McCain’s Changing Views on Ethanol

John Davis

Sen. John McCain in IowaRepublican presidential contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona seems to be changing his views on ethanol. This United Press International story explains the switch seems to come down to two words: Iowa caucus.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., skipped the Iowa caucuses, perhaps sensing that, among other things, his opposition to ethanol subsidies would not go over well in a corn-growing state like Iowa.

Seven years later, he is crisscrossing the country again to win support for his bid to become the Republican presidential nominee, and this time his route includes stops in Iowa.

McCain’s rhetoric about ethanol has changed, which might assuage some Iowans, but he says his opposition to subsidies for ethanol and other agricultural products remains the same.

“We need to increase our use of ethanol and all kinds of alternative fuels,” McCain said at a speech in May.

But McCain stops short of endorsing subsidies… sort of:

Jerry Taylor, an analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, says McCain’s newfound interest in ethanol is catering to a special-interest group — Iowa farmers — who might help him win that state’s pivotal caucus.

“The old John McCain opposed ethanol subsidies. The new John McCain will apparently embrace any idea to win the White House,” Taylor wrote on Cato’s weblog.

The article points out that in a speech in Virginia in April McCain said that while he would encourage the growth of ethanol infrastructure, he still won’t sign off on government subsidies.

Ethanol, Government

Soros Warns About Ethanol Tariffs

John Davis

SorosBillionaire investor George Soros is warning that U.S. and European tariffs on Brazilian ethanol might keep that country from reaching its potential in alternative fuel production.

According to this story posted on Bloomberg.com, Soros, who is a major investor in Brazil’s ethanol industry, needs bigger markets to justify the expansion and building of new distilleries there:

“Unless the markets in the rest of the world are opened up, you probably have overproduction coming online,” Soros told reporters today in Sao Paulo, where he was attending an ethanol seminar. “You’ve got prohibitive tariffs both in the U.S. and Europe.”

Ethanol investment in Brazil has soared in recent years as gasoline prices rose to records and demand increased for alternative fuels in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The U.S., which makes ethanol from corn, imposes an import tariff of 54 cents a gallon on Brazilian supplies. The European Union has a 19-cent levy.

The tariffs discourage Brazilian mills from exporting the record ethanol output this year, Soros said.

Of course, American ethanol and corn producers point out this country doesn’t need to switch from one foreign import, oil, to another one, Brazilian ethanol.

But it’s not just American opposition that is stalling the Brazilians:

Environmental rules will prevent Brazil from reaching a potential 10-fold increase in output, said Soros, who became the main shareholder last year in Adeco Agropecuaria Brasil Ltda., a Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer.

Brazil’s currency also is overvalued and interest rates are too high, discouraging investments, he said.

Soros does go on to point out that anti-American Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is also banking on Brazilian and American ethanol production falling flat… keeping the U.S. dependant on Venezuela’s oil.

Ethanol, International

WindPower 2007 Underway in LA

John Davis

windpower1.JPGAttendees to the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference going on this week in Los Angeles heard that their industry faces quite a challenge to go from the current 1% of U.S. energy supplies to President Bush’s goal of 20% by 2030. In fact, it could be a half-billion-dollar challenge.

This article from Reuters says delegates are trying to figure out how to reach that goal:

That would mean by 2030 there will have to be 325 gigawatts of installed wind turbines in the United States, said Michael Robinson of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Current wind turbines can make between 1.5 and 3 megawatts per tower. A large natural gas or coal-fired power unit is often 400 megawatts and larger, while only five U.S. wind farms now have more than 260 megawatts of installed capacity.

“From this vantage point, it looks almost impossible,” said Robert Lukefahr, president of BP Alternative Energy North America. “But you have to remember that we’ve made big leaps before.”

Lukefahr said over the next 15 years wind power is the least costly and easiest to develop alternative to coal and natural gas. Beyond that, Lukefahr said he could not be sure what will be in store for alternative energy.

Indeed. Consider the fact that wind power grew in the U.S. by 20 percent last year to light up the equivilant of three million homes… and it’s expected to take a similar leap again this year.

About 7,000 people are attending this year’s conference… and that’s up from 5,000 last year and only about 1,000 in 2001.

Wind

Cold Crushing Explored for Biodiesel

John Davis

BioExxToronto, Canada-based Bio-Extraction Inc. is joining with BioNex Energy Corp to develop and test, and then prove the commercial viability of using a cold crushing technology to more efficiently extract oils from seeds for use in a BEC biodiesel refinery in the works in western Canada.

Check out this story from Renewable Energy Access.com:

BEC is a developmental stage company that intends to use cold crushing technology in its plant as a first-stage process for removal of oil from canola and other high oil-content crops; BioExx would provide the second-stage process.

The first stage of oil removal will remove approximately 80% of the oil from the biomass while maintaining a consistently low temperature. In the second and final stage of oil removal, the process will remove up to 100% of the remaining oil while at the same time maintaining the protein value originally contained in the biomass.

The story says the technology could allow a greater amount of oil to be extracted from feedstocks while preserving the food value content of the original material. That could make biodiesel production more economical and end some of the debate of fuel taking up food sources.

Biodiesel

Caltrans Considering Biodiesel

John Davis

CaltransAfter testing B20 biodiesel for nearly the last six months, the California Department of Transportation could be switching some of its vehicles to the cleaner fuel.

According to this story in the Central Valley Business Times, up to 4,500 diesel-burners could make the switch later this summer:

Caltrans uses about three million gallons of regular diesel from its fuel sites annually. A switchover to B20 would decrease its consumption of petroleum by as much as 600,000 gallons yearly, the agency says.

Biodiesel is seen as viable because the infrastructure is already in place. Caltrans has about 230 diesel fuel sites statewide and only minor, relatively inexpensive modifications would need to be made to these facilities, a spokesman says.

The article goes on to say that most of the biodiesel being tested comes recycled cooking oil.

Biodiesel

Ethanol 2012 Study

Cindy Zimmerman

E 2012What’s ahead on the road for ethanol? That’s what a new report will attempt to predict.

Representatives from agriculture, energy, public policy and technology are working on the Ethanol 2012 study, being spearheaded by consulting firm The Hale Group, according to a news release.

The Hale Group is working with Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), which is led by global energy expert Dr. Daniel Yergin, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Ambassador Clayton Yeutter, and Dr. Bruce Dale of Michigan State University.

“Over the next five years, the U.S. corn-based ethanol industry is going to face major strategic challenges as it becomes a more mature industry given that the commodity markets remain volatile and the government is developing policies for renewable energy and climate change,” said Clayton Yeutter. “The Ethanol 2012 Study brings together a highly qualified group with the petroleum, agricultural, technology and policy expertise to develop winning strategies that respond to the challenges.”

According to the Ethanol 2012 website, the study is “designed to meet the strategic planning needs of current ethanol producers, companies that are considering entry into the industry, financial firms that have an investment in the ethanol industry, service providers to the ethanol industry, and governmental agencies.”

Ethanol, News

Oklahoma to Host Biofuels Conference

John Davis

Grow logoOklahoma Governor Brad Henry is hosting a conference on biofuels October 16-17th in Oklahoma City. More information is on the way but this web site www.growok.com is a start.

From the governor’s welcome:

Gov. HenryIt is my pleasure to invite you to attend to the Oklahoma Governor’s Conference on Biofuels.

For reasons of national security, economic well-being, concern for our environment and concern for our finite oil and gas resources, our country has embarked on a policy to develop alternative transportation fuels and free ourselves from dependence on imported foreign oil.

Henry points out that Oklahoma is uniquely placed to be a leader in the biofuels market with its prairie grass resources and refining capacity and infrastructure already in place.

This is the second annual biofuels conference for the state.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Ethanol Key Topic at OAS Meeting

John Davis

OAS logoA showdown over ethanol is brewing at the Organization of American States’ General Assembly meeting this week in Panama. According to this story in the Washington (DC) Times, the U.S. and Brazil are pushing an OAS paper promoting looking for alternative fuel sources in the Western Hemisphere, more specifically, ethanol, which the Americans and Brazilians are producing in the billions of gallons:

OAS meetingIn a paper prepared to be delivered at the assembly, the OAS says that although the hemisphere is “endowed with abundant natural resources for energy production,” the bloc’s leaders should discuss alternatives to the region’s continuing dependency on fossil fuels.

In the case of the United States, it would mean reducing dependence on fuels originating in nations hostile to U.S. interests and promoting increased production of biofuels already widely used in countries such as Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugar-based ethanol.

“The United States and Brazil are the world’s two largest biofuels producers, so cooperation is natural,” State Department spokesman on Latin American affairs, Eric Watnik, said in March. “Our goal is to advance global energy security by helping countries diversify their supply.”

Chavez-CastroNot surprisingly, on the other side of the issue is the U.S.-hating Hugo Chavez, leader of oil-rich Venezuela. He’s joined by Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and not too surprisingly, Mexico… which has great oil reserves of its own:

Increased demand for corn used to produce the starch-based version of ethanol made in North America has driven corn prices higher in recent months, subsequently raising Mexico’s tortilla prices.

Venezuela is the world’s sixth-largest exporter of oil, and the country’s anti-American president, Hugo Chavez, has been using its oil wealth to win the support of countries in the region. In the long run, the world’s reduced dependence on oil could lower Venezuela’s influence on international politics.

Ethanol, News

Finding A Place to Fill Up

John Davis

EPICOn empty in East Lansing? Runnin’ low near the Alamo? The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council or EPIC has an E85 station finder on its web site www.drivingethanol.org.

Playing around with it a bit, I was able to easily find a station on the northeast side of San Antonio… on the way to New Braunfels, home to German brats and Schlitterbaun, a local waterpark. Check out the map below (the station is the red triangle):
E85 Map

Of course, if you’re traveling a bit further, you can expand the search settings to show an entire state or region:
Texas E85 Map

If you run on another alternative fuel, the locator can find electric, hydrogen, compressed natural gas, propane, biodiesel, and more stations as well. Check it out at www.drivingethanol.org!

EPIC, Ethanol, News

Biofuel Pipelines Proposed

John Davis

Congs. Boswell & MoranCongress is considering some proposals that would fund studies to figure out if pipelines that would carry ethanol and biodiesel are viable options. Wallaces Farmer reports Democrat Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell, and Republican Cong. Jerry Moran of Kansas have introduced the bill:

The Ethanol Infrastructure Expansion Act, H.R. 2426, would direct the U.S. Secretary of Energy to fund studies on the feasibility of constructing a dedicated ethanol pipeline and to study the technical factors that prevent the transportation of ethanol in existing pipelines.

“As the ethanol and biodiesel industries continue to expand, we need to examine practical and economical ways to transport ethanol across the country,” says Boswell. “This bill is a necessary first step in bringing ethanol to the rest of the country. We need to break our bondage to OPEC and if we are going to produce more biofuel to do that, we need to get that ethanol and biodiesel to the motoring public as efficiently as possible.”

This is an important bill for Congress to consider. “Ethanol and biodiesel are currently moved primarily by railcars and by truck. But the rapid growth in production of ethanol and also biodiesel production makes a study and determination of additional transportation options critical,” he says.

If the bill is passed, the Department of Energy would also have to study if existing pipelines could be modified to carry the biofuels. The measure is similar to a bill introduced earlier this year by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) (see Cindy’s March 13th post).

Biodiesel, Ethanol