As the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality heard testimony regarding the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) on Tuesday, oil hit yet another record high of $122 a barrel. Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen reminded the committee of that several times during the hearing, having to correct his own pre-prepared remarks. “Mr. Chairman, the RFS made sense when you …
Opposition to Ethanol Waiver Demand
Two dozen Republican Senators, including presidential candidate John McCain, are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to waive the Renewable Fuels Standard they just passed as part of the energy bill in December in an effort to cut food prices. Other senators disagree. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa says the request would cut short the promise of biofuels …
Former Ag Secretary Defends Ethanol
Former Secretary of Agriculture John Block can look at the food versus fuel issue from a number of angles. He ran the U.S. Department of Agriculture under President Reagen from 1981-1986. He was executive vice president of the Food Marketing Institute, which represents food retailers and wholesalers. He serves on the board of Friends of the World Food Program, a …
Food Price Increase Facts – Updated
Updated with recorded video Hello from Washington, DC and the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual Washington Watch program. I’m covering their conference on our sister site, AgWired. Today at 1pm eastern time, I’ll be attending a press conference at the National Press Club being hosted by the Renewable Fuels Association. In attendance will be: The Honorable John Block, former …
Groundbreaking on Oil from Ethanol
VeraSun Energy broke ground on a new facility last week that will tap into ethanol for oil. VeraSun’s patent-pending Oil Extraction process is designed to yield 7-8 million gallons of corn oil annually from 390,000 tons of distillers grains currently produced at VeraSun’s ethanol production facility in Aurora, S.D. The corn oil will then be made available for sale into …
Ethanol Podcast on Efficiency and Food Prices
The latest “Ethanol Report” podcast from the Renewable Fuels Association features comments from RFA President Bob Dinneen on the new report from Argonne National Laboratory about the increased efficiency of U.S. ethanol plants, as well as how higher oil prices are the real cause of food price inflation. You can subscribe to “The Ethanol Report” by following this link. Or …
Ethanol Getting Greener
A new analysis of America’s ethanol industry shows dramatic efficiency gains in ethanol production have been made in the last five years. According to an analysis conducted by the Argonne National Laboratory, American ethanol facilities are using less energy and water than just five years ago while producing more ethanol. Water consumption is down 26.6 percent, grid electricity use down …
Ethanol Helps Prevent Higher Prices
Ethanol production is actually helping keep food and fuel prices lower than they would be, notes the Renewable Fuels Association, citing recent news reports. Without the expansion of biofuel production and use in the US, Brazil and elsewhere, world oil demand would increase and so would the price. Merrill Lynch analyst Francisco Blanch told the Wall Street Journal that world …
Saudi Oil Minister Blasts Biofuels
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources last week denounced ethanol as an alternative to petroleum-based motor fuels. In a speech to the International Oil Summit in Paris, Minister Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi said, “Let’s be realistic, ethanol and biofuels will not contribute to the protection of the global environment by reducing (carbon dioxide) emissions, they will not increase …
Senator Pushes for Higher Ethanol Blends
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is continuing to push for the use of higher ethanol blends in regular car engines. Last fall, Grassley and several other senators wrote the Environmental Protection Agency requesting testing of blends of ethanol above 10% for non-flexible fuel vehicles. Now Grassley is asking car makers what they are doing in the area of research and testing …