In light of a refinery shutdown of the BP plant in Whiting, Indiana that produces 240,000-barrels-per-day, the Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide consumers relief at the pump. Late last week, gas prices jumped an average of 80 cents per gallon overnight in several states including Illinois, Michigan Indiana, …
API Releases “Flawed Study”
A new published study from the University of Michigan and funded by the American Petroleum Institute (API) finds that when using annual basis carbon (ABC) accounting, corn-ethanol is not better than its petroleum counterpart. ABC accounting uses spatially and temporally explicit analysis of the direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) exchanges between the atmosphere and a physical vehicle-fuel system. LCA is …
Dems Webb & O’Malley Take the Soapbox
Democratic hopeful presidential candidates Jim Webb and Martin O’Malley both appeared on the Des Moines Register’s Presidential Soapbox yesterday afternoon speaking to hundreds of Iowans attending the Iowa State Fair. They have some fundamental issues in common, including both the need for better education and to bring the American dream, aka the economy, back to Americans. While Webb’s plans to …
Mike Huckabee on the Soapbox
Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas (the state of the Clinton’s), took the soapbox this morning as the kick-off candidate of the Des Moines Register’s Presidential Soapbox series taking place during the Iowa State Fair. He was the winner of Iowa’s 2008 Republican Caucuses. Now back to the Clintons for a moment. Huckabee worked and fought and campaigned …
Minnesota Coop to Offer E85 For 85 Cents A Gallon
E85 (85 percent ethanol/15 percent gas) will be available for 85 cents a gallon at the Farmers Coop Elevator in Bellingham, Minnesota on Wednesday, August 19 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Located at 300 Railroad Road, the promotion will also offer a 30 cents per gallon discount on E30 and a 15 cents discount per gallon on E15. The …
USDA Predicts Big Corn and Soybean Crops
USDA is forecasting the third largest corn crop on record and the second largest soybean crop in a new planted acreage update released today. U.S. growers are forecast to produce 13.7 billion bushels of corn this year, according to the report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). That is actually a four percent decrease from last year’s production, but …
Iowa E15 Retailer Grants Available
Iowa fuel retailers interested in adding E15 ethanol blends to their consumer fuel options have an opportunity to apply for grants through the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP). The program gives retailers financial assistance to install or upgrade fuel dispensing equipment to offer E15. “Adding E15 to the state renewable fuels infrastructure program provides a missing link to expanding …
Iowa State Fair to Host Prez Soapbox
Iowa State Fair visitors have an opportunity to see what presidential candidates think about energy and agricultural issues compliments of the Des Moines Register’s Presidential Soapbox series. A majority of the presidential candidates from both parties have confirmed they will speak from the soapbox during the fair. A total of 14 Republicans and four Democrats are on the soapbox schedule …
E15 Hot Topic at ACE Ethanol Conference
E15 will be a hot topic at the upcoming American Coalition for Ethanol Conference next week. The topic of how higher blends can help fuel retailers to succeed will be discussed during a panel in Omaha, Nebraksa August 19-21. Panelists include Todd Garner, CEO of ProTec Fuel and Jim Pirolli, VP of Fuels for Kum & Go. The August 20th …
Scottish Scientists Identify Algae Best for Biofuels
Scientists in Scotland have identified which algae are the best for biofuels. This article from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) says the researchers used a new technique to figure out which ocean-based strains had the highest oil content. The screening revealed two marine strains, Nannochloropis oceanica and Chlorella vulgaris, which had a dry-weight oil content of more than …