The probability that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will grant Growth Energy’s request for a waiver that would permit ethanol blends of up to 15% in gasoline is not very likely, according to Washington sources.

As more and more mothballed ethanol plants some on line, supply seems to be catching up with demand, causing ethanol spot and rack prices to decline while futures rise slightly.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) unveiled a report Aug. 11 that ranks the top-10 U.S. states where gasoline purchases take a greater share of motorists’ personal income. The NRDC also ranked which states are doing the most to adopt clean energy practices.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration in its Short-Term Energy Outlook estimated that the majority of falling oil demand worldwide this year came from developed countries. As the year progresses, the economy is expected to improve, first in Asia and other developing regions. Once the economy improves, oil demand also is expected to grow.

Thanks to a greater yield per acre, the U.S. corn crop should set a record at 12.8 billion bushels this year, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Steven Chu and Growth Energy’s Wesley Clark sparred over the benefits of corn ethanol as opposed to second- and third-generation biofuels at this week’s Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas.

To bolster the manufacturing of clean energy technologies, the U.S. Departments of Energy and Treasury announced that companies will be able to apply for clean energy tax credits as part of a $2.3 billion tax credit program.

Hart Energy Consulting will host its annual South American conference on Sept. 9-10 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns climate change is a fundamental threat to mankind and urges action before this December’s conference in Copenhagen to hammer out a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Meanwhile 2,400 delegates meet in Bonn to try to come up with a solution.