Liberty for Michigan

Cindy Zimmerman

LibertyLiberty Renewable Fuels of Ithaca has announced plans to build Michigan’s largest ethanol plant.

The plant will be located in the middle of Michigan corn country and will produce 110-million gallons of ethanol per year.

Liberty officials have also announced
the opportunity for local investors to contribute to the alternative energy plant.

“We are thrilled to have progressed to this point in our project. We are now able to invite the public to join in our effort,” said David Skjaerlund, President and CEO of Liberty. “Too often these opportunities go only to Wall Street. We’re giving Main Street Michigan a chance to invest on the ground floor. We know of no other ethanol plant in Michigan that has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow a public offering in the state prior to plant construction.”

Meetings are scheduled throughout the state this month to provide information for those who are interested in investing in the plant.

Liberty Fuels officials were in Lansing at the State Capitol Wednesday for the announcement and to display an ethanol-powered race car they plans to run at Michigan International Speedway later this summer.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Ethanol Sunrise

Cindy Zimmerman

Poet LadonniaYou may have heard of a Tequila Sunrise – well, this is an Ethanol Sunrise.

Chuck Zimmerman took these shots of the sun rising on the Poet Biorefining plant in Laddonia, Missouri Tuesday on his way to the 2007 InfoAg Conference in Springfield, Illinois.

According to POET’s website, POET Biorefining – Laddonia began operations in September of 2006. The state-of-the art ethanol production facility consumes approximately 16 million bushels of locally-grown corn to produce 45 million gallons of ethanol annually.

Poet Ladonnia 2POET Biorefining – Laddonia was formed by East Central Ag Products, North East Missouri Grain and POET. POET Biorefining – Laddonia is proud to enhance the local economy with improved corn prices, value-added markets for farmers, good-paying jobs, and increased local tax revenue.

EPIC, Ethanol, Facilities, News

First Sugarcane Ethanol Plant Planned

Cindy Zimmerman

Gay Rob SugarGay & Robinson Inc. and Pacific West Energy LLC have formed a partnership to develop the first fuel ethanol plant in America to create renewable power and clean-burning ethanol fuel from sugarcane. The new 12-million-gallon-per-annum plant will use sugar juice and molasses as feedstock.

According to a news release, “the newly created partnership, Gay & Robinson Ag-Energy LLC, will also ensure the continuation of the Gay & Robinson agricultural enterprise, one of the oldest in Hawaii. Approximately 230 jobs will be preserved, and a large area of West Kauai will be maintained in sustainable agriculture.”

The initial $80 million phase of capital investment will include installation of a new biomass boiler and turbine generator to efficiently produce renewable electricity. Design and engineering work has begun, and an air permit for the ethanol plant has been secured. Future business plans call for additional stages of energy production, including biodiesel production, a methane recovery system, the processing of municipal solid waste, hydro power, the conversion of biomass into liquid fuels and solar energy production.

Ethanol, News

Governor’s Ethanol Challenge

Cindy Zimmerman

CACThe Minnesota Governor’s Ethanol Challenge is happening this week at four Wissota dirt tracks– July 10 in Alexandria, July 11 in Madison, July 12 in Willmar and July 13 in Montevideo.

According to the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, the Midwest Modified class races are “auto racing at its roots – loud, local and promoting an alternative fuel grown, produced and sold in Minnesota.”

“This annual event means a lot to local racetracks, the communities and to the Midwest Modified racers who have embraced this renewable fuel,” said Chad Willis, a member of the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council and big fan of dirt track racing. “I have attended just about every race since the Governor’s Challenge began. The racers often tell me they prefer using ethanol because it has high octane, burns cooler and allows them to use smaller engines and get the same horsepower.”

Ethanol, News, Racing

California Plans World’s Largest Solar Farm

John Davis

cleantech.pngSan Francisco-based Cleantech America, LLC says it will build a solar power farm possibly a square mile in size… making it seven times bigger than the world’s largest and 17 times bigger than anything else of its kind in America.

This story from CNN.com says the project is slated to be completed in 2011 and would produce 80 megawatts of electricity:

Bill Barnes, CEO of Cleantech, said the scale of the Kings River Conservation District Community Choice Solar Farm will change renewable energy and make California the global leader for huge solar projects and replace Germany as the solar energy hub of the world.

“We’re pretty confident that solar farms on this scale are going to have an industry-changing impact,” Barnes said by telephone on Friday. “We think it’s the wave of the future. This scale of project, I think, creates a tipping point for renewable energy.”

Barnes declined to give the estimated construction cost of the Community Choice farm.

“We think the impact for it will be similar to the impact of the computer chip,” which gained computing power once made on a large scale, Barnes said.

When finished, the project will power almost 21,000 homes. Cleantech also has plans to build another 80-megawatt plant… if enough California land can be found.

Miscellaneous

Rising Feedstock Prices Squeezing Biodiesel End Product

John Davis

USDA logoFederal Agriculture Department officials are warning that the rising demand for biodiesel is pushing up the demand, and the price, for the feedstocks that go into biodiesel… and that is cutting into already thin margins biodiesel are working under.

USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins says soybean oil prices have already been going up, and farmers are planting 15 percent fewer acres of soybeans to make way for corn to produce ethanol… pushing supplies down even further… and prices for the biodiesel feedstock even higher.

Keith Collins“As we look out over the coming year, we still think we’re going to have adequate supplies of soybeans, but the price for soybean meal and soybean oil is going up, and biodiesel, made from soybean oil has already been on a very thin margin over the past year.”

Officials say rising regular diesel prices have stayed up as well, and that has helped.

Click here to hear the USDA’s story on this subject.

Biodiesel

All-Star Broadcast Powered by Biodiesel

John Davis

All Star GameTonight’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be seen by millions of fans across the country… thanks, in part, to biodiesel. And it’s just the start for the green fuel’s part on America’s sports stage.

Fox SportsFox Sports will be powering all of its generators, satellite trucks, and other diesel equipment at its television compound in San Francisco with 20 percent biodiesel, B20. This release from the National Biodiesel Board says Fox has also committed to using B20 to power its broadcasts of the World Series, Super Bowl, the Bowl Championship Series and other major events:

The move is part of the “Cool Change Initiative” introduced by News Corporation, the parent company to FOX Sports.

“This initiative is an attempt to reduce our carbon footprint to neutral by 2010,” said Michael Davies, Director, Field Operations – FOX Sports. “The All-Star game presents the opportunity to start implementing some of these environmentally friendly practices, part of which is using B20 in our equipment.”

“The entertainment industry has led by example when it comes to using and promoting biodiesel,” said Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board. “It’s refreshing to see such high profile stars and companies embracing biodiesel and letting it help them take control of their impact on the environment and oil imports.”

Fox officials say biodiesel was an easy choice for an alternative fuel, since they didn’t have to change any of their equipment to use it.

Biodiesel

Biofuel Output Forecast

Cindy Zimmerman

The International Energy Agency is forecasting that global biofuel output will double from 2006 levels to 1.75 million barrels a day in 2012.

IEAAccording to a Dow Jones newswire report, the agency included its second annual report on biofuels in its medium-term oil market report through to 2012, released on Monday.

IEA also raised its 2006 biofuel supply baseline by 79,000 barrels a day to 863,000 barrels a day due to stronger-than-expected growth and more detailed capture of projects. Still the agency warned while the forecasts showed a “considerable rate of growth” for global biofuel production they were significantly below capacity planned for 2012. IEA says it maintained a cautious biofuels stance because high feedstock prices raised doubts over economic viability.

“Many projects…will not see the light of day,” says IEA, adding current economics mostly favors use of feedstocks such as corn, sugar, soybeans, wheat and palm oil for food over fuel. Technology for significant production of biofuels from other feedstocks isn’t expected by the IEA to come into play by end of the 2012 outlook period.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

EPIC and RFA at Green Grand Prix

Cindy Zimmerman

GGP carHybrid and alternative fueled vehicles were in the spotlight July 6 at the Green Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, NY. The event is organized annually by the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, according to Executive Director Carol Fitzgerald.

“This was our third annual Green Grand Prix and it was tremendously successful,” said Fitzgerald. “The goal of the event was to be able to create more awareness of alternative fuels and the impact they can have on the environment.”

There were a total of 36 different vehicles in the road rally this year representing 10 different fuel types.

“We had everything from hybrid vehicles, to the ethanol-powered vehicles, we had electric,” Fitzgerald said. “We actually even had a wood-chip powered vehicle.”

Representatives from the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) participated in the road rally driving one of only 20 new 2007 Ford Escape Flex Fuel Hybrids currently being tested around the country.

RFA Communications Director Matt Hartwig and EPIC Communications Director Joanna Schroeder were able to average nearly 31 miles to the gallon in the Ford Escape, which is on loan to RFA from Ford to test drive.

Link to full release with audio sound bites.

E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News, Racing, RFA

Military Wants to Switch to Alternatives

John Davis

syntroleum1.JPGThe Department of Defense has signed a contract with Syntroleum Corp. to buy 500 gallons of biofuel made from animal fats. The feedstock for Syntroleum’s fuel would come from Tyson Foods.

This company press release says it’s a first-of-its-kind test program that is aimed to see if the military could use fuel from domestic, renewable sources:

Under terms of the contract, Syntroleum will provide 500 gallons of ultra-clean renewable synthetic jet fuel produced entirely from fats supplied by Tyson Foods, Inc., using the company’s recently announced Biofining(TM) technology. The fuel will be used for research development and performance testing in military turbine applications as part of the DOD’s Assured Fuels Program, aimed at evaluating the possibility of utilizing renewable alternative jet fuel made from bio feedstocks. The U.S. Air Force has expressed its desire to source 50 percent of its fuel needs from domestic alternative sources by 2016, and plans to certify its entire fleet of aircraft for alternative fuel use by 2010.

Jack Holmes“This contract with the U.S. Department of Defense is another significant milestone for Syntroleum,” said Jack Holmes, CEO of Syntroleum. “When the contract is completed, we would be the first company to provide both renewable synthetic aviation fuel and FT aviation fuel to the Department of Defense for its certification and weapon system testing program. This acceptance of our alternative synthetic fuels once again validates the quality and integrity of our product, and the successful completion of this program will provide Syntroleum with an opportunity for other long-term supply contracts with the Department of Defense.”

Just a personal note from a veteran who spent a few days in the heat and sand and grit of the desert, I would have been much happier camped out next to a corn and soybean field as opposed to some berm just off the oil fields. This makes a lot of sense to me.

Biodiesel