New research and commercial production methods to meet increased demand for biofuels will be one focus of the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 11-14, 2006 at the Toronto Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, according to a press release from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO. Sessions include: An International Perspective on Biofuels and …
To Tariff or Not To Tariff
As legislation to extend the tariff on ethanol imports was being introduced in Congress, Florida Governor Jeb Bush was advocating an increase in ethanol imports by dropping tariffs on ethanol from Brazil. According to the South Florida Business Journal, Bush laid out a plan Monday that saw the nation’s usage of ethanol increase to 15 billion gallons by 2015 annually …
Ethanol in Oil Country
The first E85 pumps in Houston were opened on Monday by Kroger, according to the Houston Chronicle. Kroger intends to sell E85 at 18 locations in Houston and Dallas, said Russell Richard, consumer affairs manager for the Houston area. He said Kroger plans 11 more stores in the Houston area along with six in Dallas.
Flex-Tek Interview
I spoke with Bill Smith, CEO of XCel Plus International about the E-85 Ethanol FlexTek Adaptor Kit that they are launching here in the U.S. I abbreviated our interview to 7:30 minutes for your listening pleasure. Flex-Tek Interview (7:30 min MP3) He goes into a lot of detail about how the converter works and says it is a proven technology …
E85 Adapter
If you want to use 85 percent ethanol in your car but don’t want to buy a new flex-fuel vehicle, XCel Plus International can help. This Virginia-based company has just announced the nationwide product launch of the E-85 Ethanol FlexTek Adaptor Kit. According to a company release, once installed on a vehicle, this kit will allow the engine to operate …
Ethanol Dazzles
Here’s a nice weekend write-up about the ethanol business that went nationwide. The story is by AP Food and Farm Writer Libby Quaid. And here is another nice article from Paddock Talk on how and why Ford is focused on ethanol.
Wet Day for Team Ethanol
Rookie Jeff Simmons in the #17 Team Ethanol car for Rahal Letterman Racing started the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix 13th – his best Indy pole position yet, ahead of teammate Danica Patrick who was 15th. But, even though Jeff was in the lead on lap 9, Team Ethanol was one of at least seven cars that spun out on …
Indy 500 Photo Album
I just uploaded most of the pictures I took during the Indy 500. Actually starting on the Thursday before the race. There’s 267 pictures in this Flickr album and I just don’t have time to label them all individually. If you really want to know who someone is let me know and I’ll try to identify them for you. I hope you like them. There’s another race today and we’ll be rooting the #17 car on.
Iogen Wants Loan Guarentees for Idaho Plant
Iogen officials say they want to build a $300 million plant to make ethanol from barley straw in Idaho, but they are waiting on loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy that would cover any losses investors might have if the project failed. The Ottawa Sun reports the company would like to start building in the fall of 2007. …
Another Ethanol IPO
Reuters reports that number two U.S. ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corp. is planning to go public later this month. The IPO is the start of an ambitious campaign by the company to double its ethanol output to 560 million gallons a year by the first quarter of 2008, according a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.