It has been a great first day here at the National Ethanol Conference. The opening reception was held outside just before sunset and it was a big party. According to RFA President, Bob Dinneen, this is the biggest ever with over 2,300 attending. It seemed like they all came out to the opening reception. I spoke with a lot of …
Bob and Jack Kick Off National Ethanol Conference Golf
Here at the National Ethanol Conference golf is the first activity. RFA President Bob Dinneen got everyone started here this morning out at ChampionsGate golf course. Just before he gave everyone the send off I spoke to him about the Conference. Bob says that this is the biggest and best Conference ever with over 2,300 people attending. He says they’ll …
Time For The National Ethanol Conference
It’s time for the National Ethanol Conference. I’ll be providing on the scene coverage once again this year and working closely with the Renewable Fuels Association again, including posting onto their blog site. So far we’ve just had registration taking place this afternoon and tomorrow we’ll have the annual golf tournament as the first scheduled activity before tomorrow evening’s opening …
Industry Optimism
The chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association is excited about the developments in cellulose technology for the future of the ethanol industry. “And we fully believe that many of these technologies will in fact be proven to be economically viable on a commercial scale,” said Chris Standlee, who is executive vice president of Abengoa Bioenergy in St. Louis. He says …
Green is Universal
Universal Studios theme park in Orlando was in the spotlight during the National Biodiesel Conference last week for its biodiesel use, but they are using ethanol as well – and that will be highlighted during the National Ethanol Conference coming up later this month. Robert Winslow, Universal Senior Director Engineering and Environmental Sustainability Technical Services, gave a behind the scenes …
I Love Ethanol Song
The National Ethanol Conference is now over and saying goodbye was RFA President/CEO, Bob Dinneen. Next year’s Conference will be held in Orlando, FL so be sure to plan ahead early to make sure you participate in this industry-leading event. Although I don’t have the video (I’ll try to get a copy) I do have the audio from the final …
Economic Analysis on the Impact of U.S. Ethanol Industry
To get a complete understanding about the Ethanol Tax Incentive, attendees at the National Ethanol Conference heard this morning from Dr. John Urbanchuk, Director, LECG, LLC. He started out talking about how work needs to be done to renew the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) in a couple years. He talks about how the ethanol industry is in its …
Rep. Hulshof’s Capitol Hill View
Congressman from Missouri, Kenny Hulshof, (R-MO) was on stage today at the National Ethanol Conference as part of the session on how things look on Capitol Hill for the 110th Congress. Hulshof said that he might get in trouble as a Republican by saying it, but he said that he thinks agriculture will fare well with Rep. Peterson at the …
Capitol Hill View by Rep. Peterson
This morning at the National Ethanol Conference we got the view from Capitol Hill as two of our Congressmen provided their thoughts on the legislative agenda for the 110th Congress. First up was Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN). He serves as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Peterson started out mentioning the farm bill and the challenges presented by the successes …
Bob in a Saab
General Motors is sponsoring a display of flex fuel vehicles here at the conference as I mentioned previously. This afternoon I had a chance to go on a test drive with Bob Dinneen, President/CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association at the helm and with him was Coleman Jones, Biofuels Implementation Manager, GM Powertrain. We took a short drive around the …