Governors' Biofuels Coalition

The Agriculture Department will allow the unlimited sale of a biotech corn designed to resist drought conditions, the agency announced this afternoon. Developed by the seed giant Monsanto Co., the corn is the first commercial biotech crop designed to resist environmental stress.

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new standards on Wednesday sharply limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from the nation’s coal- and oil-burningpower plants.
The new rule, unless blocked by Congress or the courts, will be the first time the federal government has enforced limits on mercury, arsenic, acid gases and other poisonous and carcinogenic chemicals emitted by the burning of fossil fuels.

Fuel station owners soon will be able to apply for state grant money to install ethanol blender pumps. A legislative panel voted Tuesday to approve the rule, which establishes a fund of $3.5 million to be spent on ethanol infrastructure the next five years.

Nearly 70 percent of Iowa’s farmers believe climate change is happening, and more than 40 percent expect extreme weather to strike more frequently in coming years, according to a new poll.

It happens every year. As Dec. 31 approaches, energy trade groups work overtime to make sure Congress doesn’t let their tax credits expire.

After delaying a vote that has exposed internal GOP schisms, House Republicans are poised today to turn back a bipartisan Senate proposal to force a quick White House ruling on the Keystone XL oil pipeline while extending a payroll tax cut.

Spectrum Business Ventures of Kansas City aims to bring a closed ethanol plant near Mead out of mothball status in the next few months. The former E3 Biofuels plant attracted widespread attention in 2006 as the previous management tried to pull together a project they described as a closed-loop system.

The House Republican leader on Sunday flatly rejected a short-term, bipartisan Senate measure to extend a payroll tax break and unemployment insurance, setting the stage for a bitter year-end Congressional collision and the potential loss of benefits for millions of Americans.

The Senate’s chief tax writer vowed to pursue extensions for clean energy tax credits in January after the incentives were left out of year-end tax language the Senate cleared this weekend.

Ethanol futures fell to the lowest level in a year as corn dropped and the expiration of a government subsidy approached.