The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) testified this week to the Senate Finance Committee about the importance of reinstating the industry’s tax incentive. The $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax incentive expired on Dec. 31 for the second time in three years. Anne Steckel, NBB vice president of federal affairs, said in her testimony, that when the incentive was reinstated last year after a …
2011 Biodiesel Production Officially Tops 1 Billion Gallons
U.S. biodiesel production officially topped one billion gallons in 2011, according to final year-end numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency today. The total volume of nearly 1.1 billion gallons is by far a record for the industry and easily exceeded the 800 million gallon target required under the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The previous record for biodiesel production …
Iowa RFA President Pleased with Summit
The 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week was another great one, according to Iowa Renewable Fuels Association president Brad Albin, who is VP of manufacturing for Renewable Energy Group (REG). There were over 500 people at the conference on Tuesday in Des Moines and Albin says that’s a far cry from when he first started in the biodiesel …
Biodiesel Board CEO Says RFS is Top Priority
The CEO of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) told attendees at the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday that the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) is the number one priority for the industry in 2012. “We have an immediate challenge before us,” NBB CEO Joe Jobe said of the postponed decision regarding 2013 volumes for biomass-based …
Reaction to State of the Union
Reaction to President Obama’s call for an “all-of-the-above energy strategy” in Tuesday’s State of the Union address was met with applause by many renewable energy interests, who at the same time hope his words will be backed with actions. “We applaud the President’s announcement that he is going to push for homemade, U.S.-energy after 40 years of being addicted to …
Iowa Governor Proud of Renewable Fuels Leadership
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is proud of his state’s leadership in the renewable fuels industry. “The state of Iowa is number one in ethanol, number one in biodiesel, we’re number two in wind energy but that’s number two to Texas and if you look at it per capita, we’re number one in that as well,” Branstad said at the 6th …
Retired Army General Calls Biofuels “Ammunition”
Like oil in World War II, U.S. Army Ret. General Paul J. Kern believes that biofuels are the “ammunition” for America today. Gen. Kern ended his address to the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday on that note, displaying a WWII military poster declaring “Stick to your job – oil is ammunition.” “It’s your job …
Iowa Renewable Fuels – Revived and Ready
The 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit kicked off in Des Moines on Tuesday on a very positive note, considering that 2011 was a record year in the state for both ethanol and biodiesel. In his annual address to the summit, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw noted that the state’s 41 ethanol plants produced 3.7 billion gallons …
On-Site Registration for Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
If you did not register in advance for the 6th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, there will be registration available on site at the starting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Veterans Memorial/Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. It looks like the weather will be okay tomorrow so it will be worth the trip to see the …
USDA Launches Clean Energy Website
The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week launched a new energy website to provide quick access to the agency’s energy efficiency and renewable energy data. The website, usda.gov/energy, provides access to all USDA energy resources, including: agricultural, forestry, economic, and social data. This is done in part through a set of new complementary web-based tools: the USDA Renewable Energy Investment …