I had the opportunity for a 15 minute interview with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns today in Kansas City. I was wearing many hats, so I had to ask him questions on several topics, but I did get in a question about food versus fuel when it comes to ethanol. Basically, the short answer is – use all you want, …
US BioEnergy Groundbreaking
A ground-breaking event will be held Friday in Hankinson, N.D. on August 25 for US Bio Hankinson, the biggest ethanol plant in North Dakota. (see previous post). The 100 million gallon per year ethanol plant, being constructed by US BioEnergy Corporation, will consume approximately 36 million bushels of corn and will produce 320,000 tons of distillers grain annually.
Kitchen Sisters Cook Up Biodiesel
Peabody-award winning Public Radio broadcasters the Kitchen Sisters are featuring Deep Fried Fuel on NPR’s Morning Edition this Thursday, August 24. That would be tomorrow morning as this is posted, but NPR does offer podcasts of features if you miss it. The Hidden Kitchen program “explores secret, underground, below-the-radar community cooking going on throughout America and how communities come together …
Ethanol Ok in OK
Oklahoma Sustainable Energy LLC is well on its way to building a 55 million gallon a year plant in Enid, OK. The Alva (OK) Review Telegram reports that a Monday meeting for potential investors drew “scores of area residents” interested in hearing about the plan. The group hopes to obtain 449 investors for the project which needs a minimum of …
Another One?
Alternative Energy Sources, Inc. of Kansas City, which just announced last week that it is in the process of building the “first cellulosic plant” in the country, (a claim disputed by SunOpta) today announced plans to build a 110-million-gallon ethanol plant 65 miles south of Chicago in Kankakee, Ill. According to a company release, AENS has optioned the entire 248-acre …
Second GPRE Plant Plans
Green Plains Renewable Energy has announced that Agra Industries will be the builder for its second 50 million gallon ethanol plant in Iowa. The company is currently building a 50 million gallon facility in Shenandoah, Iowa. The second plant will be located near Superior. With the two plants, GPRE expects to have the capacity to produce at least 110 million …
Greenline in the Fast Lane
Here’s a company doing some great biodiesel work. Greenline Industries of San Rafael, California manufactures a full range of biodiesel processing systems employing the very latest waterless technology. We serve a broad range of customers that include farm co-ops, small businesses, larger scale municipal interests, and full scale commercial plants delivering up to 40 million gallons of biodiesel per year, …
Ethanol in the Family
Father and son ethanol racing team Dan and Jamie Schwartzkopf were at the American Coalition for Ethanol meeting last week in Kansas City and I got a chance to chat with them about Schwartzkopf Racing and Wyoming Ethanol. Dan is the general manager of the ethanol plant, which has Renova Energy as its parent company. They also talk about the …
Strong Interest in FFVs and Hybrids
A new market research study shows very strong consumer interest in flex fuel vehicles, but fuel economy is an issue with them. The study, by global market research company Synovate, shows that 37% of US consumers would consider purchasing a Flex Fuel vehicle that runs on gasoline or E85 (85% Ethanol) the next time they are in the market to …
Ethanol Plant For PA
The governor of Pennsylvania has announced the first ethanol plant to be built in the state, as well as a cellulosic pilot plant. Governor Edward Rendell made the announcement Thursday with representatives from BioEnergy International, LLC and Lukoil Americas, two important partners in the project. According to a news release from the governor’s office, the state is providing $17.4 million …