Europeans Look for More Sanctions on US Biodiesel

John Davis

European biodiesel makers are poised to file another complaint against their counterparts in the U.S. Last March, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) was able to successfully lobby European Union trade officials to impose tariffs of 26 euros ($39.02) to 41 euros ($61.53) per 100 kg (220 lbs) on American biodiesel, complaining the American biodiesel was unfairly subsidized. The tariffs have …

Biodiesel, International

Canadian Pacific Trains to Test Biodiesel

John Davis

Locomotives north of the border will be testing biodiesel to see how well the green fuel works in cold weather conditions. Canadian Pacific will test four locomotives running on biodiesel on some lines between Calgary and Edmonton: The pilot project will evaluate the cold weather application of biodiesel in real world conditions. It is the first cold weather use of …

Biodiesel

Northern States Get More Options for Winter Biodiesel

John Davis

Some places in the Upper Midwest will see a bit more biodiesel next winter. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says that petroleum distribution company Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. has agreed to install winter biodiesel blending equipment at its Sioux Falls terminal, making more biodiesel available in the South Dakota-Southwest Minnesota region … and that pleases ag officials in both states: …

Biodiesel

Track the Capitol Christmas Tree’s Biodiesel Journey

John Davis

As you might remember from my post earlier this month, this year’s Capitol Christmas tree is making its approximately 4,000-mile trip from Arizona to Washington, D.C. fueled with biodiesel. Now you can track the trek of the two trucks (besides the 85-foot blue spruce, they’re also hauling nearly 10,000 handmade ornaments and 80 companion trees that will be placed in …

Biodiesel, NBB

Biodiesel Makers Worry About Hit During Tax Break Wait

John Davis

Biodiesel producers are worried the wait for the renewal … or even worse, the failure of renewal … of a crucial tax credit, set to expire in just more than a month, could be a death knell for the industry. The Houston Chronicle reports that despite efforts already underway in the U.S. House and Senate to renew the $1 per …

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Biodiesel Maker Tries New Technology to Score Credit

John Davis

A biodiesel maker is hoping that a new process will help it pry open some tight credit markets the biofuels industry has been facing lately. This story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune says that BioCat Fuels will use a process from its sister company, Minnesota-based EverCat Fuel, which has patented a process that converts waste fats and oils into biodiesel …

Biodiesel

Next By-product for Biodiesel Plants: Cosmetics

John Davis

The next great by-product that could help biodiesel plants stay profitable could be put right on the tip of your shiny nose. Elevance Renewable Sciences, with backing from Cargill, Dow Corning and the $45 billion Texas Pacific Group investment fund, is working with Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group to put technology in REG’s Newton, Iowa biodiesel plant to use biodiesel and …

Biodiesel

New Report Analyzes Biodiesel Feedstocks & Fuel

John Davis

Iowa-based biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group has released a report that looks at a wide variety of biodiesel feedstocks and the characteristics of both that feedstock and the fuel produced from it. In the “Feedstock and Biodiesel Characteristics Report,” a first-of-its-kind of publication, REG, in cooperation with the Iowa Power Fund Board and the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, evaluated …

Biodiesel

DF Cast: Crunching the Renewable Identification Numbers

John Davis

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 …

Audio, Biodiesel, Domestic Fuel Cast, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government

RFS2 Confusion Clouds Mass. Biodiesel Mandate

John Davis

A 2 percent biodiesel mandate beginning next year and increasing to 5 percent in 2013 in Massachusetts has hit some glitches … thanks to confusion over what the next Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) might bring …. but it could now be moving forward. Biodiesel Magazine reports the measure has come under fire because it only allows waste-derived biodiesel, a provision …

Biodiesel, Government