Tax incentives play a key role in the development and production of renewable energy, and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is urging Congress to pass two bills that would extend renewable fuel tax credits for five years. In a statement presented for the record to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week on energy tax incentives, AFBF …
Cape Wind Green Light Big for Offshore Wind Industry
A wind energy project off the Massachusetts has gotten the federal government’s OK to move forward … and it’s seen as a major victory for the offshore wind energy industry in this country. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will allow the 130-turbine Cape Wind project, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, to be built. This story from CNN …
Making the Case for Biodiesel to Obama in 90 Seconds
Just 90 seconds … a short minute and a half … that’s the amount of time that a biodiesel advocate had to make the case for the green fuel to the President of the United States. When Pres. Obama made the trip to Iowa yesterday to talk about wind turbines, Brad Albin, Vice President at Renewable Energy Group and Secretary …
Obama Visits Iowa Wind Turbine Plant, Off to Missouri Ethanol Plant
President Barack Obama visited a wind turbine plant in Iowa today, part of his Midwest tour that will also take him to a northern Missouri ethanol plant (watch for Chuck’s coverage on this Web site and follow him on his Twitter account @AgriBlogger). The Environment News Service reports Obama got to see up close some of Siemens Energy’s expanded wind …
Ethanol Leaders Take to the Hill
America’s ethanol industry is taking its message to Capitol Hill this week with a variety of key issues to discuss. Extending key tax incentives for all forms of ethanol, expanding the market through higher ethanol blends, and increasing the production of flexible fuel vehicles are all topics of discussion during the visit. Members of the Renewable Fuels Association are scheduled …
Obama to Visit Ethanol Plant
The White House has confirmed that President Obama will be visiting a Missouri ethanol plant this week. It will mark the first time Obama has visited a working ethanol biorefinery, although he was the guest speaker at the ribbon cutting of the now-bankrupt VeraSun plant in Charles City, Iowa when he was a presidential candidate. According to the White House, …
Missouri Biodiesel Plants Suffer from Budget Cuts
Biodiesel producers in Missouri might be feeling like they’re the victims of insult added to injury. Not only have they lost the federal $1-a-gallon federal tax credit, but now, the St. Joseph News-Press reports they are the latest victims of state budget cuts: Gov. Jay Nixon proposed reducing $4 million, or 16 percent, of the state subsidies for biodiesel plants …
House Ag Chair Expects 15 Percent Ethanol by August
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) expects the Environmental Protection Agency to approve 15 percent ethanol blends for regular gasoline by August. According to a story from Hoosier Ag Today, Peterson said in an interview that it is taking a longer time to get approval than he thinks is necessary. “Now, we’re thinking we might get a decision in …
Senate Bill Would Extend Ethanol Tax Incentives
A bill has been introduced in the Senate to extend tax incentives for ethanol set to expire at the end of this year. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) introduced the bipartisan GREEN Jobs Act of 2010 that extends through 2015 the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), the offsetting tariff on foreign ethanol, the Small Producers Tax …