Chuck Zimmerman with Domestic Fuel is set up in Macon, Missouri at the POET ethanol plant in advance of President Obama’s visit this afternoon. The press has to set up way early for the visit, which will take place at about 1:00 pm central time. Chuck reports that the weather is gorgeous and there are lots of media on site …
Ethanol Industry Welcomes President
Growth Energy is so excited to welcome President Obama to member plant POET–Biorefining in Macon, Mo., as part of his “White House to Main Street” tour they took out a full-page ad in Wednesday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch to greet him. Text of the ad reads: “The farmers, families, plant workers, local business owners and community members who make up Growth …
Ethanol Leaders Take to the Hill
America’s ethanol industry is taking its message to Capitol Hill this week with a variety of key issues to discuss. Extending key tax incentives for all forms of ethanol, expanding the market through higher ethanol blends, and increasing the production of flexible fuel vehicles are all topics of discussion during the visit. Members of the Renewable Fuels Association are scheduled …
One-Sided Article Blames Ethanol for Meat Price Hike
The ethanol industry was quick to respond to a Bloomberg Business Week article Monday that places the blame for the current hike in meat prices solely on using corn for ethanol. The story quotes several meat industry representatives who state that current higher meat prices are “ethanol-induced” – the result of hog and cattle herds that were reduced in 2008 …
New E85 Stations Open in North Florida
Thanks to the efforts of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel there are now two new E85 fueling stations near I-10 just west of Jacksonville, Florida. R H Davis Oil Exxon in Macclenny and Citgo in Glen St. Mary will provide more fueling options to drivers of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) on the interstate as well as commuters traveling …
CME Launches Ethanol Co-Product Contract
The trading of futures contracts for the ethanol co-product that is used as livestock feed officially began today on the CME Group electronic trading platform, Globex. Distillers’ Dried Grain (DDG) futures are a physically delivered contract designed to bring price discovery and transparency to the corn crush market allowing customers to better manage their price risk in the feed, livestock, …
Obama to Visit Ethanol Plant
The White House has confirmed that President Obama will be visiting a Missouri ethanol plant this week. It will mark the first time Obama has visited a working ethanol biorefinery, although he was the guest speaker at the ribbon cutting of the now-bankrupt VeraSun plant in Charles City, Iowa when he was a presidential candidate. According to the White House, …
More Funds for Verenium Demo Cellulosic Plant
Verenium Corporation has been awarded an additional $4.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fund ongoing activities at its demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Jennings, Louisiana. “We are very pleased to receive this additional funding from the DOE, particularly given the critical work currently being performed at Jennings to optimize our cellulosic process,” said Carlos A. Riva, …
POET Ups the Cellulosic Ethanol Ante
The largest ethanol producer in the world intends to be directly or indirectly responsible for the production of 3.5 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol by 2022. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., POET CEO Jeff Broin said they have made enough progress on technology and feedstock development to break ground on their first cellulosic ethanol plant in …
ZeaChem Moves Closer to Cellulosic Ethanol
Just in time for Earth Day last week, Colorado-based ZeaChem announced it had successfully produced commercial-grade ethyl acetate, a commercial grade “green chemical,” from woody biomass instead of oil. The ethyl acetate can either be sold to chemical manufacturers or converted into ethanol through hydrogenation. “These results demonstrate ZeaChem’s ability to produce another valuable bio-based intermediate chemical on the road …