renewable fuel standard

   Photo: NYT The Renewable Fuels Association has published an article on its website saying that despite a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production in relation to the targets set by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), as reported by the New York Times, the sector has been making advances.    “In a very...[read more]

Americans want the U.S. to lead the world in renewable energy, but these are screwy times in our nation’s capital. Some people are trying to turn clean, renewable energy into something dirty. The fossil fuel industry and the radical right, including Grover Norquist and politicians looking to score cheap political points, are taking on...[read more]

Last night the US House of Representatives passed the compromise tax bill without any amendments and by a healthy margin, though narrower than the 81-19 vote in the Senate on Wednesday. The bill now goes to the President for his signature. The provisions added after the initial negotiations between the White House and Republican...[read more]

Time is running out for the ethanol blenders credit and the matching ethanol import tariff, which at least one industry publication suggests are likely to survive, but at "sharply reduced rates." Although I'm among those who suspect that the blenders credit probably benefits consumers more than ethanol producers, as long as the national...[read more]

Delusional Mandates It is hard to believe that just a few short years ago, Congress mandated a massive increase in usage of cellulosic ethanol. This was remarkable, because no commercial cellulosic ethanol facilities even existed at the time. But people like Vinod Khosla were busy testifying before Congress that the only thing holding...[read more]

I'm one of those people that occasionally clicks on a banner ad and visit a site's sponsor. Well, someone has to do it, right? And because so much advertising is targeted or niche specific, I often see ads displayed that appeal to my interests in energy and the environment.  And sometimes there's even a story waiting for me after...[read more]

It's ironic that with all the current hoopla about various alternative fuels and the electrification of personal cars--hybrids and several kinds of plug-in electric vehicles--it turns out that some of the most promising advanced energy technologies under development are designed to produce more of the same fuels that have powered cars,...[read more]

An article in today's Financial Times (registration required) raises a worrying possibility concerning the plans of the US and other oil-consuming countries to rely on biofuels for an increasing fraction of future fuel needs. What if oil-producing countries took those plans seriously and reduced their investment in new oil capacity, on...[read more]

A cornfield at dusk on the Great Plains (Photo: James Jordan/flickr) Last year the U.S. produced 11.1 billion gallons of biofuel. Obama’s new plan states that by 2022, 21 billion gallons of renewable fuels will need to come from so-called advanced biofuels. [There are few people with a better grasp on the politics, business and...[read more]

The inclusion of support for expanded US oil and gas drilling in a Senate climate proposal issued yesterday is bound to puzzle many readers. If the emissions from oil are responsible for a major portion of human-induced global warming, how can increasing our production of it contribute to reducing US emissions, as the three Senators...[read more]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its report assessing the impact of the production and use of biofuels in the US. Among its recommendations was a call for the Congress to reassess whether corn ethanol still needs the support of a $0.45 per gallon blenders' credit, when its use by refiners and gasoline blenders...[read more]

Ethanol and biodiesel industry groups react to EPA’s decision to extend public comment period on the Renewable Fuel Standard. [From my post first published at Gas 2.0] The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it was extending the comment period on a draft rule that aims to cut the greenhouse gases emitted by biofuels. The...[read more]

Farm state politicians, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists have sold biofuels to rest of us as a way to revive rural America, attack the problem of global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In response, investors and taxpayers have poured many millions of dollars into corn ethanol. The returns have been skimpy. That,...[read more]

Today's Wall St. Journal features a front-page article sounding the death-knell for the growth of US gasoline demand. The combination of recession, stricter fuel economy standards, and the hangover from last year's high gas prices, together with growing biofuels consumption, appears to herald a peak in gasoline sales. The Journal...[read more]