Legislation introduced last week in the House would extend expiring tax incentives important to the development of next generation biofuels. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced the “Second Generation Biofuels Extension Act of 2013” (H.R. 3758) which would extend for one year the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Credit and the Special Allowance for Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property. Four fellow Democrats …
Anti Corn Ethanol Legislation Sparks Outrage
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced legislation to curb corn-ethanol use and production. The Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2013 eliminates the corn ethanol mandate within the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), an energy policy that mandates the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuel in America’s fuel supply by 2022. “I am pleased to join …
Murphy USA Opens First E15 Station
Murphy USA has opened the first E15 (15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gasoline) station in Arkansas, located at 2720 N. West Avenue in El Dorado. The Arkansas station is also the second Murphy USA location to offer E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline). E15 is approved for vehicles 2001 and newer, while both E15 and E85 can be used …
EPA’s RFS Action Hurts Investments, Puts US Behind
A few years ago, the U.S. was considered the most promising biofuels market in the world. But recent policy changes, including the latest from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to roll back ethanol and biodiesel blend amounts to lower than what was scheduled in the Renewable Fuel Standard, is allowing the American biofuels market to be outpaced by competitors in …
Success of RFS is Ag Issue Felt All Over the World
Nearly 30 years ago this Christmas time, the world saw one of the greatest human sufferings ever unfold before its eyes, as a million people starved to death in Ethiopia. In a particularly poignant moment during yesterday’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) hearing, Rick Schwarck, the president and CEO of Absolute Energy, an ethanol producer on the …
Real Jobs on the Line with EPA’s Changes to RFS
One of the country’s oldest ethanol producers says it could generate a lot of economic activity for the rural communities where it has had to idle some plants, if the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) wasn’t being tinkered with. Speaking at yesterday’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing on the agency’s proposed changes to the RFS, Mark Beemer, President of Aventine Renewable …
RFS is Working… Why Are We Here?
So the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) should certainly be considered a success since it is doing many of the things it was projected to do: – A capacity that is greater than 10 percent of the total fuel supply (that amount was expected right in the original bill) – An alternative to foreign-based fuels – A growing renewable fuels industry …
AEC’s Coleman: RFS Proposal “Off Track”
The executive director of the Renewable Fuel Association’s (RFA) Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) says what the government is proposing when it comes to the amount of ethanol and biodiesel to be blended into fuels is “off track.” Speaking today at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), in Arlington, Va., just across the river from …
Branstad Makes Impassioned Plea for RFS
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad made an impassioned plea in favor of the current Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and showed no love for what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing for reducing the amount of ethanol and biodiesel to be put into gasoline as originally mandated in the 2007 law. “After decades of efforts to reduce our dependency on foreign …
Patriot’s Hulting Tells Rural Businesses’ Side of RFS
A change in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) will have dramatic impacts for the small businesses that have cropped up in rural America. That was the message Patriot Renewable Fuels‘ Judd Hulting made to the Environmental Protection Agency’s hearing on its proposal to reduce the amount of ethanol and biodiesel to be mixed into gasoline. “We believe what is being …