Just because they’re big rigs doesn’t mean they have to be big polluters. Truckers and trucking interests have gathered this week in Indianapolis for the annual NTEA Work Truck Show and the Green Truck Summit being held in conjunction with the event. This article from FleetOwner.com says biodiesel and propane were talked as having some big growth potential in the …
Neste’s Aviation Biofuel Wins Sustainability Award
Dutch refiner Neste Oil has won an award for its sustainable aviation biofuel. This company news release says the Sustainable Bio Award comes for its work with Neste’s Dutch partners on their joint initiative, Bioport for jet fuels in the Netherlands. Launched in November 2013, the initiative is designed to promote the deployment of sustainably produced biofuels in the aviation …
Ethanol’s Voice Heard at Commodity Classic
It might not be a biofuels convention per se, but the recently completed Commodity Classic in San Antonio attracted lots of producers and advocates for the green fuels. Previously, I talked to Joe Jobe from the National Biodiesel Board about his group’s participation in the annual meeting of corn, wheat, soybean and sorghum growers. At the booth next door was …
State Grant Leads to Biodiesel Buyers Club
A state grant is helping a small-scale biodiesel processor manufacturer start a local biodiesel buyers club. Springboard Biodiesel, which was a recent recipient of a grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC), is using that money to build a new and larger biodiesel production facility in Chico, Calif. and sell the fuel to local buyers. “With the help of the …
Biodiesel By-Product Getting More Attention
It used to be, biodiesel producers were not that concerned about the quality of the glycerin they produced. But these days the by-product of the biodiesel process is getting more attention in the quality level and where it will be marketed. This article from Biodiesel Magazine outlines some of the aspects of glycerin quality and offers three examples of how …
Farm Bill Boosts Biodiesel-based Bioheat
One of the big winners in the recent passage of the $1 trillion Farm Bill was the reauthorization of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) and the biodiesel-based heating fuel, Bioheat. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says the five-year extension of the program will boost Bioheat in this country. The new bill encourages greater research on Bioheat with the goal …
IRFA: Obama Misses Chance to Help Biodiesel
As President Obama unveiled his FY 2015 Budget Proposal, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says he missed his chance to level the playing field for biodiesel. IRFA Policy Director Grant Menke points out that while the President included the reinstatements of several currently expired tax provisions, such as tax credits for cellulosic biofuel and wind energy production, he seemed …
EPA Biodiesel Proposal, Tax Credit Priorities for ASA
Soybean growers attending the recent Commodity Classic see the government’s proposal to cut biodiesel and the expiration of the federal biodiesel tax credit as their top priorities to take on this year. At a news conference at the annual meeting of corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers in San Antonio, American Soybean Association (ASA) Chairman Danny Murphy, a grower from …
Biodiesel Mini-Refineries Could Help Rural Areas
While the trend is to build big, commercial-sized biodiesel refineries, a smaller business model might be what some rural communities need. This article from inArkansas.com tells the story of a refrigerator-sized biodiesel microbrewery that could turn 870,000 acres of farmland near the Delta town of DeWitt into the green fuel. The box is a miniature biorefinery. It turns waste vegetable …
Arming for a Fact-Based Fight Over Ethanol
It’s not always fact-based arguments proponents of ethanol are up against when battling Big Oil. But that’s why it’s all more important to make sure you have good facts on your side in the fight. Farmers who attended the recent Commodity Classic in San Antonio were able to sit in on a session titled, “Biofuels and the Renewable Fuels Standard, …