The governor of Texas is asking the federal government to cut “skyrocketing” food prices by waiving half of the renewable fuel standard for ethanol made from grain. Governor Rick Perry said in a statement that such a waiver was “the best, quickest way” to ease rising food costs before lasting damage was done. The Renewable Fuels Association criticized the governor’s …
CNBC Focuses on Ethanol
Ethanol’s role in higher food prices was the focus of CNBC’s Street Signs program on Friday. One segment featured Ethanol Promotion and Information Council director of operations Robert White, along with Sean McBride of the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association and New York Times columnist Roger Cohen. White and Cohen were in the position of defending biofuels. Leading in with a story …
Nebraska Ethanol Plans E85 Workshops
The Nebraska Ethanol Board, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and the Clean Fuels Development Coalition are holding a series of E85 Direct Marketing Workshops next month. The aim of the workshops is to promote direct marketing relationships between ethanol producers and fuel retailers and reduce costs for all parties involved. Ethanol plants, petroleum equipment suppliers, petroleum marketers and auto dealers …
VeraSun Honors VE85 Retailers
VeraSun Energy has announced recipients of its 2007 VE85™ Awards, recognizing five independent fuel marketers for retail sales, promotion and education of VeraSun’s branded E85 for use in flexible fuel vehicles. Gas City, Ltd. earned the VE85™ Retailer of the Year Award, VeraSun’s most prestigious award for 2007. The independent petroleum marketer is located in Frankfort, Ill., and owns and …
Ethanol Podcast on Efficiency and Food Prices
The latest “Ethanol Report” podcast from the Renewable Fuels Association features comments from RFA President Bob Dinneen on the new report from Argonne National Laboratory about the increased efficiency of U.S. ethanol plants, as well as how higher oil prices are the real cause of food price inflation. You can subscribe to “The Ethanol Report” by following this link. Or …
Americans Worried About Energy Issues
A new poll shows that when it comes to energy, Americans are most worried about dependence on foreign oil. The survey, commissioned by Renewable Fuels Now and conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc., polled 1200 voters earlier this year about a number of issues facing Americans. The top three concerns were the war in Iraq, health insurance and …
Oklahoma to Grow Switchgrass for Ethanol
The state of Oklahoma is getting into the switchgrass business for cellulosic ethanol production. The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center has secured land for more than 1,000 acres – the “world’s largest stand of switchgrass” – of production-scale demonstration fields. Planting will take place within the next 45 days. The land is located near Guymon in the state’s panhandle. This switchgrass field …
Flex Fuel Energy Victory
Aerospace engineer and author Robert Zubrin has been getting some media attention lately for his book, “Energy Victory,” in which he outlines a simple plan for “winning the war on terror by breaking free of oil.” Most recently, he was featured on a segment of the Business News Network, a popular nationwide TV show in Canada. Zubrin believes the American …
Ethanol Pipeline Across Florida Nears Opening
A pipeline that has carried gasoline the 104 miles from the Port of Tampa to the Orlando since the mid-1960s could soon be carrying ethanol across the Sunshine State. This story posted on the St. Petersburg (FL) Times web site says the 16-inch pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan is going through some upgrades in preparation of becoming the nation’s first …
Ethanol-Powered Crop Dusters
A Brazilian aircraft maker is selling more ethanol-powered crop dusters these days. Embraer is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, including commercial and corporate jets as well as defense systems. The company has a subsidiary called Neiva that specializes in smaller planes, like the Ipanema, a low-wing agricultural monoplane – or crop duster. According to Wired, Neiva …