The National Biodiesel Board continues to like what it sees when it comes to the incoming Obama Administration. The primary advocacy group for the green fuel sent out congratulations to former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack who was nominated to serve President-elect Obama as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture: Following the announcement, Joe Jobe, the CEO of the National Biodiesel …
Ethanol Industry Provides Green Jobs Input
At the request of the Obama administration transition team, the Renewable Fuels Association last week submitted discussion ideas for an economic stimulus package partially designed to create green jobs and spur the green economy. According to a statement from RFA, “Some have misconstrued this communication as a request for federal assistance or a bailout. To the contrary, the RFA recognizes …
Obama’s Ag and Interior Choices are Pro-Ethanol
According to media reports, President-elect Obama will announce former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack as his choice for secretary of agriculture at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday. Obama also plans to announce his nomination of Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as interior secretary at the same news conference. Vilsack served two terms as governor of Iowa from from 1998 until 2006 …
Obama Picks Please Biodiesel Board
President-elect Barack Obama continues to fill his incoming administration with picks that seem to please the biodiesel world. The National Biodiesel Board has sent out congratulations to Dr. Steven Chu, who has been tapped to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy; Carol Browner, who was named to the new position of White House Coordinator of Energy and Climate Policy(commonly …
Comments Sought on Ethanol Specific Corn
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking comments on a petition to deregulate corn that has been genetically engineered to produce a microbial enzyme that facilitates ethanol production. USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has regulated the corn, developed by Syngenta, since 2002. If approved, the petition would allow the corn, which goes by the name Event 3272, to …
Alt Energy Bills Await MI Gov’s Signature
Bills addressing biodiesel and biomass are on Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk, waiting for her signature to help make the state a national leader in alternative fuel production. This story from The Bay City (MI) Times has details about some of the bills: • Dedicating five new Alternative Energy Renaissance Zones for facilities that use cellulosic materials for fuel production, …
Biodiesel, Ethanol Part of Alberta RFS
Some of our friends north of the border seem to be taking a cue from us, as Alberta has enacted a renewable fuel standard of 5% ethanol and 2% biodiesel by 2010 as part of Premier Ed Stelmach’s Provincial Energy Strategy: This new standard of five-per-cent ethanol in gasoline and two-per-cent renewable content in diesel by 2010 will help Alberta …
New Energy Secretary Involved in Ethanol Research
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to be his Secretary of Energy. Dr. Chu has been heavily involved in biofuels research to find alternative and more efficient feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel production. At a 25x’25 Renewable Energy Summit earlier this year in Omaha, Chu said, …
Soybean Genome to Further Biodiesel
Researchers have released a draft of the soybean genome, and the information is expected to have a big impact on biodiesel development. This press release from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) says this is expected to help the research community come up with new breeding strategies to get the most out of one biodiesel’s most …
LA Looks to Become Solar City
Los Angeles wants to become a hub of the solar energy industry. This article from the LA Times says Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has unveiled a long-range to have solar power meet one-tenth of the city’s energy needs by 2020, an initiative that is expected to help the city’s Department of Water and Power kick the fossil fuel habit: The plan …