Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has said that he has been assured President Donald Trump’s administration will support producers of ethanol and biodiesel fuels, according to media reports. According to the Des Moines Reporter, Branstad was aware of reports to change the point of obligation in relation to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). "I know the rumors and I can... [Read More]

Renewable Fuels Nebraska, a trade body for the US ethanol industry, has issued a statement stating that it is “strongly opposed to any change in the point of obligation”. The statement follows last week’s news of rumours from the Trump administration that it would remove oil refiner’s obligation to blend ethanol with petro under the Renewable Fuel... [Read More]

Spanish oil and gas firm Cepsa has formalised the purchase offer of Abengoa’s biodiesel plant in San Roque (Cádiz). The process concluded with Abengoa’s acceptance of Cepsa’s €8 million binding offer for the total purchase of the asset. With this operation, Cepsa culminates the integration of the biofuels production unit at its San Roque plant... [Read More]

California-based sustainable energy production company Greenbelt Resources Corp. has unveiled a new waste-to-energy interconnected system designed to produce half a million gallons of bioethanol from a variety of feedstocks. The system is called Paso Robles ECOsystem (PRECO). PRECO utilises such feedstocks as waste trub from the nearby Firestone Brewery and winery wastes... [Read More]

US biofuels technology company ICM will build a biorefinery showcasing its technology. The company said its plant will be called ICM Element. In a statement, ICM said: “We see every individual as an integral element to the success of the planned 70 MMGY revolutionary plant estimated at a cost of $175 million (€166m) to build. ICM plans to be the majority... [Read More]

Oil giant BP has announced that it will buy Clean Energy Fuels Corp.’s biomethane business for $155 million (€147m). Clean Energy Fuels is a US provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America.  In a statement, BP said that the deal enables both companies to accelerate the growth in renewable natural gas supply and meet the growing demand... [Read More]

US biofuels lobby group Fuels America has disassociated itself with the counterpart Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) over plans to change the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Fuels America represents a diverse coalition, including farmers and companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and DuPont. The tumult began after Bob Dinneen, chief executive of the RFA, issued a statement... [Read More]

Spanish ethanol producer Abengoa has announced a €7.6 billion loss for 2016, six times more than the previous year, as the multinational attempts to restructure. Abengoa shareholders last year approved a €1.17 billion rescue package from banks and investment funds, following years of frenzied, unsustainable expansion worldwide. The company has recently published... [Read More]

More than two thirds of citizens in EU Member States have a positive attitude towards plant-based biofuels, a Europe-wide opinion poll has revealed. According to the poll, commissioned by the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePure), 69% of the consumers surveyed in the 28 EU Member States think the use of biofuels should be encouraged, with 15% opposed and 16% with... [Read More]

Researchers at Egypt’s National Research Centre have produced a biofuel suitable for aeroplanes after successful semi-industrial experiments conducted last December, according to a media report from scidev.net. The centre was officially commissioned by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation to find a local biofuel to power aircrafts. This was to support... [Read More]

The European renewable ethanol association ePure has released a position paper on the European Commission’s (EC) proposed revision of the EU Renewable Energy Directive II (RED2). In the paper ePure urges the EU not to abandon its climate and energy goals by phasing out conventional, first-generation ethanol fuels. “Decarbonising the EU transport sector requires... [Read More]

Growth Energy has released economic analysis that it says “identifies numerous problems” associated with changing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) point of obligation. The US ethanol trade body strongly supports EPA’s proposed denial to move the point of obligation. “Changing the point of obligation would have a disastrous impact on the industry,... [Read More]

China is the global leader in methanol use and has recently expanded methanol production capacity, according to new figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The official energy statistics from the US government come from the EIA. Since the early 2000s, China’s methanol consumption in fuel products has risen sharply and is estimated to have been... [Read More]

Dubai-based Neutral Fuels has become the first company to successfully use butter, cream, and ghee waste as a feedstock for creating commercial biofuel. The new fuel is of the same quality as the vegetable oil-derived biofuel that Neutral Fuels produces and which has fuelled McDonald's UAE's logistics fleet for almost seven million kilometres over the past four years. Karl... [Read More]

Alliance BioEnergy Plus has submitted an offer to purchase an over 145 acre ethanol plant previously owned by Ineos New Planet Bioenergy in Florida. If successful, Alliance will begin to retrofit the front end of the facility, located in Vero Beach, immediately with its patented CTS process and will quickly be converting local yard waste into cellulosic ethanol through... [Read More]

President Donald Trump has reiterated his support for American ethanol in a letter he sent to attendees of the National Ethanol Conference in San Diego, US. President Trump sent the letter to the conference yesterday (21 February) as he was unable to attend. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen read the letter aloud. “Rest assured... [Read More]