As we have now officially landed in the summer season (of course, the real summer travel season really started Memorial Day weekend), the question that seems to come up every year remains “Why do gas prices go up during the summer?” Andrew Holland, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate with the American Security Project, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and …
For Summer Fun, Rent an Alt Vehicle
This summer, Disneyland is promoting energy efficiency to those coming to their famous theme park. MPG Car Rental gives California visitors a chance to try out some alternative energy cars including the Prius, the Volkswagen TDi and the fully electric Tesla Model S, winner of the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year award. The tie-in to green cars and …
API Denied Hearing on E15
The Supreme Court has issued a decision to not hear the American Petroleum Institute (API) and other ethanol opponents’ challenges to E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, that has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in cars and light duty trucks manufactured in 2001 or newer. “Today is a true …
Management & Planning Key to Biofuels Profitability
How you manage and plan your biofuels operation is just as important to ensuring its profitability as the price of the inputs that go into making the green fuels. “The biofuels industry is like any other company,” explains John Christianson, partner and founding member of Christianson & Associates, a Minnesota firm that specializes in working with farmers and rural businesses, …
ACT Expo to Kick off in Washington, D.C.
The 2013 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo kicks off at the Washington Convention Center today and during the three-day show, new technology diesel advancements in both heavy-duty trucks and light-duty passenger vehicles will be showcased by the Diesel Technology Forum. According ACT, their Expo is North America’s largest alternative fuel and clean vehicle technology conference and expo – representing electric, …
Genscape Monitoring to Ensure RIN Integrity
The recent crisis over fraudulent Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) led to great consternation in the biofuels community, as obligated parties sought assurances that the RINs they were buying were legitimate and met their obligations. Provider of energy information for commodity and financial markets Genscape, which got its start in monitoring the power grids, has expanded into the biofuels area. “We …
EPA Approves EcoEngineer’s QAP Program
The U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) has approved EcoEngineers’ application to implement a quality assurance program (QAP) for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) generated on biofuels produced at foreign facilities and imported into the U.S. In February, EcoEngineers became the first in the U.S. to be approved to audit domestic RINs, which oil companies use to account for their compliance under the …
Senator Barrasso: Repeal the RFS
Today U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced “The Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act” (S. 1195). The bill would repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in its entirety. “The Renewable Fuel Standard is fundamentally broken and beyond repair,” said Senator Barrasso. “Instead of delivering meaningful environmental benefits, it’s driven up food and fuel costs …
Enzyme Trio Minimizes Inputs & Maximizes Profits
Novozymes made a big announcement during the recent Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) – they have launched a new enzyme technology that can increase ethanol yield from corn by up to 5 percent. According to Jack Rogers, bioenergy marketing manager, the technology also increases corn oil extraction by 13 percent while saving 8 percent energy. In a time when corn-based ethanol …
EU Votes In Favor of Biofuels
A proposal from the European Commission that would limit the amount of food produced from biofuels made from food crops was amended today by the European Parliament industry, research and energy committee. The Committee voted to raise the proposed cap on biofuels from 5 percent to 6.5 percent and also voted not to implement indirect land use change (ILUC) factors. …