POET Groundbreaking in Ohio

Cindy Zimmerman

Right after POET™ opens it’s 20th ethanol production facility this Friday in Iowa, the company will be preparing to break ground on yet another plant, this one in Ohio.

PoetOn May 16, POET will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for POET Biorefining – Marion, located in north central Ohio about 50 miles north of Columbus. When complete, the plant will produce 65 million gallons of ethanol a year from 21 million bushels of corn.

POET has built 25 ethanol production facilities since it was founded 20 years ago and has eight more under construction or in development. POET currently manages 19 ethanol production facilities and is holding a grand opening celebration for its twentieth in Corning, Iowa May 4. With Corning, the total annual production capacity for those 20 facilities is more than 1 billion gallons of ethanol.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Houston Port in Gulf Ethanol Plans

Cindy Zimmerman

Gulf Gulf Ethanol plans to build a facility for ethanol production and blending near the Port of Houston.

According to the company, the site is being evaluated to accommodate a production facility of 30 million gallons per year of ethanol. Continued engineering studies will be required to determine construction costs and permitting as well as the time line for implementation.

Gulf Ethanol president JT Cloud says location is the company’s primary concern. “This plant is located within a few hundreds yards of the port and has its own rail spur in the backyard in addition to 23 acres available acres for expansion.”

Ethanol, Facilities, News

More DOE Funds for Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

DOEThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $200 million, over five years to support the development of small-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the United States.

According to a DOE announcement, the funding will be for projects to develop biorefineries at ten percent of commercial scale that produce liquid transportation fuels such as ethanol, as well as bio-based chemicals and bioproducts used in industrial applications. This research aims to advance President Bush’s goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive with gasoline by 2012, and assist in reducing America’s gasoline consumption by 20 percent in ten years by expanding the availability of alternative and renewable transportation fuels.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

Possible US-Europe Biodiesel Trade War Brewing

John Davis

European biodiesel makers are crying foul over U.S. subsidies to biodiesel exporters.

WTO logoAccording to this story posted on WisconsinAgConnection.com, the folks from across the pond are talking about a World Trade Organization investigation and retaliatory tariffs being put on U.S. biodiesel sent to Europe.

According to European media reports, the subsidy allows U.S. exporters to undercut European rivals by at least a quarter, forcing many to cut production and sell at a loss. The US “B99” subsidy is controversial because it benefits exporters. In most of Europe, tax breaks are available only at the point of sale.

The story goes on to say that the big oil companies cashing in on the credit, which irks the National Biodiesel Board as well (see my posts from April 18th – NBB Blasts Conoco/Tyson Biodiesel Plans, April 20th – Dems Also Irked Over Conoco/Tyson Biodiesel Plans, and April 25th – NBB Fights Tax Incentive Abuse), is only making the situation worse.

Biodiesel, International

Turning Highways into Wind Farms

John Davis

Interesting concept was posted on the web site Engadget.com.

Highway windmill #1Some student designs are proposing that windmills, such as the one shown on the left, would be built above the nation’s highways. As cars whooshed by, the wind would turn the turbines and produce electricity. Proponents say its a way to produce green energy, even when the original source is not so green.

Another idea would be to have median barriers with wind turbines inside them (pictured below).
Highway windmill #2
Some drawbacks to that, however, might be safety concerns as to whether the barriers could hold up to the rigors of traffic and if they could keep someone from smashing into the oncoming lanes of vehicles.

Both are interesting ideas and prompted a lot of comments at the Engadget.com web site.

Wind

Millers Focus on Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

MillersThe 48th Annual Corn Dry Milling Conference is coming up May 31 – June 1 at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois. The conference is jointly sponsored by the North American Millers’ Association and the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research Agricultural Research Service, USDA.

Among the ethanol-related topics at the meeting will be the National Corn Growers Association and Biofuels; Cellulose Conversion Technology in a Dry Mill Pathway; and Economic Impacts of Fuel Ethanol for Agriculture.

Program and registration information are available on-line from the North American Millers’ Association.

Cellulosic, conferences, Ethanol, News

FEW Scholarships Available

Cindy Zimmerman

FEW 07BBI International’s 2007 Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) Scholarship program is looking for a few good people pursuing higher education leading to careers or post-graduate studies related to the ethanol industry.

Three $5000 scholarships will be awarded at the FEW this June in St. Louis, sponsored by American Stainless & Supply, a supplier of industrial PVF materials. In business for over 40 years, American Stainless supplies the ethanol industry’s procurement needs on all items from the pump to the tank.

BBI International will cover travel, lodging and registration for the scholarship winners to attend the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis June 26-29, 2007. BBI International provides valuable expertise to the biofuels industry with three areas of service: Conference and Event Planning, Project Development, and Media. Winners will attend an award ceremony at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis, where they will be congratulated by representatives from American Stainless & Supply and BBI International.

The application is available on-line and the registration deadline is May 18.

conferences, Ethanol, News

Companies Bet on Biodiesel

John Davis

American companies seem to be betting that biodiesel will continue its explosive growth it has seen in recent years.

This story from Reuters says high oil prices along with the Bush Administration’s commitment to promoting the green fuel industry through monetary incentives seems to helping the industry along:

NBB logoThere are 115 biodiesel plants in the United States with a combined production capacity of 865 million gallons a year — about five days of total U.S. distillate consumption, according to industry group, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB).

But the addition of nearly 80 plants currently under construction is set to boost total U.S. output capacity to over 2 billion gallons over the next 18 to 36 months, adds NBB.

“I would say in the past three or four years, it (capacity) has grown three to four times in size,” Paul Nazzaro, who heads outreach programs at Jefferson city, Missouri-based NBB, told Reuters.

Nazzaro said output capacity grew exponentially after biodiesel producers received a $1 per gallon tax credit a few years ago. The provision is due to expire next year but his group is lobbying aggressively to get it extended, he said.

The article does point that there are still some sticking points with biodiesel such as improving the delivery system and making sure the higher percentage blends don’t gel up in cold weather. But if big oil companies such as ConocoPhillips trying to cash in on the business and tax incentives as well is any indication, this could be just the start of a major change in the domestic fuel business.

Biodiesel

Why Monsanto Supports EPIC

Chuck Zimmerman

Troy Hobbs and Tom SluneckaOne of the people I met at the Kansas Speedway this weekend was Troy Hobbs, Monsanto Corn Biofuels Strategy Lead (left). He’s pictured here with EPIC Executive Director in front of the Rahal-Letterman hospitality tent on race day.

Troy explains why Monsanto has supported EPIC since it started. He believes that it’s very important to educate the public about the benefits of ethanol because of what that means for agriculture and our country. Troy also talks about the Monsanto Processor Preferred program that’s helping corn growers obtain a premium price for their product.

Listen to my interview with Troy: Listen to MP3 Troy Hobbs Interview (4 min MP3)

I think the photo album wound up with about 350 pictures in it.

2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 Photo Album

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

Imperium “Propels” Biodiesel Sales

John Davis

ImperiumSeattle-based Imperium Renewables is making an investment in its own future by loaning money to Propel Biofuels to build its first biodiesel filling stations in Washington state.

According to this story posted on SeattlePI.com, the undisclosed loan amount will help open the first station soon and four more in the coming weeks… and that could be just the start:

Propel BiofuelsRob Elam, president of Propel Biofuels, said that the company is looking to have its biodiesel equipment installed at about 20 fueling stations in Washington, Oregon and California by the end of this year.

As part of the deal, Propel has agreed to distribute some of the Washington grown biodiesel being produced by Imperium.

As you might remember from our earlier posts, Imperium has become a major mover and shaker in the biodiesel business securing a record $214 million in investments and getting ready to open the nation’s largest biodiesel refinery… a 100 million gallon a year plant.

Biodiesel