USDA to help optimise ethanol industry
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to assist the ailing ethanol industry by improving efficiency.
The USDA will research, develop and promote best practices to improve efficiency at corn-based ethanol plants, which have suffered volatile corn prices and low demand for a fuel more expensive than petrol, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says.
VeraSun Energy, the second-largest US ethanol producer, filed for bankruptcy protection in October, and has closed 12 of its 16 plants. More recently Texas-based Panda Ethanol filed for bankruptcy for a plant it owns in the state.
The 2008 farm bill has several measures to raise demand for new types of biofuels, including tax credits, grants and loans for expanding plants and converting them to use new feedstocks.
The USDA will research, develop and promote best practices to improve efficiency at corn-based ethanol plants, which have suffered volatile corn prices and low demand for a fuel more expensive than petrol, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says.
VeraSun Energy, the second-largest US ethanol producer, filed for bankruptcy protection in October, and has closed 12 of its 16 plants. More recently Texas-based Panda Ethanol filed for bankruptcy for a plant it owns in the state.
The 2008 farm bill has several measures to raise demand for new types of biofuels, including tax credits, grants and loans for expanding plants and converting them to use new feedstocks.
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