All eyes in the ethanol industry are on California today as the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) is hearing arguments and preparing to vote on a controversial staff proposal for the state’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS).
Hundreds of scientists, biofuel producers, including both current and next generation companies, and petroleum interests have all cautioned that ARB’s approach is far outpacing the available science to support their recommendations.
There is a glimmer of hope that all the input being provided is being heard by officials making the decision, according to a letter received this week by Growth Energy from board chairperson Mary Nichols.
Regarding concerns that the proposed LCFS is biased against corn ethanol, Nichols wrote that the ARB “firmly believes that corn ethanol will play an important role in helping California achieve the goals of the LCFS.” The letter also stated:
The LCFS supports the market for corn ethanol in California over the next decade at least. In the next few years, based on representations from the renewable fuels industry and others, we expect the market to shift to lower carbon biofuels produced from new materials using advanced production technologies. I also wanted to make you aware that I am asking the Board to take the following three additional steps to ensure that low-carbon biofuels, including low-carbon corn ethanol can continue to contribute to California’s economy, and in helping fuel suppliers reach the standard.
The board is expected to issue a ruling on Friday after hearing arguments.
Motorists in Grand Island, Nebraska now have a range of choices at the pump when it comes to ethanol blended gasoline. 
President Barack Obama was in Iowa for this Earth Day, visiting a former appliance maker that has converted to make parts for the state’s burgeoning wind energy industry.
The amount of industrial fats and oils in the U.S. has grown by nearly one-fourth over the past couple of years, fueled mostly by the growth in popularity of biodiesel.
America’s first eco-sustainable city is taking its first steps toward sustainable energy.
Today’s Earth Day Celebration is brought to you in part by the book, “Green Hell” written by Steve Milloy. I’ve never met or spoken to the man, but I can presume that he is not a celebrator of Earth Day since his entire book is dedicated to stopping the “greens.” The premise of his book is to educate the public on how environmentalists are trying to control our lives and what we can do to stop them. He writes, “While it is beyond the scope of this book to debunk the scientific claims of global warmists, we’ll take a brief moment here to note the fatal flaw of global warming alarmism: there is no scientific evidence indicating that carbon dioxide, much less man made carbon dioxide emissions, control or even measurably impact global climate.”
solar energy into his business. “Our primary motivator was to produce wines in a way that honors this beautiful coastal area and respects the environment. Conergy’s solutions enable Eos to optimize power generation throughout the day, avoiding the hours of shading confronted by standard systems set to peak hour production,” he noted. “These efficiencies — coupled with the government incentives associated with this project — made the economics of installing these remarkable earth-friendly systems viable,” Hopmayer said.
Georgia has become the third state to pass a bill requiring suppliers to make available an unblended gasoline grade for marketers who want to make their own ethanol fuels. The measure awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue would require refiners to supply a straight-run gasoline for blending by July 1 this year. Refiners also would be barred from interfering with a jobber’s right to blend alcohol or claim federal tax credits on blended fuel, and would have to amend their supply contracts to delete any ban on blend sales.
The police department in Hoover, Alabama will soon be receiving wood-based ethanol to fuel their flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). A Livingston demonstration plant, Gulf Coast Energy, will be producing the ethanol.
Officials with