Andersons add cheap U.S. wheat to corn-based ethanol
The Andersons Inc, a major U.S. ethanol producer, has started mixing wheat into its corn-based biofuel in a move to lower costs and diversify its sourcing amid increasingly tight corn supplies.
Andersons, which operates three U.S. ethanol plants with total capacity of 300 million gallons, has started using soft red winter wheat along with corn.
Neill McKinstray, vice president and general manager of The Andersons ethanol division, confirmed the move, but said he could not discuss the matter.
Many in the industry see the move as a surprising but potentially savvy strategy for dealing with dwindling supplies of the corn feedstock. (Reuters)
Exclusive: Climate impact threatens biodiesel future in EU
Europe’s biodiesel industry could be wiped out by EU plans to tackle the unwanted side effects of biofuel production, after studies showed few climate benefits, four papers obtained by Reuters show.
Europe’s world-leading $13 billion biodiesel industry, which has boomed in the wake of a decision by Brussels policymakers in 2003 to promote it, is now on the verge of being legislated out of existence after the studies revealed biodiesel’s indirect impact cancels out most of its benefits.
“This study would pave the way for the demise of the European biodiesel sector,” Philippe Tillous-Borde, chief of French oilseed giant Sofiproteol, which owns Europe’s largest biodiesel producer, told Reuters.
