As the ethanol industry was meeting in Orlando last week, President Obama was talking energy just a few hundred miles to the south at the University of Miami. “If we’re going to take control of our energy future and can start avoiding these annual gas price spikes that happen every year — when the economy starts getting better, world demand …
Views from the Political Right and Left at NEC
Positioned on opposite sides of the stage to their political leanings, two former presidential advisors took on a range of questions related to the 2012 election year and important policy issues in front of 1200 attendees at the 17th annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC) last week. On the left, was senior advisor to President George W. Bush, Karl Rove, while …
State of the Advanced Ethanol Industry
A panel of advanced ethanol company executives at the National Ethanol Conference was at the same time optimistic and sobering about the future of next generation biofuel production. “We openly acknowledged the ‘elephant in the room’ and that is that some of the numbers that people were talking about are bigger than we can expect in the immediate term,” said …
RFA Working Hard to Get E15 to Market
When people call Kristy Moore and ask her what she’s doing, she usually answers, “I’m just sitting around changing the nation’s fuel, and I might take a nap after lunch.” Moore is the Renewable Fuels Association‘s Vice President for Technical Services and she is totally focused on helping the ethanol industry, fuel retailers and consumers make the move to 15% …
Vander Griend Honored With RFA Award
The founder and president of a world leader in ethanol plant engineering and construction is the recipient of the 2012 Renewable Fuels Association Membership Award. Dave Vander Griend founded ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kansas in 1995 and developed it into the industry leader for the design, construction, and support of ethanol plants. Presenting the award, RFA chairman Chuck Woodside of …
Ag Secretary at National Ethanol Conference
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed his personal strong support and gratitude for the ethanol industry during an address at the National Ethanol Conference on Friday. “We owe ethanol producers in this country a debt of gratitude because we’re paying less at the pump because of what you do,” Vilsack said, noting that prices are about $1 less than they would …
Ethanol Conference Panel Includes Opposition
Scott Faber has never been known for his love of ethanol. In fact, Faber could be called the “architect of the food versus fuel campaign,” as he engineered much of the opposition to ethanol as lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Now he has joined the Environmental Working Group, an organization which also tends to position itself on the opposite …
2012 National Ethanol Conference Scholarship Winners
Here are the 2012 National Ethanol Conference Scholarship winners. In the photo with leaders from the Renewable Fuels Association are Olumoye Ajao, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal; Vinay Patel, Troy University; Anahita Eckard, South Dakota State University; Ted Elverson, South Dakota State University; Hunter Flodman, University of Nebraska; Jason Levar, Minnesota West Community and Technical College and Karen Lewis, Arizona State …
Novozymes Introduces Latest Enzyme Technology
Novozymes has introduced its next-generation of enzyme technology for cellulosic biofuels, Cellic CTec3, an advanced cellulase and hemicellulase complex. The enzyme enables more cost-efficient conversion of biomass to ethanol and performs 1.5 times better than its predecessor, Cellic CTec2. Using Cellic CTec3, biofuel producers need only one-fifth of the enzyme dose compared to competing enzymes. Cellic CTec3 allows the cost …
Futurist Sees Future in Ethanol
Futurist Dr. James Canton says the biggest national security risk today is what he calls the “Petro-Risk” – and only biofuels hold the key to alleviating that risk. “Clearly, biofuels are the future,” Canton said Thursday at the opening session of the 17th annual National Ethanol Conference. “For all intents and purposes, there’s not an alternative energy that’s non-CO2 that …