The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition held its 2008 Annual Board of Directors meeting in St. Louis February 4 and 5. At the meeting, two new board members and five executive officers were elected. The 2008 NEVC Executive Officers include: Chairman Bernie Punt, Siouxland Energy Livestock and Coop; Vice-Chairman Dwayne Siekman, Ohio Corn Growers Association; Secretary Scott Negley, Dresser Wayne; and …
Biofuels Put on Defensive Again
Biofuels were put on the defensive once again as the journal Science published new studies that claim biofuels are worse for global warming than fossil fuels. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen issued a statement which said the studies took a simplistic view of land use. “Understanding the land use changes occurring around the globe is important to developing strategies …
Ethanol Education Pack and Contests
The science of ethanol can now be taught in the classroom in an informative and entertaining way with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council’s (EPIC) new educational fun pack and student contests. The pack includes six different units for teachers – English, geography, science, math, vocabulary, and social studies. It also includes lots of fun stuff like the “How Ethanol …
US BioEnergy and VeraSun Pick Sioux Falls
VeraSun Energy and US BioEnergy will be moving in together later this year to start life as a merged company in Sioux Falls, SD. The two companies announced plans to get hitched back in late November and the marriage is expected to be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2008, with the completion of the transition to …
Coskata Teams With ICM for First Plant
Next generation ethanol company Coskata on Wednesday announced an agreement with ICM Inc. to design and construct a commercial ethanol plant using Coskata’s biological fermentation technology. Last month, the young company made a splash at the North American international Auto Show in Detroit where a strategic partnership with General Motors was announced. Bill Roe, president and CEO of Coskata said, …
Food Versus Fuel Session at Biodiesel Conference
One of the most popular sessions at this week’s National Biodiesel Conference in Orlando was “What’s the Rule on Food Vs. Fuel?” which featured a panel of experts including Chris Schroeder with Centrec Consulting, Jim Duffield with USDA and John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC. All speakers made the point that biofuels may be getting the blame for higher prices, but …
RFA to Testify on Energy Act
The president of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) will present testimony Thursday to the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee at a hearing on the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Dinneen’s intends to tell the committee that the American ethanol industry stands ready to do its part to make the law successful. Putting the importance of developing a …
NASA-Funded Research to Study Biofuels Crops Impact
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is funding a $738,000 three-year study by South Dakota State University looking at possible environmental changes that could accompany a shift toward new biofuel crops such as perennial grasses. The three-year study will focus on land use in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, western Minnesota and northern Iowa. “If you look at one …
Iowans Choose Ethanol
According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Iowans chose E10 nearly 74 percent of the time in 2007. This is up from 69 percent in 2006 and just below the all-time record of 75 percent set in 2005. “Iowa’s ethanol sales were strong in 2007 as E10 was often 10 to 13 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline without …
Beetle-Killed Trees Could Make Ethanol
Bark beetles are busy little buggers in the Rocky Mountain region these days, killing off swaths of trees thanks to a couple of warmer winters that have kept them more active than normal. Officials are looking at ways to utilize the dead timber to avoid fueling forest fires in the region and one idea is to use it to make …