Biodiesel Boat Heading Across Pacific

John Davis

If you think you’ve got a long drive this Memorial Day Weekend, check out what these travelers have ahead of them.

Earthrace, a biodiesel-powered boat trying to set a record for circling the globe on water, is somewhere between Hawaii and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. According to this story posted on Powerboat-World.com, it has not exactly been smooth sailing:

At 0400 GMT on Thursday the port engine high pressure fuel line began leaking at a joint. A bio-diesel mist filled the engine bay. Pete Bethune, the New Zealand skipper shut down the engine and Earthrace continued on the 2050 nautical mile leg with just one engine at 14-15 knots.

A liquid medal repair was attempted but after the 12 hour cure time and the port engine was brought back on line but the leak failed under the 30,000 psi.

But the Earthrace is still more than 2,000 miles ahead of schedule. In fact, if you read the latest entry on the captain’s blog, he talks about a cornflake eating contest between crew members John and Rob:

John, is halfway through his fifth bowl as well, but he looks even worse than Rob.
“Actually Rob I’m willing to concede”, he says slowly. “I’ve had enough cornflakes to last a lifetime. I just hope I make it through the night.”
Rob raises his arms in the air. “England one, USA nil”, he says triumphantly.

You can follow the Earthrace’s progress and read the captain’s blog at www.earthrace.net.

Biodiesel Conference

U.S.’s Largest Biodiesel Refinery to Open Soon

John Davis

The nation’s single largest biodiesel plant to date is set to open in early June.

GreenHunter Energy’s 105 million gallon “white-water” B100 plant is planned to open on June 2nd at the company’s Houston location. According to this press release, several federal, state and local officials, including Texas Governor Rick Perry, U.S. Dept. of Energy Deputy Secretary Jeff Kupfer, and Houston Mayor Pro Tem Adrian Garcia, will join company officials in a grand opening ceremony:

The converted waste-oil refinery on the Houston Ship Channel gives GreenHunter’s renewable fuels campus direct deepwater access and the ability to transport products via barge, rail, and truck. Generators at the site will provide enough electricity for GreenHunter to sell unneeded power back to the grid. GreenHunter’s campus also includes basic terminal operations and 700,000 barrels of storage capacity for feedstock management.

By producing biodiesel from multiple feedstocks, including non-edible sources such as tallow and jatropha, GreenHunter offers practical solutions to the ongoing “food versus fuels” debate.

The press is invited to the event:

WHERE: GreenHunter Energy Renewable Fuels Campus
13605 Industrial Rd.
Houston, TX 77015
*On site parking provided for media

WHEN: Monday, June 2, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
10 – 10:25 a.m. Press Conference & Grand Opening
10:25 – 10:45 a.m. Guided Refinery Walking Tour
10:45 – 11 a.m. Media Availability

Biodiesel

NBB: Biodiesel & Ethanol Help Your Wallet

John Davis

The National Biodiesel Board wants to remind Americans as they get on the road for the long, Memorial Day Weekend, that biofuels… biodiesel, in particular… are helping keep the price of a gallon of fuel from carving out an even larger portion of your wallet.

The NBB cites new information from the International Energy Agency that says that, globally, biofuels are replacing a million barrels of crude oil a day… more than $130 million daily. And commodity analysts say gas prices would be about 15 percent higher if not for the green fuels.

The real costs for fuels, according to this NBB release, are rising crude oil prices and restricted supplies; tight refining capacity; increasing transportation costs of hauling petroleum-based products; and higher federal excise taxes on diesel fuel compared to gasoline:

Biodiesel is uniquely positioned to offset all of these costs in the following ways:

* As a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel, biodiesel blends can extend our diesel fuel supply. If we replaced 5 percent of our on-road petroleum diesel fuel with biodiesel, this would replace about 1.85 billion gallons of diesel fuel a year, or the entire amount of diesel fuel currently refined from crude oil imported from Iraq.Read More

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

NE Corn Fights Anti-Ethanol Campaigns

Nebraska Corn Growers Assn.Nebraska Corn BoardThe Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Corn Growers Association (NeCGA) announced today that they applaud the bipartisan group of Senators who have spoken out against the misinformation campaign that targets corn producers and the corn ethanol industry as being behind a rise in food prices.

The group of six Senators, organized by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R), met in Washington D.C. to discuss many of the issues raised by ethanol critics and to help set the record straight on the benefits of biofuels. This is in response to the reported anti-ethanol campaign being brought about by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

“Study after study has demonstrated that high fuel and energy prices are a major factor in higher food prices. If you take away ethanol, fuel prices will increase even more and food prices will follow,” said Jon Holzfaster, a corn and cattle producer from Paxton and chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board. “That is one of the important points the Senators made, and we couldn’t agree more.”

Randy Uhrmacher, president of NeCGA and a corn producer from Juniata, said that attempts to mislead the American public are unfortunate because they create turmoil in a food supply system that provides the safest and cheapest food in the world. “Food companies and farmers would be better off working together to find solutions to the real cause of higher food prices – our reliance on oil,” he said.

NeCGA and the Corn Board said they will continue providing the facts about food and fuel on their internet sites, www.NebraskaCorn.org and www.NeCGA.org, and in other communication efforts.

corn, Ethanol, Farming, News

LifeLine Foods Just Happens to Sell Ethanol

John Davis

LifeLine Foods President and CEO Bill BeckerOne of the largest snack suppliers in the U.S. is also the supplier of ethanol fuel for the Indy Racing League. Yup, LifeLine Foods is fueling and feeding the American public. Bill Becker, president and CEO of Lifeline, says that’s just the tip of the iceberg. LifeLine is investing in technology that will allow the company to do much more than just snack food and biofuel. Bill says his company can also remove fiber and protein from the same corn crop that it extracts snack foods and ethanol. These nutrients, he says, could potentially serve as a supplement to the world’s hungry. And that’s still not everything Bill says LifeLine can do with corn.

The story of how a small, farmer-owned company based out of St. Joseph, MO can provide snacks for major food companies, fuel one of the world’s most presitigious motor sports and more is quite a remarkable one. You can listen to my interview with Bill and hear his story about LifeLine here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/becker-indy-08-summit.mp3]


2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Audio, corn, Energy, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing, Research

Ethanol Supports the 6 “Fs”

John Davis

UNICA President Marco JankThe discussion on ethanol should be about fuel plus food plus feed plus fibers plus fruits plus forests. At least, that’s what the president of UNICA thinks. Marco Jank spoke at yesterday’s Ethanol Summit and explained how ethanol has become not just a major fuel source in Brazil but also a stimulating proponent in many other industries, particularly food. Marcos adds that as technology continues to progress, the Brazilian ethanol industry will continue to grow. There’s no question. And, he says there’s no question that it will be the same for the U.S. In fact, he says the American ethanol industry is already growing at a faster rate than that of Brazil.

Marcos says, “technology is the solution” for combating a rising scarcity in oil. While he says that ethanol won’t ever become a big competitor with oil, he says it will and should become a leading alternative to oil. He urges leaders in the ethanol industry to appeal to the pulbic and encourage them to make biofuels a part of a worldwide solution to the oil crisis. Marcos says 100 countries have the potential of developing significant ethanol idustries, which in turn, allows for a “more deomocratic and less problematic” solution to the world’s energy needs.

I spoke with Marcos just after the summit. We talked about how ethanol has become a substantial fuel source in Brazil, why Marcos thinks the U.S. should open its doors to imported ethanol and the fuel’s virtually untapped potential in the U.S. You can listen to my interview here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/jank-indy-08.mp3]


2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Audio, Car Makers, corn

Ethanol Industry Fights Back

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA PodcastThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is working hard to combat the campaign against ethanol by food manufacturers and petroleum companies which continues to increase. In this Ethanol Report podcast, President and CEO Bob Dinneen says they have hired new staff and opened a new office and he believes that in the end the facts will prevail.

You can subscribe to the twice-monthly “The Ethanol Report” by following this link.

Or you can listen to it on-line here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/ethanol-report-13.mp3]

Audio, Ethanol, News, RFA

Ethanol: Official Fuel of Indy Racing and Indy Racing Legends

John Davis

Indy Racing Legend Emerson Fittipaldi at the 2008 Ethanol SummitMany consider Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time Indy 500 champ, “a true King of the Brickyard.” But not only is Emerson an IRL legend, he’s a BIG supporter of ethanol. Perhaps even a “King of Ethanol.” Emerson is a Brazilian ethanol producer and spoke at yesterday’s Ethanol Summit hosted by General Motors.

The IRL racing legend told the story of his long history, not just with racing, but also racing with ethanol. Although the IRL fully switched from methanol to ethanol last year, Emerson is well acquainted with racing on the biofuel. At age 14, the Indy champ used ethanol in motorcycles and go-karts.

Emerson will get another chance to represent ethanol at the at the races. He is this year’s flex-fuel Corvette Z06 pace car driver. This is the first time the official Indy pace car will run on E85.

“The message of the pace car will be showing to the world that a passenger car even a high performance car like the corvette will run E85 and runs beautiful”,” Emerson said.

He added that the Indy Racing League itself is setting a worldwide example “of how a motor race can show the world, show the public how efficient the engines run with ethanol.” He called the IRL’s switch to 100 percent ethanol, “the endorsement of ethanol in the world through motor race.”

Just after the Summit I spoke with Fittipaldi one-on-one about racing with ethanol as a boy and being a part of ethanol’s growing success in Brazil today. You can listen to my interview here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/fittipaldi-indy-08.mp3]


2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Audio, Car Makers, E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Indy Racing, News, Racing

Evidence that Ethanol Works

John Davis

IndyCar Driver Jeff SimmonsThe ethanol industry in Brazil has been developing some major traction. Marcos Jank, President of UNICA, says the demand for ethanol in Brazil is now matching that of the demand for gasoline. He says ethanol is gaining ground and Brazil “won’t move back to gas.”

Marcos was one of seven speakers at today’s Ethanol Summit held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. General Motors sponsored the event. The object of the Summit was to explore Brazil’s strong and sustained success with ethanol while also taking a look at where and how the U.S. ethanol industry has room to grow.

Marcos and Indy racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi – a Brazilian ethanol producer – highlighted a number of milestones the Brazilian ethanol industry has already attained:

  • All fuel sold in Brazil contains a 20 to 25 percent blend of ethanol
  • The unsubsidized ethanol industry offers a fuel that is on average one dollar below the price of gasoline
  • Virtually all 33,000 gas pumps offer E100
  • Just one percent of the 40 percent of arable land in Brazil is being used to produce sugarcane ethanol
  • Forty-five percent of fuel for cars is from sugarcane
  • Sugarcane ethanol production is 100 percent self-sufficient
  • The food industry is growing faster than the ethanol industry
  • Ninety percent of all new automobiles sold are flex-fuel automobiles
  • One-hundred percent of GM vehicles produced in Brazil are flex-fuel
  • Twenty percent of all cars are flex-fuel vehicles today
  • Fifty percent of all cars will be flex-fuel vehicles by 2012
  • Three percent of electricity is from sugarcane
  • Honda and Yamaha are introducing flex-fuel motorcycles this year

Read More

Audio, Biodiesel, Car Makers, corn, Distillers Grains, E85, Energy, Environment, EPIC, Ethanol, Facilities, Farming, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Food prices, Indy Racing, News, Production, Racing, Research, Science