A marathon session in the U.S. House concluded after Congress wrangled over several renewable energy measures and passed a $30 billion energy and water programs bill. Environment & Energy News reports that House Republicans, already making substantial cuts to some clean energy programs in the bill, have blocked Democrats’ attempts to restore those cuts. Despite those efforts, the overall bill …
State RPS’s Hold Steady
The Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University has released its most recent white paper, “State Renewable Portfolio Standards Hold Steady or Expand in 2013 Session,” as part of its series on legislative policy trends in advanced Energy. The white paper was based on data analyzed in the AEL Tracker dataset. According to the report, at the …
The Right to Blend
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed into law last week legislation that preserves an Iowa petroleum marketer’s right to blend with Iowa manufactured ethanol and biodiesel. This, according to Dawn Carlson, president of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa, helps retailers sell competitively priced fuel and preserves Iowa jobs. “We celebrate the signing of Iowa’s “Right to Blend Law”, …
Biodiesel Ally Chides House Over Farm Bill Defeat
The Farm Bill in the U.S. House goes down to defeat, and that was not welcome news to one of biodiesel’s allies. The American Soybean Association (ASA) said it is disappointed frustrated with the 195-234 defeat of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. ASA President Danny Murphy, a soybean farmer from Canton, Miss, issued the following …
Senator Barrasso: Repeal the RFS
Today U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced “The Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act” (S. 1195). The bill would repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in its entirety. “The Renewable Fuel Standard is fundamentally broken and beyond repair,” said Senator Barrasso. “Instead of delivering meaningful environmental benefits, it’s driven up food and fuel costs …
Biodiesel Advocates Descend on DC
Backers of one of our favorite green fuels, biodiesel, have headed to Capitol Hill. This news release from the National Biodiesel Board says the group of biodiesel producers, distributors and feedstock suppliers representing more than two dozen states, including the delegation from Iowa we previously told you about, are making their case for a strong Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): “The …
Groups Not Happy with Colorado Rural REP
Groups in Colorado are not happy with the new law that Governor John Hickenlooper signed, SB13-252, that mandates 20 percent of all electricity used by rural Colorado come from renewable sources. Hickenlooper signed an executive order relating to the measure that create an advisory committee to the Director of the Colorado Energy Office on the effective of SB13-252. The Colorado …
Foreign Fuels Reduction Act – Good for Biofuels?
A fancy title does not good biofuels policy make. Mixed emotions are emanating from the introduction of the “Foreign Fuels Reduction Act,” introduced by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn). The legislation would allow only domestically-sourced fuels to be used to meet the requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “It is time for America to create …
NBB Welcomes Progress on Farm Bill’s Energy Parts
By a 15-5 vote, the Senate Agriculture Committee sent the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 and its commitment to renewable energy to the full Senate, which could take it up next week. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) welcomed the move, especially the part that funds the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program to the tune of $1 million a …
New Database Tracks Energy Legislation
Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) has launched an Advanced Energy Legislation (AEL) Tracker, a database tracking energy-related state legislation pending in all 50 states. Types of energy include solar, wind, biofuels, natural gas and more. The AEL was created in partnership with Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) and the system will also enable CNEE to conduct …