Advanced biofuel producers are calling on Congress to take action now to ensure that tax incentives for cellulosic ethanol continue past 2012. In a letter to Congressional leaders, the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) asked for a multi-year extension of the Cellulosic Biofuels Producer Tax Credit (PTC) and the Special Depreciation Allowance for Cellulosic Biofuel Plant Property, both of which are …
Pacific Ethanol Raises $8 Million in Stock Sale
Pacific Ethanol reports that they have entered into a “definitive purchase agreement with a group of institutional investors to raise $8.0 million in a private placement transaction.” In addition, the company has signed purchase agreements to acquire an additional 7% interest in the Pacific Ethanol production facilities, according to a company news release. Of the net proceeds from the financing, …
Ethanol Exports Remain Strong
The latest government data on exports for October shows continued strong demand overseas for U.S. ethanol. According to the data, exports of denatured and undenatured ethanol which are not eligible for VEETC totaled 121.4 million gallons. That is just short of the record 127.4 million gallons of exports set in July 2011. On the Renewable Fuels Association E-xchange Blog, RFA’s …
GROWMARK Perspective on Energy Policy
2011 has been a challenging year for getting anything done in Washington DC, including as it relates to both agriculture and energy policy. “In agriculture, when it comes to energy, we want reliable, economically competitive sources,” says GROWMARK government affairs director Chuck Spencer. “As a country, what we are looking for is energy security and that’s going to come from …
Life Cycle Analysis Favorable for Biodiesel
Comparing the life cycle analysis of soy products to petroleum products shows clear environmental advantages on the soybean side. Early last year, the United Soybean Board released the findings of a life cycle analysis report that compared several different soy-based products with the same products made from petroleum sources, including soy biodiesel. The peer-reviewed study was done by Omni Tech …
Iowa Biodiesel Interests Plan Radio Ads for Basketball
Iowa’s biodiesel leaders are unveiling new radio ads for Iowa State/Iowa men’s basketball games to promote biodiesel to consumers. “These radio ads are designed to encourage Iowans to learn more about the industry’s starting line-up of performance, quality, support for Iowa agriculture, green-job creation, as well as price and availability,” said Jon Scharingson, Director, Sales and Marketing at Renewable Energy …
US and Brazil Spar Over Ethanol Trade Policy
Brazilian and U.S. ethanol interests are challenging each other over ethanol trade policy. The U.S./Brazil Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote a joint letter to Congress last week asking that the U.S. secondary tariff on imported ethanol be allowed to expire as scheduled at the end of the year, together with the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). …
New Ethanol Production Record Set
Ethanol production hit an all time high last week, according to the latest figures from the Energy Information Administration. For the week ending December 2, ethanol production averaged 954,000 barrels per day (b/d) – or 40.068 million gallons daily, which is 24,000 barrels more than the previous week and a new record. Getting close to the end of the year …
Verenium Markets Enzyme for Biodiesel Production
Verenium Corporation is now marketing its successful Purifine® phospholipase C (PLC) enzyme product for use in the pretreatment of oil for biodiesel production. The Purifine® PLC enzyme is designed to improve yields and overall economics of edible oil and biodiesel production. “Since the initial launch of our Purifine® PLC enzymatic degumming process, we have seen rapid adoption and success within …
Petroleum Equipment Group Joins E85 Coalition
The Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) has joined the Coalition for E85 – a group of retailers, producers, equipment manufacturers and other supporters of E85 fuel. PEI executive vice president Robert Renkes says the goal of the Coalition is to protect the investments of 2,500 small businesses and stop a multimillion-dollar tax hike on consumers. “Fuel marketers, equipment manufacturers and the …