The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced a $75 million loan guarantee for a Florida bioprocessing facility to create fuel from citrus and yard waste. The guarantee will support construction of the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy facility in Vero Beach, Florida that will produce up to 8 million gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol from citrus fruit, vegetable …
President Talks Ethanol in Illinois
The 11-year-old grandson of a corn farmer and ethanol plant investor got to ask President Obama a question during a town hall meeting at the Wyffels Hybrids corn seed production plant in Atkinson, Illinois on Wednesday. “My grandpa is a farmer, and he owns part of the local ethanol plant,” young Alex McAvoy said to the POTUS. “I was wondering, …
Ethanol and Motorcycles Mix it Up
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) proved once again this year that ethanol and motorcycles do mix well together. This edition of “The Ethanol Report” features the 71st Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held August 8-14 in Sturgis, SD. RFA Director of Market Development Robert White and his father Jere White, Executive Director of the Kansas Corn Growers, talk about the importance …
Gator Fat Could Make Biodiesel
Once upon a time, an oil company used the slogan “Put a Tiger in Your Tank.” Someday, it could be “Put a Gator in Your Tank.” Scientists have identified a new and unlikely raw material for biodiesel in alligator fat, according to a research published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Researchers at the University …
Navy, Energy and USDA Partner for Advanced Biofuels
The Obama Administration today announced a partnership between the private sector and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. President Obama made the announcement during a stop in Iowa, at the same time the three department secretaries held a telephone conference call with the press. …
President Visiting Three of Top Four Ethanol States
During his Midwest bus tour this week, President Barack Obama is visiting three of the nation’s top four ethanol producing states, accounting for more than 42 percent of the country’s ethanol production. The president’s first audience question today in Minnesota, the number four ethanol state, was “How are you going to use renewable energy to create jobs in the future?” …
Fagen Joins Growth Energy
Growth Energy has added green energy design-builder Fagen, Inc. of Minnesota as an associate member. “Fagen has worked on construction and design projects for a number of our plant members, so adding them to the team makes perfect sense,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. Fagen has been a pioneer in the ethanol industry and is also heavily involved in …
ICM to Sponsor Ethanol Fuel for US Auto Club Racing
Ethanol plant design-builder ICM, Inc. is partnering with National Biofuels Distribution (NBD) to supply and support the United States Auto Club (USAC) with the high-performance ethanol racing fuel called Ignite. The switch to Ignite was announced just recently by USAC. The USAC includes more than 600 race teams and 250 annual USAC-sanctioned races, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint …
Chrysler and ZeaChem Team Up for Cellulosic Ethanol
A leading advanced biofuels company has teamed up with a major automobile maker to speed up the production and use of cellulosic ethanol made from non-food feedstocks. Chrysler Group and ZeaChem today announced the formation of a strategic alliance to “strengthen the credibility among regulators and American consumers of cellulosic ethanol as a cost-effective green transportation alternative; move away from …
Iowa Biodiesel Board Comments to EPA
In comments submitted this week to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Iowa Biodiesel Board (IBB) said that the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) has “breathed new life into Iowa’s struggling biodiesel industry.” The comments were submitted by IBB executive director Randy Olson in regard to EPA’s notice of proposed rulemaking on the Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2012 Renewable …