This morning Joe Jobe, CEO, National Biodiesel Board, rallied his troops at the National Biodiesel Conference in San Diego. He told attendees that the petroleum industry is misleading Americans about fuel policy and called on President Barack Obama to stand firm behind his previous commitments to supporting alternative energy industries. In his annual address at the Biodiesel Conference & Expo, …
Southern Illinois Expands Ethanol Research Team
A research center dedicated to advancing the study and development of ethanol is expanding its research staff. This news release from the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE) has added Dr. Arun Athmanathan, a postdoctoral fellow specializing in cellulosic and advanced biofuels research. “Following a national search that generated candidates from premier research institutions across the …
Hearing in the Heartland: Supporting the RFS
Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds are leading a group of senior state officials from Iowa and the Midwest to organize and host a public hearing allowing citizens outside of Washington, D.C., the opportunity to testify about the importance of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “Hearing the Heartland: Supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard,” will be held at Hall …
RFS Road Show Kicks Off in Iowa
A Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) road show is kicking off in Iowa on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 to highlight the importance of Iowa’s renewable fuels industry. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will be encouraging Iowans to comment on a proposal by the EPA that would significantly lower the levels of ethanol and biodiesel that are mandated to be blended …
VoteVets Launches RFS TV Campaign
VoteVets.org has launched a new television ad in Iowa aimed at protecting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The ad will also be aired in Washington D.C. where hundreds of biofuel supporters have flown to the beltway in the last few months to meet with legislators in support of the clean energy and jobs legislation. The TV ad features an Iraq …
AEC Criticizes “60 Minutes” Piece
Sunday nights in America are famous for families sitting down and watching 60 Minutes. And while many people today may consider the news program “old school” millions of people still get their news from the show. This past Sunday night, 60 Minutes aired a piece, “The Cleantech Crash,” criticizing the Department of Energy’s investments in clean energy and the lack …
Fast-Eating Enzymes Lunch on Cellulose
A microorganism first found in the Valley of Geysers on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia in 1990 may be a key to more efficient cellulosic biofuel production. The microoorganism can digest cellulose almost twice as fast as the current leading component cellulase enzyme on the market according to researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The researches …
Amyris Increases Biodiesel Buses in Brazil
Amyris, Inc. has announced that the city of São Paulo is now operating 400 city buses using Amyris Renewable Diesel, which is branded locally as Diesel de Cana. In other news, Amyris announced it has successfully produced its first fragrance oil for its partner Firmenich SA. “From fuels to consumer care products, we continue to make progress on our commercialization …
Senate Energy Tax Reform Proposal
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) today unveiled a proposal to streamline energy tax incentives. “It is time to bring our energy tax policy into the 21st century,” Senator Baucus said. “Our current set of energy tax incentives is overly complex and picks winners and losers with no clear policy rationale. We need a system of energy incentives that …
ICM Signs Canadian Ethanol Plant
Renewable energy technology company ICM of Colwich, Kansas has signed a Letter of Intent with IGPC Ethanol of Ontario, Canada to be the first Canadian adopter of ICM’s Generation 1.5™ technology. Adoption of the technology will enable IGPC Ethanol to produce corn fiber cellulosic ethanol. “Through our previous collaboration with ICM, we believed it was important to continue down the …