biofuels
EPA pushing biofuel use through the 10 percent blend wall
The EPA proposal for the 2017 biofuels mandate would drive consumption of renewable fuels by at least half-a-billion gallons above the traditional rate of a 10 percent blend into the gasoline supply, say U-Illinois economists Scott Irwin and Darrel Good. The petroleum industry has argued the fuel market is saturated at the 10 percent rate.
Iowa congressman, backer of ethanol critic Cruz, draws primary challenge
Seven-term Rep. Steve King, a rock-ribbed Iowa conservative, is being challenged in the Republican primary by state Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City in a contest where ethanol may be the elephant in the room.
Ethanol still an export winner thanks to biofuels mandates
Thanks to the prolonged decline of petroleum prices, gasoline costs less than ethanol nowadays. But the upside-down situation is not likely to impair exports, says Good in an article at farmdoc daily.
Abengoa may sell U.S. ethanol plants
The Spanish energy company Abengoa "will seek to sell its biofuel business as part of a debt restructuring plan to avoid bankruptcy," reports Bloomberg.
Challenge to biofuel mandate in the offing
Farm, biofuel and biotech groups petitioned the U.S. appeals court in Washington to hear a challenge to the EPA's relaxation of the renewable fuel mandate for this year, reports DTN.
Georgia biofuel plant to get USDA loan guarantee
Ensyn Georgia plans to build a 20-million-gallon-a-year cellulosic biorefinery with the help of a $70 million loan guarantee from the USDA. The plant would convert 440 dry tons of woody biomass from forest materials at the plant in Dooly County in central Georgia.
Ethanol makers ask EPA for rules change to aid E15
An ethanol trade group says the EPA can open the door to year-round sales of E15 - a 15 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline - and the eventual use of even higher blends such as E20 or E25 if it would "eliminate an arcane regulatory barrier."
Cellulosic ethanol plant shuttered in biofuels setback
Spanish energy company Abengoa, caught in a financial crisis, has shut down its cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas, after little more than a year of operation, reports Kansas Agland.
EPA’s biofuel targets please no one
In a regulation delayed for months by a lawsuit, the EPA gave biofuels a smaller, but growing, share of the U.S. gasoline market than envisioned when Congress created the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). EPA official Janet McCabe said the regulation meant “ambitious, achievable growth” for biofuels -- but no one was happy with it.
EPA announcement won’t be final word on ethanol mandate
Under a court agreement, the EPA is obliged to announce today the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) - the target for biofuel use - for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The announcement will get the agency back on schedule after missing the statutory deadlines for setting the 2014 and 2015 targets, but it won't resolve the struggle between the oil industry and the smaller renewable fuels lobby of farm groups and biofuel makers.
Full compliance with biofuels mandate difficult, says CBO
The EPA "is much more likely" to relax the so-called Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) than to demand full compliance with the 2007 law that guarantees biofuels a share of the gasoline market, said the Congressional Budget Office. The 2007 energy law sets a target of using 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels annually from 2022, more than double the EPA proposal of 17.4 billion gallons for 2016. Meeting the target for 2022 "would require a large and rapid increase in the use of advanced biofuels and would cause the total percentage of ethanol in the nation's gasoline supply to rise to levels that would require significant changes in the infrastructure of fueling stations," said CBO senior analyst Terry Dinan at a joint hearing of two House Science subcommittees.
Green group says boost cellulosic fuels, drop corn ethanol mandate
Second-generation biofuels produced from switchgrass or corn stover have a lower carbon footprint than corn-based ethanol, said the Environmental Working Group in advocating a wholesale overhaul of federal biofuel policy.
Iowans want presidential nominee who likes biofuels
A large majority of Iowans who intend to vote in the state's presidential caucuses say they favor a candidate who supports biofuels and the ethanol mandate, reports the Des Moines Register. The results come from a poll commissioned by America's Renewable Future and DuPont.
Inspector General to review EPA analysis of biofuels
The Inspector General's office says it will assess whether the EPA properly updated its life-cycle analysis of the Renewable Fuels Standard, which guarantees biofuels a share of the gasoline market.
Backers ask, ‘Will EPA hit re-set on biofuel targets?’
With the EPA nearing a decision on the biofuel mandate for 2015 and 2016, ethanol makers and corn farmers worry that the agency could trigger an override of ambitious targets written into law for ever-increasing use of renewable fuels through 2022. The so-called re-set, also referred to as an "off ramp," would give the agency the discretion to set the yearly targets at whatever levels it chooses.
USDA to double number of higher-blend fuel pumps
Ethanol mandate is too large, says oil industry
NERA Economic Consulting, in a study commissioned by the oil industry, concluded that the ethanol mandate set by law is too large to be absorbed at current fuel usage by cars and light trucks.
Clinton: Focus the farm safety net on family operations
As president, Hillary Clinton says she would focus the farm safety net - crop supports, crop insurances and disaster relief - on "farmers and ranchers that truly need it the most, not those who have the biggest businesses or the best connections. We will change the formula."
Lawmakers would triple lifespan of 45Z clean fuel credit
The 45Z tax credit, intended to encourage the development of sustainable aviation fuel and other low-carbon fuels, would be available until 2034 and limited to domestic feedstocks under companion bills filed in the House and Senate on Tuesday. Farm groups said the legislation would allow time for domestic production to rise while discouraging a flood of imported oil, grease, and tallow.