A broad alliance of ethanol industry groups have joined together to formally petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow the use of up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline for motor vehicles, according to the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).
In addition to ACE, the alliance includes Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), as well as several major ethanol companies.
“The American Coalition for Ethanol is pleased to be part of this unified effort to submit scientific data to EPA so they may approve the use of mid-level blends of ethanol, such as E15, in motor vehicles nationwide,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE. To encourage greater support in Congress for the mid-level blend waiver, ACE and 30 of its grassroots members traveled to Capitol Hill on March 2-3 as part of its “Biofuels Beltway March.” A varied group of ethanol advocates – including ethanol producers, farmers, investors, lenders, engineering and technology firms, agriculture groups, and rural electric cooperatives – met with more than 70 Members of Congress and with Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the EPA, to discuss E15 and other issues.
Meanwhile, Growth Energy co-chairman General Wesley Clark will be delivering a speech about higher blends and the future of the ethanol industry as part of the National Press Club’s Newsmaker Series today at noon eastern time. They will also be holding a technical briefing after the press conference at 1:30 eastern.
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As part of the NEVC staff, I was pleased to see such an intense interest from every state on ethanol policy. Our group appreciates the support of the National Corn Growers Association and each of our fourteen corn grower state organizations.
According to Reuters, members of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition said they want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue a waiver to allow the sale of 13 percent ethanol blends. U.S. governors who want to see more ethanol production said they are optimistic regulators will soon boost the allowed blend rate for ethanol in gasoline to 13 percent from 10 percent.
Alternative fuels, such as biodiesel and natural gas, and hybrid electric vehicles could be the keys to cleaning up the world’s ports, polluted by the running of petroleum diesel enginesto onload and offload the goods coming and going through these points of commerce.
The Chicago Farmers, a group that provides educational forums between its members and those allied to agribusiness, will talk energy matters during its next meeting on Monday, March 16th at the University of Northern Illinois-Naperville campus.
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The annual SAE Challenge began in 2000 and tests the engineering and design capabilities of students from schools across the country. The “challenge” of each competition has been for students to modify a stock snowmobile to meet a series of requirements, including air pollution levels. 
“Today’s meeting is just one step in the ongoing legal process that will ultimately conclude later this year. As we have since these investigations were initiated in June of last year, the NBB will continue to use all legal options at its disposal to defend the interests of the U.S. biodiesel industry.
According to year-end figures released by the Energy Information Administration, American ethanol facilities produced more than 9.2 billion gallons of ethanol in 2008, up from some 6.5 billion gallons in 2007. On average, the U.S. ethanol industry produced 601,000 barrels per day (b/d), compared to 423,000 in 2007. 
There are several new alternative energy grants available for wind energy and biomass energy. The first grant, “20% Wind by 2030: Overcoming the Challenges” was posted on February 27, 2009 and closes on March 5, 2009. The government is posed to award up to 99 grants for a total of $8 million. You can get more information and apply online at