USDA’s World Agricultural Supply Demand report for February projects more sorghum to be used for ethanol. According to the report, sorghum food, seed, and industrial use is projected 40 million bushels higher based on indications of increased sorghum use by ethanol plants in the Southern and Central Plains. The report also noted that ethanol blender and producer margins have recently …
BP and Verenium Form Cellulosic Ethanol Venture
BP and Verenium Corporation have taken another step in a partnership announced last year by forming a joint venture to develop and commercialize cellulosic ethanol from non-food feedstocks. Both companies have agreed to commit $45 million in funding and assets to the company. The collaboration will be focused on the development of a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Highlands County, …
Record Distillers Grains Exports
Exports of the primary by-product of ethanol production are continuing to skyrocket. According to USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service, exports of distillers grains from the United States nearly doubled last year, up more than 90% from 2007 to total 4.51 million metric tons. Distillers grains are an ethanol co-product used as livestock feed. About one-third of every bushel of corn used …
Stimulus Includes Billions for Renewables
Renewable energy and biofuels are among the big winners in the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama today. “Because we know we can’t power America’s future on energy that’s controlled by foreign dictators, we are taking big steps down the road to energy independence, laying the groundwork for new green energy economies that can create countless …
Musical Activist to Headline World Biofuels Meeting
Activist and musician Bob Geldof has been announced as the keynote speaker at World Biofuels Markets 2009 (WBM09) to be held March 16-19 in Brussels, Belgium. Geldof, an Irish musician who launched his activist career by organizing Live Aid in 1985, will discuss how he believes biofuels can help developing countries become more energy independent without impacting food production. He …
Support for Increasing Ethanol Blend Levels
Increasing the approved level for ethanol that can be blended into gasoline is the number one priority for the ethanol industry this year, and recently support for that goal has been indicated by two major players in Congress and the administration. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a recent New York …
Two Steps to Turn Biomass into Biofuel
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have reportedly developed a two-step method to convert the cellulose in raw biomass into biofuel. The process, published in a recent Journal of the American Chemical Society issue, uses untreated, inedible biomass as the starting material. According to a story from the University of Wisconsin, the first step in the process is the conversion …
EPA to Introduce RINs System
The Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a webinar next week on a new system for controlling renewable fuel credits known as RINs (renewable identification numbers). The webinar will lay out EPA concepts for the new RIN Moderated Transaction System (MTS) and solicit feedback from regulated industry. According to an EPA announcement, webinar participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, …
Ethanol Outlook Brighter
Despite bankruptcies and attacks by environmentalists, the outlook for ethanol is improving, according to the chairman of USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board. USDA’s February corn outlook says ethanol blender and producer margins have recently improved and weekly production of gasoline blends with ethanol is on the rise. “We’ve seen relatively lower corn prices as of late and even producers now …
Ethanol Ten Year Projections
USDA’s Economic Research Service last week released its latest long term forecasts for the food and agricultural sector. For ethanol, USDA projects increases in corn-based ethanol production to slow over the next few years, but ethanol demand is expected to remain high and affect the production, use, and prices of farm commodities throughout the sector. According to the report, “continued …