On Friday, EPA extended the waiver for the general use of gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol (E-15) to model years 2001-2006 cars and light trucks. EPA reached its decision after reviewing the results of tests of E-15 on 2001-2006 engines conducted by the Department of Energy. EPA announced that it will not [...]
Archive for the ‘Biofuels’ Category
10 Nov
EPA under suit for Ethanol Blend Decisiod
Agriculture Resumes its Infighting The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the American Meat Institute joined other groups in filing a lawsuit Tuesday against EPA to overturn the agency’s decision to allow a higher ethanol blend in gasoline. The groups said EPA overstepped its authority in allowing cars built in 2007 and later to burn E15 or [...]
1 Nov
Ethanol Plants Showing Strong Profits
Higher corn prices haven’t put a dent in profits for ethanol plants thanks to strong demand for the biofuel and higher prices for dried distillers grain. Ethanol plants in Iowa are earning a profit of about 27 cents for every gallon produced, compared to a loss of 6 cents per gallon as recently as July, [...]
21 Oct
E15 for 2007 and Newer Vehicles Benefits America
The Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of E15 (gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol) for model year 2007 and newer cars and light-duty trucks is a step toward strengthening America’s commitment to home-grown energy, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Ethanol is a clean-burning, home-grown renewable fuel. Increasing the percentage of ethanol in [...]
14 Oct
EPA Approves Ethanol Increase in Gasoline
The EPA yesterday approved a request by Growth Energy, and ethanol industry trade group, to increase the amount of ethanol blended into regular unleaded gasoline from 10 to a maximum of 15%. The approval of the ‘green jobs waiver’ will allow companies to blend up to 15% ethanol into motor vehicle fuel creating a blend [...]
2 Sep
Ethanol Production and Demand Peak
The Renewable Fuels Association reported last week that ethanol production and demand have reached an all-time high. According to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) ethanol production in June was just over 854,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 1.08 billion gallons for the month. Based on data from the first six months of [...]
4 Aug
E15 is Still Awaiting Approval
Last week a group of bipartisan senators requested information from the EPA about why E15 has not been approved. Some answers are finally filtering through. After a meeting with EPA administrator Lisa Jackson and a Department of Energy (DOE) official on Monday a few answers were revealed. The EPA’s request for additional testing of the [...]
30 Jun
25x’25 Vision within Reach
The bold vision created by a renewable energy advocacy coalition calling for 25x’25 is becoming a reality. A new report titled, “Meeting the 25x’25 Goal: A Progress Report,” shows that between 2004 and 2009, renewable energy produced in the U.S. increased by 23 percent. In May of 2009, 11.5% of all energy produced in the [...]
23 Jun
Ethanol and Biofuels Capture Headlines
USDA research shows corn ethanol is showing a better energy balance mainly because of increased efficiencies in growing corn, but also because of improvements in the distilleries. The USDA report, 2008 Energy Balance for the Corn Ethanol Industry, reveals that corn ethanol supplies twice the amount of energy it takes to produce the fuel. With [...]
6 May
Vilsack Wants Quick EPA Decision on Ethanol Blend Rate
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants the Environmental Protection Agency to quickly make a decision on raising the ethanol blend rate in gasoline from the current level of 10 percent. On Wednesday, Vilsack and other USDA officials said unless the rate is increased soon, production growth ethanol could halt because demand for it won’t be able [...]
16 Apr
Growth Energy Launches National Ad Campaign
Growth Energy’s new television ads for ethanol received positive reviews at a “commercial premiere” event in Denver this week. CFB’s Crystal Korrey attended the event and is excited about the ad campaign. “This is the first ever national TV ad campaign for the ethanol industry. With simple encouraging messaging Growth Energy is helping to show [...]
16 Apr
Colorado’s First Blender Pump Opening a Success
Colorado’s first ethanol blender pump dispensed 512 gallons of fuel April 8 during its inaugural day of operation at the Stratton Equity Coop in Burlington. During a grand opening event for the pump, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp said the annual U.S. consumption of nearly 10 billion gallons of ethanol has reduced crude oil [...]
15 Apr
USDA Economists: Ethanol Close to Blend Wall
Ethanol is getting very close to hitting the blend wall, according to economists with the Agriculture Department. With four months in a row of record ethanol production and stagnant gasoline demand, ethanol stocks are increasing. “Margins have weakened a lot over the last few weeks,” said Joe Glauber, USDA chief economist. “We’ve seen a sharp [...]
4 Feb
Biofuels Industry Welcomes RFS2 Standards
Ethanol industry reaction to the much delayed promulgation of rules and standards for the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard was mostly positive yesterday. Industry groups were mostly satisfied with the EPA’s new set of standards and benchmarks for the renewable fuels industry. Among other provisions, the RFS will set mandatory blend levels for renewable fuels while [...]
6 Jan
Ethanol Groups Challenge LFCS
Both the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy are challenging California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in federal court. They are charging that the LCFS violates both the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. “The LCFS contradicts the sound judgment of Congress when it passed the 2007 Energy Independence Security Act [...]
22 Dec
China’s Low Tariff Opens Door for Ethanol Imports
China has agreed to lower the tariff on imports of ethanol to 5 percent from the previous 30 percent, which traders said could open the door for imports of fuel ethanol from countries like Brazil. The Chinese Finance Ministry announced this week that import taxes for alcohol and other spirits denatured of any strength would [...]
16 Dec
Audi Tells Obama, “Forget Plug-Ins, Think Biodiesel”
The top executive at Audi’s U.S. offices says American political leaders need to think less about plug-in electric vehicles and more about vehicles that run on biodiesel, as well as standardizing the rules for biodiesel. “I understand why political leaders have fallen in love with hybrids and electrics. But this may be the one time [...]
1 Dec
EPA Delays Decision on E-15
The U.S. Environment Protection Agency Tuesday delayed a decision on expanding the allowable percentage of ethanol blended into regular gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent until next year. In a letter to Growth Energy, the ethanol group requesting the blend, Gina McCarthy, assistant EPA administrator, said “we want to make sure we have all [...]
30 Nov
EPA Ethanol Blend Decision Expected Tuesday
The Environmental Protection Agency is set make a decision on Tuesday on a petition by Growth Energy to raise the blend limit in gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent. However, even if EPA agrees to raise the limit, there is no guarantee that gasoline with a higher blend of ethanol will be available at [...]
13 Nov
EPA May Not Meet Deadline on Blend Wall Decision
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may miss a Dec. 1 deadline for a decision on an industry request to raise the amount of ethanol that can be blended into gasoline, Reuters reported. On March 6, 54 ethanol manufactures asked the EPA to bump up the percentage of ethanol allowed in gasoline to 15 percent from [...]
12 Oct
Colorado YF&R Member on Biodiesel
CFB YF&R Member Grant Allen sits down and talks to NPA Reporter Adam Burke about switching to Sunflowers on his Dove Creek Colorado farm. YF&R members visited the bio-diesel plant during their State Leadership Conference in Cortez last year.
24 Sep
Harkin Acquiesces to EPA, Pulls ILUC Amendment
Acting on blind faith in an agency that deserves to be viewed only with suspicion, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has withdrawn his amendment to the annual Interior spending bill that would have barred the Environmental Protection Agency from considering indirect land use overseas when implementing the Renewable Fuels Standard. Harkin received a letter Wednesday from EPA Administrator [...]
23 Sep
Harkin Floats Indirect Land Use Amendment
Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) filed an amendment on Tuesday to the annual funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from considering indirect land use overseas when implementing provisions of the Clean Air Act for biofuels. AFBF [...]
4 Sep
TIME Writer Admits Piece was Slanted
Bryan Walsh, who wrote a damning article on modern agriculture in Time magazine, admitted in an AgriTalk interview with Mike Adams Monday morning that the story took the angle he wanted to pursue rather than presenting both sides in a balanced, objective manner. He said it’s been a trend at Time to have “more stories angled toward the [...]
1 Sep
COOL for Fuel
Growth Energy has today announced its launch of a new initiative to require the Country of Origin Labeling of fuel. The Label My Fuel initiative would create a COOL standard similar to requirements already in place for common consumer items, including apples, beef, cars and coffee. The goal is to help create consumer awareness of the [...]
27 Aug
Meat Groups Blast Time Article
Meat industry groups are airing discontent with the Aug. 31 Time magazine cover story “The Real Cost of Cheap Food” that is loaded with inaccurate information and has no hint of objectivity. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the only meat industry group quoted in the article, lashed out with a press release outlining the steps [...]
24 Aug
Trent Loos Responds to TIME Hitpiece on Ag
From Feedstuffs, Ag broadcaster and commentator Trent Loos responds to the Time article on modern agriculture.
21 Aug
Time Magazine Attacks Modern Farming
Without even a hint of objectivity, Time magazine is using the cover story of its Aug. 31 print edition to attack modern agriculture. The story is a wide-ranging frontal assault on all aspects of modern food production, and the story is written in a manner that the very few words included to give agriculture a [...]
17 Jul
As Deadline Looms, Support for 15 Percent Ethanol Blend Builds
With one week remaining in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public comment period on Growth Energy’s Green Jobs Waiver asking the EPA to allow gasoline blended with as much as 15 percent ethanol (E15), the support for higher blends of ethanol continues to build. Since February, President Obama, Administration officials, governors, Members of Congress, [...]
1 Jul
Jump in Corn Plantings Biggest News in Acreage Report
The biggest news out of the planted acreage report released today by the Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is the big jump in planted corn acreage. NASS puts corn plantings at 87.05 million acres, up nearly 3 million acres from the pre-report average estimate. NASS pegs total U.S. crop area down 1.2 percent from [...]
Shawn Martini
Chad Vorthmann
Rachel Vermillion
Garin Vorthmann
Crystal Korrey
Troy B
El Sagehorn
Brent Boydston
