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This year was a difficult one for the European ethanol industry for a number of reasons. Political uncertancies added to the steadily growing influx of US product to the EU market. New investments stalled and investors appetite with regards to EU ethanol production was moderate. Nevertheless, ethanol output grew from 4.2 billion litres in 2010 to an estimated 4.45 billion litres in 2011. For 2012... the political agenda will remain challenging. More than a year after the Renewable Energy and the Fuel Quality Directive (2009/28/EC; 2009/30/EC) entered into force, member states are still busy transposing them into national laws. Most member states have not yet (fully) transposed the directives and there are some inconsistencies across different member states. For 2012, a ‘timely’ and consistent transposition of the directives should be onthe member states’ agendas. However, from the Commission’s side some parts of the puzzle are still missing, for example a definition of highly bio-diverse grasslands are still under consideration and also harmonised definitions of waste and residues are needed to avoid market distortion through the double counting mechanism (designed to promote advanced biofuels). [read more]

After seeing his grandfather fill up his car with moonshine, Bill Bivins, CEO of Kentucky-based One World Clean Energy, was inspired. Now, his company has designed a biorefinery concept which will produce both ethanol and biodiesel, as well as electricity and gas from any organic material. This includes agricultural and food-processing by-products, animal waste, recycled cooking oil and any crop... grown anywhere in the world. The concept is being able to produce energy that is cost-competitive with fossil fuels while producing no net waste and almost no emissions. The primary target for this technology is agricultural communities. ‘Our firm belief is that the One World Clean Energy Integrated Biorefinery will create opportunities for farmers by providing low-cost transportation fuel and energy at the source of consumption,’ says Bivins. ‘Our operating plans work symbiotically with the community to create a balanced supply/demand model within a 75 mile radius of the plant. ’This enhances the profitability of local farming and enables the farmers to improve their productivity and provide lower-cost food crops to the community.  [read more]

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) operates at the top of the global biodiesel trade, with dozens of oilseed crushing and refining operations in South America, Europe and Asia. It is also one of the world’s biggest agricultural processors, wielding extraordinary political power and collecting billions in subsidies from governments around the globe. The firm has lobbied for ethanol and biodiesel... benefits and its consistent product, the canola/rapeseed-based Connediesel, has helped the fuel gain market acceptance. There is an air of darkness and secrecy about the company too – former board members served time in federal prison for price fixing, the government imposed millions of dollars in fines against them for air and water pollution, and many of the horrors manifested by the rise of the factory farm are attributed to ADM’s growth and success. Now, ADM rarely answers press queries: When Biofuels Internationalasked about RFS2, the RIN market, biodiesel futures trading and other critical issues facing the industry, the opportunity to speak on the matters was ‘declined’. ADM has owned and operated a 90mgy plant in Velva, North Dakota, since 2006, but its US biodiesel development has been slow until this year when it bought Prairie Pride in Deerfield, Missouri, and announced the construction of a 70mgy plant in Lloydminster, Alberta. ‘Biodiesel represents a smart investment for ADM and for Canada,’ said J.P.Montalvo, commercia lmanager at ADM’s Lloydminster facility, when the project was announced. This brief statement, from a rare press release on ADM’s North American biodiesel business, is telling of the company’s view of the market – one where conditions are favourable to investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a new plant. ‘They think people knowing what they do and when they do it affects the speculative price of their products,’ says David Swenson, professor of economics at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Market conditions are excellent for biodiesel going into 2012, causing companies to expand their operations and business models. From 2012 through 2022, a minimum of 1 billion US gallons must be used domestically each year, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to increase the minimum volume requirement. EPA has recommended the minimum volume of biomass-based diesel to be 1 billion US gallons in 2012 and increase to 1.28 billion US gallons in 2013. [read more]