June 20, 2011
BY Susanne Retka Schill
No doubt the buzz at FEW next week will be “What will life be like after VEETC?” There’s no longer any doubt that VEETC will be gone, it’s just a matter of when. The industry is supporting its demise, in exchange for an infrastructure program. Although a measure to end VEETC was voted down in the Senate early in the week, another passed, although shortly after that vote, yet another measure supporting ethanol blending infrastructure passed. The small producers and cellulosic ethanol credits weren’t included in those measures. BCAP, the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, is also under attack, and would be eliminated, if last week’s vote in the House prevails. Of course, these votes aren’t the final say. These, and other votes, were on measures attached to other bills in both chambers of Congress. It’s been said there’s little chance of a companion bill in the other chamber making it, or of it being signed into law by the president. While some aspects of biofuel support can go, others are very much needed if there is to be advanced biofuel development.
Actually the hottest news of the week – judging by the hits on the website -- were two stories about project announcements. Redfield Energy signed a joint venture with Gevo to retrofit to biobutanol production and a long-proposed MSW-to-ethanol project near Chicago has a green light.
All of these developments will no doubt be part of the buzz at FEW at Indianapolis in just a week’s time. It’s shaping up to be a good event, with good attendance on all fronts. As always, there’s a full line up of speakers and workshops. There will be some new presenters plus many coming back to give updates. A nice proportion of registrants are ethanol producers – something we like to see. The expo will be full of exhibitors eager to talk about their products and services. Most of all, it’s a great opportunity to network. To chat with your counterparts in whatever sector of the industry you work in, or to learn more about sectors you’re less familiar with.
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Hope to see you there. If you haven’t preregistered, there’s still time to sign up at www.fuelethanolworkshop.com. Walk-in registrations are welcome, too.
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