While the ethanol industry has been praising the USDA’s report entitled “Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022,″ there’s plenty in there for biodiesel fans to like as well. The feds are optimistic that biodiesel will be able to carry its share of the overall 36 billion gallons of biofuels goal: The U.S biofuels …
USDA Releasing Report on Biofuels
The USDA is releasing a report on renewable transportation fuels and the role the agency will play in development of those biofuels. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the report comes as the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) gets ready to kick in on July 1st and will require that 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year be in America’s fuel …
High Tech Indy Engines, High Tech Pioneer Corn
It’s going to be a happy Father’s Day for Iowa corn growers and Pioneer Hi-Bred when the Iowa Corn Indy 250 gets underway Sunday. The race is being presented by both organizations again this year. I met Pioneer’s Joe Foresman, Senior Marketing Manager, Biofuels and MarketPoint Resource, during the Kum & Go E-85 pump promotion yesterday. He says the story …
Biofuels Promotions in ND and MN
Lastly, the Frontier Travel Center at 705 Highway 12 in Bowman, North Dakota will hold a promotion from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Friday, June 18 at their fueling station. A $2 discount will be taken off the bill of those flexible fuel vehicle owners who fill up with E85 or the blend of E30. For more information on …
Making the Case for Getting Rid of Biofuels Subsidies
As the biodiesel industry anxiously awaits Congress’ renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit, an energy consulting company that specializes in biodiesel and ethanol operations is actually calling for elimination of these types of credits for all biofuels. This opinion piece in Biofuels Digest from Sklar & Associates makes the case that we don’t have to give the biofuels …
Virent Energy Systems Secures $46.4M in Funding
Today, Virent Energy Systems announced that it has closed its third round of funding totaling $46.4 million. Two of the company’s largest investors, Cargill and Shell, increased their financial commitments as part of this funding round as did all other current investors. The money will be used to advance the company’s efforts to bring to market its BioForming process, a …
Importance of Biofuels in Rural Revitalization
The expansion of biofuels will play a significant role in the revitalization of rural America, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Why not create biofuel refineries and renewable energy plants that create jobs and markets for a product that otherwise might not be valued as much,” said Vilsack during a Rural Summit in Missouri on Thursday. “Why not …
Book Review – Powering The Future
This week I read “Powering The Future,” by Daniel B. Botkin. I was motoring along learning about our current energy mix (fossil fuels, fossil fuels, fossil fuels) and then moved on to the section about alternative energy and his evaluation of the viability of wind and solar. Then I got to the biofuels section and this is where in most …
China on Fast Track for Celluosic Biofuel Production
Today COFCO, a leading producer and supplier of processed agricultural products, Sinopec, the world’s third largest oil refinery and Novozymes, the leader in biofuel enzyme development and production, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to take the next steps towards commercial production of cellulosic biofuels in China. As an element of the partnership, COFCO and Sinopec will build a cellulosic …
Clean Air Task Force Sues EPA Over RFS2
Earlier this year Big Oil sued the EPA over the biodiesel requirement in the RFS2. Today, the Clean Air Task Force, on behalf of environmental groups including Friends of the Earth, filed suit against the EPA claiming that RFS2 encourages the world to use more oil, which will cause more pollution, because America would be reducing its dependence through the …