The National Biodiesel Board, the foremost advocate for the biodiesel industry in the U.S., has brought together some of the nation’s leaders to work on sustainable solutions for this country’s energy challenges. A symposium in St. Louis this week featured the NBB’s Sustainability Task Force, a group put together last February at the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando, …
Ethanol Industry Fights Back
The ethanol industry wasted no time fighting back today against another attack by the food industry to blame higher prices on ethanol production. The newly-formed Growth Energy called on the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) to “discontinue its deceptive attacks on the government’s investment in ethanol and other renewable fuels.” Growth Energy held a press conference shortly after the group “Food …
Meeting the Environmental Challenges of Biofuels
A fascinating discussion this morning at the opening session of the Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts conference here in St. Louis. Speakers have included government and university experts who are presenting what challenges face the bioeconomy, especially on the environmental side of the issue. Kitty Smith with the USDA’s Economic Research Service and chair of the …
Animal Fat Biodiesel Plant Breaks Ground
A biodiesel plant that will make biodiesel from animal fats has broken ground in Louisiana. This story from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette says that Tyson Foods, Inc. of Springdale, Arkansas and Syntroleum Corp. of Tulsa, Ok. have formed a joint venture called Dynamic Fuels with the biodiesel plant expected to open late next year in Geismar, La., just outside Baton …
Corvette Powered by Cellulosic Ethanol Wins Green Challenge
The Corvette Racing team of Johnny O’Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows went down in history as the inaugural winners of the Green Racing Challenge. The 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans win also cinched the American Le Man Series GT1 championship for O’Connell and Magnussen. The No. 3 Corvette C6.R also had the best score in the Green Challenge, securing the …
Food and Fuel Campaign Launch
The American Ag and Energy Council (AAEC) has launched a national radio campaign featuring a “Food and Fuel Update.” The ads will be running on nationally syndicated shows including Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, in addition to local radio stations throughout the United States. The “Food and Fuel Update” features Mark Pearson, a nationally respected agriculture and economic expert and …
Austrian Views on Food Versus Fuel
The issue of food versus fuel was a topic of discussion among international agricultural journalists visiting Austria this past week. The group of 250 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists members representing nearly 20 countries was led by former commissioner of agriculture for the European Union Franz Fischler, a native Austrian. Fischler called the food versus fuel controversy “unfair.” “They don’t …
Obama Tells Farmers He Supports Ethanol
Ethanol was a major topic of discussion for members of the National Farmers Union meeting this week in Washington DC. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke to the NFU members by phone and pledged his support for new investments in renewable fuels and other policies that would benefit rural America. Obama also reiterated his support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. …
Ethanol to be Featured at RNC AgNite
The Minnesota Agri-Growth Council is hosting a celebration of America’s food, agriculture and energy industries during the second night of the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. AgNite is a non-partisan event independent from the RNC being coordinated by the council with the help of numerous sponsors, including the ethanol industry under the auspices of the Renewable Fuels Association. …
75 Percent of US Biodiesel Meeting BQ-9000 Quality Standard
A full three-quarters of all the biodiesel produced in the U.S. now meets the important BQ-9000 certification… a standard that couples the foundations of universally accepted quality management systems with the product specification ASTM D 6751, and has become the premier quality designation in the industry. This press release from the National Biodiesel Board says six companies picked up the …