All Knowledge & Insights By Date

DOE, “Bioprose: Building the Bioeconomy through Technology & Communication” Business Wire, “Biofuel and Biogas Innovators Unite for Stronger Cellulosic Targets” Bangor University, “Landfill Sites: Not Just a Load of Rubbish” Penn State, “Potato Waste Processing May Be the Road to Enhanced Food Waste Conversion”

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 24, 2017, Neste, a member of BRAG, announced that its Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ is part of Finavia's climate program.  Initially, the renewable fuel will be used in 20 Helsinki Airport buses, with the goal of expanding its use in the future.  According to Mikko Viinikainen, Vice President of Sustainability & Environment at Finavia, Neste MY Renewable Diesel is an excellent addition to the Finavia’s energy portfolio, which...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 14, 2017, Flint Hills Resources, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that construction is underway to install a new, bolt-on technology, known as Maximized Stillage Co-Products™ (MSC), at its ethanol plant in Fairmont, Nebraska.  The MSC technology will be used to convert a portion of the distiller grains, a coproduct of ethanol manufacturing, to a high protein animal and fish feed ingredient,...

Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, “Project Moves Forward to Turn State Roadways into a Renewable Energy Source” North Dakota State University, “Economic Impact of North Dakota's Ethanol Industry in Fiscal Year 2015” The University of British Columbia, “New Biofuel Technology Cuts Production Time Significantly”

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded researchers from Clemson University a $147,744, two-year grant to evaluate the effectiveness of producing biofuels to mitigate climate change.  The project will analyze how switchgrass fields and loblolly pine forests affect local temperatures through the exchange of water, energy, radiation, and carbon with the atmosphere; and quantify below-...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. In a paper forthcoming in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Iowa State researchers demonstrate that their tractable multi-market equilibrium model designed to evaluate alternative biofuel policies confirms that the current RFS program benefits the agriculture sector, and leads to overall welfare gains for the U.S.  The model considers biodiesel and ethanol markets and is simulated to analyze alternative scenarios, including the repeal of all RFS...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On July 26, 2017, the Farewell to Unnecessary Energy Lifelines Reform Act of 2017 or FUEL Reform Act (H.R. 3419) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ).  The bill would eliminate the following energy subsidies in Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002: Biobased Markets Program; Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program; Repowering Assistance Program;...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled two to one that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its statutory authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it denied Sinclair Oil Corporation’s request for a hardship exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  The statute requires that EPA grant exemptions on a case-by-case basis to small refiners that would suffer a “disproportionate...

Aemetis, “Aemetis Producing Cellulosic Ethanol from Orchard Waste at Integrated Demonstration Unit”  Michigan State University, “A New Chloroplast Role for Making Biofuels”  Post Register, “Examining Alfalfa’s Potential as a Fuel” 

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public hearing to hear from all segments of the fuel industry on the proposed rule to set the 2018 renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  Among the nearly 150 individuals and organizations scheduled to testify at the hearing were numerous biofuel industry stakeholders who praised EPA for issuing the proposed rule on time and for maintaining...