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Biofuel Producers ‘Must Comply with Carbon Emissions Rules’
July 15, 2013 Biofuel Producers ‘Must Comply with Carbon Emissions Rules’ Biofuel producers must comply with federal greenhouse gas emissions standards, a US appeals court ruled on Friday. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found the EPA had “no basis” for its 2011 rule giving paper and wood product manufacturers, ethanol producers and other biomass facilities a pass on curbing their GHGs. The EPA had put the three-year deferral in place to give it time to study the industry’s CO2 emissions. Industry groups argued regulations and permit requirements would be too costly and said in some cases, such as wood burning, biomass facilities are carbon neutral because trees absorb CO2 before they are cut down. The Center for Biological Diversity filed the suit against the EPA, arguing that the government was treating biofuels’ emissions differently from other sources of gas. The American Forest and Paper Association, the American Wood Council and other industry groups intervened in the case to support the EPA’s temporary CO2 regulation suspension. On Friday, American Forest & Paper Association president and CEO Donna Harman said the court’s ruling “creates great uncertainty” about permitting requirements for biomass facilities and “underscores the need for EPA to finalize its rulemaking on the treatment of biogenic emissions.” American Wood Council president and CEO Robert Glowinski said the trade group hopes the EPA “moves expeditiously” to finalize CO2 regulations for the biomass industry. The EPA said it’s reviewing the decision before determining what next steps to take, Reuters reports. Earlier this month, BP and Royal Dutch Shell cut back on biofuel research , stopping funding on four projects because they say the technology to generate fuel from woody plants and waste will not be economically viable until 2020 or later. Continue reading
Investment In Forestry Continues to Provide Outstanding Returns say UPM Tilhill
The latest UPM Tilhill Timber Bulletin highlights and provides a unique insight into key factors relating to UK standing coniferous timber sales such as market share, performance of the market with a view to investment and, additionally, the impact of the growth in renewable energy. Very positive news is that UK processors continue to increase their market share which has risen from 41 per cent to 44.6 per cent by volume. This, says the report’s author UPM Tilhill’s Timber Operations Director Peter Whitfield, is a huge achievement. Timber Extraction He explains: “There was a dip in timber prices at the end of 2012 but there are signs of recovery in the first half of 2013. An increase in market share of nearly 4 per cent is an outstanding achievement which I believe has been helped by significant investment across the UK timber processing sector.” Investment in forestry continues to provide outstanding returns compared to practically any other investment. In 2012 the return on investment was 18.3 per cent and over the last 10 years the annualised return was 16.3 per cent. With the most recent forecast[ii] of softwood availability for the UK forest estate showing an increase to an average of 16 million m3 over the next 25 year period – 10.6 million m3 of this totalfromthe private sector and 5.4 million m3 from the Forestry Commission – the future looks bright for both the industry and investors. The report highlights the impact of pests and diseases on commercial tree species, particularly the spread of Phytophthora ramorum and Dothistroma needle blight on Pines, which is forcing processors to review how they handle the potential additional volumes of these species coming to market and driving foresters to examine alternative species. It also says the Sterling/Euro exchange rate remains a crucial factor in the success of the UK timber industry. Peter concluded: “Looking ahead there is good evidence that the level of timber market activity should continue as it has for the past few years, driven by favourable exchange rates, continued investment and growth of domestic processors, available timber and the demand for biomass.” UPM Tilhill, established more than 60 years ago, is a national company operating from a network of offices throughout the UK. UPM Tilhill is the UK’s largest forest management and timber harvesting company. The company provides a full range of consultancy and contracting services to the forest owner and forestry investor. Continue reading
As Agriculture Booms, Farm Bill Gets Yawns
Legislation Fails to Engage at Grass-Roots Level as Farmers Reap Big Profits MARK PETERS and COREY BOLES For decades, the farm bill has served as the main vehicle for U.S. agriculture policy, getting renewed about every five years to keep billions of dollars flowing to farm subsidies and rural development programs. But lobbyists and lawmakers say the measure is drawing less grass-roots support from the Farm Belt this time around as the House struggles to pass the measure for a second straight year. Philip Scott Andrews for The Wall Street Journal Rep. Marlin Stutzman on his farm outside Howe, Ind. He is pushing to separate the nutrition programs from the agricultural part of the farm bill. [/url] “I think there are a number of farmers asking what do we need a farm bill for,” said Mr. Wolheter, whose office is adorned with dozens of hats from tractor and seed companies. “The federal debt is the real concern.” In certain slices of agriculture, the bill is attracting strong interest. Growers of vegetables, cotton, peanut and rice have pushed for an expansion of federal subsidies for crop insurance. In the dairy sector, a fight has erupted between dairy farmers and dairy-product producers over government price supports. The safety net for farmers is changing from automatic payments to farmers regardless of their economic circumstances, to crop insurance and other programs. Both the House and Senate support eliminating $5 billion a year in the direct payments to farmers, and would expand federal subsidies toward the cost of crop insurance. And so farmers in this corner of Indiana are questioning the composition of the bill like never before. “There is more concern about what they’re doing in other areas than the agricultural end of it,” said Stanley Sickafoose, who farms 6,500 acres of corn and soybeans. U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, who represents the region and farms 4,000 acres with his father and brothers, voted against the farm bill and found support from farmers as he returned home for the Fourth of July break. The Indiana Republican is pushing in Congress to split off the nutrition programs from the core farm bill. Splitting the legislation in the House would complicate negotiations over a final bill in the Senate, where the Democratic leadership in control of the chamber is staunchly opposed to a breakup. Rep. Collin Peterson, who represents a district in rural Minnesota and is the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, has warned that if the farm bill is split, no House Democrats would vote for it, and it would die in negotiations with the Senate anyway. He says he fears that without a farm bill, growers would become more exposed to a sustained decline in prices. Farmers “are very quick to forget the bad times,” Mr. Peterson said. “Right now they’re not too worried about this.” Write to Mark Peters at mark.peters@dowjones.com and Corey Boles at corey.boles@dowjones.com A version of this article appeared July 10, 2013, on page A6 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: As Agriculture Booms, Farm Bill Gets Yawns. Continue reading
