The mood is definitely a little brighter at this year’s National Ethanol Conference compared to last year. You can tell that the industry is in a better place and the climate has changed with plants reopening and the economy turning back around.

The theme of the conference is “Climate of Opportunity” and the program officially opened this evening with the welcome reception, sponsored by Fagen, Inc., which followed the annual golf tournament. The opening general session will kick off at 8:00 am Eastern time on Tuesday morning and we will be live streaming the state of the industry address by Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association.

We will also be hearing from Paul Machiele with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the new RFS2 rule, debate indirect land use change, view the international landscape for ethanol and get the perspective of the automotive industry from Tom Stephens of General Motors.

The Flickr photo album is started here – 2010 National Ethanol Conference photos

Join us for continuing coverage of the conference this week on Domestic Fuel.