Members of the National Biodiesel Board have testified before Congress about how biodiesel has benefitted America. According to an NBB press release, the board’s Chief Executive Officer Joe Jobe testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business in a hearing entitled “The Impact of Renewable Energy Production in Rural America.” “If you take one thing away from …
Committee Passes Energy Bill
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approved energy legislation that calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels use by 2022. The bill also provides the necessary incentives to spur the development of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol production. The bill received bi-partisan support in the committee, with eight Republicans and 12 Democrats voting in favor of passage. Three Republicans …
Ethanol Helps Rural America
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business held a hearing Thursday on the impact of renewable energy production on rural America. Among those who testified was Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen, who told the committee that ethanol production is providing a dramatic economic stimulus in rural America. “The production of ethanol has sparked new capital investment and …
More DOE Funds for Biofuels
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $200 million, over five years to support the development of small-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the United States. According to a DOE announcement, the funding will be for projects to develop biorefineries at ten percent of commercial scale that produce liquid transportation fuels such as ethanol, as well as bio-based chemicals …
Bush on Biofuels
During a White House press briefing on Monday with European leaders, President Bush commented on his goals for renewable fuels and the current research in producing ethanol from sources other than corn in response to a foreign journalist’s question about global environmental concerns: I have said we’ll have a mandatory fuel standard, not a voluntary fuel standard, but a mandatory …
TDOT Going Biodiesel
Tennessee’s Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced today that it is expanding its use of biodiesel into vehicles used in Nashville. According to a release on TDOT’s web site, the agency has been using biodiesel for two years in a 130-vehicle test fleet in East Tennessee as part of the Pilot Fleet Program: “It’s imperative that government and businesses begin identifying …
Nebraska Rep Calls for Hydrogen Credit
Nebraska Congressman Lee Terry is calling on his fellow lawmakers to approve a package that would promote hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. According to this story in the Omaha World-Herald, Terry testified on Capitol Hill that his hometown zoo, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, is making good use of hydrogen: Hydrogen fuel cell technology provides power and heats …
States Adopting Biodiesel Standards
New Mexico is the latest state to adopt a biodiesel standard as Governor Bill Richardson signed into law a measure that requires all diesel sold in the state to have at least a five percent blend by 2012. State vehicles would have to use 5% biodiesel by 2010. According to this story in Land Line Magazine, several other states have …
Ethanol and the EPA
EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson calls the nation’s first comprehensive Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS, “a hat trick – it protects the environment, strengthens our energy security, and supports America’s farmers.” Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Executive Director Tom Slunecka comments on the new RFS and EPA ruling that provides equal treatment for ethanol plants when it comes to emissions …
Dems Also Irked Over Conoco/Tyson Biodiesel Plans
This week, we’ve heard a lot of talk about a change in Internal Revenue Service policy that will allow big oil companies to cash in on a $1-a-gallon tax credit originally intended to help the biodiesel industry off the ground (see my posts on April 16th & April 18th). The National Biodiesel Board has blasted the IRS for the change, …