MTVs Video Music Awards this month (August 31) will feature ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles. According to a PR Newswire release from MTV: Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, and MTV’s “Break the Addiction” campaign are partnering around the 2006 Video Music Awards to help educate viewers on E85 ethanol technology in an effort to raise awareness about reducing greenhouse gas …
Illinois Spurs Biofuels Development
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich this week announced more than $25 million in grants and support to help build five new ethanol and biodiesel production facilities across Illinois. According to a release from the governor’s office, the new plants will spur about $334 million in private investment, produce 225 million gallons of biofuels each year, create almost 150 new jobs and …
Iowa Corn Indy
The Iowa Corn Growers will be the title sponsor for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 next year at the new Iowa Speedway in Newton. Iowa Corn, Iowa Speedway, and the Indy Racing League made the announcement yesterday at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. The race will be held on June 24, 2007 and will “showcase ethanol before a …
Cattle/Ethanol Deal Announced
Ok, I am not totally sure exactly what the deal is here – but this is what the news release says about the “Siksika Project,” a joint venture between Hybrid Fuels and A4 Bar Cattle Company, both located in Canada. The barns constructed for the Siksika Project will be atmospherically controlled and will contain fly control devices. Cattle in the …
The Cellulosic Race is On
As an alert reader pointed out to me (see previous post) SunOpta is “working with Celunol on the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States,” as announced in a press release August 3. As this article in Red Herring points out, the race to build the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the US is definitely on. Xethanol …
Shifting Power
HTH PowerSHIFT Group Holdings, Inc. is the new name of HTH Wind Energy, a privately held company previously dedicated solely to the production and operation of small and large-scale wind projects. The company changed its name and created a new logo and website to more accurately reflect its involvement in a variety of renewable energy businesses. HTH PowerSHIFT is a …
Retailers Pumped About Biodiesel
A South Carolina petroleum retailer now makes a 20 percent biodiesel blend (B20) available at 35 public pumps statewide, signifying a trend of increasing availability to consumers nationally, according to the National Biodiesel Board. The Spinx Company has opened the locations throughout upper South Carolina. Thirteen of the B20 pumps are in Greenville, SC, giving the city’s consumers a new …
I Want To Go Fast
I know, I know – the “Ballad of Ricky Bobby” is about NASCAR and this is an Indy car …. whatever. It still works. Believe it or not, there are lots of people out there in the real world who actually, shockingly – don’t really know the difference. I admit it … I never knew the difference until last year. …
Souped-up Supra
At the American Coalition for Ethanol meeting last week, Brad Mayo of Nashville had his souped-up 1997 Toyota Supra on display, which he has fine-tuned to run on up to 95 percent ethanol. And not just run … run FAST! (Only in a street car race, of course – otherwise he drives the posted speed limit!) Brad was working on …
Seeds For Growth
Sandia National Laboratories and Monsanto Company are joining forces to increase ethanol production through new varieties. According to a press release, the arrangement is aimed at aligning Sandia’s capabilities in bioanalytical imaging and analysis with Monsanto’s research in developing new seed-based products for farmers, including corn products that may be able to produce more ethanol per bushel.