We just received word that the president is on his way to the convention center from the airport, so everyone is taking a quick seventh-inning stretch before they are locked up. The media has a nice mid-row seat, check-in was smooth and easy, now we are just waiting for the main event. We’ll keep you posted. I will give a …
Ethanol Industry Connections
Everybody who is anybody in the ethanol industry are in attendance here at the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis. Here is Greg Krissek, (left) Director of Governmental Affairs with ICM, Inc., one of the nation’s major ethanol plant design/build firms, located in Colwich, KS. He is networking with one of the many attendees on hand about the potential …
Media Security
Security has been really tight here for the Renewable Energy Conference, especially for speakers and media. They won’t let anyone through this restricted area unless they have a media badge and only staff are permitted to escort any other attendees to the media room for interviews. There were about 100 media registered for the conference itself, and several more local …
Preparing for the President
The line was long to go through security at the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis. President Bush is scheduled to address the crowd of more than 1500 about lunchtime. We have been informed that we will all be in “lock down” here at the convention center between 11:00 am and 1:30 pm – no one in or out. …
EPIC on Display
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns did a little walk through of the trade show at the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis on Wednesday and stopped in front of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council display with the Indy Car show vehicle. The flashy green and blue Indy Car continues to generate lots of attention wherever it goes, more so …
BioMax Machine
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns mentioned this mighty machine in his remarks to the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference on Wednesday. It’s called the BioMax and it is a prototype combined heat and power system developed through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and USDA Forest Products Laboratory. The machine is “transportable, fully automated, and environmentally friendly” suitable for small businesses, rural homes …
Corn Grower President at Renewables Conference
The president of the National Corn Growers Association says the interest in renewable energy across the nation is really a renewed interest in agriculture. Ken McCauley, a corn grower from White Cloud, Kansas, says “it elevates agriculture to a whole new level” and he notes that ethanol and biodiesel are giving young people a new future in agriculture and helping …
Focus on Fuels
Despite the government’s best efforts to be all-inclusive with the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference, it’s all too obvious that liquid fuels are the main attraction. That was evidenced by the attendance at the afternoon break-out sessions – one on heat and electricity and one on liquid fuels. The liquid fuels session was SRO, probably around 600-700 people, if not more. …
Secretaries’ Day in St. Louis
The US Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy are the hosts of the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis this week. Both addressed the crowd, estimated at upwards of 1500 people, showing the huge interest in renewable energy nationwide. Both Secretaries talked about the great need for cellulosic ethanol – in fact, just about every speaker today has at least …
Renewable Energy Conference Crowd
There’s a huge crowd at the America’s Center in St. Louis for the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference. First main speaker up was Pat Woertz, CEO for ADM, who gave an impressive address on how we can and must meet the energy and food needs of the world. Coming up shortly will be the US Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture. More …