| ■ | Renewable Fuels Association, “Veterans Encourage President to Include Ethanol, RFS in Energy Plan” |
| ■ | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, “State Ag Department Greenlights 16 Promising Industrial Hemp Research Projects” |
| ■ | Brookhaven National Laboratory, “Study IDs Link between Sugar Signaling and Regulation of Oil Production in Plants” |
| ■ | University of Manchester, “Bioenergy Gets Graphic with New Illustrated Guide to the Subject” |
| ■ | Environmental Research Letters, “Recent Grassland Losses are Concentrated around U.S. Ethanol Refineries” |
| ■ | Materials, “Microwave-Assisted Catalytic Synthesis of Bio-Based Copolymers from Waste Cooking Oil” |
|
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is a Washington, D.C., law firm providing biobased and renewable chemical product stakeholders unparalleled experience, judgment, and excellence in bringing innovative products to market.
|
|
Enter keywords: 
Add this blog to your feeds
|
On March 14, 2017, researchers from the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory (CTBE) published a study focused on quantifying the economic and environmental impacts of second generation biofuels, based on current and future scenarios of sugarcane biorefineries that include consideration of improvements to the industrial process and biomass production systems. Although costs were determined to be higher in the short term, the study demonstrates that second generation ethanol production is more competitive than first generation ethanol in the long run, and that it reduces climate change impacts by more than 80 percent compared to gasoline. According to the researchers, the results should stimulate incentives and funding programs that support the production and consumption of second generation ethanol. On March 2, 2017, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) reintroduced the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Reform Act, which aims to guide the debate and reform of the ethanol mandate. According to Goodlatte, the RFS program failed to lower prices at the pump and resulted in unintended and profound effects on consumers, energy producers, livestock producers, retailers, and the environment. The RFS Reform Act, which had 42 bipartisan cosponsors, would eliminate corn-based ethanol requirements, place a ten percent cap on the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline, require EPA to set cellulosic biofuels targets at levels produced by the industry, and decrease the total volume of renewable fuel content in gasoline sold or introduced into commerce from 2017 through 2022. On March 7, 2017, the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition sent a letter to President Trump requesting the Administration’s support for changes to various federal policies to strengthen biofuels production and expand markets for ethanol and other biofuels. The letter, which was signed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, specifically highlights the need for the Trump Administration to change the fuel volatility limitations placed on E15, to update corn ethanol’s lifecycle carbon emissions profile to reflect advances in ethanol production technology, and to update the 2014 motor vehicle emission simulator model to prohibit spurious comparisons of high- and low-ethanol emissions factors. The governors commended Trump on his support of the biofuels industry over the past year and stated that expanding biofuels production is one of the best ways to meet the nation’s energy needs. On February 22, 2016, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) published the results of a study on the impact of the ethanol industry on the U.S. economy. The study, which was commissioned by ABF Economics, found that the U.S. ethanol industry contributed over $42 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and supported 340,000 jobs in 2016. Additionally, the report states that the ethanol industry provided significant contributions in terms of displacing imported crude oil and petroleum products, and generating tax revenue. According to the report, the U.S. produced 15.2 billion gallons of ethanol in 2016, which resulted in:
On January 25, 2017, the Urban Air Initiative (UAI), along with the Energy Future Coalition and the states of Kansas and Nebraska, filed a request for correction of information petitioning EPA to correct its models on motor vehicle fuel emissions that limit the use of higher blends of ethanol. In the petition, UAI claims that EPA continues to publish inaccurate data regarding ethanol emissions that originated with its fuel effects study and vehicular emissions computer model, MOVES2014, and describes the fundamental flaws in the design of the study. UAI relied on peer reviewed scientific studies to refute EPA’s ethanol emissions estimates, and called on EPA to respond to the request within 90 days. On January 12, 2017, USDA released a report on the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of corn ethanol, titled “A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Based Ethanol.” The study reviewed industry and farm sector performance over the past decade and found that in the United States corn-based ethanol generates 43 percent less GHG emissions than gasoline. Compared to previous studies, the lifecycle GHG benefits were greater due to improvements in corn production efficiency, conservation practices, and ethanol production technologies. The report also presented two projected GHG emissions profiles for corn ethanol in 2022, with one assuming a continuation of observable trends and the other analyzing additional improvements that could further reduce the GHG emissions. On August 29, 2016, the Energy Regulatory Commission of Mexico (CRE) published fuel regulation NOM-016-CRE-2016 in the Mexican Federal Register. This fuel standard allows for the blending and sale of up to 5.8 percent ethanol in the nation's fuel supply outside of Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. These new regulations will go into effect 60 days after publication of the bill, marking the first ethanol mandate to impact rural areas of Mexico. Guadalajara currently has a 2 percent ethanol blend mandate that is eventually expected to expand to Mexico City and Monterrey. On August, 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service released an annual report on the Philippines' biofuel industry and ethanol imports. In January 2007, The Biofuels Act or Republic Act (RA 9367) was signed, creating biofuels legislation in the Philippines that now mandate a ten percent ethanol blend and a two percent biodiesel blend. While the Biofuels Act gives priority to local ethanol, supply issues with local ethanol production have resulted in the ethanol blend mandate historically being met with imports. The USDA report expects local ethanol production to increase through 2017, reducing the need for imports from 311 million liters (MLi) in 2015, to 281 MLi in 2016, and 278 MLi in 2017. |
|
Subscribe
Add this blog to your feeds |