According to the Renewable Fuels Association, both ethanol production and demand moved higher in May, reflecting the growth in the ethanol industry and the increased gasoline demand at the beginning of the summer driving season. As oil refiners struggled to keep their facilities operating, ethanol production grew to an average of 406,000 barrels per day (b/d), according to information released …
Corn Prices Down
Recent rain in the Midwest has helped the corn crop rebound and led to lower corn prices, according to a Forbes article. After as much as 6 inches of rain in eastern Iowa and western Illinois, much of corn crop received relief after a dry June. In mid-June, a little more than half of Illinois’ corn crop was in good …
Down at the Circle K
At the recent Farm to Fuel Summit in Florida, the state’s chief financial officer told the crowd that biofuels have made it into the mainstream. CFO Alex Sink related a story of how she had gone into her local Circle K convenience store that morning for coffee and newspapers on the way to the conference and the clerk at the …
Good Fortune, Great Ethanol
Kirin Brewery Company of Japan reportedly plans to begin experimental production of ethanol using the residue of malt used to make beer as feedstock. According to an Autochannel.com story, an estimated 300 million yen ($2.5 million) will be invested to construct a pilot plant which will have the capacity to produce 15 kilolitres of ethanol a year. Production is expected …
POETic Tribute
The nation’s largest dry mill ethanol producer was recently honored by U.S. troops serving in Iraq. The American flag in the photo being handed to POET CEO Jeff Broin by Major Andrew Chontos, MD was flown over the Sather Air Base at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq during OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM on Sunday, June 24, 2007. The flag was flown “in …
Energy Title of House Farm Bill
The US House passed its version of the 2007 Farm Bill Friday by a vote of 231 to 191 – a vote largely along party lines on a bill that came out of the House agriculture committee as a bipartisan piece of legislation. Republican members of the committee withdrew their support for the bill when a tax increase on foreign …
Green… and Safe
An ethanol plant in Kansas is the first in the nation to win a U.S. government award for a safe working environment. The White Energy ethanol plant just outside of Russell, Kansas won the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) SHARP award for “upholding high standards for workplace safety and health.” This article from the Hays (KS) …
Pizza and Ethanol
The ethanol industry is starting to get fed up with being blamed for higher food prices. “The ethanol industry has become a convenient scapegoat for corporate America to justify price increases to maintain profits,” said Tom Slunecka, executive director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). “The debate over rising food prices has bordered on the ludicrous; the facts …
Ethanol Corn Shortage Subsiding
The corn shortage earlier this year, brought on by the unprecedented increase in interest in ethanol, seems to be easing a bit. This story from Forbes says an expected giant corn crop this year should make up for all the corn going into ethanol production: Ethanol producers have been squeezed by rising costs lately. Corn prices skyrocketed as demand from …
Biofuels Bring Left and Right Together
Ethanol and biodiesel are experiencing what some are calling a “gold rush” as the biofuels have seen dramatic jumps in usage… and investors… to the green technology. This column from Renewable Energy Access.com says, in the U.S., tax incentives have helped grow the biodiesel market by a whopping 1000 percent in just a two year stretch between 2004 and 2006: …