President Bush is now confirmed to be the grand finale for the Renewable Energy Conference this week in St. Louis. He will make the final address on Thursday to attendees at the event, who will be hearing from other top administration officials on Wednesday, including Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. Just about everybody who …
Home of the Biodiesel Rams
The newest breed of Dodge Ram comes factory-fueled with biodiesel. Under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis Tuesday, representatives from the National Biodiesel Board and Daimler-Chrysler announced that every 2007 Dodge Ram diesel coming off the assembly line at the company’s Fenton, Missouri north plant will be fueled with B5, a blend containing 5 percent biodiesel made from soybeans grown …
Ethanol Talks
The New York Times reports that two ethanol giants are talking about joining forces. Undisputed ethanol production king ADM met with with ethanol’s financial guru Vinod Khosla to “discuss opportunities they might pursue together” regarding cellulosic ethanol according to ADM CEO Patricia Woertz. ADM has a solid investment in ethanol from corn while Khosla, the founding chief executive of Sun …
Ethanol Convert
Here’s an article on ADM CEO Pat Woertz, who will be one of the many speakers at this week’s Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis. The story talks about Woertz’s former life as a Chevron executive and her opposition to ethanol at the time, which she said was “tied to federal clean-air standards for vehicle emissions and the debate over …
Pacific Ethanol Plant Complete
Construction of Pacific Ethanol’s first plant in Madera, California is now finished and the ribbon will be cut on October 16. The 35 million gallon plant will then begin construction and should reach capacity by next month. This is the plant with Microsoft money behind it (see previous post) – Bill Gates personally invested about $84 million dollars in Pacific …
Ultimate Ethanol for Alexandria
The Broin Companies last week announced plans for the development and construction of Ultimate Ethanol, LLC near Alexandria, Ind. The plant will initially produce 60 million gallons of ethanol a year, but is designed to expand to 100 million in the future. Ultimate Ethanol will be the 29th ethanol plant built by the Broin Companies, who will provide turnkey development, …
Biotech for Biofuels
Dr. Robert Fraley, Monsanto’s Chief Technology Officer, will be one of the presenters at the Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance conference on Wednesday, October 11 in St. Louis. Dr. Fraley will be a panel speaker at the “Liquid Fuels and Bioproducts: Supply and Demand” breakout session on Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Fraley will share his scientific vision of agriculture’s …
Ram Stuff
DaimlerChrysler and the National Biodiesel Board are promising a “new breed of St. Louis Ram.” Look for a big announcement on Tuesday when representatives will discuss new programs to promote modern, clean diesel vehicles and the benefits of renewable biodiesel fuel. The diesel Dodge Ram is produced in St. Louis.
Over 1000 Registrations for Renewable Renaissance
Over 1,000 people are now registered to attend the big USDA/DOE event next week in St. Louis, Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance. There are rumors that President Bush himself will be attending the conference, although he is still listed as “invited.” Chances are pretty good the boss will show up, considering the magnitude of this event and the …
1000 Stations and Counting
There are now over 1,000 E85 fueling locations in the United States, according to the National Ethanol Vehicle Association. NEVC identifies a Cenex station in Bemidji, Minnesota as the nation’s 1,000 facility. According to a news release from NEVC, the number of stations in the country has more than doubled since October of last year when there were just 438. …