The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) has become the newest member of the Coalition for E85 to help educate policymakers about the need for 85% ethanol blended gasoline to be designated as an alternative fuel in the tax code. “If we don’t enable E85 to compete with gasoline, we could see the entire Flex Fuel industry disappear,” said Dan …
RFA Chairman on Ethanol Issues
Chuck Woodside, General Manager of farmer-owned KAAPA Ethanol in Minden, Nebraska, was just re-elected for a second year as chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). I caught up with him this week for an update on the state of the industry, how this year has been, progress on implementing EPA’s E15 waiver, challenges to the RFS2, the importance of …
Bioheat Campaign Blankets New York
A new Bioheat® advertising campaign is underway in New York City targeting oilheat customers who want a better, cleaner fuel. The message is that consumers who use oilheat to heat their homes have the power to change – without changing a thing – by choosing Bioheat®, “a home heating fuel made with biodiesel, a renewable, cleaner-burning fuel that supports American …
Biodiesel Scholarship Honors Minnesota Farmer
An annual scholarship for Minnesota high school seniors has been launched under a new name to honor the memory of a soybean farmer. This year’s scholarships are given in memory of the late father of Mike Youngerberg, senior director of field services for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. Reuben Youngerberg owned a farm in Blue Earth County, where he held …
Anti-Ethanol Blender Pump Amendment Pulled
An amendment offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that would have stopped funding for Flex Fuel blender pumps was pulled before it came up for a vote this week. “While the withdrawal of this amendment is an important milestone, we will continue to encourage Congress to oppose any other effort that would erect new barriers to the market,” said Growth …
Reports Blame Speculators for Higher Prices
Two reports released earlier this week concluded that commodity market speculation is largely to blame for increasing prices of food and energy. The reports were issued in advance of the October 18 meeting of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) which placed limits on speculation in a variety of commodities including oil, corn, gold and natural gas. One report …
USDA Plans to Cancel Ethanol Co-Product Report
In a cost-cutting measure, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is planning to cancel the Distiller Co-Products for Feed Survey announced in March slated to be done in January 2012. The report, which was designed to better calculate the use of the ethanol co-product known as DDGS in livestock feed, is one of several that USDA plans to eliminate or …
Solar Executives Discuss Industry Issues
Solar Power International 2011 (SPI 2011) is taking place this week in Dallas and six of the country’s leading solar executives and innovators held a press call this morning from the conference to talk about issues of interest to the industry. Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, says there is tremendous momentum in the solar industry despite backlash from the Solyndra …
Electric Vehicle Sharing Incentive Announced
Xatori Inc., the electric vehicle software company behind the PlugShare app suite, and peer-to-peer car sharing service Getaround have partnered to reward PlugShare members in select communities $50 for sharing their vehicles on Getaround’s car rental marketplace. PlugShare and Getaround announced the financial incentive in honor of National Plug In Day on Sunday, October 16. Eligible communities include the San …
ZeaChem Makes Cleantech 100 List
Cellulosic ethanol developer ZeaChem has been named one of the 2011 Global Cleantech 100 companies. The annual list is produced by Cleantech Group in collaboration with UK’s Guardian News, focusing on companies they believe are likely to make the most significant impact over the next 5-10 years. “ZeaChem is building a portfolio of advanced biofuels and bio-based chemicals derived from …