In ethanol-related news over the past week or so we have seen senators request a probe into the European Union’s anti-dumping duties on ethanol, comments to the House energy committee on the RFS, and legislation introduced for an energy title in the next farm bill. To find out more about all of those stories and more, we caught up with …
Farm Bill Energy Title Introduced in Senate
Legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill energy title was introduced in the Senate Monday. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the Rural Energy Investment Act to “help farmers, ranchers, and rural communities by encouraging the growth of agricultural energy technologies, including advanced biofuels, biogas, biomass, and renewable energies.” “These energy programs are essential for expanding clean energy …
Farmers Encouraged to Ask for Higher Biofuels Blends
While we talk a lot about using more biodiesel and ethanol, there’s no more fitting place to use the green fuels than the farms where it all starts. A Minnesota farmer took his own advice to use more biofuels to heart, and this article from the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin explains most farmers should use higher blends because their equipment …
New Yeast Strain Could Cut Cellulosic Ethanol Costs
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed a new strain of yeast that could cut the costs of cellulosic ethanol production. This Agricultural Research Service (ARS) news release says the work is being done at the agency’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill. ARS molecular biologist Zonglin Lewis Liu and his colleagues determined that this …
Ethanol Helps Lower Farm Program Payments
Since ethanol production has grown under the Renewable Fuel Standard over the past six years, government farm program payments for corn growers have declined to their lowest levels in recent history, which is saving taxpayer dollars. In a new E-xchange Blog post, Renewable Fuels Association VP for Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper shows how the RFS has helped boost corn …
Ethanol Report on Efficiency Study
A new study indicates that ethanol production is continuing to reduce its energy and environmental footprint. The study, entitled “2012 Corn Ethanol: Emerging Plant Energy and Environmental Technologies”, found that recent innovations in corn ethanol production have resulted in increased yield per bushel even as less energy is required for production. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report”, study co-author …
Oil $$, No Ethanol. Coincidence? I Think Not.
Last week the biofuel industry took a hit when Florida voted to repeal its Renewable Fuel Standard, HB4001, that required fuel retailers to blend ethanol into their gasoline. The charge against ethanol was led by Florida Senator Greg Evers, who represents Escambia County, which happens to be the largest receiver of BP oil spill funds in the state. In fact, …
Attacks on RFS, Blend Wall Bogus
The message being delivered to Washington, D.C. today is that Big Oil attacks on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), so-called blend wall and E15 are bogus. Today representatives from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the Auto channel held a briefing in the Capitol Visitors Center to discuss these issues as well as …
Argus India Ethanol Assessment Launched
Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has added a new tool to its arsenal: Argus India ethanol assessment. The company says the new product is designed to meet the growing demand for price reference and transparency in the market and was created in response to India’s mandate for increased ethanol blending in gasoline. The daily assessment is specifically …
Down to the Wire on RFS Comments
It’s down to the wire for the biofuel and agricultural industries to submit comments on the agricultural impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a second in an RFS series being published by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Growth Energy, Fuels America, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) all submitted input today. The consensus among the biofuel industry is …