There were not many changes in the February World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report out today, except in the corn department. Corn used for ethanol is projected 50 million bushels higher on a higher-than-expected November final ethanol production estimate and weekly ethanol data that indicate record output for December and January. USDA chief economist Joe Glauber says ethanol …
Ethanol Report on World Supply Demand Estimates
The February USDA World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report out today includes some revisions in grain use numbers. This edition of the Ethanol Report podcast with Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper takes a look at those numbers and provides some perspective from the ethanol industry standpoint. For U.S. corn supplies, USDA lowered its forecast …
National Biodiesel Conference Wraps Up
The 2011 National Biodiesel Conference has been a scene of optimism for the industry. To wrap things up I spoke with Donnell Rehagen, COO, National Biodiesel Board. He says that we had approximately 1,100 in attendance and it looked like business was getting done. Yesterday NBB held its annual membership meeting and approved projects and a plan that will begin …
Commodity Price Expectation
It looks like there’s a very high expectation among our various audiences that commodity prices will go higher. You haven’t sold all of last year’s soybeans have you! We asked the question, “Will commodity prices be higher or lower a year from now?” Overwhelmingly, 70% said higher while 21% said about the same and only 9% lower. Our next ZimmPoll …
Florida Advanced Biofuels Plant Breaks Ground
A new commercial scale advance biofuels plant broke ground today in Vero Beach, Florida. The $130 million plant is being developed by INEOS New Planet BioEnergy (INPB), a joint venture between INEOS Bio and New Planet Energy. The Indian River BioEnergy Center in Vero Beach, Florida, will convert yard, vegetative and household wastes into cellulosic ethanol and renewable power for …
Wind Powers the Super Bowl
Despite being indoors, there was plenty of wind used during Sunday’s Super Bowl (no, I’m not talking about Joe Buck yammering on). The electricity used to power everything from TV cameras to the massive jumbo screen has been offset by the purchase of wind energy credits from a wind farm in Texas. This story from Environment News Service says the …
Nation’s First Industrial Park to Supply Hydrogen Opens
The nation’s first multi-use industrial park fueling station to supply hydrogen directly for industrial, commercial, and government use has opened in South Carolina. Logistics provider GENCO ATC has partnered with customers Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Plug Power Inc., Air Products, and the Aiken-Edgefield Development Partnership to launch the facility: The fueling station supplies hydrogen directly to Kimberly-Clark’s 450,000-square-foot distribution facility managed by …
AWEA: Wind Energy Cost Competitive with Natural Gas
One of the big knocks against alternative forms of energy is that they are not cost competitive to more traditional counterparts. However, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) now contends that wind energy generation costs about the same as natural gas. And this article from ClimateCentral.org says despite a tough year for new wind energy installations, the group is looking …
Ethanol Gets Seat on California LCFS Panel
Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Vice President of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper has been selected to represent the ethanol industry on the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) Advisory Panel. Panel members will participate in periodic reviews of the LCFS program and provide input on issues related to implementation of the LCFS. The first panel meeting …
New Holland Still Showing Strong Support For Biodiesel
Why is there a New Holland Boomer 8N photo on here when talking about the National Biodiesel Conference? Because the company is once again a conference sponsor of the media room I’ve been working out of and the Biodiesel Conference Blog that ZimmComm New Media is helping manage for the 6th year! I want to say a big thanks to …