Tax incentives play a key role in the development and production of renewable energy, and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is urging Congress to pass two bills that would extend renewable fuel tax credits for five years. In a statement presented for the record to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week on energy tax incentives, AFBF …
Meat Producers Oppose Ethanol Tax Incentives
Major livestock and poultry trade associations sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee this week asking that they allow the blenders’ tax credit and associated tariff for ethanol to expire at the end of this year. The request was made in a letter signed by industry trade associations, including the American Meat Institute, the National Turkey Federation, …
Purdue Report Disputes Indirect Land Use Findings
A recently completed state-of-the-art analysis from Purdue University concludes that the California Air Resources Board (ARB) overestimated the indirect land use change (ILUC) impact of grain-based ethanol by a factor of two in developing its Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) one year ago. The Renewable Fuels Association sent a letter sent this week to ARB Chair Mary Nichols pointing out …
RFA CEO Takes Case for Ethanol Incentives to The Hill
Federal incentives for the U.S. ethanol industry are good public policy by every measure of “economic growth, energy security and environmental responsibility,” according to Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, in an opinion column penned for The Hill. Dinneen makes the case that biofuels offer hope for three major challenges facing the nation – the economy, …
Obama Visits Iowa Wind Turbine Plant, Off to Missouri Ethanol Plant
President Barack Obama visited a wind turbine plant in Iowa today, part of his Midwest tour that will also take him to a northern Missouri ethanol plant (watch for Chuck’s coverage on this Web site and follow him on his Twitter account @AgriBlogger). The Environment News Service reports Obama got to see up close some of Siemens Energy’s expanded wind …
Ethanol Leaders Take to the Hill
America’s ethanol industry is taking its message to Capitol Hill this week with a variety of key issues to discuss. Extending key tax incentives for all forms of ethanol, expanding the market through higher ethanol blends, and increasing the production of flexible fuel vehicles are all topics of discussion during the visit. Members of the Renewable Fuels Association are scheduled …
New E85 Stations Open in North Florida
Thanks to the efforts of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel there are now two new E85 fueling stations near I-10 just west of Jacksonville, Florida. R H Davis Oil Exxon in Macclenny and Citgo in Glen St. Mary will provide more fueling options to drivers of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) on the interstate as well as commuters traveling …
CME Launches Ethanol Co-Product Contract
The trading of futures contracts for the ethanol co-product that is used as livestock feed officially began today on the CME Group electronic trading platform, Globex. Distillers’ Dried Grain (DDG) futures are a physically delivered contract designed to bring price discovery and transparency to the corn crush market allowing customers to better manage their price risk in the feed, livestock, …
Obama to Visit Ethanol Plant
The White House has confirmed that President Obama will be visiting a Missouri ethanol plant this week. It will mark the first time Obama has visited a working ethanol biorefinery, although he was the guest speaker at the ribbon cutting of the now-bankrupt VeraSun plant in Charles City, Iowa when he was a presidential candidate. According to the White House, …
More Funds for Verenium Demo Cellulosic Plant
Verenium Corporation has been awarded an additional $4.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fund ongoing activities at its demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Jennings, Louisiana. “We are very pleased to receive this additional funding from the DOE, particularly given the critical work currently being performed at Jennings to optimize our cellulosic process,” said Carlos A. Riva, …