VeraSun Energy of Brookings, SD is test driving one of the new Ford Escape Hybrid FFVs for a two-year period to demonstrate the benefit of converging flexible fuel and hybrid technologies. The Escape Hybrid FFV will produce up to 25 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions when running on E85 as compared to the standard Escape Hybrid running on gasoline. Ford …
News From US Bioenergy
US BioEnergy Corporation is planning to utilize US Bio Process Technology™ at its Albert City, Hankinson, Dyersville and Janesville plants which is expected to increase the production capacity at each of these plants from 100 million gallons per year (MGY) to 120 MGY by the end of 2008. According to a company release, US Bio Process Technology includes a combination …
Cleaner Air in the Windy City
The 20th annual American Coalition for Ethanol conference and trade show is underway in St. Paul, MN. The event officially kicked off Tuesday after the golf tournament with a presentation by the CityHome O2 Diesel progran on how the ethanol industry can make positive headlines in our nation’s third largest city – Chicago. After proven success in several communities, CityHome™ …
E85 Days of Summer
Expect some long lines at the pump Wednesday morning at the Kroger Store in Irving, Texas. Kroger and General Motors have teamed up to sell E85 at that site for just 85 cents per gallon between 7:30 am and 9:30 am on August 8 as part of a promotion to spotlight GM’s flex fuel vehicles. The price is nearly 70 …
Kansas Cellulosic Plant Coming
Abengoa Bioenergy will formally announce the site of its cellulosic ethanol plant later this month, but word is already out that it will be located in the southwest Kansas town of Hogoton. The $300 million project, which will be partly funded by a $72 million Department of Energy grant awarded earlier this year, which will also include a traditional corn-to-ethanol …
Johanns Meets the Press Club
When Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns spoke at the National Press Club on July 27, the inevitable question about ethanol was asked. “Corn-based ethanol may help the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil, but critics say that ethanol costs almost as much as the energy it produces. Isn’t corn-based ethanol a wasteful way to produce energy, and won’t it …
NEVC Testimony
The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) testified this week at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on renewable fuels infrastructure, specifically looking at how to change the existing fuel distribution system to account for the anticipated larger volumes of ethanol and other biofuels. ”The 1,251 E85 fueling stations operating today in 41 states across the nation pale in comparison …
North Dakota Gets “e” for Ethanol
A North Dakota law labeling ethanol at the fuel pump with the “e” logo officially went into effect this week. Fargo hosted the state’s official labeling kick-off event on Thursday at the Cenex Convenience Store. North Dakota Governor John Hoeven; Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) executive director Tom Slunecka; state legislators and North Dakota corn growers were all on …
Popping the Popcorn Propaganda
The The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today held a joint press conference and photo-op to dispel claims that ethanol and higher field corn prices result in higher popcorn prices for moviegoers. The “Popping the Popcorn Propaganda” event dramatically illustrated this point by displaying what $5 will buy you at a movie theater …
Florida Ready for Ethanol
Despite a very limited availability in the Sunshine State, Florida consumers appear receptive to purchasing ethanol-enriched fuel at the pumps. A national survey released by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) found that while Florida has a slightly lower familiarity with ethanol than the national average, more than 70 percent of respondents in the state said they were likely …