Toyota apparently intends to follow the U.S. car manufacturers flex-fuel lead and start producing cars that can run on ethanol. According to business reports out this week which site “an unnamed company executive” and a Toyota spokesperson, Toyota “acknowledged that Japan’s top auto maker was developing flexible-fuel vehicles, mainly for the ethanol-smitten Brazilian market for starters, but declined to disclose …
More Michigan E85 Pumps
General Motors is partnering with the state of Michigan, Cleanfuel USA And Meijer gas stations to add about 20 new E85 ethanol fueling sites in the southeast Michigan area. According to a GM press release, the announcement was made Tuesday during an event at the State Capitol presided over by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Questions About Ethanol Imports and Tariffs
Ethanol imports and the Brazilian tariff made up the majority of questions from the media during the “Truth About Ethanol” press conference Tuesday. Why do we need to import any ethanol if the industry can meet the demand? How much ethanol will we import this year? What about a temporary waiver of the Brazilian import tariff? What are the secondary …
Ethanol Gets Media Ears
The Truth About Ethanol press conference today (see previous post) lasted nearly an entire hour and included questions from media such as UPI, Chicago Tribune, Inside US Trade, Des Moines Register, Inside Washington, and Congress Daily as well as a number of farm journalists, although not as many as I would have expected. Bob, Bob and Jon did a pretty …
EPA Honors Willie
The Pacific Southwest region of the Environmental Protection Agency today honored biodiesel advocate and singer Willie Nelson for his support of the cleaner burning fuel. According to the National Biodiesel Board, the award was presented during the agency’s eighth annual Environmental Awards Ceremony in San Francisco. Nelson first heard about biodiesel two years ago from his wife, Annie, pictured here …
Enzymes Enhance Ethanol Efficiency
Dyadic International, Inc. is working to make ethanol production more efficient. That’s just one of the uses this Florida-based company has found for biological products such as proteins, enzymes, polypeptides and other such things in the agricultural, industrial, chemical and biopharmaceutical industries. For example, they actually pioneered the stone-free method used to make “stone-washed” blue jeans. Instead of tumbling them …
Biodiesel at BIO
The Illinois Soybean Association/Check Off Board was represented at last week’s BIO 2006 conference in Chicago by several board members and executive director Lyle Roberts. Chuck interviewed Lyle about the BIO in biodiesel and you can hear that conversation here: Lyle Roberts (5:00 MP3) AgWired coverage of BIO 2006 was made possible by:
Ethanol + Diesel + City Buses = Cleaner Air
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has joined the CityHome™ program, a major national clean air initiative designed to create a better quality of life for city residents by improving urban air quality. According to a news release from the O2Diesel Corporation, By embracing the CityHome challenge, EPIC can continue to show that the benefits of ethanol are not …
Nothing But The Truth
Three industry leaders will be holding a media conference on Tuesday to “separate fact from fiction on the myth of ethanol’s role in rising gas prices.” The three are American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen, and National Corn Growers Association vice president Jon Doggett. Farm Bureau is coordinating the telephone conference call for …
This Bud’s For Biodiesel
A downtown Kansas City distributor for Anheuser-Busch is now delivering Bud by biodiesel. United Beverage Company is fueling its fleet of 22 diesel delivery trucks with a blend of 20 percent biodiesel, according to a press release from the National Biodiesel Board. The vehicles will fill up at a nearby Valero station, the area’s first biodiesel retail outlet. On Friday, …