Ethanol Week - September 12, 2011

California dedicates $30 million to biofuels expansion The California Energy Commission has approved the state's third-year funding plan for the commission's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, allocating $100 million toward the expansion of various alternatives. READ MORE SHARE
Reduced Brazilian mandate could mean fewer US ethanol imports Based on export data compiled from the first half of this year, the U.S. ethanol industry has already exported more of its product in 2011 than in the two previous years combined and is on pace to export a total of up to 900 million gallons. READ MORE SHARE
	Researchers convert red seaweed to ethanol in half the time University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California-Berkeley, have engineered a unique yeast strain that is capable of converting red seaweed into cellulosic ethanol in half the time. Butanol is next. READ MORE SHARE
Aflatoxin may mean reduced use of DDGS in swine rations Although the corn crop looks great in many parts of the U.S., areas with drought stress, such as Kansas, are starting to see evidence of aflatoxin in the corn crop. READ MORE SHARE
Marquis Energy puts expansion on hold due to tax dispute A good news story in the ethanol industry has hit a speed bump. Marquis Energy LLC has announced its pulling back on a planned project to double the size of its 140 MMgy ethanol plant in Hennepin, Ill., due to a tax assessment dispute. READ MORE SHARE
Georgia ethanol plant looks to reorganize, give lenders equity Southwest Georgia Ethanol LLC has filed a restructuring plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and a Sept. 27 deadline has been set for filing written objection to the plan. READ MORE SHARE
Air Products gets supply contract for Ineos plant Ineos Bio's joint venture, Ineos New Planet BioEnergy LLC, continues to make progress on its first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Vero Beach, Fla., and says it is on schedule to begin production early next year. READ MORE SHARE
Lender takes possession of Clean Burn Fuels plant, seeks buyer No one stepped up to purchase the idled Clean Burn Fuels LLC ethanol plant in Raeford, N.C., during a foreclosure auction in late August, but that shouldn't be taken as a sign that no one is interested, says the plant's primary lender, and now owner. READ MORE SHARE