This week marks the 61st anniversary of the first house in America with solar heating and radiation cooling. Located in Tuscon, Arizona, the house featured a large, slanting slab of steel and glass that coverts sunlight into heat that was ducted into the house. Today, many homes use solar panels to capture the natural heat of the sun and solar …
National Biodiesel CEO Keynotes Iowa RFA Summit
National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe was the keynote speaker at the 10th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week, highlighting the significance of the new volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for biodiesel. “It signaled a strong commitment by the EPA that they not only wanted to get the program back on track but they want to …
Iowa Governor Blasts Ted Cruz Over Ethanol
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad made national headlines Tuesday at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit with his comments about presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) during an impromptu press conference. “He is heavily financed by Big Oil,” Branstad said about Cruz. “I think it would be very damaging to our state…and I think it would be a big mistake for Iowa …
Four GOP Candidates Address #Ethanol
Four Republican presidential candidates addressed the 10th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on Tuesday, putting a major national spotlight on the importance of ethanol to the nation. First up was former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the only candidate who had been there before, making his third appearance to the group. He stressed his long support for the Renewable Fuel …
Secy Vilsack: Continue to Tout Biofuel Benefits
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, spent the morning back in his home state of Iowa (Vilsack is a former Iowa Governor) to kick off the 10th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. He began his remarks by saying its great to be back in Iowa and great to be back in front of folks who understand the importance …
Ethanol Report on 2016
A new year has dawned and with it new opportunities for the ethanol industry. In this Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen discusses some of the upcoming events in 2016, including the 21st National Ethanol Conference in New Orleans February 15-17, and comments on whether there may yet be a legal challenge by the industry …
Carson Supports RFS through 2022
During a recent campaign stop in Iowa Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said the promise of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) needs to be kept through 2022. “(A)s far as the Renewable Fuel Standard is concerned, there were certain promises that were made that extend out until 2022. And many people, you know, invested a lot of time, energy and …
Ethanol Report Looks at 2015 in Review
2015 was another year of highs and lows for the ethanol industry. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen says many of the positives, such as record production and increased exports, were offset by negatives like tighter margins and trade barriers. In this Ethanol Report, Dinneen takes a look back at some of the good news and bad …
Huckabee Talks Energy During Debate
The CNN Republican Presidential Candidates debate from Las Vegas this week was focused entirely on national security issues, but the word biofuels was actually uttered by one of the candidates who put forth the idea of using energy as a weapon. “We ought to be challenging not only Russia, but the Iranians and the Saudis, on the point of energy,” …
Ethanol in Ag Economic Outlook
At the ASTA CSS 2015 and Seed Expo last week, AgResource Company president Dan Basse presented his economic outlook for agriculture during the opening general session for the fifth year in a row, and once more biofuels figured into the picture. Basse talked about a “world awash in grain” with record global wheat and soybean crops and second largest corn …