On June 21, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule that established biofuel volume requirements and standards for cellulosic biofuel for 2023–25 as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The cellulosic biofuel category primarily applies to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), a form of natural … [continued]
Federal subsidies for renewable energy—including biofuels for transportation use and renewable generation of electricity—dropped to $6.7 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2016, a 56% decline from FY 2013. Renewable subsidies in FY 2010 and FY 2013 were approximately $15 billion, more than double FY 2016 levels, as support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) lessened. Despite the decline, renewable energy continued to receive a large share of total federal energy subsidies, accounting for 46% of the FY 2016 total.
A ten-year review of the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by researchers at the University of Tennessee (UT) found that the RFS is “too reliant” on corn ethanol, and the production of this biofuel is resulting in additional water and soil problems, as well as “hampering advancements” in other biofuels. … [continued]
Corn ethanol was once the undisputed darling of the biofuel industry, but the drought that withered last summer’s corn harvests down to the bone has highlighted the unsustainable tension between corn for fuel and corn for food, lending new urgency to the search for alternatives. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has … [continued]
