Biofuels
With the election over, President Obama’s energy priorities will emerge as new rules and regulations are finalized under existing law. The balance of power in Washington is the same as it was prior to the elections– President Barack Obama will serve another four years and Congress will continue to be divided with a Democrat-controlled Senate…...
Under President Obama’s second term, energy industry officials and analysts are keen on the Administration’s priorities for the energy sector, envisioning regulatory reforms and policies to advance the nation’s energy and economic security. Key areas to watch include Keystone XL Pipeline talks, recognizing the primacy of states in regulating oil and natural gas development, and…...
Sequestration refers to a package of automatic $1.2 trillion across-the-board spending cuts that is a part of the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA), passed in August 2011. The spending cuts would affect some 1200 government programs, including those that fund energy research and development initiatives. The cuts are scheduled to begin on January 2, 2013…...
On November 13, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue its decision on whether or not to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2012-2013. Waiving the RFS could reduce demand for the crops used to make biofuels, potentially offsetting some of the impacts of this year’s drought and reducing crop prices…...
According to a report released by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on August 27, 2012, applying a carbon tax at the rate of $20 per ton in 2013 and increasing it by four percent per year can raise $1.5 trillion over a span of 10 years. The report, which comes at a time when Congress…...
The House Committee on Agriculture held several hearings this month to review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill. The hearings will help Congress get a head start on sculpting the legislation, which authorizes funds for many farm support, conservation, energy, trade, marketing, food assistance, and rural development programs over several years. Many of the…...
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works heard from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack this month on the domestic ethanol policy, with the focus on moving from corn ethanol to advanced biofuels. Much of the April 13th hearing revolved around the benefit of the 45 cent-per-gallon subsidy for blending ethanol into gasoline and the 54 cent-per-gallon…...