Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is defending the Obama Administration’s proposal to cut the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the amount of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel. But some of the people he spoke to, along with several biofuel advocates, are questioning the legality of the cuts. …
EPA’s RVO Proposal Cannot Stand
Fuels America coalition hosted a media call in reaction to the EPA’s proposed renewable volume obligations (RVOs) today. The biofuels industry said they were disappointed and that the proposed volumes would set the entire industry back and that the EPA’s proposal cannot stand. During the call, Bob Dinneen from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) unveiled a new analysis showing how …
EPA Announces 2014 RVO Numbers for RFS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its proposal for the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the amount of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel. The EPA has proposed to set the cellulosic biofuel category at 17 million gallons, biomass-based diesel at 1.28 billion gallons, advanced biofuel …
Avantec Bringing Ethanol Producers Results
According to Niels Miles Frandsen, Marketing Director, Biofuel, with global biocompany Novozymes, their company’s enzyme Avantec is now used to produce over 20 percent of the U.S. corn ethanol after only being on the market for just over one year. He said that both Avantec, that was released in October of 2012 and Spirazyme Achieve that was released in June of …
November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook and Winter Fuels Outlook. The report comes at the same time the 2013 World Energy Outlook was released by the International Energy Agency. Here are some highlights from the report: The weekly U.S. average regular gasoline retail price has fallen by more than 40 cents per …
USDA Releases Updated 2013 Corn Crop Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just released its updated 2013 corn crop report and is estimating the 2013 corn harvest will achieve a new record of 13.99 billion bushels, 7 percent larger than the previous record and a 30 percent larger than last year’s drought-shortened crop. USDA expects yield to average 160.4 bushels per acre, the second-highest yield …
Maryland Opens New E85 Station
Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Properties (MAPP) has opened a new E85 FlexFuel fueling station for drivers of flex fuel vehicles located at the Potomac SUNOCO in the Cabin John Shopping Center off of Seven Locks Road in Maryland. The opening was celebrated with a ribbon cutting, a retailer’s workshop, and speeches by partners and elected officials. MAPP offered E85 at the discounted …
Study Aims to Debunk Indirect Land Use Change
A new paper, “Wood Bioenergy and Land Use,” authored by Roger A. Sedjo, Brent L. Sohngen, Anne Riddle on behalf of Resources for the Future attempts to debunk indirect land use change theory (ILUC). The paper looks at how the use of biomass energy will affect the forests. Back in 2008, Timothy Searchinger examined the issue related to corn ethanol …
Renewable Fuels Video Contest: Enter Now
The 4th Annual “Fuel the Future” video contest has been official kicked off by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). The high school student contest is seeking the best student-produced video promoting the use of ethanol, E15 and/or biodiesel. The top three video entries will receive prizes in the amounts of $1,000, $600 and $400 respectively; will be aired at …
LanzaTech’s Gas-to-Biofuel Earns RSB Certification
LanzaTech’s venture in China to turn steel mill waste gases into biofuel has earned an important sustainability certification. The company’s partnership with Shougang Jingtang Iron and Steel United Company and the Tang Ming Group is now Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certified as sustainable for biofuels and biomaterials production. When commercially producing biofuels next year, the LanzaTech technology-enabled facility becomes …