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House legislation calls for extension of VEETCReps. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., held a press conference March 25 announcing legislation to extend ethanol tax credits and the ethanol tariff. The bipartisan bill has 27 co-sponsors and, if passed, would extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit and the tariff on imported ethanol through 2015. It would also extend the Cellulosic Ethanol Production Tax Credit and the Small Ethanol Producers Tax Credit until Jan. 1, 2016.READ MORE States take sides in GHG endangerment suitSixteen states and 21 industry groups filed petitions last week to join what is becoming a massive legal battle over the U.S. EPA's greenhouse gas endangerment finding. Alaska and Michigan filed individual claims supporting efforts to oppose the EPA's finding while Nebraska, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah filed a joint petition. The states are supporting earlier petitions filed by Alabama, Texas and Virginia. At least 16 other petitions, representing dozens of industry groups, have also been filed to oppose the EPA's finding.READ MORE RSB tests standards on jatropha cultivationSan Diego, Calif.-based SG Biofuels is teaming up with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels for a pilot project to test and enhance sustainability standards for jatropha cultivation. The duo will evaluate the practicality and usability of RSB sustainability standards applied to SG Biofuels' existing 1,400-acre plot in Guatemala, dubbed the community-farming initiative, according to the company.READ MORE Washington passes forest biomass contract lawWashington Gov. Christine Gregoire signed into law March 19 a bill that will help build a strong forest biomass industry within the state while mitigating overcrowded or fire-prone forests on state trust lands.READ MORE U of Toledo establishes sustainable materials instituteThe newly approved Institute for Sustainable Engineering Materials at the University of Toledo, Ohio, will bring together research teams to solve materials development-related problems, such as minimizing and recycling waste, within a variety of industries. The institute was formed in response to a growing corporate interest in environmentally-friendly products and the development of sustainable ways to manufacture goods.READ MORE Colorado raises state RPSWith the signing of a bill anticipated to create thousands of new jobs, Colorado-the first U.S. state to enforce a renewable energy standard-has once again moved to the front of the pack of states that have followed its lead over the years, and is now second in aggressiveness to only Maine's RES of 40 percent by 2017. On March 22, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law HB 10-1001, calling for Colorado to draw 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.READ MORE Shell, Virent announce biogasoline demo plantThe world's first biogasoline demonstration plant is up and running in Madison, Wis., with the capacity to produce 10,000 gallons per year from plant sugars. The facility, dubbed Eagle, is the latest milestone in a joint research and development effort between Virent Energy Systems Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell plc that aims to commercialize biogasoline production from Virent's Bioforming platform technology.READ MORE Industry mourns Russo's passingThe U.S. DOE Biomass Program's Larry Russo Jr. suffered a massive heart attack on March 20, passing away at age 54. Russo had extensive background and knowledge of the ethanol and biomass industries, and worked with both the corn-to-ethanol and cellulosic ethanol processes.READ MORE |
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