Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $405 million in guarantee loans for three biorefinery projects in the southeast under the Biorefinery Assistance Program. The three projects are located in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. “We believe it’s critical and crucial to develop a biofuel industry powered by feedstocks produced in every corner of the country,” said Vilsack during a conference call …
Ethanol Conference Registration Going Strong
Attendance for the 16th annual National Ethanol Conference on February 20-22 in Phoenix is going so strong that they have added an overflow hotel for attendees and there is still a few more days to get the early bird discount for registration. The theme for this year’s conference is “Building Bridges to a More Sustainable Future” and features a variety …
Butamax Files Patent Infringement Action Against Gevo
Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Gevo, Inc. for its use of Butamax biobutanol technology. The lawsuit was filed January 14 in U.S. Federal District Court in the District of Delaware. “The U.S. patent system is designed to encourage research and development and to protect inventions. Butamax and its owners were the first to develop this …
Iowa Summit to Focus on Future for Ethanol and Biodiesel
The fifth annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Summit has an amazing line-up of speakers who will focus on the future of ethanol and biodiesel, both in the state and the nation. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will kick off the one-day event on January 25 by talking about Growing Iowa’s BioEconomy. Key Iowa biodiesel leaders will then detail biodiesel’s 2011 …
BYO Ethanol Webinar Wednesday
Last month President Obama signed into law legislation that included the extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the alternative fuels infrastructure tax credit. These two credits will continue to be key in the expansion of ethanol-blended fuels and blender pumps and a free webinar Wednesday is designed tohelp retailers learn more about how ethanol can increase …
USDA Awards Grants for Sustainable Bioenergy Education
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced two grants that will create educational opportunities in math and science for students interested in bioenergy and bio-based products. NIFA awarded Corinne Rutzke at Cornell University $4,999,940 to provide teachers from grades 8 through the undergraduate level with a strong footing in multi-disciplinary content and research-based training materials and activities …
Homeland Energy Joins RFA
Homeland Energy Solutions has joined the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) as a new producer member. Homeland Energy Solutions is 100 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery located in Lawler, Iowa which started production in April 2009. The facility uses approximately 37 million bushels of corn annually, and produces more than 350,000 metric tons of livestock feed in the form of …
POET and Growth Energy Win Regional NAMA Awards
Ethanol industry campaigns targeting the general public and Congress have won top awards from Region II of the National Agri-Marketing Association, which covers the west central part of the country from Montana to Texas. First place honors for “Television Ad Series” and “Best in Show” from the NAMA Region II went to a national TV advertising campaign for ethanol producer …
RFA Says Ethanol Tariff Meets WTO Guidelines
The Renewable Fuels Association is confident that U.S. ethanol trade policy conforms with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations. In response to recent comments by senators about the legality of the ethanol tariff, RFA Legislative Counsel Ed Hubbard authored an explanation on the E-xchange blog. According to Hubbard, the market-based structure of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the …
Georgia Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Closing
A lack of investment capitol is taking its toll on a Georgia cellulosic ethanol plant. According to media reports, the Range Fuels plant in Soperton will temporarily shut down after producing a small quantity of cellulosic ethanol. Range Fuels just announced in August 2010 the successful production of cellulosic methanol using non-food biomass at a Georgia biofuels plant in the …