It’s been a little over two years since Delta Airlines took the plunge into the refining business as part of its fuel cost control strategy. The refinery posted a $19 million profit in the third quarter, but has run into problems complying with the renewable fuel standard. The refinery was reconfigured to maximize jet fuel… Keep reading →
More problems with the Renewable Fuel Standard – an ethanol and biodiesel US transportation fuel supply blending requirement – have arisen with fraud allegations against an Indiana company that sold 33.5 million renewable-fuel credits for biofuel it never produced. This is not the first time fraudulent renewable-fuel credits have disrupted the RIN market and the EPA has been… Keep reading →
Is the Renewable Fuel Standard broken beyond repair? It depends who you ask, but it’s certainly problematic. The RFS enforced by the EPA was originally envisioned as a way to get more biofuel into the US transportation fuel market, but changing technology and consumption patterns have required continual adjustments to the law. The EPA recently… Keep reading →
By: Javier E. David As the U.S. prods the oil industry to blend more ethanol into gasoline, charges are flying between refiners and biofuel advocates about the impact of such mandates—and whether the so-called Blend Wall is really a problem at all. Under a law passed in 2007, refiners are required to mix a certain… Keep reading →
The credits – Renewable Index Numbers – created to track compliance with EPA-mandated ethanol blending into the US fuel supply as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard reportedly created a market easily manipulated by Wall Street and other players. [New York Times] Some positive climate change news may be on the horizon when the Intergovernmental… Keep reading →
Congressional hearings this week focusing on the EPA Renewable Fuel Standard bring together impassioned speakers representing the US biofuel constituency, traditional fossil fuel interests, major food companies and other stakeholders. With so many business interests involved, there is clearly a lot at stake – thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for starters – but… Keep reading →
Ron Wyden, Democratic Senator from Oregon and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, grilled oil market experts today on why US consumers are not benefiting from higher US oil production via lower gasoline prices at the pump. Those experts indicated that whether or not they are aware of it, US consumers… Keep reading →
UK oil major BP made a big splash in 2000 when it changed its name to “Beyond Petroleum” (originally British Petroleum) and changed its logo to a sunburst design that was supposed to represent the company’s greater renewable energy focus. BP has since scaled back some of those efforts, but other firms are pushing ahead… Keep reading →
