Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer will help kick off the third annual Florida Farm to Fuel summit this week in Orlando as keynote speaker Wednesday morning, July 30. Other speakers include Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Brian Dean with the Interamerican Ethanol Commission, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association president Gordon Quaiattini, and US Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen. The summit brings …
Company to Use Sugarcane Ethanol for Chemicals
A Florida biotech company has created a new subsidiary to use sugarcane ethanol for chemical production. Industrial Biotechnology Corporation has formed Renewable Chemicals Corporation to produce chemicals utilizing sugar cane based ethanol as feedstock source material instead of petroleum. According to an IBC news release, the company “plans to produce these renewable chemicals customized to the specific sustainability and pricing …
Study Credits Ethanol Policy With 25 Percent of Corn Price Hike
One of the more significant findings of a Purdue University study released this week on food price drivers is that ethanol policy is only responsible for $1 of the $4 price increase in corn prices since 2004. Economist Wally Tyner says between 2004 and the beginning of 2008, oil went from $40 per barrel to $120 per barrel at the …
Ethanol Report on Food Price Study
The Farm Foundation study on food price drivers released this week in Washington DC was the focus of a forum held at the National Press Club. This edition of “The Ethanol Report” features comments from the Farm Foundation forum and report on “What’s Driving Food Prices?” Featured are Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin, Purdue University economist Wally Tyner, and University …
California Plant to Make Ethanol from Waste
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels of California has been given the go-ahead to build the nation’s first commercial biowaste-to-ethanol facility in Los Angeles County. The county’s regional planning commission unanimously agreed to issue a zoning permit to BlueFire Ethanol to build a $30 million facility in Lancaster, located north of Los Angeles. The plant will be built next to a landfill and …
New Alliance for Food and Fuel
A group of major players in the agribusiness sector have joined together to highlight the ability of American agriculture to meet both food and energy needs. The Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy includes Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont, John Deere, Monsanto, and the Renewable Fuels Association. The alliance asserts that “By growing more crops and developing more efficient ways of …
Tennessee Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Planned
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol and the University of Tennessee Research Foundation have announced a partnership to construct an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery and state-of-the-art research and development facility for cellulosic ethanol in Vonore, Tenn. According to DuPont Danisco, the pilot-scale biorefinery will develop the commercial package for the partnership’s leading cellulosic ethanol technology. The project will also utilize UT’s world-class expertise …
Ethanol Experts Available
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has unveiled a new Renewable Fuels Experts Database to help fight public misconceptions about ethanol. EPIC is the first organization to offer such a media resource containing experts from the renewable fuels industry. The database is an online tool that allows journalists to find experts by searching keywords or a category list such …
RFS Restrictions Could Delay Cellulosic Ethanol
Members of a House Agriculture subcommittee are expressing concerns that restrictions under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act could be detrimental to the development of second generation ethanol using biomass. The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research held a hearing to review the RFS implementation and agriculture producer eligibility. Chairman …
Study Offers Objective View of Food Price Drivers
An agricultural public policy group is releasing a new study today that offers a comprehensive, objective assessment of the forces driving food prices. The Farm Foundation study “What’s Driving Food Prices?” was written by three Purdue University economists. Lead author Wally Tyner says that while ethanol demand is definitely the main reason for increased corn prices, the ultimate driver behind …