Georgia’s Agriculture Innovation Center (AgIC) recently received nearly $200,000 for matching research grants to help support six agricultural-based businesses. Five of those six are focused on bioenergy. Bill Boone, director of the AgIC, says the focus on bioenergy is not surprising. “Georgia is among the leaders in the bioenergy revolution. In order to stay in the forefront, we must continue …
POET Plant Increases Capacity
POET Biorefining – Chancellor started producing ethanol last week at its expanded capacity of 100 million gallons per year. The company reports that it took the South Dakota-based plant less than 24 hours to achieve its new nameplate capacity. The $100 million construction project started 12 months ago and doubled the plant’s production capacity. With the expansion completed, the annual …
Florida Plant Seeks Zoning Change
A Florida sugar company is seeking a zoning change in Palm Beach county to allow it to produce cellulosic ethanol. According to an article in the Palm Beach Post, Florida Crystals Corp needs a zoning change that would allow cellulosic-ethanol plants – factories that produce ethanol from plant waste rather than corn – to be built in areas already zoned …
POET Prepares to Open Plant 23
POET is preparing for the grand opening of its 23rd production facility next month in Alexandria, Indiana. On April 17, POET will host a grand opening event for POET Biorefining – Alexandria which will include addresses from Lt. Governor Becky Skillman and Andy Miller, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. POET Biorefining – Alexandria will produce 65 million …
Half-Baked Ideas
Bakers are blaming ethanol for higher wheat prices and demanding changes in the ethanol policy to “Save Our Wheat,” but their claims are “half-baked,” according to ethanol industry officials. “The idea ethanol production is the driving factor behind high wheat prices is half-baked,” said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. “American farmers increased their wheat production in 2007 at a …
Delaware Company Opening “Go Green” Convenience Stores
A company from Delaware has announced plans to build and operate 1,000 convenience stores on the East Coast, featuring alternative fuels, especially E85 ethanol and biodiesel. This story posted on the Convenience Stores Decisions web site says Alternative Fuel Distributors of Wilmington wants to have all the stores in operation in three years and the first 100 open by the …
Cellulosic Venture Capitol
Range Fuels has been held up as the poster child for commercializing cellulosic ethanol and the company has now raised $100 million to build a 100-million-gallon-a-year plant in Georgia. Range Fuels has also received a US Department of Energy grant and other venture funding in an effort to get the plant up and producing at least 20 million gallons of …
Marathon to Make 16 Midwest Terminals E10 Only
Several Midwest terminals for Marathon Oil will carry only E10 blended fuel starting May 1. According to the company, Marathon Oil Corporation will switch to 100 percent ethanol-blended fuel at 16 Midwest terminals located in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Specific locations are Indianapolis (86th Street) and Muncie, Ind.; Louisville (Algonquin), Ky.; Detroit (Refinery Rack), Romulus, Niles (South), Bay …
Safely Moving Ethanol
Several ethanol producers are among the winners of the 14th annual CSXT Chemical Safety Excellence Award which reflects commitment to rail car maintenance and safety as well as continuous safe tank car loading. To be eligible for the award, companies must ship 600 or more railcars per year on CSXT and have zero non-accidental releases during the year. Among the …
Transitional Ethanol
On Saturday in Indiana, Presidential candidate Barack Obama echoed what a Nobel laureate in physics said Wednesday in Nebraska – corn-based ethanol is a transitional technology. During a campaign stop in corn country over the weekend, the Terre Haute News reports that Senator Obama was asked what he thought about corn-based ethanol. Obama answered, “We spend a billion dollars a …