An Inside View of the Brazilian Ethanol Industry

Joanna Schroeder

Oi from Brasil! I have spent the last three days learning about the ethanol industry in Brazil. I have been traveling with a group of 20 international journalists in the State of Sao Paulo, where 60 percent of the country’s sugarcane is grown and consequently where the majority of the ethanol is produced. I’ll be writing a series of posts …

Commentary, Energy, Environment, Ethanol, International

Thanksgiving Tweets for Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

Food, feed, fiber and fuel – American farmers do it all and today is a day to give a Thanksgiving tweet for all they do. On Twitter, many agriculture advocates are taking part in tweeting the hashtag #thankafarmer today from 10 am to 12 pm CST. Twitter users are also expressing their gratitude with a #thankafarmer twibbon. The twitter efforts …

biofuels, Ethanol, Farming

Farm Bureau Pleased with Climate Bill Delay

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is pleased with a decision by Senate leadership last week to delay consideration of climate change legislation until the spring of 2010. During a recent interview before the delay was announced, AFBF president Bob Stallman said the agricultural organization opposed the climate change bill that was passed by the House, despite provisions included that …

Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, Farming, Indirect Land Use

More Sorghum Going to Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Corn may have competition for ethanol use from less expensive sorghum. According to a survey by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP), 29 percent of the grain sorghum grown in the United States this year will be used to produce ethanol – a total of nearly 137 million bushels. “In the past year, the price differential has greatly benefited the …

Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks

GPS App Finds 85 Percent Ethanol Stations

Cindy Zimmerman

Want to know where you can buy E85? There’s an app for that now. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today launched a new application for Garmin GPS units that that maps out the location of E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) for users with flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs). “The most frustrating thing for many FFV owners is not knowing where they can fill …

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, technology

Growth Energy Urges Action in California and Congress

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy sent letters to the California Air Resources Board and members of Congress today to address issues that could impact the expansion of ethanol. In California, Growth Energy is calling on the Air Resources Board (ARB) to reopen comments on the low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in light of undisclosed documents recently uncovered related to the rulemaking …

Ethanol, Growth Energy

DF Cast: Crunching the Renewable Identification Numbers

John Davis

A big issue in the current Renewable Fuels Standard … as well as the new RFS2 under consideration by the EPA … is the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we listen in on the conversation from the recent 2nd Annual RINWorld Summit held in Dallas, TX where the EPA’s John Wienrauch, Office of …

Audio, Biodiesel, Domestic Fuel Cast, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government

New North Releases Cellulosic Feasibility Study

Joanna Schroeder

New North, Inc. has recently released Phase 2 of a study on the feasibility of cellulosic ethanol plant in Niagara, an area in Northeast Wisconsin. Phase 2 demonstrates the availability of feedstocks to the plant, primarily wood resources, should the plant be able to produce ethanol using a diversity of feedstocks. The news is positive as many local community members …

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Research