Lobbyist in government often times get a bad rap. The picture conjured up is a cigar-smoking, fat-cat with slick-backed hair, trying to grease the palms of lawmakers, lying at every opportunity possible. But in this very interesting piece from Biodiesel Magazine, the National Biodiesel Board’s (NBB) Director of State Governmental Affairs, Shelby Neal, makes the case that his job is …
RFA Puts First Responders’ Safety First
Those folks who go into burning buildings and patch us up by the side of a road after a traffic accident are truly heroes in this country. Well, the folks at the people who help train those first responders how to handle going into hazardous materials (haz-mat) conditions are recognizing the people who advocate for biofuels… and try to help …
Missouri to Allow E15 at the Gas Pumps
Missouri is the latest state to allow retailers to sell a 15 percent blend of ethanol, E15. This article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a dozen other states allow, but don’t require, the higher blends. Biofuel trade groups and state corn growing associations say E15 is just another blend of fuel that gas stations can offer price-conscious motorists. Despite …
Renewable Energy Takes Hit in Farm Bill Funding
Funding for some rural renewable energy programs is taking a hit. Ethanol Producer Magazine reports the House Appropriations Committee cut the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) down to just $15 million, down from last year’s levels of $25 million, and Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for fiscal year 2015 is proposed to be funded at just $30 million, down …
Hess Doubles North Dakota Gas Plant Capacity
Natural gas and propane shortages of the past winter might become history with a major expansion of a North Dakota plant. Hess Corporation officials have commemorated the recently completed expansion of the Tioga Gas Plant, more than doubling the capacity of the facility. The project is part of a more than $1.5 billion infrastructure investment made by Hess between 2012 …
Kansans Skeptical Over State’s Hydropower Potential
The federal government says there’s a lot of untapped hydropower in Kansas, in fact enough to power the entire state. But this article from the Topeka Capital-Journal says local residents of the fairly flat state are skeptical of the findings from the U.S. Department of Energy. A study from Oak Ridge National Laboratory showed Kansas has about 2.4 gigawatts of …
First Wind Hopes Turbine Project is Approved. Again
A New England wind energy company is hoping Maine utilities regulators approve, again, a partnership with a Canadian power company to build a multimillion-dollar wind energy project. This article from the Bangor (ME) Daily News says Boston-based First Wind is asking for approval of its partnership to build the wind farms near Oakfield, Hancock and Bingham with Nova Scotia-based power …
Group Looks to Expand Ethanol By-Product’s Market
A group representing grain producers’ interests is looking to expand the market for a popular ethanol by-product. The U.S. Grains Council says it is looking to the south, Middle East and Southeast Asia to expand on American distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), already chalking up 9.7 million metric tons – valued at $2.9 billion – exported in 2013 to …
Minnesota is First to Mandate B10 Biodiesel
The land of 10,000 lakes becomes the first for another 10… a 10 percent biodiesel mandate. The move from a B5 to B10 blending requirement for summer months starting this July 1st was welcomed by the growers of the most popular feedstock, soybeans. “I’m very pleased that common sense is still alive and well and that our legislators voted for …
Asia Key for Ethanol Producer Aemetis’ Profits
A California-based ethanol producer is reporting a big turnaround in profits, thanks to its business in Asia. Aemetis, Inc., the largest U.S.-owned biofuels producer in Asia, reports a $7.7 million net profit for the first quarter of this year… quite an improvement from a nearly $10 Million net loss from the same quarter a year ago. “We’re very pleased with …