Later this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will give a “major speech on domestic biofuel production.” According to USDA, Vilsack will discuss the progress USDA and other federal agencies are making toward achieving the 36 billion gallon biofuel production goal mandated by the Renewable Fuels Standard and new efforts by the Obama administration to bolster the industry and reduce U.S. …
Study: More Fleets Using Ethanol & Biodiesel
A study from a group that represents fleet managers of sedans, public safety vehicles, trucks, and buses of all types and sizes, and a wide range of military and off-road equipment shows that more fleets are using alternative fuels, and ethanol and biodiesel are high on the list of the fuels of choice. The survey from the NAFA Fleet Management …
Wasted Food, Wasted Energy
Looking to save some coin on your energy bills? Then stop wasting food. According to a new report published this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, “Wasted Food, Wasted Energy: The Embedded Energy in Food Waste in the United States,” consumers could immediately save the energy equivalent of around 350 million barrels of oil a year though the …
RFA President: DDGS and Ethanol Markets Inextricably Linked
The President/CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association addressed the Export Exchange 2010 today and highlighted the importance of U.S. ethanol policy and expansion into foreign markets which is critical for the DDGS industry. You can read his full remarks here as well as listen to them below. In his remarks, Dinneen said, “As a nation, failure to continue the growth …
Alt Transportation Fuels Research Center Opens
UC Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) is launching its new Transportation Fuels Research Center of Excellence. The Center was created with a $1.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission and the goal of the research and education facility will be to work on characterizing the emissions and performance of new alternative fuels. In addition, the center …
Export Exhange Conference Kicks Off
The Export Exchange 2010 got off to an official and social start this evening with welcoming remarks from U.S. Grains Council President/CEO Tom Dorr (left) and Renewable Fuels Association President/CEO Bob Dinneen. The conference is focused on connecting international buyers of DDGS and coarse grains with the U.S. market. I don’t know what the attendance totals are here but we …
Giant Sweet Potato May Be Viable Ethanol Feedstock
David Letterman is no stranger to ethanol. For several years, Team Ethanol competed on the Rahal Letterman Racing team. However, Letterman may not be well-versed in some of the more unique possible feedstocks that are being researched for ethanol, until this week. On Monday, Letterman was doing a special featuring giant vegetables and North Charleston native and horticulturalist, Janice Ryan-Bohac, …
BlueFire Finalizes Contract for Cellulosic Plant
BlueFire Renewables (formerly BlueFire Ethanol) has announced that it has finalized and signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a cellulosic ethanol facility in Fulton, MS. The $296 million biorefinery, which includes a $100 million biomass power plant as part of the facility, will be constructed by Wanzek Construction, a subsidiary of MasTec, Inc. This was an …
Ethanol Summit on Health, Environment & Safety
The Nebraska Ethanol Board is hosting a summit on October 7, 2010 called the 2010 Ethanol Summit on Health, Safety and Environment. The Summit is being held in Grand Island, Nebraska and is targeted to ethanol producers and related industries and will focus on environment and safety regulatory issues within the biofuels industry. Sessions topics include: Recent Risk Management Plan …
Ethanol Report With New RFA Chairman
The board for directors for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) last week elected Chuck Woodside, General Manager of farmer-owned KAAPA Ethanol in Minden, Nebraska as the new chairman for the organization. The election was held at RFA’s Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC. Woodside succeeds Chris Standlee, Executive Vice President of Abengoa Bioenergy, who served for three one-year terms. Chuck …