Biodiesel producers are worried the wait for the renewal … or even worse, the failure of renewal … of a crucial tax credit, set to expire in just more than a month, could be a death knell for the industry. The Houston Chronicle reports that despite efforts already underway in the U.S. House and Senate to renew the $1 per …
DF Cast: Crunching the Renewable Identification Numbers
A big issue in the current Renewable Fuels Standard … as well as the new RFS2 under consideration by the EPA … is the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we listen in on the conversation from the recent 2nd Annual RINWorld Summit held in Dallas, TX where the EPA’s John Wienrauch, Office of …
RFS2 Confusion Clouds Mass. Biodiesel Mandate
A 2 percent biodiesel mandate beginning next year and increasing to 5 percent in 2013 in Massachusetts has hit some glitches … thanks to confusion over what the next Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) might bring …. but it could now be moving forward. Biodiesel Magazine reports the measure has come under fire because it only allows waste-derived biodiesel, a provision …
Biodiesel Board Asks Congress to Extend Tax Incentive
An important tax incentive on biodiesel is about to expire, and the National Biodiesel Board is scrambling to get it renewed. Biodiesel Magazine reports that the NBB is lobbying lawmakers to renew the $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax incentive, which encourages biodiesel use by making it competitive with petroleum diesel fuel. NBB argues that if the incentive is allowed to expire on …
BlueFire Ethanol Awaits Feds $56 Mil Loan Decision
Cellulosic ethanol producer BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. has cleared the first hurdle in its quest to get a $56 million government loan guarantee for its Lancaster, California ethanol plant. As you might remember from my Domestic Fuel Cast earlier this month, BlueFire uses a process called Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology that can turn many feedstocks into ethanol, including garbage. I …
EPA Offers Mandatory GHG Reporting Webinar
The Environmental Protection Agency will provide an overview of the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule for ethanol producers who might be affected by the new regulation. The webinar was set up at the request of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy on behalf of their membership. It will consist of a short overview of the final rule with …
Lawmakers to Close Paper Biofuels Loophole
Paper companies that have been cashing in on an alternative fuels tax credit could soon see that loophole close. This story from Reuters says lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives say they will end those paper companies’ ability to collect a $1-a-gallon tax credit that the companies have getting by adding black liquor, a by-product of producing paper, to …
Climate Bill Set for Markup without Republicans
The Kerry-Boxer climate bill is set for markup tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 3) in the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee… whether or not any Republicans decide to come along. The “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act,” introduced by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) is set for passage out of committee. According to this story from …
Cellulosic Ethanol Firms Testify Before House Panel
Leading industries in the race to commercialize next generation biofuels told a House agriculture subcommittee hearing on Thursday that more funding and stable government policy are needed to do the job. “The current financial crisis has prevented venture capitalists and bankers from investing in many worthwhile investments,” BP Biofuels North America president Susan Ellerbusch testified. “The industry and investors must …
Next Gen Biofuels Hearing Today
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research will hold a hearing today to review the future of next generation biofuels. Subcommittee chairman Tim Holden (D-PA) will preside over the hearing, which will include testimony from U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, as well as representatives from several companies involved in exploring new technologies and new feedstocks for biofuel …