Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain spoke to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Council of Presidents meeting in Washington DC last week by teleconference about various issues of importance to agriculture, including it’s role in America’s energy needs. McCain heralded his “Lexington Project” to make America energy independent which includes alternative fuels, ethanol, nuclear and offshore drilling. The plan …
Senators Introduce Ethanol Pipeline Bill
Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced legislation aimed at helping to efficiently bring ethanol to communities across America by giving pipeline owners the same tax benefits they receive for moving petroleum products. The tax code currently states that Publicly Traded Partnerships are supposed to earn 90-percent of income from the exploration, transportation, storage or marketing of …
DOE Awards Cellulosic Grants
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded grants of up to $40 million over five years for two small-scale cellulosic biorefinery projects, one in Wisconsin and one in Louisiana. Flambeau River BioFuels received approval to construct and operate a biorefinery at an existing pulp and paper mill in Park Falls, Wisconsin. When completed, the facility will produce at least 1 …
Ethanol Key Issue in MO Governor’s Race
Ethanol has become the key issue in the race for the governor’s mansion in Missouri, as the two main Republican contenders square off over the state’s new ethanol mandate. Sarah Steelman, who is also the State Treasurer, has now switched her position to opposing Missouri’s mandate that requires that practically every gallon of gasoline sold in the state must contain …
Wisconsin Paper Mill Turning Into Biodiesel Plant
A 100-year-old paper mill in Northern Wisconsin is being converted to make biodiesel. This press release posted on the Milwaukee Business Journal web site says Flambeau River BioFuels has received a $30 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to build and to operate a first-in-class refinery that will turn biomass from forestry and agricultural operations into biodiesel at an existing …
Nation’s Capital to Host Renewable Energy Expo
A coalition of business, environmental and energy policy organizations advocating aggressive development of renewable energy will team up with members of Congress for the the 11th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum, July 31st in Washington, DC. According to the group: This year’s EXPO will bring together more than three dozen businesses, sustainable energy industry trade …
Organizations Support Ethanol Tariff
Seven commodity and ethanol organizations have written a letter to President Bush in support of the secondary tariff on imported ethanol. The groups called attention to the importance of the tariff for the nation’s growing ethanol industry, as well as to the nation’s energy, economic, and environmental security. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Ethanol Producers and Consumers (EPAC), National …
Scientists to DOE: “Keep Working on Biodiesel”
A committee of scientists that helps the government make decisions is recommending that the U.S. keeps working on biodiesel. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says a National Research Council committee looking at the 21st Century Truck Partnership, a group of of federal government agencies and private industries, has told the U.S. Department of Energy to continue research into the green …
Ethanol Standard Important for Second Generation Fuels
A Senate panel heard testimony Thursday that a reduction in the Renewable Fuel Standard would hinder progress toward next generation biofuels. Deputy Assistant Energy Secretary Steven Chalk told the Senate Environment and Public Works clean air subcommittee that keeping the current RFS policy in place is “critical to ensuring growth in all parts of the biofuels supply chain, from feedstocks, …
USDA Not Horning in on Livestock Feed
A federal ag department researcher says the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not trying to take the by-products of biofuels out of the livestock feed system… just trying to find more uses for what’s leftover after biodiesel and ethanol are produced. This story from redOrbit.com says Kurt Rosentrater wants to assure livestock producers that his studies on using dried distillers’ …