Rains and flooding kept farmers in the Midwest corn and soybean belts out of their fields for a long time this spring. But according to a new report from the USDA, the actual stockpiles of the main feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel are higher than expected. This story in Forbes says the U.S. has a 30-day stockpile of soybeans… a relief for biodiesel producers who have been worried what a tight supply could do to their industry: A survey of farmers and warehouses pegged the stockpile at 205

As lawmakers wrestle over a bailout for Wall Street, some renewable energy producers on Main Street are wondering if they’ll at least get an extension of some valuable tax credits. This story from Agriculture Online quotes Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, as saying that if Congress adjourns without passing a tax relief bill, it would be a catastrophe because of how reliant wind and biodiesl are on their tax breaks: The tax bill, which also would

The catamaran uses a V10 biodiesel marine engine and measures 8.8 meters long. You could whiz past water bodies at an amazing top speed of 110mph.

A research service for the chemical industry say that the U.S. is poised to be the world leader in biodiesel consumption by 2012. According to a press release posted on MarketWatch.com, SRI Consulting has published its Global 2008 Biodiesel Report, which says Americans will consume nearly one-fifth of all the world’s biodiesel by 2012… a dramatic turnaround from being a distant second to Europe just a few years ago: A slower pace of growth is projected for the global biodiesel industry due to

AlertNet.org reports that the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (Unica) says the U.S. and Brazil will work together on biofuel promotion even though they have long-running trade disputes. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently approved a bill to increase energy cooperation and it helped make the new collaboration possible.