Alternative Fuel Movie Gashole to Premiere in St. Louis

St. Louis Regional Clean CitiesGasHole, a new documentary film about the history of Oil prices and the future of alternative fuels, will assist in the fundraising for the St. Louis Regional Clean Cities in St. Louis, MO on June 13, 14 and 15. The film, narrated by Peter Gallagher, features interviews with a wide range of viewpoints from US Department of Energy Officials, Congressional leaders, Alternative Fuel Producers, Alternative Fuel Consumers, Professors of Economics and Psychology and more.

Rising gasoline prices is what peaked the interest of the St. Louis Regional Clean Cities Program to bring this movie to the St. Louis region. The Hi-Pointe Theater at 1005 McCausland Ave, in St. Louis (ironically under the shadow of a giant Amoco sign) will premiere The Film Racket’s new documentary, GasHole.

According to a news release, “GasHole examines US dependence on foreign supplies of oil and poses pointed questions about America’s turn from leading exporter to largest importer and the contributing economic and social forces. Several potential solutions are examined, including untapped technologies, navigating bureaucratic governmental roadblocks, and alternative fuels – all while questioning the American Consumer’s reluctance to embrace alternatives.”

The film is directed and produced by Jeremy Wagener and Scott D. Roberts. This will be the movie’s 17th stop in a nationwide tour that has reportedly been selling out across the country.

For more information on the movie, go to www.gasholemovie.com.

Biodiesel, E85, Government, News, transportation

EPIC Unveils Mascot Edgar the E Man

Chuck Zimmerman

Edgar the E ManAt today’s Annual Meeting EPIC unveiled Edgar the E Man. He’s the official mascot of EPIC and available to members for appearances at events. I got Reece Nanfito, EPIC Director of Marketing to take my picture with Edgar.

The Kansas and South Dakota Corn Growers submitted the winning names which have been combined to become his official name. EPIC held a contest with members to come up with his name. The winners will get Edgar to appear at no charge to one of their events.

To hear more about the story of Edgar, I interviewed EPIC Executive Director, Toni Neurnberg. She describes the whole purpose behind the mascot initiative: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/epic-annual-mtg-eddgar.mp3]

EPIC, News

EPIC Keynote Speaker Dr. Robert Zubrin

Chuck Zimmerman

Dr. Robert ZubrinThe Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Annual Meeting is underway with keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Zubrin, on stage.

He’s the author of Energy Victory and we’ve featured an interview with him here on Domestic Fuel previously.

This is the first large scale annual meeting of EPIC and well over 100 members are in attendance. The meeting allows them to hear first hand from staff and vendors about all the projects underway to help promote ethanol and educate the general public.

EPIC, Ethanol, News

Biofuel Battle at UN Summit

John Davis

World leaders are meeting this week in Rome, Italy to discuss the current world food crisis.

While some there are trying to blame biofuels for the recent spike in food prices, this CNN story says the industry has some heavy-hitting allies who argue before the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that green energy is not to blame for more green being spent on grocery bills:

The president of Brazil, whose country’s sugar cane has long been used to produce ethanol that fuels cars and trucks, delivered an impassioned defense of biofuels.

“It is frightening to see attempts to draw a cause-and-effect relationship between biofuels and the rise of food prices,” said Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “It offends me to see fingers pointed against clean energy from biofuels, fingers soiled with oil and coal.”

And U.S. leaders are there as well to dispute claims that biodiesel and ethanol production are fully responsible for raising food prices worldwide by 30 percent or more:

While agreeing that sustainability and innovation are needed, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer insisted that biofuels contribute only 2 or 3 percent to a predicted 43 percent rise in prices this year.

“The use of sustainable biofuels can increase energy security, foster economic development especially in rural areas, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without weighing heavily on food prices,” Schafer said in his address.

The talks continues through Thursday.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Report: US Workers Ready for Green Economy

John Davis

A new report says millions of workers in the U.S. will benefit from a green economy… and many workers already have the skills to make the jump to clean energy jobs.

The National Resources Defense Council, a coalition of environmental organizations, has released a report titled “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy.” The paper, put together by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, takes a look at the potential of green jobs in 12 key states. This press release from the NRDC says the state-by-state report looks at existing jobs skills and how those skills will translate into clean energy jobs:

“Achieving a clean energy economy through green industries like wind and solar are just part of the story. This report is also about job security. Making homes and offices more energy efficient not only saves money and energy, but also represents growth opportunities for workers who build our communities and keep them running,” said Dan Lashof, director of NRDC’s Climate Center. “We’re talking about jobs at every skill level from construction to research, already available here at home.”

Hundreds of thousands of workers in the U.S. already possess the vast majority of skills and occupations necessary to reduce global warming and make the shift to a clean energy economy. For instance, constructing wind farms creates jobs for sheet metal workers, machinists and truck drivers, among many others. Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings through retrofitting relies on roofers, insulators and electricians, to name a few.

“Everyone is talking about how the transition to a clean energy future will create millions of new ‘green-collar’ jobs,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. “This report shows that millions of Americans are already working in exactly the kinds of jobs we’ll need to build that clean energy future. Those millions and millions more—from steelworkers to software engineers—stand to benefit from implementing the clean energy solutions we need to fight global warming.”

The report breaks down the clean energy climates of 12 states: Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The full text of the report is available here.

Miscellaneous

EPIC Holding Annual Meeting

Chuck Zimmerman

EPIC Launch PadThe Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is holding its annual meeting in Omaha starting today.

This is the launching pad to the event, which is the entrance to the main meeting room for the sessions that are being held at the QWest Center in downtown Omaha. I’m attending and actually making a presentation on web communications this afternoon.

I’m sure I’ll have some more information for you during the meeting which runs through tomorrow afternoon.

EPIC, Ethanol, News

Siemens to Open Wind Research Center in Colorado

John Davis

Siemens Energy has announced it will open a wind research and development center in Colorado.

This story in the Denver Business Journal says the German energy company made the announcement at the American Wind Energy Association annual conference in Houston that the center will bring 50 new green-collar jobs to Boulder:

“We are very pleased to establish our first wind turbine R&D competence center in Boulder. The proximity of important institutions such as NREL and the NWTC, as well as the support received from the State of Colorado and the City of Boulder, make Boulder the perfect location for a R&D center in the U.S.,” Randy Zwirn, head of Siemens’ Energy Sector in the U.S., said in a statement.

“This is another great testament to Colorado’s growing New Energy economy,” Gov. Bill Ritter said in a statement. “We continue to establish ourselves as a worldwide leader in renewable, sustainable and modern energy. The arrival of Siemens Energy’s U.S. wind turbine research center draws particular attention to the creative and groundbreaking work being done in energy R&D in Colorado.”
The Siemens Energy facility will focus on testing basic wind turbine characteristics, performance-enhancing characteristics, and reliability in severe weather conditions. It also will partner with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on a pilot wind project for the National Wind Technology Center.

The AWEA conference wraps up tomorrow (June 4th) with sessions on a variety of subjects ranging from making decisions about wind turbine supplies to dynamics of structures and rotors.

Wind

REG Buys US Biodiesel Group

John Davis

Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group is buying the large assets of U.S. Biodiesel Group… a move that is expected to greatly enhance REG’s ability to distribute biodiesel on the West Coast and the Texas Gulf Coast.

This story in the Chicago Tribune has details of the $80-million deal:

Acquisition of the 35 million gallon per year biodiesel plant near Houston and the Stockton, Calif., storage terminal provides REG access to strategic locations with deepwater, pipeline and rail accessibility, said Jeff Stroburg, CEO of Ames, Iowa-based REG.

“Integrating additional infrastructure into our production network will aid in REG’s continued growth as we distribute high quality biodiesel through petroleum infrastructure nationwide,” he said in a written statement.

The Houston biodiesel plant is located within a terminal in Seabrook, Thttp://energy.agwired.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
Domestic Fuel › Create New Post — WordPressexas, which is adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel, a key petrochemical and pipeline complex.

The Houston plant is about 350 miles west of a REG biodiesel plant being built in New Orleans. It offers REG another strategic location for distribution of large volumes of biodiesel.

The California liquid storage terminal will enhance REG’s ability to distribute biodiesel along the West Coast. Planning and permitting to expand the site for construction of a commercial-scale biodiesel production plant is under way. Construction plans remain to be determined, the company said.

REG has seven plants in production cranking out 220 million gallons a year.

Biodiesel

Corn Utilization For Fuel, Food and Other Things

Chuck Zimmerman

Wine Glass Made From CornI know that this wine cup of mine isn’t going to fuel a vehicle but it’s an example of one of the other uses of corn here at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in Kansas City, MO.

Getting back to fuel though, this afternoon I interviewed Rick Tolman, CEO of the NCGA and Richard Glass, VP of Research and Business Development for NCGA.

When I spoke to Rick Tolman he said that he’s always rejuvenated by the ideas, enthusiasm and energy expressed here. He says the exciting story is the productivity in corn production. Like me he also doesn’t see a food vs. fuel issue but one of food and fuel because the corn production pie is growing. But even beyond fuel we’re hearing about other types of new products being made from corn, like the cup above. Another example, he says is that the NCGA offices are being carpeted with a product made from corn.

Here’s my interview with Rick Tolman: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/cutc-08-rick-tolman.mp3]

When I spoke to Richard Glass he said that he’s really impressed with this conference. He says there are people here representing 11 countries counting the United States and that we have 35 speakers in 10 sessions. He says this is perfect timing to have the conference because of all the things going on with ethanol and the push to relieve our dependence on petrochemicals.

Here’s my interview with Richard Glass: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/cutc-08-richard-glass.mp3]


CUTC Photo Album

Audio, corn, CUTC, News

Iowa E85 Sales Rise as Gasoline Prices Rise

American Lung Association of IowaAccording to a press release from the American Lung Association of Iowa, E85 sales are up sharply this quarter, and are on track to shatter old records for the sale of the domestically grown fuel. Below is more detailed information.

More than 450,000 gallons of E85 were sold in Iowa in the month of April alone. This compares with just over 800,000 gallons sold in the second quarter of 2007. While sales data on May and June are not yet available, a spokesperson for the ALA-IA said the amount of E85 being purchased by owners of flex-fuel vehicles in Iowa are unprecedented.

“There is little doubt that the nationwide rise in gasoline prices is a major factor,” said Jessica Zopf, program manager for the American Lung Association of Iowa, which leads the Clean Air Choice program. “Prices of E85 vary widely, but in April 2008, average statewide prices for E85 were 81 cents less than for regular unleaded. While we welcome bargain-hunters who are trying E85 for the first time for its lower price, we hope they will continue to buy the fuel because it emits considerably less pollution than gasoline. We estimate that the E85 sold in this one month in Iowa helped prevent more than1800 tons of lifecycle CO2 from entering our air.”

Zopf also credits the increase in sales to several well-publicized promotions and events for E85 across the state. The next major event will be the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, where Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon will be among the field of top-name open wheel racers competing at the June 22 race.

E85, News, Promotion