The deadline for getting in your two cents’ worth on the U.S. EPA’s proposed Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) is rapidly approaching, as this Friday, Sept. 25th will mark the end of the comment period.
This article in Biodiesel Magazine says the American Soybean Association and the National Biodiesel Board are making a last-minute appeal to their members and biodiesel supporters to get their comments in:
Both organizations have made it easy to access information at their Web sites, providing background information, sample comments, links to the EPA Web site and instructions on emailing comments. The ASA form is available at www.soygrowers.com/policy/RFS2.htm. The NBB’s action center is available at http://biodiesel.org/news/RFS/. The NBB provides an express comment that features a condense message and only requires a name, city, state and email address. “it takes less than 20 seconds to fill out and submit,” the NBB says. The NBB also offers long and short versions of sample comments to make, and provides information for an individual to craft a unique response.
The stakes are high for the biodiesel industry. “As EPA’s proposed rule is written, soy biodiesel would no longer qualify under the specific federal mandate for biomass-based diesel use,” ASA President Johnny Dodson explained. “With the future of the U.S. biodiesel industry at stake, farmers need to get involved right now by voicing their opposition to the proposed rule.” The ASA has reached out to U.S. soybean farmers in their campaign, as have several state soybean associations and corn grower associations as well to comment on the impact on corn ethanol.
The main sticking point the ASA and NBB (and the Renewable Fuels Association, for that matter) have with the proposal is the inclusion of international indirect land use impacts into the calculations of greenhouse gas emissions.
If you haven’t commented yet, better get your thoughts in now.
The project will be developed by the Renewable Energy Group of Ames, Iowa, in conjunction with Bunge North America and International-Matex Tank terminals, two companies with a presence in the River Parishes. The project will be located on property on IMTT’s St. Rose terminal.
More homes across the country, especially along the East Coast, could soon be burning a combination of biodiesel and heating oil better known as Bioheat®.
The National Renewable Energy Laboaratory (NREL), a laboratory for the Department of Energy, is testing higher blends of ethenol to be used in vehicles. Researchers are trying to find out, because these new ethanol blends could play a significant role as America tries to wean itself off petroleum based fuels.
They say that fiction is truth sprinkled with a few well placed lies. In this week’s book, “Black Monday,” by 
Although UNICA supports the idea in some aspects, they also note that various aspects need further analysis. One such area of concern involves the challenges in defining the concept of food security, due to the crop’s dual functions as to provide both food and energy. The proposal, as currently written, could lead to restrictions in growing sugarcane that would, according to UNICA, “have the reverse effect in terms of food security, by restricting the production of additional sugar.” Brazil supplies 60 percent of the world’s sugar needs after supplying its own.
Mark your calendar for October 1st and 2nd for the third annual Alternative Energy Symposium held at the campus of Chicago State University.
A car that is part Prius Hybrid, part algae-biodiesel burner, has completed a 3,750-mile trip from San Francisco to New York City… the first cross-country trip running on a blend of algae-based gasoline in an unmodified engine.
The trip was sponsored by the Veggie Van Organization, the group founded by movie producer and biodiesel advocate Josh Tickell that is dedicated to moving the country away from petroleum. The trip was also to celebrate the nationwide opening of Tickell’s film FUEL, which aims to inspire green energy solution thinking, such as the Algaeus.
Since May, eight sweet sorghum varieties have been growing on a Wicomico County farm for evaluation as potential stock for ethanol production on the Delmarva peninsula. Dr. Samuel Geleta of Salisbury Univerisity’s Biological Sciences Department says about half of the varieties have already been harvested, with the rest to be finished by mid-October. Some of the plants grew to a height of 12 feet. He said sweet sorghum is attractive because it is drought resistant, fast-growing and has low nutrient and fertilization requirements. “Sweet sorghum can be grown on marginal land with less fertilizer and water as compared to corn,” Geleta said. “Since sweet sorghum juice contains simple sugar, producing ethanol from it simply requires extracting the juice and fermenting.”
Any good beer drinker knows that hops are primarily used to make beer and the vast majority of hops grown world wide are used by breweries. The top hops producing country is Germany, followed by the United States. Hops are used extensively in brewing today mainly because they balance the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing a variety of desirable flavors and aromas, but also because they have an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over less desirable microorganisms.