A report out from accounting firm KPMG says that 60 percent of executives believe that consolidation in the renewable energy sector will continue. That’s leading to fears that a bubble may be developing in the solar, wind, and biofuel sectors as bidders compete for assets and send prices sharply higher. This story from Reuters says many of those same executives …
USDA Chief Says “Underground” Tactics Have Targeted Ethanol
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has a difference of opinion with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. During a Monday press conference, Secretary Ed Schafer said he had talked to the people who have “initiated these underground things that have been going on” to influence public opinion about ethanol incentives and found that while they understand that higher energy and transportation costs …
Indy Frenzy
I’m taking off for Indianapolis in about an hour. This year, I’ll be handling the Indy 500 on my own. The race isn’t until Sunday, but the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has all kinds of pre-race activities scheduled for this week. Tomorrow, I’ll be out at the pumps. Both EPIC and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council will be sponsoring …
USDA Makes Case for Food and Fuel
Armed with power points and statistics, officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture held a press conference in Washington DC Monday to discuss the case for producing both food and fuel in the United States. “We think the time has come for USDA to join in the public conversation about the relationship between food prices and biofuels,” said Agriculture Secretary …
EPA Seeks Input on RFS Waiver Request
The Environmental Protection Agency is following through on Texas Governor Rick Perry’s request to reduce the volume of renewable fuel required to be used in motor vehicles and other engines. EPA is publishing a Federal Register notice opening a 30-day comment period on the request. The RFS mandate for 2008 is the equivalent of 9 billion gallons. The Energy Policy …
SunEthanol Awarded Third DOE Grant
The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded SunEthanol a $100,000 research grant to help America develop clean transportation fuels from a variety of non-food feedstocks, including corn stover, bagasse, switchgrass, sorghum, softwoods like pine, and high lignin poplar. This is the third DOE grant that SunEthanol has been awarded in the past year. According to the company, this latest grant …
Farm Bill Promotes Cellulosic Ethanol
The Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2008 passed by Congress last week has some significant incentives to promote second generation ethanol. Among them are a cellulosic biofuels production tax credit for up to $1.01 per gallon; funding for loan guarantees to commercial scale bio-refineries for advanced biofuels; a program to encourage farmers to establish and grow biomass crops in …
Senators Pleased With Energy Title of Farm Bill
Two of the main architects of the new Farm Bill are more than thrilled with overwhelming passage of the legislation this week by both the House and Senate. “Senate passage of the farm bill conference report on a strong, bipartisan basis demonstrates support for core farm bill initiatives – conservation, energy, nutrition and rural development – while continuing and strengthening …
Ethanol on Display at Alternative Vehicle Expo
Ethanol was in the spotlight at this week’s Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. The conference featured every vehicle technology under the hot sun on display and several panels and workshops helped to educate and provide information about the various blends of ethanol and especially how they can fit into greener fleets. Ethanol Promotion and Information …
Ethanol Smear Campaign Exposed
Ethanol proponents from the halls of Congress to the corn fields of the Midwest are expressing outrage at documentation that major food corporations may have supported a high-dollar public relations campaign to blame farmers and ethanol for rising food prices. In a prepared floor statement on Thursday, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa told his colleagues that “this anti-ethanol campaign is …