Ethanol production was up in February compared to the previous month and a year ago. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), American ethanol facilities produced 647,000 barrels per day in February. That’s up 25 percent from February 2008 and 17,000 barrels per day more compared to the previous month. Ethanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association, also …
Valero Honors Portion of Corn Contracts for Ethanol
Corn farmers who had contracts to provide corn for ethanol plants owned by bankrupt VeraSun are being offered a deal by Valero Energy, which purchased some of the company’s assets. Valero officials say they are offering farmers with forward contracts a bonus of 40 percent of the difference between the cash price for corn and the futures price on the …
Deal Inked to Build Destiny’s Alt Energy Park
For some time, we’ve been telling you about Destiny, Florida, a 41,000-acre community founded in 2005 in South Central Florida, designed to one day be America’s first eco-sustainable city with 16,000 green tech jobs, including building solar panels (see our Feb. 27, 2009 Domestic Fuel podcast and April 22 post). The project took another step closer to that goal when …
Senate Bill Would Curb Unproven Indirect Land Use Measures
U.S. Senator John Thune has introduced a bill designed to strengthen the Renewable Fuels Standard and prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using inaccurate indirect land use models to discredit the positive environmental impacts of ethanol. “Following California’s recent decision to use flawed models to estimate ethanol’s environmental impact, I am concerned that the EPA could soon apply similar standards …
NRDC Launches Good Vs. Bad Biofuels Campaign
A new campaign funded by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has created controversy in the biofuels industry. The campaign was developed, according to a blog post by Nathanael Greene, “to sharpen the distinction between biofuels done right and biofuels done wrong.” The campaign cites that ethanol plants using coal power is “wrong” as well as biofuels that “pillage” natural …
New Iowa Ethanol Plant Begins Production
In a time when many plants are shutting down, a new ethanol plant near New Hampton, Iowa has started production. The Homeland Energy Solutions will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol annually, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), which congratulated the company for its accomplisment this week. “It’s been a difficult time for the ethanol industry, but Homeland …
Sign Petition for 15 Percent Ethanol Blend
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has launched a petition drive calling on EPA to allow blends of up to 15 percent ethanol in regular gasoline. According to ACE organizers, the on-line petition has gathered over 4500 signatures from nearly every state. “ACE wants to gather as many signatures as possible to demonstrate to Congress, the White House, EPA, and …
FedEx Announces “30 by 30” Initiative
During a recent session of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce aviation forum, FedEx announced that it has a goal of using renewable fuels for 30 percent of its fuel needs by 2030. The company is confident that this action will both reduce air-transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions. According to a New York Times article published yesterday, CEO Fred Smith …
Ethanol Petition Comment Period Extension Requested
More than 30 organizations are requesting an extension of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comment period for a petition that would increase the permitted amount of ethanol in gasoline from its current 10 percent level to 15 percent. The organizations signing on to the request range from livestock and meat associations to food processors, environmental groups and representatives of boats …
Corn Farmers Provides Facts About Land Use
Last week’s ruling by the California Air Resources Board on a low carbon fuel standard that penalizes corn ethanol on the basis of indirect land use has mobilized corn growers to get the facts out about the environmental impact of the nation’s largest crop. “It’s a little known fact that we are growing five times as much corn as our …