It is easy being green this year at the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Reece Nanfito, Marketing Director for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, is there and he reports that “the whole place is buzzing about alternative fuels.” Ferrari is showing a Biofuel Ferrari for North America that is all about being green. The Associated …
American Le Mans to Offer E85
E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, will make its appearance in 2008 as a fuel alternative in the American Le Mans Series. According to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, two automotive manufactures will run E85 during the 2008 season, Corvette Racing and Aston Martin Racing. “This is the first time a racing series has …
Reuters Biofuels Summit Focus on Cellulosic
Cellulosic was all the buzz at the Reuters Global Agriculture and Biofuels Summit this week and prognosticators are now saying it is much closer to reality than ever before. One speaker at the summit said that biomass ethanol is just 2-3 years away. “We should see the first commercial-scale plants coming on line in late-2009, early-2010,” said Richard Hamilton, President …
Ethanol Price Rebound
Ethanol prices are up. This story in the Wichita Eagle reports that ethanol prices have gone up 35 cents a gallon since mid-November. “It’s a little bit of a surprise to see how much the market has rebounded,” said Dave VanderGriend, president of ICM at Colwich, one of the nation’s largest designers and builders of ethanol plants. “There’s still an …
One Million Gallon Milestone
Flex-fuel vehicle owners in Oshkosh, Wis. have purchased over one million gallons of E85 at the Renew fuel station located at Highway 76 and 41. Consumers took 830 days to purchase one million gallons of E85 and are well on their way to purchasing more. This marks the first time a Wisconsin gas station has sold more than a million …
GM Makes Cellulosic Investment
An announcement by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner at the opening of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit yesterday made for big alternative energy news nationwide. Wagoner announced GM’s partnership with Coskata, an Illinois company that has a process for for turning wood chips, grasses, or municipal waste into ethanol. Coskata uses a proprietary process that leverages patented …
Ethanol Outlook for 2008
2008 could be an even better year than 2007 for the ethanol industry. That’s the outlook of Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen. In the first “Ethanol Report” podcast for 2008, Dinneen gazes into his crystal ball and sees blue skies and big challenges for the ethanol industry this year. “I think we will continue to see dramatic growth in …
Ethanol Pioneer Dies
One of the original ethanol visionaries has passed away, but the plant he helped to build in 1984 continues to operate. The Washington Post today published the obituary of Donald Evans, a Washington area lawyer and “70s ethanol pioneer,” as the headline reads. In 1980, he and other partners formed New Energy Inc. of Indiana to build a $185 million …
POET Opens First Ohio Plant
POET hosted a grand opening ceremony Thursday for their 22nd ethanol production facility and the first in the state of Ohio. Some 3,000 people attended the opening of POET Biorefining – Leipsic, including Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Congressman Bob Latta and Mike Wagner, Executive Director for the Buckeye Renewable Fuels Association. “The State of Ohio is excited to partner …
Good News Network
Not all the news out there about ethanol is negative, even though it sometimes seems that way. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has started a new e-newsletter to spread the good press that ethanol is getting. The “Ethanol Good News Network” communication is sent out twice weekly on Monday and Friday afternoons. EPIC members are automatically subscribed.