Abigail Fisler was the recipient of this year’s National Ethanol Conference (NEC) scholarship awarded by the Renewable Fuels Foundation. She is a junior at Dickinson College in Carlislie, PA studying environmental studies with a focus on renewable energy and climate change. Last year she attended her first NEC show and wanted to attend again because of all the great educational …
Comet Biorefining to Build Biomass to Sugar Plant
TransAlta Energy Park located in Sarnia, Ontario will be the new home of a commercial scale biomass to sugar facility operated by Comet Biorefining. The facility is expected to be operational by 2018 and will produce 60 million pounds per year of dextrose sugar from locally sourced corn stover and wheat straw. Comet, using its proprietary patented process, coverts the …
Price of Oil Crushes Liquid Transportation Fuels
This is a special editorial authored by Joanna Ivancic, executive director for Advanced Biofuels USA. It is based on a two-part series looking at how low crude prices are affecting biofuels. Price of Oil Crushes Liquid Transportation Fuels–Renewable and Not — Now What? “Europe should promote the development of home-grown alternatives to imported oil and gas,” according to former NATO …
RFA Releases 2016 Ethanol Industry Pocket Guide
During the 21 Annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC) this week in New Orleans, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) released the 2016 Ethanol Industry Outlook and the Pocket Guide to Ethanol. Both resources provide up-to-date statistics, insights and analysis on the critical issues affecting the U.S. ethanol industry. Topics found in the guides include the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), background information …
Iowa Biodiesel Day on the Hill
“Iowa Biodiesel Day on the Hill” recently took place hosted by the Iowa Biodiesel Board (IBB). During the event, members called on state legislators to extend and expand biodiesel incentives that are set to expire. IBB notes these incentives help Iowa’s 13 biodiesel producers make the state the top in the country for production. In 2015, 12 of these biodiesel …
GFRA Calls to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) President Bliss Baker is calling on national leaders to eliminate all fossil fuel subsides, especially in light of the current low price per barrel costs. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the estimated global fossil fuel subsidies are worth $490 billion. IEA is also predicting global oil demand will drop 25 percent in 2016 …
Reports Find Increasing Ethanol Efficiency
Two recent reports have found that ethanol production continues to become even more efficient. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Chief Economist and titled, “2015 Energy Balance for the Corn Ethanol Industry“. The second report titled, “Literature Review of Estimated Market Effects of U.S. Corn Starch Ethanol,” was published by the University of Missouri, Food and Agricultural Policy …
BioEnergy Bytes
Whitefox Technologies Limited has announced that it has signed an agreement with Iowa-based Pine Lake Corn Processors (PLCP) to install the first Whitefox ICE Solution in the Midwest. PLCP operates a 30-million gallon per year ethanol plant in Steamboat Rock, Iowa. Whitefox’s technology reduces energy consumption, increases production efficiencies and contributes to the production of low-carbon ethanol. On February 9, …
ACE Video Highlights #E15 Market Potential
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has released a new animated video targeted to retail fuel station owners and encouraging them to offer consumers #E15 at the pump. The piece highlights the rapidly growing number of vehicles on the road that can use E15. The video is located on the Flex Fuel Forward website, a source where retailers can share …
New BIO-Yeast Could Improve Biofuels Production
Quinn Dickinson, research specialist at the University of Madison’s Wisconsin Energy Institute who also works with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), has helped to design a new strain of yeast that he believes holds great promise in improving the efficiency of making biofuel from biomass such as switchgrass. Dickinson’s goal is to solve a problem in the biomass …