB believes these energy initiatives are critical in continuing to make biodiesel an important part of a diverse energy portfolio,” said Joe Jobe, NBB CEO. “As the bill moves forward, we will continue to work with our partners in Congress to ensure that necessary funding is provided for these programs, and that the Bioenergy Program is ultimately structured in a manner that will best help the U.S. biodiesel industry reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.”
The biodiesel industry cranked out 250 million gallons of the green fuel in 2006 and is on track to produce 300 to 350 million gallons this year.
A middle school student from Merritt Island was in the spotlight at the 2007 Florida Farm to Fuel Summit last week in St. Petersburg for her work in making biofuels.
The main focus of the Florida Farm to Fuel Summit in St. Petersburg last week was getting biofuels production going in the Sunshine State.
“We have the only existing fuel ethanol plant in Florida,” said Banks. “With an aim of being up and running by the summer of 2008. For that, we need about four million bushels of something.”
“In the longer term, in my judgment, the fuel of the future is going to be hydrogen,” Dorgan said. “I’m a big fan of the biofuels, I’m a big fan of ethanol, I believe it’s enormously important that we’ve invested in wind energy. But I believe —especially in the longer term — our grandkids need to be driving vehicles that put water vapor out the tailpipe and have twice the efficiency of power to the wheel. That comes with hydrogen fuel cells. It allows us to say to the Saudis and the Kuwaitis and others, ‘We don’t need your oil.’”
Marathon Oil Company is now pumping biodiesel at two of its terminals in Illinois.
VeraSun Energy will hold a grand opening ceremony for its 110 million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant at Charles City, Iowa on August 17th, 2007.
Ryan Hunter-Reay said he would be happy if his first IndyCar Series race ended with a “top 6 or 7” finish and he got his wish. He finished seventh, overcoming some mechanical problems in practice.
There was reason for a cellulosic ethanol celebration at the second annual Farm to Fuel Summit held in St. Petersburg last week.
The check, representing the beginning of profitability of this technology, was presented at the second annual Farm to Fuel Summit.
DomesticFuel did a 
Now former Team Ethanol car driver Jeff Simmons