The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a research grant to develop next generation biofuels in the Northeast. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today awarded Pennsylvania State University a five-year research grant valued at roughly $10 million to develop biomass supply chains for the production of liquid transportation and aviation biofuels in the Northeast. This is the sixth such award made …
Global Renewable Energy Investments Growing
Despite global struggles with the economy, investments in renewable energy technologies have continued to grow in 2011. New investments in renewable power and fuels (excluding large hydropower and solar hot water) reached $257 billion, and increase $37 billion from 2010. This according to research conducted by the WorldWatch Institute’s Climate and Energy program. In addition, during 2011, investments in renewable …
Ethanol Industry Pumps $5B Into MN State Economy
According to a new report from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the state’s ethanol industry generated more than $5 billion in total economic activity in 2011. In addition, the ethanol industry supported more than 12,600 jobs. The state is 5th nationwide in ethanol production with 21 ethanol biorefineries. According to the MDA report, ethanol added $912 million to the …
Platts Acquires Global Sugar & Biofuels Info Provider
Platts, a division of McGraw-Hill, is in the process of acquiring Kingsman, SA, a Switzerland-based provider of price information and analytics for the global sugar and biofuels markets. If all goes as planned, the acquisition will become official on November 1, 2012. Platts focuses on delivering news to the agricultural and energy sectors. “Kingsman is widely recognized as the leading …
ACE Kicks Off RFS Benefits Campaign
As the ink dries on all the letters of support for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has launched a public letter writing campaign to help raise awareness of how ethanol and the RFS benefits America. Another goal of the campaign is to counter inaccurate stories about ethanol and the industry. A view that is …
Palm Oil Production Creates High GHG Emissions
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently reviewing whether to allow biofuels produced from palm oil as an allowable renewable fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). The palm oil industry and the Indonesian and Malaysian governments are applying pressure to the EPA to reverse its finding that the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from palm oil production are …
RFS Waiver Comment Period Comes to a Close
With the RFS waiver request comment period coming to a close yesterday, the ethanol industry sent another round of comments to the EPA saying a waiver was not needed. But the ethanol industry was not the only sector to respond, the National Corn Growers Association submitted a letter in support of the RFS as is, as did the Governors of …
ACE Urges EPA to Deny RFS Waiver Requests
As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comment period comes to a close prior to their decision on whether or not to grant a waiver for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the American Coalition for Ethanol submitted comments to make the case to keep the RFS in place. The comment deadline is October 11, 2012. ACE Executive Vice President, Brian Jennings, …
IRFA Launches 2012 Election Campaign Webpage
With the presidential elections only a few weeks away, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has unveiled a new web page that highlights the stances of President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney regarding their positions on renewable fuels. As the campaign progresses, additional information will be added. “Iowa is the nation’s leading producer of both ethanol and biodiesel, …
EU Ethanol Dumping Allegations Dropped
Reuters is reporting that the European Union is no longer investigating allegations that the United States illegally subsidized and dumped ethanol on the European Market. The European Commission, which is the executive body of the European Union, conducted an 11-month investigation. During that time, the Commission says it found no evidence that such action had been taken by the U.S. …