| Biobased and Renewable Products Update |
| August 29, 2019 |
Federal
DOE Announces Annual Wind
Market Reports
On August 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
released annual market reports on data and trends in wind technologies, costs,
installations, prices, and performance through 2018. The reports
cover three sectors: offshore, distributed wind, and utility-scale land-based.
According to Under Secretary of Energy, Mark W. Menezes, onshore wind
installations continue to proliferate across the United States. Demonstrating
support for the Trump Administration, Menezes stated that it has been “proven
that we can pursue renewable energy advancements and deployment, particularly
wind energy resources, which are predicted to surpass other sources of
renewable power generation this year [2019].” During 2018, the utility-scale
land-based wind sector had 7,588 megawatts (MW) installed with record low costs
and prices. Prepared by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the 2018
Wind Technologies Market Report found that wind industry employment is at an
all-time high and provides 6.5% of the nation’s electricity.
EPA Announces Revision To
Current Pesticide Crop Grouping Regulations
On August 27, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) announced via the Federal
Register, proposed revisions to its pesticide tolerance crop
grouping regulations. These regulations allow the establishment of
tolerances for multiple related crops based on data from a representative set
of crops. EPA is proposing the revision of one commodity definition and the addition
of three new commodity definitions. In addition, EPA’s proposal includes an
amendment to the herbs and spices crop group currently provided in Crop Group
19. The crops in current Crop Group 19: Herbs and Spices Group will be
separated into two new crop groups: Crop Group 25: Herb Group and Crop Group
26: Spice Group. These revisions aim to increase the utility and benefit of the
crop grouping system for producers and other commercial agriculture
stakeholders. Over the next several years, a series of crop group updates is
expected. Comments are due on October
28, 2019.
International
FAO Publishes Report On
Aquatic Genetic Resources
The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) recently published a report titled The
State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture,
which is the first ever of its kind and focuses on farmed aquatic species and
their wild relatives within national jurisdictions. The report
builds the information and knowledge base required for action at the national,
regional, and international levels sustainably to conserve, use, and develop
aquatic genetic resources for food and agriculture. With contributions from
more than 90 countries, the report portrays the broad range of aquatic
organisms farmed and fished around the globe, the various technologies used,
the status of existing programs, the roles of key stakeholders, and the main
national and international policies and networking mechanisms at play. In its
report, FAO highlights challenges for the responsible management of aquatic
genetic resources, which include a need for the acceleration of genetic
improvement of key aquaculture species and the development of strong policies
and governance systems.
Other News
| ■ |
Reuters, “Facing Farmer Anger, Trump Scrambles Cabinet to
Brainstorm on Biofuel Policy: Sources” |
| ■ |
Cosmeticsdesign.com, “Sulapac: The Startup Making Biodegradable, Plastic-Free
Beauty Packaging a Reality” |
| ■ |
The Times, “EU Curbs Used Cooking Oil in Biodiesel Due to Fears of
Fraud” |
| ■ |
Engineering.com, “Algae Filter Paper Offers New Hope for Stopping
Waterborne Illness” |
| ■ |
The Gazette, “Amy Klobuchar: Trump Treating Farmers Like ‘Bargaining
Chips’” |
| ■ |
Forbes, “Boston Startup Puts a New Spin on Silk, Replacing
Petrochemicals in Clothing and Skincare” |
| ■ | The Asahi Shimbun, “Rain-Resistant Wheat Variety Developed Using Genome Editing” |
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