Corn-ethanol is still getting some love...

White House Steps Up Support for Biofuels - NY Times

"The White House made its first major statement on ethanol on Tuesday, mustering three Cabinet members to outline a plan to shield corn ethanol producers from the credit crisis, work with them to cut their use of natural gas and coal in ethanol production, and nudge the auto industry toward production of vehicles that can use ethanol at concentrations of up to 85 percent.

In pursuing these goals, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy, Tom Vilsack, and Steven Chu, along with the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, announced during a press conference the formation of a “Biofuels Interagency Working Group,’’ comprised of the three agencies."

Also from today:

-The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a stricter GHG emissions standard aimed at making corn-ethanol production more efficient. However, this has caused somewhat of an uproar in the corn-ethanol community.

-The Energy Department is pumping $786 million into the biofuel sector, and the Agriculture Department will contribute $1.1 billion within 30 days.

Ethanol stocks rose significantly as a result:
- Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) rose 17 cents (40.48%) to 59 cents. (Today's volume - 4,697,917/Avg volume - 336,734)
- Verenium Corporation (VRNM) rose 15 cents (39.97%) to 53 cents. (Today's volume - 6,350,891/Avg volume - 1,325,990)
- Bluefire Ethanol Fuels (BFRE.ob) rose 26 cents (38.24%) to 94 cents.
- Aventine (ABRNQ.PK) rose 2.8 cents (32.18%) to 11.5 cents.

Let's see how long these stocks will ride the Obama wave...