Federal Fleet to Use Alternative Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

President Obama wants the federal fleet of more than 600,000 vehicles to use alternative fuels by 2015. The goal of the Presidential Memorandum issued today implementing new Federal fleet management practices is “to cut oil imports by one-third by 2025 and to put one million advanced vehicles on the road by 2015.” By December 31, 2015, all new light duty …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Government

Sales of 85 Percent Ethanol Up in Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa drivers are buying 85 percent ethanol for their flex fuel vehicles. According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), E85 sales in Iowa increased by 27 percent during the first quarter of 2011 compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. The Iowa Department of Revenue reports that sales of E85 by Iowa retailers reached 2,645,038 gallons during the first …

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles

Ag Secretary Promotes 85 Percent Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Nashville, Tennessee Monday visiting Thorntons Convenience Store E-85 fueling station to highlight the importance of moving toward a clean energy economy and decreasing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. “Flex-fuel pumps give Americans a choice to purchase domestically produced renewable transportation fuels,” Vilsack said. “The Obama Administration is working to transform the United States …

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, USDA

Survey Says Consumers Consider Ethanol A Green Product

Joanna Schroeder

In a study released by Genencor during the BIO World Congress in Toronto, when U.S. consumers were asked to name a product they considered green, 39 percent of them named ethanol first and 31 percent of Canadian respondents also named ethanol as a green product. This is just one of results discovered in the Genencor Household Sustainability Index that researched …

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, biomaterials, Biotech, Ethanol, Research

Ethanol Industry Agrees With Pawlenty

Cindy Zimmerman

Announcing his candidacy for the president in the heart of ethanol country, Republican Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, made headlines Monday for his comments on phasing out ethanol subsidies, but the real story is that the industry agrees with him. “The hard truth is there are no longer any sacred programs,” Pawlenty said. “The truth about federal energy subsidies …

ACE, Audio, Ethanol, Government

Osage Bio Energy On the Sales Block

Joanna Schroeder

Osage Bio Energy has announced its board of directors will sell the company. Osage has also decided not to begin production at its Appomattox Bio Energy ethanol plant in Hopewell, Virginia that had originally been scheduled to be online in May of 2010. The company was to use barley as its primary feedstock. As a result of this action, the …

Ethanol, Ethanol News

University of Florida Receives USDA/DOE Grant

Joanna Schroeder

The University of Florida has received a four-year $5.4 million federal grant to develop methods of producing energy, such as ethanol, from sweet sorghum. The grant is part of a $47 million package funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) designed to support projects that hopefully help the U.S. reduce its dependence on …

biochemicals, biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol

50% of India’s Fuel Needs Could Be Met By Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

One million jobs could be created in India over the next decade through the transformation of agricultural waste into biofuel. Should this occur, biofuels could meet 59 percent of the demand for liquid transportation fuels by 2020. This according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance study, “Next-generation Ethanol: What’s in it for India,” commissioned by Novozymes. Already, the Indian government …

biofuels, biomass, Ethanol, International, Research

Don’t Mess with the RFS

Joanna Schroeder

The U.S. biofuels industry sent a message to Congress today asking them not to mess with the RFS. Specifically, the industry encouraged lawmakers “to stand firm in the face of calls to waive or repeal the groundbreaking biofuels provisions included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), including the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).” Several biofuel organizations came …

Biodiesel, biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol

New E85 Station Opens in Redwood City, CA

Joanna Schroeder

A new E85 station has opened in Redwood City, California, the hometown of Propel Fuels. As gas prices remain high, more and more California motorists are moving to renewable fuels to fill their tanks. This is just one of many E85 stations that Propel plans on opening in the Bay area (San Francisco). In an event to officially open the …

Biodiesel, E85, Ethanol