Ethanol Week - May 20, 2013

Senate Ag Committee approves Farm Bill The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry has voted to approve a bipartisan Farm Bill authored by Committee Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Ranking Member Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. READ MORE SHARE
House Ag Committee approves Farm Bill The House Committee on Agriculture has approved its version of the Farm Bill, H.R. 1947, by a vote of 36 to 10. The bill, titled the Federal Agricultural and Reform and Risk Management Act, includes nearly $40 billion in spending cuts. READ MORE SHARE
	Bill aims to open RFS to natural gas-based ethanol Reps. Pete Olson, R-Texas, and Jim Costa, D-Calif., have introduced legislation that would allow ethanol produced from domestic natural gas to meet the volume requirements of the renewable fuel standard (RFS). READ MORE SHARE
Financing complete on Brazil's first commercial 2G ethanol plant Financing is now complete on GranBio's 22 MMgy cellulosic plant in Brazil using BetaRenewables conversion technology. Vonnie Estes appointed managing director of new U.S. office. READ MORE SHARE
RFA, Growth Energy file complaint in EU court to end ethanol duty The Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy have filed a complaint with the General Court in Luxembourg challenging the European Union's (EU) decision to impose a 9.6 percent antidumping duty on all ethanol imported from the United States. READ MORE SHARE
Edeniq demo plant surpasses 1,000 continuous operational hours Edeniq Inc. has announced the company's first demonstration plant, located at its Visalia, Calif., headquarters, has completed a successful "performance test" that exceeded the benchmark of 1,000 hours of continuous operation. READ MORE SHARE
Moniz confirmed as secretary of energy The Senate has unanimously confirmed Ernest Moniz as the Secretary of Energy by a vote of 96 to 0. Moniz was nominated by President Obama in March. He will replace former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, who announced his resignation on Feb. 1. READ MORE SHARE
Western Biomass up for sale; Blue Sugars files bankruptcy Months after receiving the first cellulosic renewable identification numbers for a shipment of cellulosic ethanol to its Brazil partner Petrobras, Western Biomass Energy LLC filed for bankruptcy and is now up for sale with bidding closing May 20. READ MORE SHARE
Iowa State surveys livestock producers on distillers grains use Iowa State University is about halfway through a three-month long online survey of livestock producers' use of distillers grains. The nationwide survey is focused on the beef, dairy, swine and poultry sectors. READ MORE SHARE
USDA extends deadline for fiscal year 2013 REAP funding The USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service has extended the deadline to apply for fiscal year 2013 Rural Energy for America Program funding through May 31. The extension was made due to increased funding made available through recent legislation. READ MORE SHARE
Enerkem starts drop-in renewable fuels R&D Enerkem Inc. announced the launch of a new research project with the government of Canada. The objective of the project is to develop new catalytic processes for the conversion of waste into drop-in biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
ePURE suspects circumvention of import duty on ethanol imports ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, has asked the European Commission to investigate if EU customs legislation is properly applied in Finland. Evidence from several sources indicates that a E92 blend is entering the market. READ MORE SHARE
Anti-ethanol bills move through Maine state legislature Two anti-ethanol bills that previously passed the Maine House of Representatives are now in the Senate, with the majority agreeing with an "ought not pass" report on one bill and the second bill tabled awaiting further action. READ MORE SHARE
Scientists develop 'green' pretreatment of miscanthus for biofuel Two University of Illinois scientists have developed an environmentally friendly and more economical way of pretreating miscanthus in the biofuel production process. The technique uses butadiene sulfone, which can be recovered. READ MORE SHARE
EU confirms unannounced inspections in oil and biofuels sectors The European Commission can confirm that on May 14, 2013, commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies active in and providing services to the crude oil, refined oil products and biofuels sectors. READ MORE SHARE
Maize growers form international alliance The U.S. Grains Council, along with the National Corn Growers Association, MAIZAR, representing Argentina producers and the maize supply chain and ABRAMILHO (Brazilian Association of Corn Producers) have formed an alliance. READ MORE SHARE
ACE's Lamberty joins ASTM Technical Committee D02 The American Coalition for Ethanol has joined the ASTM (Formerly American Society for Testing and Materials) Technical Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants, represented by ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty. READ MORE SHARE
BIO, Ag Energy Coalition applaud Farm Bill draft The Biotechnology Industry Organization and Agriculture Energy Coalition have issued statements thanking members of the Senate Agriculture Committee for authoring legislation to reauthorize Farm Bill Energy Title Programs. READ MORE SHARE