Ethanol hit a home run at the Iowa Cubs game last night in Des Moines. With the help of Renewable Fuels Association chairman Chris Standlee of Abengoa Bioenergy throwing out the first pitch, the Iowa Cubs beat Oklahoma City RedHawks 8-5 Wednesday night in front of 9,088 fans on Ethanol Night at Principal Park. The promotional event featured ethanol information …
Railway to Test Montana Biodiesel
A switch engine in Havre, Montana is making the switch to 20 percent biodiesel for a year-long experiment to see how it works on trains in the Treasure State. On July 17, BNSF Railway celebrated the official start of the project where Montana State University-Northern’s Bio-Energy Center will test biodiesel produced by Earl Fisher Biofuels in one of two BNSF …
Marketers Back Renewable Fuels Bill
The nation’s major fuel marketing associations are advocating legislation that will help them sell higher blends of renewable fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel greater than E10 or B5. NACS – the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing, along with NATSO (representing America’s Travel Plazas and Truckstops), Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), and Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America …
Ethanol in Senate Ag Hearing Spotlight
Ethanol took the spotlight in a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday on the Farm Bill’s energy and rural development programs. Testimony at the hearing came from USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager, Growth Energy Co-chairman General Wesley Clark, National Alliance of Forest Owners president Dave Tenny, and New York dairy producer Eric Zuber. The discussion ranged from increasing the …
Renewable Energy Group Makes Acquisitions
Leading biodiesel producer and marketer Renewable Energy Group (REG) announced a couple of major acquisitions today that will improve the company’s access to used cooking oil supply for biodiesel production. The Ames, Iowa company is acquiring Tellurian Biodiesel of California and American BDF, a joint venture owned by Tellurian, Golden State Service Industries and Restaurant Technologies Inc. (RTI) that focused …
Ag Secretary Visits Ohio Ethanol Plant
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland toured the POET Biorefining plant in Marion, Ohio today and talked ethanol with industry stakeholders. Vilsack and Strickland took part in a roundtable discussion with representatives from POET, the Ohio Corn Growers Association, Ohio Ethanol Producers Association and the Ohio Department of Agriculture as well as the federal Farm …
Study Finds “Modest” Impact to Ending Ethanol Tax Credit
A study conducted by Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) has determined that the impact of ending the ethanol blenders tax credit and corresponding tariff would be “modest.” The report, Costs and Benefits to Taxpayers, Consumers, and Producers from U.S. Ethanol Policies, finds that “allowing the blender credit and tariff to expire would neither have the …
DOE Finds Ethanol Pipeline Feasible
A pipeline for ethanol from the Midwest to the East Coast is a viable project, if certain conditions are met, according to a report by the Department of Energy (DOE). In the report titled “Dedicated Ethanol Pipeline Feasibility Study,” which was required under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, DOE concludes that “in spite of the documented challenges …
More E85 for Florida
Motorists driving Flex Fuel Vehicles along Florida’s Treasure Coast now have two more places to fill up with E85 ethanol fuel. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel have announced the availability of E85 at Twin Oil Sunoco retail stations in Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie. The Twin Oil fueling stations, each branded as Sunoco, are offering E85 …
Ethanol Opponents Call for End to Tax Incentives
Seizing on last week’s CBO report and a proposal by Growth Energy to phase out and redirect the blenders tax credit for ethanol (VEETC), several long-time opponents of ethanol renewed their call for an end to all tax incentives for the home-grown fuel. In a press conference this morning, representatives from the American Meat Institute (AMI), Environmental Working Group (EWG), …