Producing more energy from cow manure could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the climate summit in Copenhagen, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate adoption of innovative manure to energy projects on American dairy farms. “This historic agreement, the first of its kind, will help us achieve the ambitious goal of drastically …
RFA Seeks Fairer Test of Ethanol by UL
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is concerned about testing of the nation’s gasoline pumps currently underway by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) that is using what the group calls “aggressive ethanol” intended to accelerate any potential issues that may arise with the use of higher ethanol blends. According to RFA, this “aggressive ethanol” misrepresents the fuel ethanol found in the market today. …
Coalition Seeks Ethanol Blender Pump Tax Fix
A broad coalition of companies and organizations have signed on to a letter asking Congressional tax writers to fix a program intended to promote the installation of fuel pumps that dispense mid- and high-level ethanol blends. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis sent the letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and …
Ethanol Industry Leader Honored by ASTM
ASTM International has honored a long time ethanol industry expert with its Award of Excellence. Robert Reynolds of Downstream Alternatives received the award for his “outstanding and dedicated contributions to fuel standards development and as a consensus builder within ASTM between ethanol and petroleum interests.” Reynolds, pictured here at the 2007 National Ethanol Conference, was a founding member of the …
Growing Biodiesel Crops on the Road
Roadsides and median strips may turn out to be the perfect place to grow crops for biodiesel. “It’s a very non-traditional approach to utilizing some public lands that are not being utilized as well as they could be,” says Utah State University researcher Dallas Hanks. It is estimated that there are some 10 million available acres of land in roadsides, …
RFA Questions EPA Decision on Increasing Ethanol Blend Level
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is seeking more clarification from EPA on its apparent focus on vehicles model year 2001 and newer when it comes to increasing the allowable ethanol blend level in gasoline to 15 percent. Such a limitation could potentially limit once again the market for ethanol by excluding some 40% of the vehicle market and causing both …
TomTom GPS Finds 85 Percent Ethanol Fuel
The “smart choice in personal navigation” just got smarter. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has released a new GPS application for TomTom users that maps out the location of E85 stations for flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) drivers. RFA also released a similar GPS application for the Garmin GPS device last week. “We are continuing to explore new ways to connect the …
Corn Grower Reaction Mixed to EPA Ethanol Decision
The National Corn Growers Association is both pleased and disappointed by the Environmental Protection Agency announcement this week to delay final action on a waiver that would allow up to 15 percent ethanol blends in regular gasoline. “While we are disappointed the Environmental Protection Agency has chosen to postpone its decision on the higher ethanol blends, we are pleased the …
Ethanol Industry Reacts to EPA Decision
Ethanol industry groups are reacting to the announcement this morning from the Environmental Protection Agency that may be another six months before a final decision can be made on increasing the allowable ethanol content in fuel to 15 percent. Growth Energy, the coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters that filed the Green Jobs Waiver seeking E15, is optimistic that the agency …