It’s time for the running of the fifth Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer Hi-Bred. One of our drivers will be Marco Andretti. Marco is seen here on a break from practice laps today out at Iowa Speedway. Yesterday he was signing autographs at the Urbandale Kum & Go. The Kum & Go chain has been a proponent of …
Genencor Releases Next Gen Cellulosic Enzyme
Genencor has announced its next generation cellulosic ethanol enzyme, Accellerase TRIO. The enzyme will help biofuel producers more cost-effectively produce cellulosic ethanol from a wide-range of renewable feedstocks including switchgrass, wheat straw, corn stover and municipal waste. In essence, this enzyme improves the effectiveness of converting biomass into sugars, one of the critical steps in the production process. Accellerase TRIO …
Biofuels Benchmarking Annual Report Released
Christianson & Associates, a CPA and consulting firm for the ethanol, biodiesel and renewable energy industry, today released its 2nd Annual Biofuels Benchmarking Report. The report found several key findings: profitably increased for the industry on average 8 cents; equity to asset ratio increased more than 10 percent; and working capital improvements enabled plants to decrease long-term debt by an …
USDA Announces Miscanthus Biomass Projects
Giant miscanthus will soon be grown for biomass energy in Missouri and three other states. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) today announced the establishment of two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in Missouri that will produce the dedicated energy crop miscanthus to be used for heat, power, liquid biofuels, and bio-based products. “We are …
Ethanol Faces Double Attack in Senate
The ethanol industry is facing a double pronged attack in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) went to the floor last night with an amendment to eliminate the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) immediately, while at the same time Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is proposing to eliminate funding of ethanol infrastructure. “It is a two-pronged attack, it is …
Chicagoland Speedway President Talks Ethanol
The President of Chicagoland Speedway is Scott Paddock. He manages a beautiful racing facility. This is a bird’s eye view of the track before the NASCAR STP 300 race. I spoke with Scott who says they’re celebrating their tenth anniversary. We talked about the fact that we were about to see the inaugural STP 300 race as well as the …
7th Annual Biofuels Financial Conference Around the Corner
Despite high oil prices, the financial future of the ethanol industry could be a challenge due to high corn prices, fluctuating energy prices and uncertainty of the future of ethanol policies such as the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). To learn more about managing plant risk and to foster the environment for the biofuels industry to better work together, …
NASCAR Nationwide Series Says Ethanol Performing Well
The director of the NASCAR Nationwide Series is Joe Balash, pictured here before Saturday’s STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. He’s proudly displaying the American Ethanol name around the gas coupler on this car that just happened to be rolling by. That name is on all NASCAR cars. I talked with Joe before the race. He talks about how STP has …
NASCAR STP 400 Winning Team Pleased with Ethanol
Brad Keselowski driving the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger won the inaugural Sprint Cup Series STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway Sunday where American Ethanol was prominently displayed. When asked during the post-race press conference about NASCAR using 15% ethanol fuel this year, Keselowski said he applauded NASCAR for its green initiative. “It’s just an added benefit that (ethanol) comes …
Childress Believes NASCAR Could Use More Ethanol
Former NASCAR driver and owner of Richard Childress Racing thinks the racing series could go to higher ethanol blends sometime in the future. Despite media attention regarding an “incident” between him and driver Kyle Busch on Saturday, Richard Childress was happy to come by the American Ethanol tent Sunday and voice his support for corn farmers and the domestically produced …