The long-awatied notice of proposed rulemaking on the Renewable Fuels Standard will be issued Tuesday morning at 10:00 Eastern time by the Obama administration. The announcement will be made jointly in a press conference by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson who will discuss President Obama’s commitment to advance …
DF Cast: Advanced Biofuels Need More Funding
With Wall Street still not recovered from the economic downturn and banks keeping a tight hold of the credit purses’ drawstrings, the next generation of biofuels producers could have a rough time getting going and staying going. Recently, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)… a group that represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations …
Just Scratching the Surface of Biodiesel’s Potential
Growing biodiesel oilseed feedstocks along the nation’s highways… capturing the power of the sun by growing algae for biodiesel production… finding multiple uses for the by-products of biodiesel refining… the U.S. is just scratching the surface of the potential biodiesel holds for this country. Those are just some of the findings of a new report. Entitled “High Yield Pathways for …
Engineering, Consulting Company NEAtech Launched
There is a contingency of people who are concerned about the future of the renewable energy industry, but new company, NEAtech is not. NEAtech was launched in tandem with the swearing in of President Obama, and is offering engineering and consulting services to companies developing new energy alternatives. NEAtech is comprised of several former experts from BBI International’s Engineering and …
BIO Accepting Applications for Carver Award
The award is named for a true pioneer in the biotechnology field, and it will be handed out by a group touted to be the “champion of biotechnology” to someone who makes the most significant contribution in the field of biotechnology. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is now accepting nominations for the annual George Washington Carver Award and will present …
Oil Company Buys Ethanol Plants
When the dust finally settled yesterday, oil company Valero came out with the winning bid of $477 million for seven ethanol plants owned by bankrupt producer VeraSun Energy. According to a release from VeraSun, Valero Renewable Fuels was selected as the successful bidder for assets contained in the “VSE Group”, in addition to ethanol production facilities in Albion, Neb., and …
Ag Secretary, Biodiesel Board Meet Over RFS
The National Biodiesel Board seems happy with what it heard from USDA regarding what the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) will bring in the future. Members of the NBB’s Governing Board had a meeting today with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: “Implementation of a workable RFS-2 program is consistent with a national energy strategy that values the replacement of petroleum …
Ag Secretary Endorses Ethanol Blend Increase
In remarks to farmers meeting in Arlington, Virginia on Monday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack endorsed a request to the Environmental Protection Agency for an increase in the ethanol blend rate up to 15 percent. “We can move fairly quickly to move that rate up from 10 percent to maybe 12 or 13 percent in the interim and then take …
Ethanol Industry Formally Petitions for 15 Percent
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 …