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 …
Ethanol Outlook for 2008
2008 could be an even better year than 2007 for the ethanol industry. That’s the outlook of Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen. In the first “Ethanol Report” podcast for 2008, Dinneen gazes into his crystal ball and sees blue skies and big challenges for the ethanol industry this year. “I think we will continue to see dramatic growth in …
Ethanol Pioneer Dies
One of the original ethanol visionaries has passed away, but the plant he helped to build in 1984 continues to operate. The Washington Post today published the obituary of Donald Evans, a Washington area lawyer and “70s ethanol pioneer,” as the headline reads. In 1980, he and other partners formed New Energy Inc. of Indiana to build a $185 million …
POET Opens First Ohio Plant
POET hosted a grand opening ceremony Thursday for their 22nd ethanol production facility and the first in the state of Ohio. Some 3,000 people attended the opening of POET Biorefining – Leipsic, including Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Congressman Bob Latta and Mike Wagner, Executive Director for the Buckeye Renewable Fuels Association. “The State of Ohio is excited to partner …
Detroit Auto Show Featuring Green-Fueled Vehicles
The 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will feature vehicles using a variety of green fuels, including ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen, and fuel cells. This story from The Auto Channel says when the public comes in to the annual gathering on January 19th-27th, 2008, they’ll see more clean fuels more than ever before: Going green is no longer a …
McCain’s & Clinton’s Alternative Energy Stands
Last week after Sen. Barack Obama and former Arkansas Mike Huckabee posted wins in the Iowa caucuses, I posted their renewable energy stances from their web sites. Now, as it looks like Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain have posted wins in their respective Democratic and Republican primaries in New Hampshire, I wanted to give you their stands on alternative …
Good News Network
Not all the news out there about ethanol is negative, even though it sometimes seems that way. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has started a new e-newsletter to spread the good press that ethanol is getting. The “Ethanol Good News Network” communication is sent out twice weekly on Monday and Friday afternoons. EPIC members are automatically subscribed.
Ethanol Production Moves Full Steam Ahead
The latest technology for producing ethanol is getting steamy. Literally. A new patent means more environmentally-friendly production of ethanol. Interstate Power and Light Company, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation, and AE&E – Von Roll, Inc., a technology provider of steam generating systems using renewable, waste and conventional fuels, have together patented(*) a technology application that helps ethanol plants run …
Study: Switchgrass Better Ethanol Producer than Expected
A long-term study in the Midwest shows that switchgrass is a better feedstock for ethanol than previously thought. This AFP story says the trial showed that native North American prairie grass could produce a whopping 540 percent more renewable energy than what it takes to produce the ethanol: Previous estimates, based on small scale research plots, suggested the grass would …