Borrowing part of a phrase from that great American humorist Mark Twain, when it comes to critics of ethanol, there seems to be “lies, damn lies, and statistics.” There has been a lot of misinformation spread about the green fuel, but there are some out there fighting the good fight dispelling these myths… especially the one that says it takes …
Nebraska Hazmat Crews Train on Ethanol Rail Cars
Nebraska is becoming one of the leaders in ethanol production and is shipping about 900 million gallons of the biofuel out of state. Since the ethanol industry has not quite figured out how to get the fuel through existing pipelines, long lines of tanker rail cars are the only way to move ethanol around. This story in the Columbus (NE) …
Virginia Governor’s Energy Plan Highlights Biofuels
Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine has released his plan for how Virginia will become more energy independent and practice better energy conservation… and at the top of the list seems to be the promise of more ethanol and biodiesel production. This press release from the governor highlights the Virginia Energy Plan: The first goal calls for increased energy independence through …
Ethanol Not to Blame for High Wheat Prices
The latest knock against ethanol claims the green fuel was fueling a spike in wheat prices as more growers were switching to corn acres to provide the feedstock for ethanol. But USDA’s Chief Economist Keith Collins says it just isn’t so. This story from Farms.com says Collins claims global stocks are really behind the rise in wheat: Collins took umbrage …
First Commercial Biomass Ethanol Plant Slated for Kansas
An area best known for its natural gas fields will become home to the first commercial biomass ethanol plant in the U.S. This story in the High Plains Journal says Abengoa Energy will build the plant in Hugoton, Southwest Kansas: The new plant should be completed in 2010 and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy. Abengoa …
POET Turns 21 with Plant in Indiana
Ethanol-giant POET has opened its 21st plant during a grand opening ceremony at its latest facility near Portland, Indiana. The 65-million-gallon-a-year makes POET the largest ethanol producer in the world cranking out an amazing 1.1 billion gallons annually. This press release from the company says this is the first POET ethanol plant in Indiana, but two more are in the …
OECD and FAO Not Friends of Ours
If you’re not familiar with the Organization for Economic Co-operation (OECD) you probably will soon since they’ve released their “OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook – 2007-2016” report and it’s already being quoted and used by the people who want to bash the development of biofuels, most especially ethanol. The report devotes quite a bit of misguided text to the subject of biofuels. …
Ethanol Shifting Research to Pipelines
Research and development efforts to get ethanol into the nation’s already-existing oil pipeline… a key issue into getting more ethanol into the nation’s gas tanks… took a step forward this week. This story in Ethanol Producer Magazine says the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) is expanding its ongoing research and development efforts to get past the technical barriers to …
Nebraska Officials Answer Ethanol Questions
Some folks in Nebraska are getting a little nervous over the rapid rise of the ethanol industry in the state. That’s why state officials and industry experts set up shop in Norfolk, NE on Thursday (Sep. 13th) to answer some of those concerns. Nebraska’s 17 ethanol plants (and another nine on the way) makes the state third in the nation …
Biofuels Council offers Biofuel Bio
The biofuels industry is rapidly picking up steam and the fast track growth is spurring a demand for professionals who are educated in biodiesel, ethanol and other alternative fuels. The American Biofuels Council wants to meet that demand wtih a new biofuels educator program. The American Biofuels Council (ABC), a national grassroots communications network for the advancement of biofuels adoption, …