While American farmers might have a smaller soybean crop this year, that feedstock and other oilseeds for biodiesel production is expected to be at record levels on the global market. The latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report says the U.S. soybean crop will be down to 2.93 billion bushels… 39 million bushels lower than previous estimates. But …
Biodiesel, Ethanol & Wind Facing Uphill Battle on the Hill
The latest version of the energy bill, which includes an extension of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit and federal incentives for wind and solar energy (which were all set to expire at the end of this year), has passed the U.S. House, but its future is most assuredly less assured as it moves on to the U.S. Senate. Senate Majority …
House Passes Energy Bill with Renewable Fuels Provisions
The U.S. House has approved a measure that will renew some tax credits for wind and solar power that were set to expire at the end of this year, as well as allowing more drilling for offshore oil. This story from the San Francisco Chronicle says passage came after some contentious debate on the issue: [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi hailed …
Montana Company Offers On-site Seed Crushing, Biodiesel Brewing
A new company out of Billings, Montana is offering to come to farms, crush the oilseeds farmers grow and even turn it into biodiesel to be burned right there on the farm. This story from the Billings Business News says Paul Miller owns Big Sky Biofuels, which offers on-farm crushing and biodiesel conversion for farmers who have raised oil-seed crops: …
Ike Idles US’s Biggest Biodiesel Refinery
The nation’s largest biodiesel refinery, the GreenHunter Energy Renewable Fuels Campus in Houston that is capable of cranking out 105 million gallons of biodiesel a year, will be shut down for the next six to eight weeks because of the damage caused by Hurricane Ike. This information from the company’s web site has details: Structural losses at the facility include …
Biodiesel Bus Coming to ISU
Last week, I told you how a group of students at Washington State University had formed a biodiesel club to make their own green fuel to run a bus around campus. Well, it must either be the high cost of tuition or the realization that regular gas is just too much of a drain on the wallet (most likely, both), …
Austrian Views on Food Versus Fuel
The issue of food versus fuel was a topic of discussion among international agricultural journalists visiting Austria this past week. The group of 250 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists members representing nearly 20 countries was led by former commissioner of agriculture for the European Union Franz Fischler, a native Austrian. Fischler called the food versus fuel controversy “unfair.” “They don’t …
Biodiesel Board Makes Case for Tax Break
Members of the National Biodiesel Board were on Capitol Hill this week, trying to convince lawmakers to renew the biodiesel tax incentive set to expire at the end of this year. This NBB press release says Manning Feraci, the Vice President of Federal Affairs for the board made the case before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business: “We have …
Wazzu Biodiesel Club Gets Start
A handful of students at Washington State University are trying to take their energy future into their own hands. While the WSU Biodiesel Club only got about 10 members at their first meeting this week, organizers hope that the student-run operation soon will be producing 200 gallons of the green fuel a day. This story from the student paper, The …