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 …
Corn Growers Defend Ethanol Against Attacks
The nation’s corn growers called comments made Wednesday by a coalition of radical environmental groups “just another attempt to prevent the ethanol industry from decreasing the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.” “These environmental groups are stirring up fear for the American public at a time when Americans are already struggling due to the faltering world economy, job losses and …
Study Shows Cellulosic Ethanol Goals Attainable
A new study finds that large scale production of cellulosic ethanol beyond the level of the Renewable Fuel Standard is achievable and sustainable by 2030, with accelerated development of biofuel and agricultural technology. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announced the release of “The 90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study,” a new report by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corp. …
RFA Analyzes Recent Ethanol Impact Studies
This edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast features comments from Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper about recently released studies from the University of Nebraska and the University of Minnesota regarding life cycle analysis and greenhouse gas emissions of ethanol compared to gasoline. Cooper compares the two reports and discusses RFA’s major concerns with the …
Oil Company in Ethanol Partnership Files Bankruptcy
Kansas-based Crescent Oil Company has filed for bankruptcy after failing to make deliveries last week to many retailers the company serves in the Midwest. The sudden move comes just two weeks after Crescent took part in a grand opening for NewGen Fuels, a joint venture with ethanol plant owner/designers ICM and POET. Officials with NewGen say their goal to offer …