Watermelons… that tasty summertime treat… could be the next feedstock for the green fuel ethanol. We’ve told you previously about how the National Watermelon Association has been pushing the idea of the fruit being used for ethanol (see our posts from May 20, 2009 and January 7, 2008). Now, it looks like there’s some research to back up that idea. …
Corn Growers Spotlight Indirect Land Use Issues
Corn growers want regulators to know that trying to measure unintended consequences of biofuels production could result in more unintended consequences. The National Corn Growers Association held a conference this week in St. Louis to focus on the issue of land use and carbon impacts of corn ethanol and how the future can be predicted with models to determine lifecycle …
Discount E85 and B5 in Woodbury, MN
“Thank you to the event supporters: Woodbury BP Daily Express, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and the Minnesota Clean Air Choice™ Team,” said Kelly Marczak, with the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest. She noted that E85 is for flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) only. FFVs use E85 or gas interchangeably and one can check to see …
Indirect Land Use Concerns for Ethanol
A conference on land use and carbon impacts of corn ethanol held this week in St. Louis offered a broad view of a significant topic as Washington braces to continue debates on climate change legislation and the future of ethanol. Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association moderated the first panel at the conference sponsored by the National Corn Growers …
Ethanol Producers Win IRS Victory
Struggling ethanol producers won an important decision by the Internal Revenue Service this week that allows them to retain the current five year depreciation for assets. Following over a year of intense work by the Renewable Fuels Association with the IRS, the agency has issued a Notice of Proposed Revenue Ruling clarifying that it will not seek to impose a …
$300 Mil in Stimulus Bucks Stimulates Alternative Fuels
Nearly $300 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act… aka the “Stimulus Bill”… funds are being handed out by the U.S. Department of Energy to replace or change more than 9,000 vehicles so they will burn alternative fuels and/or make them more fuel efficient, as well as establish nearly 550 alternative refueling stations across the U.S.. Energy Secretary Steven Chu …
Ethanol Co-Product Could Make Fertilizer
The leftovers from an ethanol co-product could be used as a fertilizer, according to research being done at South Dakota State University. When the ethanol by-product known as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) is heated at high temperatures under limited oxygen to make synthesis gas, or syngas, the remains are a fine, dust-like ash. SDSU Soil Testing Laboratory manager …
More Green Collar Jobs for Iowa
Iowa Governor Chet Culver is taking action to create more green jobs in Iowa. Culver signed an executive order last week which creates the Iowa Green Jobs Task Force. “In recent years, thanks to our efforts in biofuels and wind energy, we have created thousands of green-collar jobs for Iowans,” said Governor Culver. “However, if we are to expand these …
Green Fuels from Grass and Leaves
A newly proposed collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the City of Naperville, Illinois would convert “landscape waste”—essentially, grass and leaf trimmings—into one of several different environmentally friendly fuels, including ethanol, bioelectricity and hydrogen. This new partnership, known as the “Green Fuels Depot,” provides “a golden opportunity for Argonne to be associated with one of …