“It is becoming even more important as we see the maximum market demand for E10 blends quickly approaching,” says Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

“It is believed that the E10 market will be saturated by 2012 or 2013 at about 12-14 billion gallons a year.

"That’s about twice what we produce right now.

"So it's critical that timely approvals be made for intermediate blends of ethanol-blended gasoline for non-flexible-fuel vehicles.”

The EPA has indicated it is seeking input and data from stakeholders.

The state of Minnesota, in conjunction with the Renewable Fuels Association, has released a year-long study measuring the

effects of E20.

The report shows no problems with either the automotive equipment or their performance.

This positive approach to push ahead with biofuels in the US contracts with the situation in Australia, where the Federal Government, in particular, has turned its back on biofuels, according to Ronald Thompson, a Nuffield scholar who spent a year travelling across 12 countries

He warns that Australia is being left behind in the biofuels race.

Yet he says biofuel production has the potential to revitalise the Australian rural economy.

In almost every country he visited, biofuels are becoming a part of the way of life. (See separate story).

Mr Thompson, a Queensland farmer, will deliver the keynote address to this week's Ethanol 2008 Conference in Sydney, starting on Tuesday.

SOURCE: Farm Progress, US, a Fairfax Media publication, and FarmOnline.