Clovis, New Mexico is the future site of a 105 million gallon a year ethanol plant planned by private equity firms Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group. According to a news release, “the plant will more than triple New Mexico’s ethanol output. New Mexico’s only other ethanol plant, Abengoa in Portales, currently produces 30 million gallons annually.” The plant will …
Bill Would Keep Incentives in Place
A bill introduced this week in Congress would make the federal excise tax credits for renewable fuels permanent. According to a release from the National Biodiesel Board, Congressmen Kenny Hulshof (R-MO) and Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) introduced the Renewable Fuels and Energy Independence Promotion Act, which removes sunset provisions for ethanol and biodiesel incentives that accompanied the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax …
USDA Will Help Fund IA Biodiesel Plant
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced a loan guarantee and grant totaling $3.75 million for construction and operation of a new biodiesel production facility in Iowa. Riksch BioFuels LLC will construct a plant near Crawfordsville, Iowa. Twenty-five investors, including farmers and business owners, already have raised over $3.3 million for the project and will receive $400,000 from the Iowa Department …
Ethanol Awareness Increases
Seventy-three percent of American consumers are likely to purchase ethanol-enriched fuel, according to the results of a new national study by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. This represents a nine percent increase over January 2005. In addition, nearly 90 percent of those who are familiar with ethanol associate the fuel with its many positive benefits. However, Tom Slunecka, executive …
USDA and DOE Announce Renewable Conference
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman today announced that the two agencies will co-host a national renewable energy conference to help create partnerships and strategies necessary to accelerate commercialization of renewable energy industries and distribution systems, the crux of President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative. According to a USDA release, the conference, …
Ethanol Car Wins European Fuel Efficiency Contest
A group of French high school students proved that ethanol can be fuel-efficient. According to Environment News Service, an ethanol powered car engineered by French high school students has achieved the best fuel efficiency at the European Shell Eco-marathon 2006, winning the race at the Nogaro auto racing circuit in southwest France. It also took the Climate Friendly prize for …
Manure Powered Ethanol Production
An ethanol facility powered by renewable energy from dairy waste is planned for a large Indiana dairy farm. Bion Environmental Technologies and Fair Oaks Dairy Farms have announced a joint venture that will enable environmentally sustainable expansion of animal agriculture in concert with ethanol production. According to the news release, Bion’s technology platform provides sufficient renewable energy from the associated …
Two Ethanol Companies Merge
Alternative Energy Sources, Inc. has completed a stock-to-stock merger with Beemer Energy, led by CEO Mark A. Beemer and Chief Operating Officer Lee Blank, both former executives of Archer Daniels Midland Company, the largest producer of ethanol. According to a news release, Beemer is a privately held Delaware corporation engaged in the development of “green-field” ethanol sites, the conversion of …
Broin Pushes Billion Gallon Mark
The Broin Companies are approaching a milestone. According to a release from the development, production, management, and marketing firm, “combining the production from plants now in operation and those currently under construction, the Broin Companies will push past the one billion gallon mark in annual ethanol production.” As the second largest producer in the industry, the Broin Companies have designed …
Coal Powered Ethanol Plant Planned for NE
Plans for a 125-million-gallon ethanol plant in Nebraska that will use coal as its primary energy source were announced this week by the Phelps County Development Corp, and Alcorn Energy LLC of Troy, Mich. According to a Kearney (NE) Hub news story, Alcorn Energy Chief Executive Officer Tom Randazzo said the large local supply of corn was one of the …