By Shane Romig /BUENOS AIRES (MarketWatch) — Argentina has asked the European Commission to issue an opinion on whether Spain’s recent decision to block Argentine biodiesel imports violates World Trade Organization rules.

Spain’s actions “shouldn’t be allowed by the European Union as it would be incompatible with the commitments assumed by the bloc in international trade agreements and the rules stipulated by the WTO,” Argentina’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

The ministry sent a letter with its request to EC trade director Jean-Luc Demarty.

Last month, Spain started requiring that all biodiesel used there be sourced from European Union producers. The measure effectively blocks imports of the fuel from Argentina, which had dominated Spain’s biodiesel market. Leer más »

BUENOS AIRES,(Reuters) – Argentina will gradually
raise the blending requirement for biodiesel in diesel fuel, a
decision coinciding with Spain’s bid to buy fewer Argentine
biofuels, financial daily El Cronista reported on Tuesday. 

 The government aims to increase the biodiesel blending
requirement to 10 percent from 7 percent between May and
October, raising it by half a percentage point each month, El
Cronista said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan.  Leer más »

By Erin Voegele | January 03, 2012/The American Soybean Association recently published a list of key accomplishments it achieved in 2011, including several related to the biodiesel industry. “Record U.S. soybean production and export values and record biodiesel production were clear indicators of the benefit of ASA’s long-term efforts to increase both domestic and international market demand,” said ASA Chairman and past president Alan Kemper.”While we are proud of our work, this is aIt  shared record of accomplishment that was made possible by the work of ASA, our state affiliates, the soybean checkoff at both the national and state levels, and our industry partners.” Leer más »

By Bryan Sims | January 03, 2012/Israel-based Evogene Ltd. has launched a wholly owned subsidiary, Evofuel Ltd., to accelerate the development and commercialization of castor bean varieties in Brazil for biodiesel and biojet fuel production, as well as to expand biofuel research and development activities located in Israel.

According to a statement released by Evogene, the impetus behind establishing the subsidiary is due to the need for diversifying feedstock supply to fulfill worldwide demand of biodiesel, which currently relies mainly on edible oils such as soybeans and canola. Leer más »

By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters)/The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Canadian crops such as canola and corn in U.S. biofuels on Thursday, a move that lifted Canadian canola prices and may help the U.S. meet its ambitious targets for biofuels.

The EPA’s designation of Canadian crops as a renewable biomass will allow U.S. biofuel makers to collect tax credits for using them, said Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth.

“I suspect we will see more canola moving into the U.S. now,” Buth said in an interview. Leer más »

By Nigel Hunt and Ikuko Kurahone.LONDON | Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:30pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) – Major British independent oil firm Greenergy sees its future as an exploration company, but one that hunts for fuel in piles of stale pork pies and cakes rather than under the ground or from food crops.

The refined oil product wholesaler is still investing in the embattled European Union biodiesel sector, aiming to utilise ever more challenging waste products after abandoning, at least for now, the widely criticised use of virgin vegetable oils. Leer más »

Across the nation, biodiesel plants have been restarting or ramping up production, spurred by a revived federal tax credit and renewable energy mandates.

Becky Williams removes a pumping tube from a truck delivering oil to Renewable Energy Group’s biodiesel plant in Glenville, Minn. The plant was idled in March 2008 but has a new lease on life. (Renee Jones Schneider, MCT / September 19, 2011).Lufthansa flights take off using biofuel mix in engines./By David Shaffer.

Reporting from Glenville, Minn.— For more than three years, the SoyMor Biodiesel plant sat idle — victim of a slump that took down more than a quarter of the plants in the industry. Leer más »

* Rotterdam plant largest in Europe

* Production to be ramped up in stages

* Lifts Neste Oil’s total renewable diesel capacity to 2 mln tonnes a year (Adds CEO comments)

HELSINKI, Sept 20 – Neste Oil has started up its new renewable diesel plant in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, the Finnish refiner said on Tuesday.

The plant, with a total capacity of 800,000 tonnes per year, is the largest in Europe and can make renewable diesel from different types of vegetable oils and waste fats.

Production of renewable diesel would be ramped up in stages, the company said. Leer más »

Expedito José de Sá Parente, 70, a Brazilian scientist who is considered the creator of biodiesel died this week in Fortaleza, capital of the northeastern state of Ceará. President Dilma Rousseff paid tribute to the researcher who developed the ‘green’ fuel from oilseeds.

Chemical engineer Sá Parente “created biodiesel which is a motive of pride for all Brazilians” recalled President Rousseff in an official release underlining that “the discovery patented by Brazil, had a wide international acknowledgement and has had a decisive influence in the country’s future.” Leer más »

By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan.QUEZON CITY, Aug. 16 (PIA) — The Aquino administration is eying the potential of the oil derived from coconuts or “coco-biodiesel” to reduce the country’s overdependence on imported fuels, an official from the Philippine Coconut Authority said Tuesday.

During the CNEX – Talking Points forum held at the Philippine Information Agency, PCA public relations officer Thelma Tolentino said government is considering to increase the current minimum two percent blend of coco-diesel due to its many benefits. Leer más »