The trading of futures contracts for the ethanol co-product that is used as livestock feed officially began today on the CME Group electronic trading platform, Globex. Distillers’ Dried Grain (DDG) futures are a physically delivered contract designed to bring price discovery and transparency to the corn crush market allowing customers to better manage their price risk in the feed, livestock, …
Obama to Visit Ethanol Plant
The White House has confirmed that President Obama will be visiting a Missouri ethanol plant this week. It will mark the first time Obama has visited a working ethanol biorefinery, although he was the guest speaker at the ribbon cutting of the now-bankrupt VeraSun plant in Charles City, Iowa when he was a presidential candidate. According to the White House, …
More Funds for Verenium Demo Cellulosic Plant
Verenium Corporation has been awarded an additional $4.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fund ongoing activities at its demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Jennings, Louisiana. “We are very pleased to receive this additional funding from the DOE, particularly given the critical work currently being performed at Jennings to optimize our cellulosic process,” said Carlos A. Riva, …
ZeaChem Moves Closer to Cellulosic Ethanol
Just in time for Earth Day last week, Colorado-based ZeaChem announced it had successfully produced commercial-grade ethyl acetate, a commercial grade “green chemical,” from woody biomass instead of oil. The ethyl acetate can either be sold to chemical manufacturers or converted into ethanol through hydrogenation. “These results demonstrate ZeaChem’s ability to produce another valuable bio-based intermediate chemical on the road …
DF Cast: Using America’s Airwaves for America’s Fuel
America’s ethanol producers have launched a new effort to educate the public about America’s fuel: ethanol. CEO of Growth Energy Tom Buis recently was joined by Gen. Wesley Clark, co-chair of Growth, and former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle, an advisor for Growth, in an announcement launching a $2.5 million TV advertising campaign on major cable television networks, including Fox News, …
House Ag Chair Expects 15 Percent Ethanol by August
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) expects the Environmental Protection Agency to approve 15 percent ethanol blends for regular gasoline by August. According to a story from Hoosier Ag Today, Peterson said in an interview that it is taking a longer time to get approval than he thinks is necessary. “Now, we’re thinking we might get a decision in …
Senate Bill Would Extend Ethanol Tax Incentives
A bill has been introduced in the Senate to extend tax incentives for ethanol set to expire at the end of this year. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) introduced the bipartisan GREEN Jobs Act of 2010 that extends through 2015 the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), the offsetting tariff on foreign ethanol, the Small Producers Tax …
Ethanol Report on Scaling the Blend Wall
In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Director of Market Development Robert White talks about what RFA is doing to help ethanol scale the rapidly approaching blend wall. He discusses the BYO Ethanol program to get blender pumps installed, encouraging EPA to grant a waiver to allow up to 15 percent ethanol in regular gasoline, and …