A Virginia-based ethanol plant is offering incentives for regional farmers to produce barley for biofuel. Osage Bio Energy will award $1,000 to the farmers in each of seven states with the highest barley yield per acre. The top producer of the Barley Bin Builder Yield Contest will receive the grand prize of a GM FlexFuel pickup truck. “Osage Bio Energy’s …
USDA Provides Loan for Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
In one of his last official acts as Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer announced today that USDA Rural Development has approved the first ever loan guarantee to a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. Under the Biorefinery Assistance Program authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill, USDA will provide an $80 million loan to Range Fuels of Soperton, Georgia. When fully operational in …
Florida Funds Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
Florida’s Farm to Fuel initiative is helping to fund the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol facility in the state. Verenium Corporation has been awarded a $7 million grant as part of the initiative and will work with Florida agribusiness company Lykes Brothers to build the plant in Highlands county. Lykes will provide the necessary feedstock from approximately 20,000 acres adjacent …
Ag Secretary Hearing Touches on Ethanol
President-elect Obama’s choice for Secretary of Agriculture sailed through his Senate confirmation hearings this week and may be confirmed in time to take office on Inauguration Day. As expected, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack faced no opposition in the Senate and no controversial questioning. With regard to biofuels in general and ethanol in particular, Vilsack stressed the importance of moving …
UF Student Wins Ethanol Contest
The University of Florida Gators are National Champions again this year and now a UF student has won free ethanol-enriched fuel for a year. University of Florida student Joshua Nicdao won the Ethanol Challenge grand prize, valued at $1300, as part of the 2008 Fox Tailgate Tour. The contest was sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) to …
Economic Stimulus Sought for Agriculture and Renewables
A diverse coalition of 34 business, agriculture and environmental groups is asking Congressional leaders to support an economic recovery package that provides strong funding for agriculture-based, clean energy development programs. The National 25x’25 Steering Committee and other renewable energy advocacy groups outlined a three part recommendation in a letter to Congressional leaders this week. The letter recommends including at least …
Ethanol Industry Leader Outlines Priorities
The chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association outlined the industry’s top priorities for 2009 during a telephone press conference Tuesday morning. Chris Standlee with Abengoa Bioenergy says there are three main priorities for the industry – stimulating economic growth, increasing blend limits, and modeling life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Standlee called on Congress and the Obama administration to recognize and continue …
Verenium Back in Compliance
Cellulosic ethanol company Verenium Corporation has regained compliance with the continued listing requirements of the NASDAQ Global Market. NASDAQ previously notified Verenium that it had fallen out of compliance with a rule requiring listed companies on the NASDAQ Global Market to maintain a minimum market capitalization of $50 million. NASDAQ has confirmed that Verenium now meets the requirements of this …
US Produces Enough Corn for Food and Fuel
The final 2008 corn crop estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released today confirmed that American farmers produced the second-largest crop on record with the second highest average yield per acre in history – despite adverse weather across the Corn Belt during the early part of the growing season and a late fall harvest. Corn for grain production in …
Introducing the Domestic Fuel Media Reviewer
We are introducing a new regular feature here on Domestic Fuel that will take a look at some of the many books and movies out there that take on the topics of environment, energy and renewables. Our Domestic Fuel book and movie reviewer is Joanna Schroeder, who has been the communications director for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (now …