A widely respected public opinion research firm had some good news for the ethanol industry at the National Ethanol Conference Wednesday. In a poll commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and conducted by American Viewpoint, 64 percent of adults polled said they supported the RFS, while just 25 percent are opposed. Presenting her findings during a luncheon address at …
Ethanol Mantra – “Don’t Mess with the RFS”
The mantra of the U.S. ethanol industry should be “Don’t Mess with the RFS,” according to Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen. Addressing 1,100 participants in the National Ethanol Conference in Las Vegas today, Dinneen said, “The state of the ethanol industry can be summed up in five words: under siege and fighting back.” “American ethanol is engaged …
National Ethanol Scholarship Winner
A new face at the National Ethanol Conference this year is Wade Hunt, student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was the winner of this year’s NEC scholarship award, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF), which offers college students the opportunity to attend the conference each year. “I’m definitely using this conference to learn more about the opportunities in …
Biodiesel Board Celebrating 20 Years
The opening general session of this year’s National Biodiesel Conference was a fantastic look back at 20 years of the National Biodiesel Board and 10 years of this conference. After some opening educational sessions the first general session took place. Here are some excerpts from this morning’s opening speech by Joe Jobe, CEO of the NBB. In thinking about what …
Taking Corn Cobs for Biofuels Won’t Hurt Soil Quality
Concerns over hurting the soil quality when harvesting some crop residues for cellulosic biofuels, instead of leaving the residues on the fields to help the soil quality, might be unfounded. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research says that soil quality would not decline if post-harvest corn cobs were removed from the field. “Crop residues have many useful functions when left …
U.S. Needs to Open Cars to Fuel Competition
Anne Korin, co-author of “Turning Oil into Salt,” and the new book “Petropoly,” gave a thought provoking presentation during the 7th Annual Renewable Fuels Summit hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). Korin is the co-director for the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a think tank focused on energy and security, that she says takes no money …
DF Cast: Wind Energy Tax Credit Welcomed in Iowa
Probably no one in the country was more pleased to see the renewal of the wind energy production tax credit than the folks in Iowa, a place that has become a real leader nationwide in wind energy. During the recent Iowa Wind Energy Day, officials and advocates for wind energy expressed their appreciation for the extension… and the hope that …
General Wesley Clark Rallies The Troops
At today’s U.S. Custom Harvesters luncheon, sponsored by New Holland, retired General Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy, took the stage. The organization is holding their 30th annual convention which is co-located with the 2013 AG CONNECT Expo in Kansas City, MO. Gen. Clark says his passion was the military and now his passion is national energy security and the …
USDA Undersecretary Optimistic About Biofuels
USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager is optimistic about the future of biofuels. “When faced with an economic challenge, rural Americans came up with an economic solution and developed a biofuels industry,” Tonsager said in an interview after speaking to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. “My belief is, as time goes along and we’re faced with challenging circumstances again, …
Growth Energy CEO at Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis told attendees at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week that the biofuels industry needs to meet the challenges ahead and keep moving forward. “We have our challenges, but we have our opportunities,” Buis said in an interview after his speech, noting that the industry can expect continued attacks on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). …