Ethanol interests are expressing their disappointment in this week’s ruling by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to adopt a low carbon fuel standard that uses controversial methods to determine indirect land use changes attributable to biofuels. “Adopting this standard sets a dangerous precedent about the application of unproven science to industries across the country,” said Bob Dinneen, President and …
California Adopts Standard Biased Against Ethanol
Despite stringent arguments by the ethanol industry, California’s Air Resources Board (ARB) yesterday approved a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that could jeopardize continued development of the advanced biofuels it is intended to promote. According to a press release from the board, “The new standard means we can begin to break our century-old dependence on petroleum and provide California with greater …
Ethanol Watching CARB Arguments
All eyes in the ethanol industry are on California today as the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) is hearing arguments and preparing to vote on a controversial staff proposal for the state’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). Hundreds of scientists, biofuel producers, including both current and next generation companies, and petroleum interests have all cautioned that ARB’s approach is far …
Ethanol Blending in Nebraska
Motorists in Grand Island, Nebraska now have a range of choices at the pump when it comes to ethanol blended gasoline. Six ethanol blender pumps were unveiled last week providing flexible-fuel vehicle owners with the option of using E85, E30, E20 or the traditional E10 blend of gasoline. “If you drive a flex-fuel vehicle, you don’t have to fill up …
Senators Introduce Fuel Choice Bill
Both houses of Congress have now introduced a bill that would give consumers more choices at the pump. U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), and John Thune (R-SD) are all co-sponsoring the Open Fuel Standards Act, introduced this week in the Senate. A similar bill was introduced in the …
Final Day for Comments on CARB Plan
Earth Day 2009 is ironically the final day for filing written comments with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on a proposed low-carbon fuel standard, or LCFS, that threatens to undermine the role of renewable fuels in helping the environment. An increasing number of university professors, scientists, researchers, and industry trade organizations have registered their opposition to the controversial proposal …
Comments Open for Ethanol Blend Increase
On the eve of Earth Day 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency began accepting public comment on the waiver request to raise the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline from 10 percent to up to 15 percent. Citing the Earth Day connection, waiver petitioner Growth Energy urged Americans to support the increased use of clean, green ethanol by submitting comments supporting …
RFA Submits Comments to California
California’s efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of the state’s transportation fuels are admirable, but the state’s goals, as outlined in the proposed Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS), are unlikely to be achieved because of the policy’s inherent bias against low-carbon biofuels, says the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). In written comments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in advance …
Biofuels at Earth Day Indiana
Visitors to this year’s Earth Day Indiana celebration have the chance to “Live Green & Prosper” as they learn about the benefits of “going green” with biofuels. The focus of this year’s Earth Day Indiana event is “how to do cool environmental stuff” and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) and Indiana Soybean Alliance will have their Biofuels Mobile Learning …
New Study Rates Ethanol Water Usage by State
Water usage for ethanol production varies dramatically depending on the state, according to a new University of Minnesota study. The study, published in this week’s edition of the journal Environmental Science and Technology, is the first to compare water use in corn-ethanol production on a state-by-state basis. The authors used agricultural and geologic data from 2006-2008 to develop a ratio …