On August 21, 2014, a coalition of environmental, health, and labor groups filed a 23-page petition with EPA requesting that the Agency "establish time limits for confidentiality claims for chemical information submitted by industry under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)." According to Earthjustice's press release, change is needed because currently "[u]nder TSCA, industry is given wide latitude to claim such information confidential, making it unavailable to state and...
August 29, 2014
EPA Sends Final Targets For 2014 Biofuel To OMB
On August 22, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and formal publication in the Federal Register. This much anticipated review is the last step before public release. Nearly nine months behind schedule currently, it is unclear whether OMB will move quickly to release and publish the rule. Typically, OMB can take anywhere between 30 to 90 days to review a proposal,...
August 22, 2014
New NREL Study Shows New Potential For Lignin
On August 20, 2014, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced a new NREL study demonstrating a potentially more economical way to use lignin to make renewable fuels and products. NREL states in the study that "[o]verall, this work demonstrates that the use of aromatic catabolic pathways enables an approach to valorize lignin by overcoming its inherent heterogeneity to produce fuels, chemicals, and materials." A copy of the announcement is available online. A copy...
August 22, 2014
DOE Announces Intent To Issue Funding Opportunity For Algae Biofuels And Bioproducts
On August 20, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) sometime in September to help reduce the cost of algae biofuels and bioproducts. DOE explains in the announcement that the Agency's Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO) "2019 projected state of technology for the cost of algal biofuels is modeled at about $7 per gallon gasoline gallon equivalent, without valuable co-products such as animal feed or...
On August 19, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Agency is investing $25 million to support 247 businesses throughout the country under the Value-Added Producer Grant program (the program). The program was reauthorized under the 2014 Farm Bill. It is designed to "[help] agricultural producers grow their businesses by turning raw commodities into value-added products, expanding marketing opportunities and developing new uses for existing products."...
August 15, 2014
KiOR Faces Significant Challenge Moving Forward
In an August 11, 2014, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, cellulosic biofuel company KiOR, Inc. (KiOR) reported that without any new financial commitments, the Company only has enough funding to operate through September 2014. This announcement is significant for the biofuels industry, as EPA had relied on KiOR's projected volumes of available cellulosic biofuels to make up a significant part of the 2013 cellulosic renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the federal...
August 15, 2014
Virent Announces EPA Registration Of Its BioForm
On August 12, 2014, Virent announced that it has received fuel registration from EPA for its BioForm® gasoline in blends up to 45 percent. According to the company's press release, this registration means that the BioForm® gasoline may now be used in on-highway motor vehicles. The EPA testing work for the registration was funded by Virent's partner Royal Dutch Shell. Virent's CEO Lee Edwards remarked in the company's press release on the announcement that "[s]ecuring...
August 15, 2014
Group Of Senators Weigh In On Biogenic Carbon Regulations
On August 7, 2014, a group of nine Democratic Senators led by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) sent a letter to the EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, on the treatment of biogenic carbon emissions from stationary sources. The other eight Senators who signed the letter are: Tim Johnson (D-SD); Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND); Ron Wyden (D-OR); Maria Cantwell (D-WA); Al Franken (D-MN); Patty Murray (D-WA); Joe Donnelly (D-IN); and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The letter comes at a time when EPA is working to issue in...
August 15, 2014
New Research Studies On Invasiveness And Bioenergy Crops
The Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois recently helped fund two research projects that provide recommendations to prevent invasive species from being planted as new crops and used for bioenergy production. The two studies are: (1) "Resolving Regulatory Uncertainty: Legislative Language for Potentially Invasive Bioenergy Feedstocks"; and (2) "Bioenergy Feedstocks at Low Risk for Invasion in the U.S.: A 'White List' Approach." The first study...
More reports from attendees at last week's sold out, three-day Sustainable Futures (SF) workshop, co-sponsored by the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and George Washington University (GWU): "I would highly recommend SF training to others. The risk-screening models are a great tool that can be utilized to identify and reduce risk early in the product development process. The instructors at the workshop were...