The ethanol industry is criticizing Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) amendment to eliminate the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) immediately. During the past few months, the ethanol industry has acknowledged that the time is near for the tax credit to be phased out and has offered bipartisan plans to phase out VEETC over the next five years. Growth Energy has …
Ethanol Faces Double Attack in Senate
The ethanol industry is facing a double pronged attack in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) went to the floor last night with an amendment to eliminate the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) immediately, while at the same time Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is proposing to eliminate funding of ethanol infrastructure. “It is a two-pronged attack, it is …
Ethanol Groups Support Open Fuel Standard
While one biofuels group has expressed concern about Open Fuel Standard legislation, the three main ethanol organizations in the country are in favor of it. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says they endorse the Open Fuel Standard Act introduced by Representatives John Shimkus and Elliot Engel. Additionally, the RFA has endorsed similar legislation offered by Senators Tom …
Group Calls Open Fuel Standard Bad for Biofuels
A new analysis done by Advanced Biofuels USA finds that the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) is “bad for advanced biofuels and will add to environmental damage if passed and implemented.” The Open Fuel Standard Act was introduced recently in the House and a similar bill in the Senate. The bills mandate that specific percentages of vehicles be built to operate …
Bill Would Require Origin Labeling for Fuel
Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) this week introduced legislation that would require all gasoline sold in the U.S. to carry country-of-origin labeling (COOL). “I am introducing legislation in the House that would require a label that clearly states the nation of origin for the fuel you’re pumping,” Braley said in a Huffington Post op-ed yesterday, penned with retired General Wesley Clark …
House Spending Bill Cuts Renewable Energy Programs
Two renewable energy programs designed to help make America more energy independent were slashed in the spending bill passed Tuesday night by the House Appropriations Committee. The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) which provides grants and loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to help purchase renewable energy systems, including ethanol blender pumps, was cut from the …
Iowa Governor Signs Bill to Boost Ethanol and Biodiesel
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has made good on a promise he made to the state’s renewable fuels industry back in January to revitalize Iowa’s rural economy by boosting sales of ethanol and production of biodiesel. “I want to work with the legislature to change the incentive from 10 percent to 15 percent,” Branstad said of ethanol in Iowa during an …
Federal Fleet to Use Alternative Fuels
President Obama wants the federal fleet of more than 600,000 vehicles to use alternative fuels by 2015. The goal of the Presidential Memorandum issued today implementing new Federal fleet management practices is “to cut oil imports by one-third by 2025 and to put one million advanced vehicles on the road by 2015.” By December 31, 2015, all new light duty …
Ethanol Industry Agrees With Pawlenty
Announcing his candidacy for the president in the heart of ethanol country, Republican Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, made headlines Monday for his comments on phasing out ethanol subsidies, but the real story is that the industry agrees with him. “The hard truth is there are no longer any sacred programs,” Pawlenty said. “The truth about federal energy subsidies …
Camelina Fuel Powers Thunderbirds
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds became the first Department of Defense aerial team to use alternative fuel during a Joint Services Open House on Friday. According to Sustainable Oils, hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HRJ) made from its camelina powered two Air Force F-16 aircraft for the flight. The camelina was grown and harvested in Montana, and refined into renewable jet …