Friends of the Earth (FOE) has announced this year’s nominees for the organization’s “Biofool of the Year” award. Among the nominees are the publishers of Domestic Fuel, myself and my husband/partner Chuck Zimmerman. The award was established by FOE “to recognize leaders that promote dirty biofuels” – especially corn ethanol – and was won last year by then House Agriculture …
Grassley Hopes to Avoid Vote on Ethanol Tax Credit
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is hoping to avoid a vote in the Senate on the amendment introduced last week by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). Grassley said today during his weekly agricultural media conference call that there are two ways the vote can be avoided. “Either talking him out of it, …
Dyadic Introduces Advanced Biofuels Enzyme
Biotech firm Dyadic International has introduced a new advanced biofuels enzyme at this week the World Biofuels Markets exhibition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. According to the company, AlternaFuel® CMAX™ has proven to be effective in converting multiple forms of biomass into fermentable sugars which is the critical step in the production of cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels and biochemicals …
Companies to Produce Edible Ethanol Co-Product
Two Illinois companies are working together to produce an ethanol co-product that has a variety of food, industrial and chemical product applications. Prairie Gold (PGI) of Bloomington, and GTL Resources USA of Itasca, Illinois have agreed to collaborate on the construction of a zein protein production plant. Zein is a high valued co-product that can be produced from the corn …
Energy Highlights of Obama Visit to Brazil
Energy was part of the agenda when President Obama visited Brazil over the weekend. During his visit, Obama and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff agreed to launch a Strategic Energy Dialogue, to focus on both oil and biofuels. “Now even as we focus on oil in the near term, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the only long-term solution …
Whole New World of Corn
Everything you ever wanted to know about corn is contained in the latest edition of the World of Corn from the National Corn Growers Association. This year’s publication, available online now, highlights the wide variety of roles that farmers must play, from environmentalist to technology geek, in order to ensure that both their farm and their industry as a whole …
Speculation, Not Ethanol, Driving Corn Prices
Erratic behavior on the futures market for corn over the past few weeks is evidence that paper bushels, not ethanol, are driving corn prices, according to Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “Corn futures prices have tumbled by $1/bushel just since March 3, as huge index and hedge funds and other large speculators are pulling out of the …
Governors Urge Change in Corn for Ethanol Reporting
U.S. governors from Washington to New York to Texas are asking Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to change the way USDA reports the use of corn for ethanol production. In a letter sent to Vilsack this week, the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition urged the change to reflect the fact that corn for ethanol usage produces livestock feed in the form of …
Ethanol Interests Urge Defeat of VEETC Amendment
Legislation that would immediately repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, or VEETC, is drawing criticism from ethanol interests. U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) this week introduced the repeal as an amendment to the small business reauthorization bill, currently under consideration in the Senate. “The ethanol tax credit is bad economic policy, bad energy policy and …
POET Opens 27th Ethanol Plant in Indiana
The largest ethanol producer in the world got a little bigger today, and so did Indiana’s ethanol production capacity. POET opened its 27th ethanol plant and fourth plant in Cloverdale, Indiana with a grand opening event that included ethanol industry and government leaders, area farmers, new team members and area residents. The opening of POET Biorefining – Cloverdale represents an …