In Washington, DTN reports that a lawyer from Perkins Coie has written to the Environmental Protection Agency administrator on behalf of oil refineries opposing the agency from sharing data provided by refiners in their applications for small refinery hardship waivers with the USDA. The letter says the USDA has no legal authority over the hardship […]
In Washington, DTN reports that USDA data shows ethanol exports fell in May to 99.6 million gallons compared to more than 150 million gallons the month prior, but exports were still 9% higher on the year for May while total exports for the year are 19% behind last year. Canada was the top destination followed […]
In Washington, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue in a letter that he will block the confirmation of department nominees until the USDA stops interfering with a program that protects Louisiana’s small refineries from financial devastation. He said at issue are hardship waivers – called Small Refinery […]
In Florida, an assistant professor of biology at the University of North Florida, was just awarded nearly half a million dollars from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture to study switchgrass as a viable plant-based biofuel. The study aims to provide new insight into the factors that regulate the productivity and sustainability of […]
In China, Reuters reports that USDA attaché says that despite the country’s massive corn stocks representing more than 50% of the world’s corn and its push to absorb millions of tons of spoiled corn through ethanol production as it heads towards 10% ethanol blending in 2020, production capacity expansion has outpaced demand. Ethanol demand for […]
In Washington, a new study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finds greenhouse gas emissions from corn-based ethanol are about 39 percent lower than gasoline. The study also states that when ethanol is refined at natural gas-powered refineries, the greenhouse gas emissions are even lower, around 43 percent below gasoline. The study, led […]
In Washington, U.S. ethanol exports totaled 127.9 million gallons in January, according to government data released this morning and analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). This reflects an 8.5% decline from December and the lowest monthly volume in four months, but it represented an increase from the 88.3 million gallons shipped in January 2018. […]
In California, Lygos Inc., producer of specialty chemicals, announced three innovation research grants totaling $750,000 of non-equity funding to support advanced research and development. These funds have been awarded through separate grants from the United States Department of Energy (DOE), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). “These three grants […]
In California, the USDA issued a Conditional Commitment under the 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program to guarantee a $125 million, 20-year loan to the Aemetis cellulosic ethanol plant to be built in Riverbank, California. The Riverbank plant is designed to convert orchard, forest and other biomass waste into cellulosic ethanol with below zero carbon emissions. Earlier […]
In Florida, Reuters reports that the deputy secretary of agriculture says the government should push through rules for year-rounding blending of E15 if the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t get rulemaking done in time as it should, though he did say he was confident such measures wouldn’t be necessary. He did say it would be up […]
