Latest Energy Census News
UK ethanol producer Vivergo could be poised to restart its biofuel plant market sources said Friday, after the company publicly mothballing the facility on poor margins in December.
Brazil raised its biodiesel mandate to 10% on March 1 from the previous 8%, with the change expected to boost demand by nearly 25% for the biofuel this year, according to the Mines and Energy Ministry.
US ethanol consumption will rise 1% next year, resulting in an estimated ethanol blend percentage of gasoline that increases to about 10.3% by 2019, the US Energy Information Agency estimated in a research note this week.
The Colombian government has raised the blend limit for bioethanol and biodiesel in petrol and diesel as it attempts to reduce emissions, find markets for domestic agricultural produce and increase utilisation rates at the country’s biorefineries.
ExxonMobil, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers, is stepping up its commitment to producing algae-based biofuels by expanding a research program with Synthetic Genomics, which the companies say could yield daily output of 10,000 barrels of the alternative fuel a day by 2025.
A proposed reform to the US Renewable Fuels Standard, which include a cap on prices in the scheme, could depress corn prices by 25 cents per bushel at a time that the market is reeling from a supply glut, new research has found this week.
India’s cabinet will soon examine a draft proposal for the country’s new biofuels policy ahead of a final launch later this year, the country’s oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a joint conference with the EU on Tuesday.
In the end, it was as painless as the government said it would be – the revamped Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation order was passed unanimously through the House of Lords during the final stage of the Statutory Instrument process, Tuesday.
For the third week Year 10 RTFCs were unchanged, to be assessed at 15.3 p per certificate as market sources reported further small trading volumes occurring at that level this week.
The EU has sufficient charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and is likely to keep pace with forecast growth in the sector, said a study published this week by the Platform for Electromobility, a group that includes car manufacturers.
Trade flows and crushing volumes in the EU will be transformed if the bloc follows through on a European Parliament vote in January to exclude palm oil from the bloc's recast of its renewable energy directive, a research note from Rabobank outlined this week.
Negotiators from the various EU institutions met this week in the first ‘Trilogue’ meeting on the recast of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, but little progress was made on the minutiae of the proposed legislation, which includes revised caps and thresholds for the crediting of biofuels.
The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules an Italian support scheme for advanced biofuels and biomethane, removing a potential obstacle to the deployment of a planned €4.7 billion for the scheme that will run from 2018 until 2022.
The UK’s Department for Transport has signalled that it will introduce a raft of measures to improve guidance and support to industry participants affected by changes currently being made to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.
The French government said this week that it will provide €100 million to encourage investment in biomethane so that renewable gas can meet a targeted 10% of overall gas consumption by 2030.
Germany’s demand for biodiesel is likely to grow at a slower rate if German cities are required to curb or ban diesel cars in the wake of landmark court ruling this week, meaning additional GHG savings will have to be found in freight and in petrol consumption.
Proposed changes to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation have cleared their first hurdle in parliamentary committee with the Draft Renewable Transport Fuels and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations 2018 passed unanimously during a delegated legislation committee, Monday.
US President Donald Trump will likely meet key senators and cabinet officials early this week to discuss potential changes to US biofuels policy, Reuters reported, in the aftermath of a bankruptcy involving a major east coast refiner.
Conflicting forces conspired to keep RTFC values in check Friday, with any interest focused on Year 10 certificates as Year 11 manfully continues to await action from the UK government.
"Trialogue" talks on the EU's recast of its Renewable Energy Directive get underway on the 27 February, prompting two Brussels-based biofuels lobbies to set out what they want from the final legislation.