It’s August in the nation’s capitol and the climate is hazy, hot and humid with a chance of afternoon thundershowers, which Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says kind of describes what is happening on Capitol Hill these days as well – especially the hazy and stormy part. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Dinneen discusses the …
Senators Press EPA and DOE on Ethanol Issues
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and a group of bipartisan senators met with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman this week to discuss delays in the approval of E15 ethanol blend for vehicles, as well as other key issues related to the ethanol industry. Harkin says they talked with the officials about the importance …
Cane and Corn Ethanol Updates
The sugarcane harvest in Brazil is running ahead of schedule and the U.S. corn crop is progressing well, according to the latest reports. The cane crush in Brazil so far this year is running about 20 percent ahead of last year, which is not necessarily good news according to the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association’s (UNICA). Technical Director Antonio de Padua …
Tennessee’s Biomass Innovation Park Breaks Ground
Yesterday, Dallas Tonsager, the Under Secretary for Rural Development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony for Tennessee’s Biomass Innovation Park. The park is a unique campus that will develop technology to integrate and optimizes the entire biomass supply chain. It will also be the site for a $5 million Department of Energy-funded high-tonnage …
Largest US FFV Fleet Now Has 85 Percent Ethanol
The biggest fleet of flexible fuel vehicles in the United States now has access to 85 percent ethanol fuel. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel joined representatives of the Norfolk Naval Base and Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia to cut the ribbon and open the new E85 pump. In addition to providing fuel for the …
World Bank Report Takes New Look at Food and Fuel
Ethanol production probably had less impact on global commodity prices in 2008 than many were saying at the time. A newly released working paper, entitled “Placing the 2006/08 Commodity Price Boom into Perspective,” from the Development Prospects Group at the World Bank, concludes that “…the effect of biofuels on food prices has not been as large as originally thought.” Authors …
More MN State Cars Use E85
More state vehicles in Minnesota are able to use up to 85 percent ethanol in their tanks, according to the American Lung Association in Minnesota. So far this year, state agencies used 437,063 gallons of E85, a 25 percent increase over last year. Those figures come from the state’s SmartFleet Committee, a group tasked with helping agencies comply with Executive …
CARB Proposes LCFS Soil Sustainability Provisions
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is far from over on discrediting biofuels as part of their mandated policy known as the Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS). For the past year, the ethanol industry has been embroiled in a fight for proper reflections of biofuel’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions, aka indirect land use. Now, CARB has created a working group …
Two Views on Impact of Ethanol Tax Credit Expiration
One agricultural economist is disputing the findings of another when it comes to the impact on the domestic ethanol industry of removing the existing blenders tax credit and the associated tariff on imported ethanol. In dueling commentaries posted Tuesday on “The Hill’s Congress Blog,” Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) director and professor of economist Dr. …
The Award Winning Ethanol Report
The Ethanol Report podcast received a Golden ARC award this week from the Ag Relations Council in the newly revived competition that includes new social media categories. Chuck Zimmerman, president of Domestic Fuel’s parent company ZimmComm New Media received the award Tuesday, presented by ARC President Deron Johnson, during the Ag Media Summit (AMS) in St. Paul, Minnesota. Matt Hartwig …