The deadline was met yesterday on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ruling on the E15 waiver, or was it? The EPA, in a letter to Growth Energy, the organization that filed the E15 Waiver, also known as the Green Jobs Waiver, has ruled to not rule. According to the letter the EPA wrote, “we want to make sure we have …
Farm Bureau Pleased with Climate Bill Delay
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is pleased with a decision by Senate leadership last week to delay consideration of climate change legislation until the spring of 2010. During a recent interview before the delay was announced, AFBF president Bob Stallman said the agricultural organization opposed the climate change bill that was passed by the House, despite provisions included that …
DF Cast: Crunching the Renewable Identification Numbers
A big issue in the current Renewable Fuels Standard … as well as the new RFS2 under consideration by the EPA … is the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we listen in on the conversation from the recent 2nd Annual RINWorld Summit held in Dallas, TX where the EPA’s John Wienrauch, Office of …
POET CEO Bullish on Cellulosic Ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol pioneers like Jeff Broin of POET are confident about the future of next generation fuels, even if the country fails to reach the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate of 100 million gallons of production next year. “To be honest with you, that number was picked out of thin air, so the chance that we do or don’t make it …
RFA Sends Former VP Ethanol Facts
The Renewable Fuels Association wants former Vice President Al Gore to know that he was right the first time about ethanol and other biofuels. RFA CEO Bob Dinneen has written a letter to Gore challenging the chapter about ethanol in his new book “Our Choice.” “Given your attention to science and the facts, I am disappointed by the treatment of …
BlueFire Ethanol Awaits Feds $56 Mil Loan Decision
Cellulosic ethanol producer BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. has cleared the first hurdle in its quest to get a $56 million government loan guarantee for its Lancaster, California ethanol plant. As you might remember from my Domestic Fuel Cast earlier this month, BlueFire uses a process called Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology that can turn many feedstocks into ethanol, including garbage. I …
RFA Talks Ethanol With Farm Broadcasters
Representatives of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) were in Kansas City last week for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual Trade Talk event, which meant they did dozens of interviews about the importance of ethanol to agriculture and the rural economy. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” we hear from RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen about some …
Biomass Baler From AGCO
AGCO is one of the companies working on a prototype biomass harvest/transport system. At POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day they demonstrated a pulled behind baler system to harvest corn cobs and stover. Dean Morrell, Product Marketing Manager for Hay and Forage Harvesting, was on site and talked with me about their system. He says it’s a one pass system which …
CASE IH Developing Biomass Harvesting System
One of the companies exhibiting their developmental corn cob harvest/collection equipment at the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day was Case IH. Representing them again this year was Sam Acker, pictured sitting in their booth during the speeches. I first met him last year and got an update on what’s new from the company this year. Sam says they’re demonstrating an …
DF Cast: Turning Garbage into Ethanol
It’s like the scene in Back to the Future II, where the crazy old professor stuffs garbage into his flux capacitor in the back of the DeLorean and flies off to the future (or is that the past?). California-based BlueFire Ethanol Fuels has developed a process called Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology that expands the amount of feedstocks that can be …