Vilsack Ties Farm Bill to Biofuels, Will Serve Again as Ag Secretary

John Davis

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says the future success of biofuels in this country is also tied to successfully getting a new five-year farm bill passed. Speaking to delegates of the American Farm Bureau Federation at their annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., Vilsack expressed his disappointment that a new farm bill was not passed … reserving some of his stronger …

Audio, biofuels, farm bill, Farm Bureau, Government, USDA

USDA Invests in Bioenergy Research Projects

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a state-of-the-art bioindustrial facility in Pennsylvania on Friday, where he announced $25 million to fund research and development of next-generation renewable energy and high-value biobased products from a variety of biomass sources. “USDA’s continuing investments in research and development are proving a critical piece of President Obama’s strategy to spur innovation of clean bioenergy right …

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, biomass, Ethanol, Ethanol News, USDA

Pacific Adopts Edeniq’s Cellunator Technology

Joanna Schroeder

Pacific Ethanol is implementing yield enhancing technology at its ethanol facility in Stockton, California. The company is adopting Edeniq’s Cellunators technology to boost ethanol yields by increasing available starch for conversion. In addition to expected improvements in ethanol yield, the installation of Cellunators technology makes available the adoption of Edeniq‘s Pathway technology integrating the Cellunator with proprietary enzymes to convert …

biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol

Author Anne Korin to Speak at Iowa Summit

Joanna Schroeder

Author and energy expert Anne Korin will be speaking at the 7th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and Trade Show being held in The Meadows Conference Center in Altoona, Iowa on January 30, 2013.  Korin is co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and has written several popular books such as “Energy Security Challenges for the 21st …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Iowa RFA

Gov. Branstad Chairs Governors’ Biofuels Coalition

Joanna Schroeder

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has been selected to become Chair of the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition (GBC) for 2013. Rick Schwarck, president of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, wrote a letter to Branstad, who will be speaking at their upcoming Summit, congratulating him. “Your leadership and willingness to serve as a great representative of Iowa has been instrumental in helping our …

biofuels, Iowa RFA, Renewable Energy

API’s Crusade Against Ethanol Continues

Joanna Schroeder

Yesterday the American Petroleum Industry (API) released its annual “State of American Energy” report. The release of the report was part of an event where API President and CEO Jack Gerard gave an energy highlight speech. Following the event, Tom Buis, CEO of ethanol industry organization Growth Energy, said that Gerard’s speech brought nothing new to table. Buis said that …

biofuels, Ethanol, Growth Energy, Renewable Energy, RFS

Future Trends for Ag, Fuel

Joanna Schroeder

One of the key topics for discussion during the free, 7th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and Trade Show being held in Altoona, Iowa on January 30, 2013 is future trends for U.S. agriculture and fuels. The “Market Outlook for 2013 and Beyond” panel will include Robert Gough, Director of Renewable Fuels for the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), who …

biofuels, E15, Education, Ethanol, Iowa RFA

Book Review – The Year God Forgot Us

Joanna Schroeder

Pssst…I have the secret recipe for renewable fuel. Want to know where I found this recipe that will take down big oil? In the novel, “The Year God Forgot Us,” by Dennis Nau. Ok, so I don’t really have some super duper secret renewable fuel recipe, but this week’s book was a fictional look at 1936, during the Great Depression, …

biofuels, book reviews

AAA Holds Fast to E15 Position

Joanna Schroeder

The American Automobile Association (AAA) has taken a position against the use of E15 for all motorists despite the fact that E15 is the most tested fuel in American history. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of E15 for cars and light duty trucks manufactured in 2001 or later. In addition, the EPA has put safeguards in place …

ACE, biofuels, E15, Ethanol, Renewable Energy

Farm Bill Extension Without Energy Funding is Job Killer

Joanna Schroeder

With the 112th Congress unable to come to terms and pass a new Farm Bill, the current bill was extended for nine months while the 113th Congress works to pass a 2013 Farm Bill. Although the bill is extended as part of the American Taxpayer Relief of 2012, it was extended without energy title funding that includes programs such as …

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, bioenergy, biofuels, farm bill, Renewable Energy