ExxonMobil Corp. said it would refocus its research on algae-derived biofuels after it invested $100 million over the last four years with few solid results, Bloomberg reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday approved a massive five-year farm bill that would cut spending while also creating new subsidies for farmers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's still a little something for everyone in massive farm bills that Congress is considering this week, even though the legislation would cut billions of dollars from federal farm and food subsidies.
The leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee called for stakeholder comments on the environmental impact of biofuels in response to their third white paper on the Renewable Fuel Standard.
NEW YORK (AP) — Corn futures surged Monday on concern that wet, cold weather in the central U.S. Plains region will delay planting and reduce harvests.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced an agreement for a five-year extension for a program to develop biofuels for commercial airplanes, The Hill reports.
FIVE POINTS, Calif. (AP) — Amid the vast almond orchards and grape fields that surround Five Points in California's Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappeared from the state's farms is making a comeback: sugar beets.
The Senate voted down Sen. Pat Toomey's amendment to a government funding bill that would have moved $60 million from the Pentagon's biofuel program to operations and management, The Hill reports.
Opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard have raised concerns about the biofuel industry's ability to produce enough non-corn cellulosic fuels to meet federal mandates. This week, the Energy Department added to the debate by lowering its 2013 production forecast.
The department's Energy Information Administration had given the Environmental Protection Agency last October a prediction of 9.6 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels. On Tuesday, it lowered that number to 5 million gallons in an issue brief published on the EIA site that offered no explanation for the drop.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed a nearly 9 percent increase in the use of biofuels this year under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.
The agency set an overall total of 16.55 billion gallons to be used in transportation, compared to 15.2 billion gallons last year. The 2013 target includes increases in the use of advanced biofuels, biomass-based diesel and cellulosic biofuels.
A Chamber of Commerce study reported more than 100 new EPA rules have been forced by "sue and settle" tactics from environmental groups, The Hill reports.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Charlotte-area residents that a crack at a reactor at Duke Energy's Shearon Harris Plant did not pose a threat to safety, WSOC-TV reports.
The U.S. Geological Survey said water levels in aquifers declined from 2000 to 2008 at a rate nearly three times greater than any point in the last century, Reuters reports.
An international group of solar trade groups issued a statement calling on the European Union and the U.S. to avoid a trade war over solar panels with China, The Washington Post reports.
ExxonMobil Corp. said it would refocus its research on algae-derived biofuels after it invested $100 million over the last four years with few solid results, Bloomberg reports.
The United States and the European Union plan to negotiate settlements with China for the import of cheaper Chinese solar panels into Western markets, The New York Times reports.
