Ford has been generating ethanol excitement this week at the British International Motor Show in London with its Ford Focus FFVs. Ford announced that UK supermarket giant Morrison’s – which recently became the first retailer to sell “bio-ethanol” – became the proud owner of the 1,000,000th Ford Focus FFV sold in the country. The company also announced that the Focus …
Toyota “Considering” FFVs
While all of the “Big Three” U.S. car makers are pushing their lines of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol, Toyota continues to mull it over. A press release this week quoted Toyota Motor North America president Jim Press saying, Toyota is strongly considering introducing a flex-fuel vehicle program in the U.S. “We’re already …
Bush Praises IRL Ethanol Use
The Indy Racing League made a White House call Tuesday to meet with President Bush and talk about racing and ethanol. Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. presented the president with an autographed racing helmet and IRL CEO Tony George “shared a brief exchange” with Bush about ethanol, according to an IRL news release. The IndyCar Series is using a …
Pretty BioWoman
The stars just keep coming out for biofuels. The latest to lend a name to the domestic fuel movement is none other than Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts, according to a release from Earth Biofuels. Ms. Roberts joins fellow Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman and country music legend Willie Nelson in promoting the use of renewable fuels such as Earth Biofuels’ biodiesel and …
Texas Groundbreaking
Dallas-based White Energy Holding Company broke ground Tuesday on a new state-of-the-art ethanol facility in Hereford, Texas. According to a Business Newswire release, the $117 million project is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2007 and will have a nameplate production capacity of 100 million gallons per year (MGPY), placing White Energy among the top ten ethanol …
The E-Squadron
Ethanol-fueled airplanes are on the program for an air show at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport this weekend. The Vanguard Squadron of Sioux Falls is a four-plane formation group that flies in air shows across the country. I had a chance to meet the entire squadron last week in Sioux Falls at the
Michigan Ethanol Promo
Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) hosted a promotion of E-85-fueled passenger cars and trucks Monday at the Dixie Motor Speedway. According to a story in the Saginaw News, representatives from DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. attended to demonstrate their new flex-fuel vehicles, while the Michigan Corn Growers Association and Michigan Farm Bureau also participated to share perspectives on …
Cool Blue Fire
The logo is very cool and the company is “established to deploy the commercially ready, patented, and proven Arkenol Technology Process for the profitable conversion of cellulosic (“Green Waste”) waste materials to ethanol,” according to the Blue Fire website. The Irvine, CA-based corporation announced its management team this week, “led by Arnold R. Klann the founder of Arkenol and its …
Pacific NW Ethanol Plans
The first Pacific Northwest ethanol plant is scheduled to break ground July 20 in Oregon. Cascade Grain is being constructed by JH Kelly Ethanol of Longview, Washington. According to JH Kelly, the plant will be the largest on the West Coast and one of the 10 largest in the United States. Cascade Grain has been working for more than six …
Fill Up, Feel Good on the Highway
The latest “Fill Up, Feel Good” podcast from the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is about ethanol hitting the highway. Ethanol was the official fuel sponsor of the Interstate Highway System 50th Anniversary convoy across America last month and this report features some of the comments that were made about ethanol during the event. The “Fill up, Feel Good” podcast …