Clearing the driveway in the winter months can help clear the air if you use ethanol-enriched gasoline in your snowblower. According to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, small engines can efficiently burn 10 percent ethanol blends and the use of E10 reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30 percent. “It’s important to think green year round,” said …
Ethanol Means Big Business For Small Railroads
Small railroads are seeing big opportunities in hauling corn to ethanol plants and then transporting the finished product and by-products back out again. An Associated Press article discusses the potential ethanol is presenting for the Minnesota-basedTwin Cities & Western Railroad with its mere 200 miles of track. Chief operating officer Mark Wegner said his trains carry mainly corn and soybeans. …
US BioEnergy Claims Title of Largest “Pure Play” Producer
US BioEnergy Corporation has announced that with its Albert City and Central City ethanol plants now in commercial production the company can claim the title of “largest pure-play ethanol producer in the United States.” “This is an important milestone for our company and to the revitalization of the American heartland,” said Gordon Ommen, CEO and chairman. “It’s the spirit and …
Busy Year Ahead for Ethanol
2006 was an incredible year of growth of the ethanol industry and 2007 promises to be just as big. As production grows, education and marketing of the farm-based fuel becomes even more important and that is why the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has a busy year already lined up. In this “Fill Up Feel Good” podcast, EPIC Senior Director …
Stars of the Show
New vehicles capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol are the stars of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year, according to the Detroit Free Press. For the first time, several automakers unveiled concept and production models capable of burning E85, the blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline backed by Detroit automakers as the …
Florida Legislature Urged to Support Biofuels Production
Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture is a man on a mission – to make Florida the nation’s leader in biofuels production. To that end, Commissioner Charles Bronson appeared before a joint meeting of the House Agribusiness and House Energy Committees on Wednesday urging them to consider tax incentives or some form of financial assistance that the state can provide to encourage …
Partnership to Discover Biofuels Enzymes
Agribusiness giant Syngenta has entered into a research and development partnership with San Diego-based biotech firm Diversa Corporation focused on “the discovery and development of a range of novel enzymes to convert pre-treated cellulosic biomass economically to mixed sugars – a critical step in the process of biofuel production.” The new agreement allows Diversa to independently develop and commercialize fermentation-based …
Getting to a Biofuels Future
The Governors’ Ethanol Coalition has released a new report called Ethanol from Biomass: How to Get to a Biofuels Future. The report asks the President and members of Congress to adopt four recommendations: 1. Expand the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to include a short-term target of 12 billion gallons a year of ethanol and biodiesel utilization by 2010, and longer-term …
Ethanol Testimony
Aventine Renewable Energy CEO and Renewable Fuels Association Chairman Ron Miller presented testimony before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Wednesday on the impact of the ethanol industry’s dramatic growth on rural America. “Ethanol today is the single most important value-added market for farmers,” said Miller. “The increased demand for grain used in ethanol processing has increased farm income, …
Bio-Town May Get Ethanol Plant
Indiana’s “BioTown USA” might soon get it’s very own ethanol plant. VeraSun of South Dakota has plans to is build a 110-million gallon capacity ethanol plant just outside the northern Indiana town of Reynolds that is a state project aimed at using renewable sources to provide all its energy. The Biotown plan promoted by the state Department of Agriculture calls …