General Motors is partnering with the state of Michigan, Cleanfuel USA And Meijer gas stations to add about 20 new E85 ethanol fueling sites in the southeast Michigan area. According to a GM press release, the announcement was made Tuesday during an event at the State Capitol presided over by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Questions About Ethanol Imports and Tariffs
Ethanol imports and the Brazilian tariff made up the majority of questions from the media during the “Truth About Ethanol” press conference Tuesday. Why do we need to import any ethanol if the industry can meet the demand? How much ethanol will we import this year? What about a temporary waiver of the Brazilian import tariff? What are the secondary …
Ethanol Gets Media Ears
The Truth About Ethanol press conference today (see previous post) lasted nearly an entire hour and included questions from media such as UPI, Chicago Tribune, Inside US Trade, Des Moines Register, Inside Washington, and Congress Daily as well as a number of farm journalists, although not as many as I would have expected. Bob, Bob and Jon did a pretty …
Enzymes Enhance Ethanol Efficiency
Dyadic International, Inc. is working to make ethanol production more efficient. That’s just one of the uses this Florida-based company has found for biological products such as proteins, enzymes, polypeptides and other such things in the agricultural, industrial, chemical and biopharmaceutical industries. For example, they actually pioneered the stone-free method used to make “stone-washed” blue jeans. Instead of tumbling them …
Ethanol + Diesel + City Buses = Cleaner Air
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has joined the CityHome™ program, a major national clean air initiative designed to create a better quality of life for city residents by improving urban air quality. According to a news release from the O2Diesel Corporation, By embracing the CityHome challenge, EPIC can continue to show that the benefits of ethanol are not …
Nothing But The Truth
Three industry leaders will be holding a media conference on Tuesday to “separate fact from fiction on the myth of ethanol’s role in rising gas prices.” The three are American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen, and National Corn Growers Association vice president Jon Doggett. Farm Bureau is coordinating the telephone conference call for …
Blend Your Own Ethanol
Choosing ethanol at the pumps just got easier for motorists fueling up at Sioux Valley Coop (SVC) in Watertown, S.D. The coop recently installed blender pumps which will allow customers to essentially blend their preferred level of ethanol fuel. SVC in partnership with Glacial Lakes Energy, LLC ethanol plant is hosting a “Yellow Dime” promotional event Friday to officially launch …
McCain on Ethanol
Senator John McCain was in Iowa today – the largest ethanol producing state – doing a little back-peddling on his previous strong opposition to ethanol as being too costly to produce, but still taking a strong stand against subsidies. According to the Des Moines Register, McCain said ethanol should have to compete without government help. “I think if ethanol is …
Latest Plant Plans
Minnesota – US BioEnergy Corporation announces plans for a 100 million gallon per year (mgy) ethanol plant near Springfield, Minn. (Yahoo press release) Kentucky – Bluegrass BioEnergy LLC, developers of a $95 million ethanol plant in Fulton are hoping to start construction next month on the facility that would begin production 14 months later. (AP/Duluth News Tribune) Iowa – Tama …
New Sugarcane Could Yield More Ethanol
An Australian company has patented a way to make sugarcane plants that can produce more ethanol. Farmacule BioIndustries says the key component in producing the new plants is a “patented gene activation technology, INPACT (‘In-Plant Activation technology’),” according to a company release. According to Mel Bridges, Farmacule Chairman, the Company’s research team successfully modified sugarcane plants using the INPACT technology …