The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a series of changes to make it easier for agricultural producers and rural small businesses to apply for renewable energy and energy efficiency funding. “These changes are intended to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses throughout America,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “They will streamline and simplify the application process and give …
Biofuels Can’t Get Overcome with Negativity Overhang
There’s some real negativity hanging over the biofuels industry these days. And while any industry has risks, it seems that the setbacks loom larger over the renewable energy sector compared to what their competitors in the conventional energy sector face. In his talk before the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, “De-Risking a Risky World,” Fred Cannon, the CEO of cellulosic fuel …
NREL: Biodiesel Quality Shows Dramatic Improvement
New information from the U.S. Department of Energy shows biodiesel quality is better than ever. This news release from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that 95% of the samples from 2011-12 met ASTM International fuel quality specifications… a dramatic improvement from just a few years ago: “The survey showed a major improvement over results from previous years,” NREL …
RFS Shown to Work Because It Makes Big Oil Nervous
How can we tell the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) is working? By how nervous it’s making the big oil companies. That was the message attendees at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference near Washington, D.C. heard. “We are disrupting an existing marketplace,” says Brooke Coleman, Executive Director of the Advanced Ethanol Council. “We are not social media. We are not creating …
Vilsack, LaHood Extend Aviation Biofuels Commitment
Two members of Pres. Obama’s cabinet today have signed their names to an agreement that will extend the administration’s commitment to the production of biofuels for use in airplanes. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have extended by five years the “Farm to Fly” program, an initiative to partner the USDA and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) …
Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conf. Underway in DC
Hello from the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, just a few miles south of the Nation’s capital at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center! A lot has been going on already this morning, but before it all got started, I caught up with Jim Lane, the editor for Biofuels Digest, who is putting on this event. He told me that …
Blend Wall Myth Buster
Biofuel opponents are crying wolf, so it would seem, claiming that the blend wall is insurmountable. However, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today has published an infographic that busts the myths surrounding the blend wall. “This graphic perfectly captures the ridiculous myth that an insurmountable blend wall exists,” said Bob Dinneen, RFA CEO and president. “The blend wall is a …
Passive Solar Conference Offers Free Public Lectures
As part of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Conference that is kicking off tomorrow, April 16-20 at the Baltimore Convention Center, the 38th Annual Passive Solar Conference will explore two broad themes – the emerging architectural discipline of passive solar design, and the rapidly growing science of building technology. A free lecture open to the public will …
U.S.-Israel Bio-Energy Challenge Heads to DC
More than a dozen of Israel’s top academic and industrial biofuels research scientists and innovators will be arriving in Washington this week to begin a week-long dialogue with their American counterparts at the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA), as well as with the Navy, FAA and the private sector. The group be meeting with White House officials …
Climate Change Causing Americans Big Bucks
With Earth Day a week away (Monday, April 22) there is a greater focus on climate change and the environment. According to Ceres, a nonprofit organization mobilizing business leadership on climate change, a growing chunk of American tax dollars is footing the bill for increasing floods, fires, droughts and other climate-related changes. Ceres compiled data showing rising costs to three …