As I told you yesterday, the European Union has decided to slap some tariffs on American biodiesel coming into the continent because of what the Europeans see as unfair subsidies the US gives to American biodiesel producers. In response, the National Biodiesel Board’s Vice President of Federal Affairs, Manning Feraci, issued this statement yesterday: “Today’s meeting is just one step …
EU Pulls Trigger on Biodiesel Tariffs
As I told you a couple of weeks ago, the European Union for some time has been threatening to slap tariffs on American biodiesel coming into Europe… barring some deal today to derail the measures. Well, this story from Reuters says that there was no last-minute reprieve and the duties are set to hit on March 13th: The EU firms …
Algae to Biodiesel Webinar Offered
Knowledge is power, and the folks at Garbrook Knowledge Resources are offering a powerful resource in an upcoming Webinar on how to turn algae into biodiesel. The Advanced Biofuels Resource… what Garbrook bills as the industry’s most comprehensive information source on biofuels… will be offering the “Algae for Biofuels: Current Potential for Commercial Development” Webinar this coming Wednesday, March 11th …
Biden: Green Jobs Could Pay $50/Hour
Vice President Joe Biden might be known a bit for saying some crazy things, but his latest pronouncement… that some green jobs could pay as much as $50 an hour (see this CNN story)… is some good news to the ears of a nation that is trying to shake the unemployment blues while moving to a renewable energy economy. CBS …
Farm Foundation Hosts Bioeconomy Conference
As you might remember from our multiple posts back in October and December , Farm Foundation has been hosting a series of meetings that add some important talk about the issues surrounding biofuels (just search “Farm Foundation” on this Web site to get an idea of some of the discussion). At the end of this month, the organization will be …
Former Biodiesel Board Chair Honored at Commodity Classic
As Cindy mentioned in the previous post, biofuels were a big part of the conversation at the recent Commodity Classic in Grapevine, Texas. And during that important meeting of the nation’s grain producers, it only makes sense that one of the country’s biggest commodities recognized the contribution biodiesel has made to the agricultural industry in the U.S. The American Soybean …
Biofuels Focus at Commodity Conference
National commodity organizations representing growers of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum gathered together for the first time as one group last week in Grapevine, Texas at the annual Commodity Classic. Corn and soybean growers have been together as one for the past 14 years, wheat joined the group last year, and sorghum made four this year. Renewable fuels were a …
USDA Support for Renewable Energy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be providing loan guarantees to help the ethanol industry, according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. At last week’s USDA Outlook Conference, Vilsack said the USDA “has a responsibility for keeping an eye on that industry” to maintain an infrastructure to produce the next generation of biofuels. Vilsack also says USDA is working with …
Obama’s Budget Calls for $15 billion for Renewables
After alluding to putting $15 billion in renewable energy development during his State of the Union Address (see my post from last Tuesday night), Pres. Barack Obama has officially called for the money in his first budget. From his statement posted on the White House Web page: Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that’s …
New Report Shows Biodiesel, Ethanol Roles in Job Growth
In a time when we constantly hear about rising unemployment, there’s some good news for the U.S. job sector… thanks to ethanol and biodiesel. A new report says advanced biofuels could directly create nearly 200,000 jobs in the next 13 years, with indirect and direct effects accounting for more than 800,000 new jobs and nearly $150 billion in economic activity …