Over the past two weeks, key energy advisors to the McCain and Obama presidential campaigns have shared their views on ethanol with Agritalk Radio host Mike Adams. Heather Zichal, the policy director for energy, environment and agriculture for the Obama campaign spoke on behalf of Senator Obama, while Jim Moseley, former Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture and …
USDA Clarifies Ethanol Plant Loan Comments
Comments made to the press last week by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer regarding the possibility of USDA loans to ethanol plants that have been hurt by commodity market speculation this year have caused quite a stir. USDA has been working to get the word out this week to clarify that this is not any kind of a “bail out” …
Pilot Switchgrass Ethanol Plant Breaks Ground
A new pilot plant that broke ground in Tennessee last week will be testing the use of switchgrass as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol. Genera Energy is a partnership between the University of Tennessee and DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, a joint venture formed this year by DuPont and Genencor to commercialize cellulosic ethanol. On hand to celebrate the groundbreaking …
Ethanol Maker Asks For Candidates’ Support
The stakeholders of the nation’s largest ethanol producer are asking the presidential candidates to support ethanol. More than 1,700 POET employees and investors sent an open letter to Senators McCain and Obama urging them to invest in domestic sources of renewable fuels, like ethanol. In the letter, they emphasized the positive impact that ethanol has already made in creating jobs, …
Southeast Ethanol Plants Move Forward
A Southeast ethanol company has formally announced the locations for four plants to be built around the sunbelt. East Coast Ethanol intends to construct plants in Northampton Co., NC; Chester Co., SC; Wayne Co., GA; and Jackson Co., FL. With a nameplate production capacity of 440 million gallons of ethanol per year, the four plants in operation would make ECE …
Ethanol at the World Food Prize
Biofuels in general and ethanol in particular were part of the discussion at the World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines this year. Despite the food versus fuel controversy that permeated the headlines for 2008, there seemed to be more acceptance of biofuels as being able to co-exist with food production and being part of the overall global agriculture picture. …
Demand for Distillers Grains
Global demand is growing for the ethanol by-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), which is used for livestock feed – and the US Grains Council is helping to move that product. At the U.S. Grains Council’s International Distillers Grains Conference in Indianapolis earlier this week, attendees heard that Mexico currently holds the title as the number one purchaser of …
Ethanol Growth Increases Livestock Feed
Export opportunities for the livestock feed co-product of ethanol production are increasing as the industry continues to grow. That was the main message to more than 500 who attended the second the U.S. Grains Council’s International Distillers Grains Conference this week in Indianapolis. “The reason we’re holding this conference is that we are confident the U.S. ethanol industry will continue …
Clemson Gets Ethanol Research Grant
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $1.2 million grant to Clemson University in South Carolina to assess the potential of switchgrass and sweet sorghum as feedstocks to produce ethanol in the southeast. The grant also will fund development of a small-scale biofuel processing plant at Clemson University’s Restoration Institute in North Charleston. The South Carolina Bioenergy Research Collaborative …
GM Studies Cellulosic Ethanol in China
General Motors and partner Coskata are working together to develop and commercialize second generation ethanol in China. David S. Chen, vice president of GM China Group, said, “According to the China Automotive Energy Research Center, GM has already begun successfully validating the automotive energy resource potential for sustainable biofuels in China.” Chen said China can produce cellulosic ethanol on marginal …