Ethanol Week - August 26, 2013

USDA offers surplus sugar to biofuels industry The Commodity Credit Corp. is accepting offers from bioenergy producers to purchase sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for Bioenergy Producers (FFP). Offers, modification of offers or withdrawal of offers must be received by Aug. 28. READ MORE SHARE
Klobuchar, Grassley call for antitrust investigation of Big Oil Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have issued a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission asking for an investigation of anticompetitive practices by oil companies that limit access to biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
	Front-end fractionation project aims for startup in September Work is ongoing to startup a 7 MMgy ethanol plant in Benton, Ill., that will utilize front-end fractionation system. The Mano Metate Grain & Energy Commodities Plant, formally Ag Energy Resources, is expected to begin operations in September. READ MORE SHARE
Annual EU report projects increased ethanol production The European Union recently published its annual biofuels report for 2013 with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's Global Agriculture Information Network, reporting 71 ethanol plants are expected to be in place in Europe this year. READ MORE SHARE
Iowa E85 sales jump 43 percent during Q2 The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has announced that sales of E85 have soared recently for an increase of 43 percent over the first quarter of 2013. Iowans purchased more than 2.62 million gallons of E85 in the second quarter of 2013. READ MORE SHARE
Green Plains to host ribbon cutting event at Nebraska plant Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at its recently-acquired ethanol plant in Atkinson, Neb. on Aug. 21. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., will attend as the guest of honor. The plant commenced operations on July 22. READ MORE SHARE
GRFA interactive map shows growth of global biofuel policies According to the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance's new Interactive World Biofuels Map, 62 countries now have biofuels friendly policies in place that have driven global demand to over 1 million barrels per day. READ MORE SHARE
Optinol hits ethanol energy cost parity feasibility for butanol Optinol Inc. announced that the company has achieved energy cost parity feasibility with ethanol for the production of biobutanol (n-butanol) from a wide variety of sugars using a production solution tailored to an organism. READ MORE SHARE
Poet plants donate to Fly Iowa 2013 Airshow Poet Biorefining plants in Gowrie and Coon Rapids, Iowa have donated $1,000 each to support the Fly Iowa 2013 Airshow, which will feature the ethanol-powered Vanguard Squadron. READ MORE SHARE
NSF accepting grant applications under BBBE program The National Science Foundation recently opened a new funding opportunity under its Biotechnology, Biochemical, and Biomass Engineering program, which supports fundamental engineering research on cellular and biomolecular processes. READ MORE SHARE
Directors elected, new president, CEO hired at Kansas plant Management and board members of a currently idled Garnett, Kan., ethanol plant are continuing to work toward restarting the facility this fall after an attempt to take control of the plant's board of directors recently failed. READ MORE SHARE
Maple Energy releases financial results for first half of 2013 Peru-based ethanol producer Maple Energy plc has released financial results for the six months ended June 30, reporting increased revenues and gross profit. The company also reported increased volumes of ethanol production. READ MORE SHARE
Adecoagro ethanol production nearly doubled in Q2 South American agricultural company Adecoagro S.A. has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2013, reporting ethanol production increased by 85.5 percent compared to the same period of 2012. READ MORE SHARE
USDA FSA solicits bids for Feedstock Flexibility Program Surplus sugar is one step closer to entering the U.S. biofuels industry as feedstock. The USDA Farm Service Agency recently published a notice soliciting bids under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for Bioenergy Producers. READ MORE SHARE
JBEI researchers combine pretreatment, saccharification Researchers with the U.S. DOE's Joint BioEnergy Institute have reported the first demonstration of a one-pot, wash-free, process for the ionic liquid pretreatment and saccharification of switchgrass, one of the leading potential biofuel feedstocks. READ MORE SHARE