Energy

Hansjörg Wyss is one of the most influential billionaire philanthropists that nobody much talks about. [node:read-more:link]

On June 26, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its proposed rule for establishing the volume obligations under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) (EPA Proposed Rule).  If finalized, the proposed rule would set the requirements for obligated parties to comply with the RFS for calendar year 2019, as well as the requirements for biomass-based diesel for calendar year 2020.  On its face, the proposed rule and its obligations appear to be non-controversial and straightforward.  Buried within the proposed rule, however, is a mechanism for potentially reducing the mandate be [node:read-more:link]

The EPA was set to reallocate gallons lost in the Renewable Fuel Standard to small-refinery waivers, but that proposal was pulled within days after a series of meetings and phone calls that then EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had with lawmakers from oil states and RFS stakeholders. As part of the rulemaking process on the latest proposed RFS volumes, which are slated for a public hearing on July 18, the agency on Wednesday posted a number of documents to regulations.gov showing the interagency process that took place prior to the proposal's release. [node:read-more:link]

Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Dairy Barn has installed a state-of-the-art system that separates manure from sand bedding material.  Officials with the barn, which is home to 200 cows, say the technology provides clean bedding for the animals and creates "muck" that is perfect for making electricity and heat. Here's how it works, according to Cornell:Manure is conveyed into the new separator, adjacent to the barn, Minutes later, clean sand emerges ready for another day’s use, Liquid manure is collected in a tank for removal. [node:read-more:link]

A little-noticed provision in the 2017 tax reform law could threaten the non-profit status of rural electric cooperatives if they use federal disaster aid or take advantage of a new initiative to expand broadband service.  The provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts means that government grants to co-ops, including disaster aid and assistance through a rural broadband program Congress enacted earlier this year, are now taxable, according to a letter the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has (NRECA) sent to the congressional tax-writing committees.  Under Section 118 of the old [node:read-more:link]

Though gasoline prices are higher than last year heading into the Fourth of July holiday, a new Renewable Fuels Association analysis found that E10, or 10% ethanol-blended gasoline, is saving consumers at the pump.According to AAA, a record 39.7 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more by automobile for the holiday. That is a 5% increase from more than one year ago. The RFA said those drivers will be paying at least 12% less for gasoline -- or 26 cents per gallon -- because of ethanol. [node:read-more:link]

nergy Secretary Rick Perry on Thursday warned the leaders of Northeast states who are trying to block natural gas pipelines that they will face a “real reckoning” of higher energy costs and vulnerabilities in their power grid.“The citizens of New York are paying more for energy,” Perry said during a panel session at the World Gas Conference in Washington. “Their health and well-being is being put in jeopardy. [node:read-more:link]

The amount of biofuels gallons lost to small refinery waivers was worse than many had estimated. The EPA granted waivers to the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2016 and 2017, totaling 2.25 billion gallons of biofuels, according to the agency's latest renewable volume obligations proposal.In a recent analysis, the Renewable Fuels Association estimated the total to be around 1.6 billion gallons. EPA outlined details of the bank for renewable identification numbers, or RINs, in the proposed volumes. [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency increased the total amount of ethanol and biodiesel that must used next year to 19.88 billion gallons under the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard for 2019, a 3 percent increase over this year's levels.  But state and national ethanol and biodiesel advocates also wanted a commitment from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that the agency would stop providing dozens of hardship waivers to oil refineries. The waivers are designed to help provide relief to small refiners but they've been doled out large oil corporations, too. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has consistently ignored recommendations from the Department of Energy to reject or limit waivers to oil refiners seeking exemptions from nation’s biofuels law, according to five sources familiar with the matter. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard requires the firms to cover costs of blending corn-based ethanol into gasoline. [node:read-more:link]