Iowa Governor Terry Branstad today announced a major new bi-partisan campaign called America’s Renewable Future that will promote the Renewable Fuel Standard in the 2016 Iowa Presidential caucuses. “I’m very passionate about the Renewable Fuel Standard,” said Governor Branstad during a conference call to announce the effort. “It’s made a real difference for farm income and good jobs, reducing our …
Caucuses, Higher Blends, Policy All Talk of IRFA Summit
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is gearing up for its big annual meeting next week just outside of Des Moines. The group says the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona on January 27th is free and open to the public and will feature a variety of conversations, including how energy policy might impact the 2016 Iowa caucuses and general …
GRFA: Sustainability Week Needs to Recognize Biofuels
As attendees gather in the Middle East gather for the 8th Annual World Future Energy Summit (WFES), one group is telling them to bring biofuels to the top of the sustainability, economic and climate change agenda. The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) says the 30,000 delegates from 170 different countries need to be talking about the green fuels during the …
President Touts Domestic Energy in SOTU
“We are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we’ve been in almost 30 years,” said President Barack Obama in the first few minutes of his 2015 State of the Union address Tuesday evening. “We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet,” said Obama. “And today, America is number one in oil …
FAO’s Chief Comments on Biofuels Welcomed by GRFA
Comments by a key United Nations agency chief that biofuels should be part of the energy mix is being welcomed by renewable fuel advocates. Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva told attendees at the recent Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin that biofuels should be seen as a key part of the global agriculture complex, …
Ag Secretary Stresses Biofuels Support at AFBF
Real farmers from around the country had a chance to ask Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack questions during an informal town hall-style meeting at the American Farm Bureau convention this week in San Diego. The last question he took was from a South Dakota farmer who asked about continuation of strong biofuels policy in the United States. Vilsack detailed his continued …
EPA Seeks Comments on Sorghum-to-Biofuels GHGs
The federal government is seeking public comment on its preliminary analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the production of biomass sorghum feedstock to make biofuels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invited the comments after a recent study by the agency that showed biomass sorghum is suitable for the same conversion processes as approved cellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass …
Genetics to Help in Biomass-to-Biofuel Conversion
Researchers might have found a more efficient way to turn biomass into biofuel using plant genetics. This article from Phys.org says plant geneticists Sam Hazen at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Siobhan Brady at the University of California, Davis, have sorted out the gene regulatory networks that would have the biggest impacts on the green fuel production. The authors …
Greenbelt Resources Recognized for Biofuels System
A company that turns locally available feedstocks into biofuels, as well as fertilizer, animal feed and filtered water, is being recognized for its green efforts. Greenbelt Resources picked up the “Best Biofuels and Biochemicals Solution” in The New Economy magazine’s annual 2014 Clean Tech Awards. Greenbelt Resources’ small scale systems, can be more energy efficient than traditional large-scale plants due …
POET-DSM Commends Partners in Cellulosic Ethanol Venture
POET-DSM is commending its partners in a cellulosic ethanol venture. This company news release says POET is praising Suomen Bioetanoli Oy and the government of Finland after the Finnish government announced a 30 million euros grant to Suomen Bioetanoli Oy to build a plant that will convert wheat straw into about 24 million gallons of ethanol annually. “Suomen Bioetanoli Oy …