Today in Biofuels: Euro Commission says fuels must be sustainable not just renewable, as two Englishmen head for Timbuktu in a chocolate-powered truck

Top Story:

The European Commission announced it will introduce a 10 percent biofuels target and a 20 percent renewables target for the 27-member community, to be fully implemented by 2020. Key to the EC proposal was that fuels must not only be renewable; they must materially affect emissions and be harvested in a sustainable manner.

Producer News:

In South Dakota, POET and Mueller Pallets of Tea have announced a deal under which Mueller Pallets will bring 54 to 125 thousand tons of wood waste to the Chancellor facility. POET will add a solid waste fuel boiler to produce more than 50 percent of the plant’s power needs.

In Virginia, International Bio Energy Virginia said that it will move its planned ethanol facility to an industrial site on the Savannah River in South Carolina. The Chesapeake City Council rejected the company’s plan for its ethanol facility this week.

In Ohio, TPA expects its 20 Mgy Warren biodiesel plant to come on line by January.

International News:

In India, the Economic Times is reporting that the central government is planning to slash taxes on ethanol as an incentive to stimulate demand.  Currently, excise duty is 15 percent, plus state taxes of 4 to 20 percent, plus import fee, permit fee, licence fee, administration fee and state excise taxes. The government had previously ruled out producer subsidies.

In Thailand, Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand said that his department was drafting quality specs for car makers to convert to E20.  Thailand converts to E20 in January 2008.

In India, the central government has established a Combustion Research Institute that will attract top scientists from around the globe to improve Indian fuel research.

Research News:

The November issue of Nature profiles research on enzymes found in termite guts. The research is conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), the California Institute of Technology, biofuels firm Verenium Corporation, INBio, the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica, and the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

Ethanol prices rose on Friday, closing at $1.955, up from $1.51 in August. Gasoline for December delivery rose to $2.467 per gallon.

Policy and Policymakers:

In Nebraska, state coffers are overflowing from increased tax receipts based on high producer prices for corn, wheat and soybeans, and the success of the state’s ethanol, strategy. An AP report said that Nebraska’s cash reserve has increased to a projected $542 million by June 2008, up from  $273.6 million in 2006.

Consumer and Fleet News:

Two Englishmen have commenced a 4500 mile journey from England to Timbuktu in a BioTruck powered by 529 gallons of biodiesel made from 4.4. tons of waste chocolate.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Indexâ„¢, a basket of public biofuel stocks, rose 1.53 percent to close at 102.16 in Friday’s trading. Diversified agribusinesses were up sharply, as well as VeraSun Energy (VSE) and Aventine Renewables (AVR) among midcaps. Winners led losers nearly 2 to 1 for the day.

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