Ethanol will be in the spotlight this weekend as boat racing teams from more than twenty states will gather to compete at the National Boat Racing Association (NBRA) “Garnett Ethanol Hydroplane Nationals” this weekend, June 23-26 in Garnett, Kansas for a chance to break national straight away speed records using E10. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) partnered with NBRA earlier …
Iowa Corn Indy 250 Going Green for Ethanol
The Iowa Speedway will experience a “green out” under the lights on Saturday night with the fifth running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250, presented by Pioneer and powered by 100 percent home grown ethanol. Officials and fans will be wearing green apparel to the first Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented under the lights, with the green flag dropping at …
Site Prep Completed for BlueFire Cellulosic Plant
The site preparation has been completed for BlueFire Renewables’ cellulosic ethanol plant in Fulton, Mississippi. The work was conducted by Century Construction and the site is now ready for the construction of the plant to begin. “With support from the County of Itawamba and the City of Fulton and excellent work done by Century Construction, the Fulton site is ready …
EPA Proposes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards
Cellulosic ethanol targets were reduced while biodiesel was increased under the latest standards proposed by the federal government for the Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories under the RFS2 based on the annual renewable fuel volume targets. EPA once again lowered the target for cellulosic …
US Ag Secretary to Defend Biofuels at G20 Meeting
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he intends to defend biofuels at the G-20 Summit of Agricultural Ministers in Paris this week, stressing their importance to the economy and the environment. “America is working on developing new feedstocks that don’t pit food versus fuel but that create new rural economic opportunities and allow us to continue to expand on our efforts …
Millons Spent on Lobbying for VEETC Reform
Last week was a crazy week in DC as several amendments to alter or kill the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) were voted on by the Senate. While the first vote was in favor of ethanol (it defeated the Coburn amendment), the industry took a hit when Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) bill was passed, essentially killing VEETC and the …
Blaming Biofuels for Higher Food Prices One-Sided
In an effort to curb global rising food prices and food insecurity concerns, members of G20 nations will be meeting in Paris this week. A major focal point of discussion is set to be biofuels and earlier this month a report from Oxfam concluded that biofuels were part of the reason food prices are rising. The ethanol industry deems this …
Self Powered Cellulosic Refinery Launched
Back in 2009, Allard Research and Development debuted its small ethanol and biodiesel refineries. This month, they have released the first self-powered modular cellulose ethanol refinery that uses cellulose feedstock grown as part of the system in hydroponic shipping containers. The system can produce 20 gallons per hour and fits into 3,600 square feet and can be attached together to …
New Energy & Commodities Investment Team Formed
Cary Street Partners has formed a new Energy & Commodities Investment banking team focused on energy and its related sectors including traditional and alternative energy as well as agriculture services. Joining the new group is Craig Shealy who was formerly the founder of Osage Bio Energy, currently up for sale. Shealy will serve as managing director and group head. “We …
UNICA Launches Sugarcane Website
The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) recently launched a new website to promote “clean solutions from sugarcane.” SugarCane.org was launched during the 2011 Ethanol Summit in São Paulo, Brazil. “We decided to launch this new site to share knowledge and information with a growing global community of people who want to know how their food and energy choices affect our …