Corn Ethanol

With the 2016 US presidential election already getting rolling, the debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard could play role in farming-intense states. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, a supporter of the mandate, thinks candidates who don't support the RFS could be at a disadvantage there for the very important caucuses.

The Environmental Protection Agency continues to give the green light to E15, but the biofuel doesn't have to come from corn ethanol. The exact source of the ethanol in gasoline – whether its 10 percent ethanol (E10) or 15 percent (E15) – isn't impacting Jon LeSage

Big Oil's flagship trade association – the American Petroleum Institute – and eight other industry groups have filed with the US Supreme Court to stop higher blends of ethanol (specifically, 15 percent, or E15) from entering the US gasoline supply. They're asking the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court's rulin

Another round of fighting has started over whether E15 – a blend of ethanol (15 percent) and gasoline (85 percent) – should be adopted nationwide. The latest jab comes from Scott Faber, a lobbyist for Environmental Working Group, who says that, as far as greenhouse gasses go, ethanol is "Jon LeSage

The fight over whether corn ethanol in gasoline sold in the US should be increased to E15 – a blend of 15 percent ethanol mixed with 85 percent gasoline – from its current state of E10 (ten percent), has been getting uglier lately, all over the place. The US Environmental Protection Agency has given the green light to E15 for 2001 model year

There's been a lot of concern expressed over the potentially damaging impact on engines that E15 – gasoline with 15 percent ethanol – could have on vehicle engines. AAA most recently sounded an alarm on the issue – the organization says that sale of E15 gasoline should be postponed until consumers can be educated on the fuel

Propel Fuels is acquiring $21 million in funding to add more than 200 fuel stations in new and existing markets over the next two years, offering more drivers E85 ethanol and biodiesel blends. The company currently sells fuel out of 31 existing retail stations in California and Washington, sharing gas pumps with gasoline and diesel.

When the US Energy Information Administration released its annual energy outlook pre-release earlier this month, biofuels industry publication Biofuels Digest was hit with six press releases from the biofuels community in the space of two hours. The final version of the EIA's energy outlook through 2040 won't come out until the spring, but the 16-page

As it was four years ago during another election year, corn ethanol is once again the focal point for heated exchange in the U.S. The federal government is feeling the vise tighten in the corn ethanol debate, as the issues flip and flop between gasoline prices going up and global food prices increasing. The worst drought in more than 50 years is also playing a role.

Sugar beets are a more efficient source for ethanol production than corn for a lot of reasons: they use less land, less water and, they can grown in many regions during the winter where it's too cold to grow corn.

Corn-based ethanol is a controversial fuel in its own right, and a longstanding federal subsidy for blending the biofuel with gasoline has been an additional source of consternation over the last 30 years. According to The Detroit News, Congress has wrapped up its work for 2011 without extending the incentive, a move that's drawn praise from environmental groups and taxpayer advocates.

Burning ethanol in your car is supposed to be better for the environment, but when the company producing the biofuel falsifies air pollution monitoring data, things may not be as clean as they seem.

After falling to its lowest per-day output level in 2011, you might think that ethanol production would rebound. Well, that's not the case as U.S. ethanol production dipped again last week while as export demand depleted stocks by nearly three percent.

Blame it on a harvesting delay, but the fact still remains that U.S. ethanol output slipped by 3.4 percent – to 841,000 barrels a day – in late September, the lowest per-day output in 2011.

Andersons, one of the U.S.' major players on the ethanol production scene, has started mixing cheaper soft red winter wheat into its corn-based biofuel. This move, according to Andersons, will drive down costs and lessen demand for corn. Andersons says the soft red winter wheat harvest is peaking, so the stuff is available in mass quantities. It's estimated that Andersons is currently mixing ten percent wheat in with corn.

It's not often that you find environmental writers applauding the actions of Republicans in the Senate, but when 40 Republicans joined 33 Democrats in a bipartisan vote to shut down funding for ethanol subsidies earlier this month, even some on the left were cheering. However, those cheers may be short-lived.

Just days ago, we reported that the United States Senate rejected an amendment that would have put an end to the the $6 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for producers of corn-based ethanol. Now, we're here to convey the message that the Senate actually approved the amendment.