“I think people are going to catch on. That this thing is real and it going to work,” said Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles A. Bronson during an interview about Farm to Fuel. One of Bronson’s long-term goals has been to turn Florida into an alternative energy leader in areas such as biofuels. This year marked the fifth …
DF Cast: Getting Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles
With the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf being rolled out this fall across the country … and the more pricey Tesla Roadster already making its electric vehicle debut … the next concern is where to charge these electric vehicles. While most folks will have or will be getting the capability to do it at home, the lack of infrastructure for …
Process Optimization Seminar Sold Out
The third Process Optimization Seminar, coming up September 1-2 in Kansas City, is sold out. The interactive seminar focused on increasing ethanol plant process efficiency and profitability is sponsored Fremont Industries, Fermentis, Novozymes and Phibro Ethanol Performance Group. They have already held two successful workshops in Minneapolis last year and Indianapolis earlier this year and they will be announcing more …
Largest Global Cellulosic Biomass Harvest Underway
The largest global cellulosic biomass harvest in history is underway and already the world is watching. Last week, Project Liberty kicked off their one-year biomass harvest pilot program as an effort to ensure all the correct logistics are in place in time for Project Liberty to go online in early 2012. During the event, I caught up with Scott Weishaar, …
Corn Growers Stress Ethanol Efficiency Gains
Recent studies show the significant efficiencies spurred by growth and development in the ethanol industry, according to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). “As we see it, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said NCGA First Vice President Bart Schott. “Ethanol has proven to be an advantageous green alternative to foreign and ecologically precarious sources of petroleum. These …
Missouri Congressman Supports Biodiesel Tax Credit
Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt, fresh off a primary win to be the Republican candidate for Senator, stopped at the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) in Jefferson City, Missouri on Friday to voice his support for reinstating the biodiesel tax credit which expired at the end of 2009. “I’m very concerned that we continue to see good, job-producing tax credits in the …
ACE Update on Ethanol Blender Pumps
One year ago at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference in Milwaukee, the BYO Ethanol campaign was launched as a joint effort between corn-producing states, ACE, and the Renewable Fuels Association with the goal of installing more blender pumps nationwide. Today that effort is more important than ever as the industry is face to face with the 10 percent …
ACE President Stresses Positives for Ethanol Industry
The president of the American Coalition for Ethanol is a great representative of this grassroots organization that was formed in 1988 – a family farmer from South Dakota who believes in the ability of agriculture to help serve the nation’s energy needs. “We have to keep reminding ourselves how fast we’ve grown in a relatively short time and answered the …
ACE Looks at Big Issues Facing Ethanol Industry
Attendance at the 23rd annual Ethanol Conference and Trade Show this week is considerably smaller than it was when the American Coalition for Ethanol meeting was held here in Kansas City just a few years ago – but the issues facing the industry have never been bigger. As everyone knows, two major policy-driven challenges face the industry – expiration of …
Renewable Energy Progress
Earlier this month, the 25x’25 Alliance released a progress report on where the nation is in terms of the goal of meeting 25 percent of our energy needs with renewable resources by 2025, and they held a press conference with representatives of all the major renewable energy sectors to talk about the report and what still needs to be done. …