The administrator for Region 7 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told participants at the 2007 Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis this week that the partnership between EPA and agriculture is helping to find solutions to environmental challenges.
“We’ve had a major role in dealing with one of America’s top priorities – reducing dependency on foreign oil,” said John Askew, whose region includes Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. “We’re addressing our nation’s growing energy demand in a way that supports farmers, rural America, our goal for a clean environment and greater energy security.”
Askew also talked about the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). “Under this program the annual amount of renewable fuel use will increase every year, so by the year 2012 over 7 and a half billion gallons of fuel being pumped in gas tanks across this country will be made from home grown crops and renewable resources,” he said. “But you’ve gone way beyond that and we expect you to keep working hard on that aspect.”
Askew concluded his remarks by presenting EPA’s Energy Star awards to Macon Municipal Utilities in Macon, Missouri and Adkins Energy, LLC in Lena, Illinois.
Listen to Askew’s remarks here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/few-07-epa.mp3]
Thanks to the Renewable Fuels Association for sponsoring coverage on Domestic Fuel of the 2007 Fuel Ethanol Workshop.
Porsche will introduce an ethanol-mixed fuel in its Le Mans Prototype 2 RS Spyders for the July 7 
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The American Le Mans Series highlighted its transition to alternative fuels with a display Thursday of sports cars and racing machines on the edge of Central Park.
For a long time, Texas was known to be a leader in the non-renewable energy fields… in particular, the petroleum market. But it looks like the Lone Star State is now poised to dominate the green fuel picture as well.
One of the award winners, Macon Municipal Utilities reduced their energy use by 25 percent. Macon Municipal Utilities installed a 10 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired combustion turbine CHP system at its 45 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Northeast Missouri. The CHP system will likely reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 28,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 4,500 cars.
At its 40 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Illinois, Adkins Energy LLC, decreased their energy use by 15 percent with a 5 MW natural gas-fired combustion turbine CHP system. The CHP system reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 8,700 tons per year, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 1,400 cars.
In an effort to be more friendly to the planet, Prince Charles says he is using biodiesel in a couple of his personal vehicles… and might even use the green fuel on the Royal Train.
“We identified the metabolic processes and conditions that allow a known strain of E. coli to convert glycerin into ethanol,” said chemical engineer Ramon Gonzalez. “It’s also very efficient. We estimate the operational costs to be about 40 percent less that those of producing ethanol from corn.”
Consolidated Biofuels and International Bio Fuels Corp. have announced plans to jointly open a biodiesel plant in Arkansas… one that will be among the biggest in the country.
The refinery will be built on a 65 acre lot on the Mississippi Port of Yellow Bend and will produce 150 million gallons of biodiesel and 70 million bushels of soybean oil crush annually. 
“This technology is a significant milestone in helping increase ethanol output per acre,” said Russ Sanders, Pioneer Director of Marketing. “In FOSS instruments, the Pioneer Ethanol Yield Potential Calibration provides nearly instant prediction of ethanol yield potential in corn grain and provides an estimated yield in gallons per bushel terms.”