The Environmental Protection Agency has officially announced approval of 15% ethanol blended fuel for vehicles as old as model year 2001. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today waived a limitation on selling gasoline that contains more than 10 percent ethanol for model year (MY) 2001 through 2006 passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, and light pickup trucks. The waiver applies …
Michigan Ethanol Delegation Hits the Hill
A delegation of representing Michigan ethanol producers hit Capitol Hill on Thursday for a series of meetings with members of Congress and their staff. The fly-in, organized by Growth Energy, was designed to educate lawmakers about the benefits of ethanol. The Michigan delegation includes David Gloer and Don Morse with POET Biorefining-Caro, Gary Lazarski of Carbon Green BioEnergy and Steve …
Adminstration Offers Boost for Advanced Biofuels
In addition to loan guarantees for biorefineries in the southeast, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) announced other steps today designed to give the advanced biofuels industry a much-needed boost. “With the renewable fuels standard goal, there’s going to be a need for additional biofuels and it must be met in large part by advanced biofuels,” said …
RFA Says Ethanol Tariff Meets WTO Guidelines
The Renewable Fuels Association is confident that U.S. ethanol trade policy conforms with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations. In response to recent comments by senators about the legality of the ethanol tariff, RFA Legislative Counsel Ed Hubbard authored an explanation on the E-xchange blog. According to Hubbard, the market-based structure of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the …
LA Water & Power Gets 20% of Power from Alternatives
Los Angeles, California officials have announced the city’s Department of Water and Power has generated 20 percent of its power from wind, solar and geothermal sources. This story from the LA Daily News says it put the city well ahead of its and state renewable energy goals: “This is a big deal,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at a City Hall …
Branstad to Address Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
He’s soon-to-be the new leader of the state that is certainly a leader in biodiesel and ethanol, so it only makes sense that incoming Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will address the 5th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on January 25th. “This will not be the first Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit that Gov. Branstad has attended,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte …
Oil Independence Act Introduced
Earlier this week, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced H.R. 6554, “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act of 2010.” Now, he has introduced “Oil Independence for a Stronger America Act of 2010” along with Mike Castle (R-Del.). This proposed legislation would create or extend a diverse array of federal programs necessary to help advanced biofuel producers secure financing for construction of …
Court Ruling Positive for Biodiesel
The biodiesel industry got another early Christmas present when a district appeals court today denied a petition challenging the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia set forth a unanimous decision to deny the petition by National Petrochemical Refiners Association (NPRA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) challenging the Renewable Fuels Standard …
Domestic Fuel Bill for National Security
The “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act” has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced the bill which would authorize the Department of Defense to continue its leading role in helping to commercialize next generation biofuels by extending the multi-year contracting authority for advanced biofuels from 5 years to 15 years. In his …
Ethanol Stakeholders Attend Tax Bill Signing
President Obama held a public signing ceremony for the tax bill passed by Congress this week that delivers early Christmas presents for everyone. Among those in attendance at the signing were some 150 members of Congress, administration officials and key stakeholder and advocates who worked to pass the bill, including representatives from the ethanol industry. Both Renewable Fuels Association president …