General Motors issued a statement in response to a USA Today report this week on a cost-benefit analysis of E85 ethanol, saying the report failed to take into account several positive factors. “We believe ethanol as a renewable fuel is the best near-term alternative to oil as a transportation fuel and replacing gasoline with ethanol positively contributes to lowering greenhouse …
Sweet Potato Fuel
Researchers at North Carolina State University are re-engineering the traditional sweet potato to make it better suited for producing ethanol. According to a NCSU release, this industrial sweet potato doesn’t look, or taste, much like the Southern classic, but can produce twice the starch content of corn – the leading source of ethanol. More starch means more sugars that can …
Major Ethanol Merger
The merger of two major ethanol producers is being seen as “a sign that ethanol-industry consolidation is gaining velocity.” VeraSun Energy and US BioEnergy will merge into one entity under an agreement announced this week where VeraSun will pay $700 million in stock and the new company will retain the name of VeraSun. VeraSun Chairman, CEO and President Donald L. …
Renewable Fuels Now Fights for Alternative Energies
The first “official” action of the Renewable Fuels Now coalition was to determine where Americans stand on developing and using alternative energies. The coalition is a new umbrella organization of different associations that are working to provide accurate information about renewable fuels. Greg Krissek with ICM says opponents of alternative energies have swamped the public with misinformation about renewable fuels, …
Working on an Ethanol Pipeline
Seminole Energy Services of Tulsa, Okla. is talking with Nebraska ethanol plants about a $150 million project that could move a billion gallons of ethanol a year from plants to a terminal between Grand Island and Hastings. Company representative say the pipeline could stretch 175 miles and the hub would be built ideally at an intersection of Union Pacific and …
Illinois Corn Growers Honor Ethanol Promoters
Tom Slunecka, former executive director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) is the recipient of the Illinois Corn Growers Association’s 2007 Ethanol Innovation Award. “It is no secret ethanol production is growing at a record pace, but equally important is the significant increase in public use and acceptance of e10 and e85. Part of what is driving this …
Ethanol in the Midwest
The Midwest is getting three new ethanol production plants. Washington Group International has received $150 million worth of cost-reimbursable contracts from E85 Inc. for the construction of E85’s first three ethanol plants in the Midwest region. Washington Group will provide procurement, construction, commissioning, and start-up services for the facilities in Wahoo, Neb., and Red Oak and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Each …
Oregon Biorefinery Looking at $500 M Financing Deal
Officials with Inland Pacific Energy Center of Stanfield, Oregon are looking at a $504 million financing deal from an undisclosed European source. This story from the East Oregonian news web site says the deal will go to finish a 96-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant, 120-million-gallon ethanol plant, and feed mill project: Bob Doughty, project manager for the Inland Pacific Energy Center, said …
Ethanol Statistics Interviews RFA President
Ethanol Statistics, a Netherlands-based market research and business information publisher, recently went to the expert on ethanol to do a feature about the future of the industry. Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, is much more positive about ethanol in the United States because he knows why consumption has been lagging behind, because he knows what are and …
Focus on the Three Es
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus is hosting an energy, economic and environmental – or E3 – conference this week. E3 2007 will focus on the intersection between innovative technologies, visionary policies, environmental benefits, and emerging market opportunities as they relate to developments in the renewable energy sector. One of the speakers for the Tuesday event is Dr. Mark …