This coming Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and media giant NBC Universal is taking the whole week to mark the occasion. Part of this sixth green-themed Earth Week by the network includes biodiesel as part of the effort. This NBC press release has details: “NBC Universal’s green-themed weeks continue to drive consumer awareness around the environment,” said …
POET Ethanol Plants Get Safety Awards
Five POET ethanol plants have been recognized for chemical transportation safety, receiving the Union Pacific Railroad’s 14th annual Pinnacle Award. The award is given to companies that have no non-accident releases during the year and have successful prevention and corrective plans in place. “This is Union Pacific’s opportunity to acknowledge and thank our customers for their continuing efforts to eliminate …
UNICA: Stop High Tariffs on Clean Technologies
The ethanol tariff debate continues as today, Marcos Jink, President and CEO of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) told World Trade Organization’s Director-General, Pascal Lamy, during a presentation that, “It makes no sense for countries to adopt ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while continuing to apply high tariffs on clean technologies that can be instrumental to …
Dyadic Resolves Lawsuit
Biotech firm Dyadic International announced today an agreement to resolve a class action lawsuit initially filed in October 2007. The litigation, Miller v. Dyadic International, Inc. et al, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, asserted class action claims under federal securities laws based on allegations of misstatements and omissions by Dyadic and certain …
Ethanol Report on Scaling the Blend Wall
In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Director of Market Development Robert White talks about what RFA is doing to help ethanol scale the rapidly approaching blend wall. He discusses the BYO Ethanol program to get blender pumps installed, encouraging EPA to grant a waiver to allow up to 15 percent ethanol in regular gasoline, and …
USDA Invites Public Comment on Renewable Energy Programs
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is inviting public comment on several proposed rules designed to increase the production of advanced biofuels and the development of biorefineries that were authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill. “We view these proposed rules as part of the strategy to help meet President Obama’s goal to accelerate the commercial production of advanced biofuels and create a …
AWEA Wants Grid More Compatible for Wind Energy
An advocate for wind energy in the country is calling for a better electrical grid to handle wind energy needs. The American Wind Energy Association has called for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to update the way the nation’s electric utility system is operated to make it more efficient and better able to accommodate wind and solar power: “While utility …
House Leader: Biodiesel Incentive Back by Summer
A key Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives has set a goal of Congress renewing the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax incentive and sending the measure to Pres. Obama by the end of May. The Des Moines (IA) Register reports that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Michigan Democrat Sander Levin made the prediction: The House and Senate have been …
REG Buys Nova Biosource’s Biodiesel Assets
Iowa-based biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group has bought up the biodiesel assets of Nova Biosource Fuels of Seneca, Illinois. This Security and Exchange Commission filing says REG will also assume Nova’s debts of about $36.25 million. Pursuant to the Seneca Asset Purchase Agreement, the Seneca Purchaser agreed to acquire substantially all of the Seneca Sellers’ assets, excluding certain specified assets, …
Biodiesel Board Renews Call for Incentive Renewal
The National Biodiesel Board has renewed its efforts to get Congress to renew the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax incentive that expired at the end of 2009. In this latest move, the NBB has sent a letter to Congressional Leadership urging Congress to take immediate action to retroactively reinstate the incentive and was joined by the Petroleum Marketers Association of America; …