The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has offered a proposal to include indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions when calculating the carbon intensity of biofuels regulated under the state’s Clean Fuels Program (CFP). The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has expressed disappointment in the proposal that is to take effect on January 1, 2016 and aims for a 10 percent …
CARB Holds LCFS Workshop Update
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) held a public workshop on Friday to discuss updates to the recently modified Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (CA-GREET 2.0) Model under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Stakeholder input was received at the workshop on the new model which made some changes to the Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) …
Growth, Environmental Groups Comment on CARB
Growth Energy and environmental groups are adding their voices of comments to California’s proposal to its clean air regulations. In a news release, Growth says the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) proposed amendments to the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) Regulation and the Proposed Regulation on the Commercialization of Alternative Diesel Fuels are unnecessary under the state’s environmental mandates. …
RFA Wants Calif. to Use Real-World Ethanol Data
A group advocating for ethanol wants the State of California to use real-world data when it comes to carbon analysis. This news release from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the group is calling on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to revise its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) re-adoption proposal to reflect recent scientific advances and new empirical data …
RFA Wants California to Consider New ILUC Report
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is urging the California Air Resource Board (CARB) to adjust its current indirect land use change (ILUC) analysis to better reflect real-world land use patterns. In written comments submitted on Friday, RFA’s Senior Vice President Geoff Cooper pointed to the recent study released by Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) raising …
New CARD Study on Indirect Land Use Change
A new analysis of real-world land use data by Iowa State University raises serious concerns about the accuracy of models used by regulatory agencies regarding “indirect land use changes” (ILUC) attributed to biofuels production. The study, conducted by Prof. Bruce Babcock and Zabid Iqbal at ISU’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), examined actual observed global land use changes …
RFA Hammers CARB on ILUC Analysis
Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen has submitted a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) where he expresses concern over their analysis of indirect land use (ILUC). He writes, “serious concerns about the openness, transparency, and scientific integrity of staff’s new indirect land use change (ILUC) analysis for the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).” …
Argonne Scientists Blast EWG Corn Ethanol GHG Report
A recent Environmental Work Group corn ethanol greenhouse gas report has caused lifecycle analysis experts and economist from Argonne National Laboratory and three universities to lash out and what they call “erroneous conclusions”. The experts issued a scathing 13-page response to EWG’s May report titled “Ethanol’s Broken Promise.” EWG “confused parameters” and “misunderstood” previous modeling results, according to experts from …
Increases In Ethanol Efficiences Will Decrease Land Use
A study done by researchers at the University of Illinois’ College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, has found that several factors will lower the need for land used to produced corn-based ethanol to as little as 11 percent of the corn acres by 2026 when adhering to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 15 billion gallon ceiling on domestic ethanol …
ILUC Modeling Still Unverifiable
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released their 2014 Climate Change Mitigation Report. According to the Global Renewable Fuels Association (GRFA), the report confirms that biofuels production is economically beneficial and that Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) modelling is unverifiable. The report, says GRFA spokesperson Bliss Baker, is further proof that biofuels contribute to local economies …