Although it has a broad base of support across the country (unlike a certain health care measure that 60+ percent of Americans don’t favor), renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive seems that it will have to wait at least a month at the earliest before Congress will get to it. This article from Reuters says with Congressional recesses …
NY Senator Supports Biodiesel Not Ethanol
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (NY-D) visited New York’s only commercial biodiesel producer last month to assure them of his support for the federal tax incentive for biodiesel. “The dollar tax incentive assures us that we are competitive with regular diesel fuel right now. The federal government subsidizes the petroleum industry as well, so if we lose our incentive, we lose …
Pennsylvania Slated for Biofuel Conference
A one-day conference is scheduled to provide information to Pennsylvania biodiesel producers on what should be expected when the state’s B2 mandate goes into effect. Biodiesel Magazine reports the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the National Biodiesel Board are holding the April 20 event, called the Pennsylvania Biofuel Development Conference: The mandate is based on trigger points, so when instate …
Biodiesel Credit Clears Senate, On to House
As expected, the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive has cleared the U.S. Senate on the back of the current jobs bill. The 62-36 vote now moves the measure into a reconciliation phase with the House’s version of the bill. I caught up with Michael Frohlich, the director of federal communications for the National Biodiesel Board’s office in Washington, D.C. earlier …
Biodiesel Clears Senate Hurdle on the Back of Jobs Bill
It looks like the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax incentive could be close to renewal, as the jobs bill to which it was attached has cleared a key vote in the U.S. Senate. The vote came Tuesday as eight Republicans sided with 58 Democrats to end debate on the $150 billion measure. The cloture vote clears the way for final passage …
Biofuels and Conservation Achievable with Biomass
Getting energy from the land and practicing good conservation are not mutually exclusive. A federal ag deartment researcher says we can have both through using biomass. USDA researcher Doug Karlen, who works at the Agricultural Research Service’s National Soil Tilth Lab in Ames, Iowa, told attendees of the recent USDA Outlook Forum that conservation and energy from biomass can be …
Advanced Biofuel Makers Call for Tax Credits
The advanced biofuels industry is putting a bug in Congress’ ear, calling for lawmakers to allow for an investment tax credit that will help advanced biofuels makers get money to get their projects up to commercial scale and become eligible for another operating credit. Biomass Magazine explains that the industry would be eligible for a federal production tax credit of …
RFA Urges Full Funding of Ethanol Fuel Research
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is urging Congress to ensure full funding of fuels research programs to provide the necessary scientific basis for increasing ethanol blending. In a letter this week to leaders of both the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Energy and Water Development, RFA President Bob Dinneen outlined concerns with the budget submitted by President Obama with …
Iowa Biodiesel Mandate Dies, But Could Be Reborn
A proposal to mandate a 5 percent biodiesel blend in every gallon of diesel sold in Iowa has died in one legislative committee … but could be reborn in another. The Fort Dodge (IA) Messenger reports that the House environmental protection committee’s ranking member, Rep. Steve Olson, R-DeWitt, declared the bill dead: Olson said the GOP caucus was opposed to …
Obama Changes Tune from Biodiesel to Biofuels
Some others have started to notice something I told you about back in January. It seems that while he campaigned on the word “biodiesel,” President Barack Obama is now talking “biofuels” … a more ambiguous term that is leaving some biodiesel producers scratching their heads wondering whether the president backs them. This piece from Biodiesel Magazine points out that Stimulus …