U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting Secretary Chuck Conner and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman today announced the appointment of six new members and the reappointment of seven members to serve on its Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee for a term of three years. The Committee was established by the Biomass Research and Development Act …
Auto Show Highlights Ethanol Powered Concept Cars
It is easy being green this year at the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Reece Nanfito, Marketing Director for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, is there and he reports that “the whole place is buzzing about alternative fuels.” Ferrari is showing a Biofuel Ferrari for North America that is all about being green. The Associated …
American Le Mans to Offer E85
E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, will make its appearance in 2008 as a fuel alternative in the American Le Mans Series. According to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, two automotive manufactures will run E85 during the 2008 season, Corvette Racing and Aston Martin Racing. “This is the first time a racing series has …
Reuters Biofuels Summit Focus on Cellulosic
Cellulosic was all the buzz at the Reuters Global Agriculture and Biofuels Summit this week and prognosticators are now saying it is much closer to reality than ever before. One speaker at the summit said that biomass ethanol is just 2-3 years away. “We should see the first commercial-scale plants coming on line in late-2009, early-2010,” said Richard Hamilton, President …
Ethanol Price Rebound
Ethanol prices are up. This story in the Wichita Eagle reports that ethanol prices have gone up 35 cents a gallon since mid-November. “It’s a little bit of a surprise to see how much the market has rebounded,” said Dave VanderGriend, president of ICM at Colwich, one of the nation’s largest designers and builders of ethanol plants. “There’s still an …
One Million Gallon Milestone
Flex-fuel vehicle owners in Oshkosh, Wis. have purchased over one million gallons of E85 at the Renew fuel station located at Highway 76 and 41. Consumers took 830 days to purchase one million gallons of E85 and are well on their way to purchasing more. This marks the first time a Wisconsin gas station has sold more than a million …
ND Gov Disputes National Geographic with Renewable Energy Successes
North Dakota Governor John Hoeven is strongly disputing the contents of a National Geographic article that paints the Northern Plains state in a less-than-flattering light. The article entitled “The Emptied Prairie” talks about how so many towns have been abandoned because of tough times. But in a letter to the editor of the National Geographic, Hoeven points to how biofuels …
GM Makes Cellulosic Investment
An announcement by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner at the opening of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit yesterday made for big alternative energy news nationwide. Wagoner announced GM’s partnership with Coskata, an Illinois company that has a process for for turning wood chips, grasses, or municipal waste into ethanol. Coskata uses a proprietary process that leverages patented …
Biofuels Demand Driving Corn & Soybean Price Spikes
Corn and soybean prices have gone to record levels as producers struggle to keep up with food and biofuel demands. Bloomberg.com says a new U.S. government report prompted traders to push soybean prices to a record of about $13 a bushel while corn prices hit an 11-year high of $4.95 a bushel: The world soybean harvest will fall 6.5 percent …
FAPRI Analyzes Energy Bill
The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri has completed an analysis of the new energy bill, and the results seem to point to some pretty positive results from the legislation. FAPRI reports the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, signed into law by President Bush on December 19th, will have positive consequences for …