A leading advanced biofuels company has teamed up with a major automobile maker to speed up the production and use of cellulosic ethanol made from non-food feedstocks. Chrysler Group and ZeaChem today announced the formation of a strategic alliance to “strengthen the credibility among regulators and American consumers of cellulosic ethanol as a cost-effective green transportation alternative; move away from …
Wrapping Things Up At Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
The 2011 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is over and that means a lot of bikers went home more aware of ethanol and hopefully better informed about how it performs in their bikes and what it does for our economy. To get a wrap up on how it went for the ethanol promotion sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association I spoke with …
Long Ride To Sturgis
Riding all the way to Sturgis, SD from Richmond, Virginia was Doug Brandmahl. He was one of the participants I spoke with during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Doug says he’s been to Sturgis before and it’s worth all the pain in his butt to get there. He says he hadn’t thought much about ethanol before since it’s blended in all …
Understanding Ethanol Production at Sturgis
As Sturgis winds down I thought I’d share a comment from one of the attendees. He was wearing a Dekalb cap so I figured he might just know something about corn and perhaps ethanol. Joe Randall is from Missouri and was in the crowd that gathered to get some t-shirts. He says his son is on the family farm and …
Bikers From Australia See Need For Alternative Fuel
Bikers come a long way to go to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Probably none came any further than these folks from Queensland, Australia. They got some nice t-shirts from the on-location ethanol team. I asked them what they thought of using renewable fuels like ethanol. The answer, “I guess we’re really going to have to do something about an alternative …
Kansas Corn Helping at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
The ethanol team got a helping hand this week at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally from Jere White, Executive Director, Kansas Corn Growers Association. Here he is handing out promotional t-shirts. I sat down with him to get his thoughts on this promotional opportunity. Jere says the audience is a little different than might have been considered in the past but …
Making Energy More Environmentally Friendly
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sponsor Interstate Batteries likes seeing ethanol as a sponsor too since both companies are energy oriented. According to Mike Ragan there’s also a tie through the fact that both are working on more environmentally friendly means of producing energy. In my interview with him he describes how they’re changing some very old technology. He also made a …
New Biofuels Projects Funded
Ten new government-funded research projects were announced today to help accelerate bioenergy feedstock production. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a waste-to-energy bioprocessing facility under construction in Florida today to announce that the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy …
Honoring Our Fallen Military and Veterans
The Traveling Wall by AVTT was on display at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. This wall contains names of those who have lost their life in service to our country, defending our freedom. I met Charlie Weatherly and John Barron both of whom work for AVTT and travel with the exhibit. Outside of the interview with them which you can listen …
Ag Secretary to Visit Florida Advanced Biofuel Plant
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is scheduled to pay a visit to a Florida advanced biofuel plant on Thursday afternoon. Vilsack will tour the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy facility in Vero Beach. The company received a $75 million USDA loan guarantee earlier this year to help build and operate a biorefinery capable of producing eight million gallons per year …