One of the many contests at the BIO 2006 trade show was a 2 year lease on a Ford F150 that’s E85 capable.
Val-E Deal
US BioEnergy Corporation will soon be the sole owner of Val-E Ethanol near Ord, Nebraska. According to a company release, they have entered into a letter of intent with the minority owners of Val-E to acquire the remaining ownership interest of the company. Last month US BioEnergy announced its intention to acquire the majority ownership of Val-E and Platte Valley …
California Dreaming
Xethanol Corporation is setting its sites westward. According to a company release, they have hired a west coast venture capitalist to explore strategic growth opportunities for Xethanol in the large and expanding California ethanol market. Christopher d’Arnaud-Taylor, Xethanol’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, says they are currently focused on the company’s east coast regional roll out (see previous post), but …
Nebraska News
Ethanol plants are popping up like prarie dogs in Nebraska. Coming up April 24th, Mid America Agri Products/Horizon will host a ground breaking ceremony for a plant in Cambridge. According to this Grainnet report, the first phase of the two-phase project will cost $70 million and produce 44 million gallons a year. It’s the second Nebraska project for Mid America …
International Media Get “Earful” From IL Corn Growers
Illinois farmer, banker, ethanol plant CEO and RFA board member Ray Defenbaugh was one of several people who spoke to a group of visiting agricultural journalists during a media reception sponsored by the US Grains Council and Illinois Corn Growers at the BIO 2006 conference in Chicago that concludes Thursday. Chuck interviewed Ray after his presentation and you can hear …
Ethanol’s Role in Gas Prices
The media has been sounding the alarm about higher gas prices today, following the release of the Energy Information Administration’s latest forecast. What’s interesting is that the report shifts the blame for the rising prices from ethanol to the oil industry, which the Renewable Fuels Association was quick to point out in a press release. EIA Administrator Guy Caruso said …
New Fill Up, Feel Good Podcast
The latest “Fill Up, Feel Good” podcast from the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is about Jeff Simmons, new driver for the #17 Team Ethanol Honda/Panoz/Firestone Indy Car (see previous post). The podcast features comments from both Jeff and EPIC executive director Tom Slunecka discussing the future for Team Ethanol and how Paul Dana’s legacy will live on in the …
IL Gov Blagojevich Mentions Renewable Fuels
It wasn’t real easy but I was able to ask llinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, a quick question after he cut the ribbon prior to the trade show here at BIO 2006. I asked him about agriculture since I only had one question and in his answer he mentions renewable energy and corn and soybeans.
Enzymes And Ethanol
The #17 Team Ethanol car is on display here at BIO 2006 in the Novozymes booth. Nobozymes is one of the sponsors of the car. It seems like the presence of biotech companies at BIO is on the increase.
Finding E85 With OnStar
Auto news site InsideLine posted an exclusive story last weekend that OnStar will soon be able to help drivers find E85 stations. OnStar President Chet Huber said his company will unveil a new service in June to let customers know if their vehicle is E85 compatible and help them find ethanol filling stations. Customers will receive an e-mail telling them …