Big Oil Helps WA Biodiesel, Ethanol Standards

John Davis

No, that’s not a typo in the headline. This story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says some of the world’s biggest oil companies are working to help the state of Washington put its 2 percent biodiesel and ethanol requirements into effect. Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to open a biodiesel blending terminal in Spokane by late November, the company’s first in the …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Ethanol, Biodiesel Pipelines Moving Fuel in Southeast

John Davis

One of the problems ethanol and biodiesel have had is how to get their product from areas of production to areas of consumption. Pipelines help conventional, petroleum-based fuels, so it’s only natural that biofuels would need to adopt similar technology. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has announced successful testing of ethanol through its 16-inch, 195-mile Central Florida Pipeline (CFP) system …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Credit Crisis Hot Topic at Farm Foundation Conference

John Davis

The recent credit crisis in the country was certainly a hot topic of conversation at today’s Farm Foundation Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts Conference here in St. Louis, Mo. Cole Gustafson, a biofuels economist with North Dakota State University, says the current credit issues is going to make financing any venture a challenge, but he says …

Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, Government, News

Schafer Tells Farm Foundation to Get Ready for Breakthroughs

John Davis

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer has just finished addressing the folks attending the latest Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy Conference going on in St. Louis, Mo. Schafer reminded the crowd how hard the current administration has worked to promote the biofuels field in this country, and thus, how hard it had worked to help the farmers who are …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, Government, News

Managing Water for Future Ethanol Sustainability

John Davis

The amount of water that goes into growing the corn that goes into ethanol has been a big topic of conversation between those for and against production of the green fuel. That’s why it is a topic of conversation at the Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Impacts Conference in St. Louis this week. This gathering of …

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, News

Many Voices, Many Opinions, One Goal

John Davis

You don’t have to agree to come up with agreeable solutions… that seems to be the theme for the latest Farm Foundation Transition to a Bioeconomy Conference. This is the third in a series of these Farm Foundation-sponsored meetings designed to get a handle on the changing farm economy and what the expansion of biofuels, particularly ethanol and biodiesel, means …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, News

Questions, Discussions Dominate Transition Conference

John Davis

How do we meet carbon reduction goals? How do we reduce our carbon footprint with biodiesel and ethanol without actually creating more carbon from the production of those biofuels? What are the trade-offs and benefits we could see between securing our food supplies and our energy security? And how do we make all these things work while not damaging the …

Biodiesel, Environment, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, global warming, News

Meeting the Environmental Challenges of Biofuels

John Davis

A fascinating discussion this morning at the opening session of the Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts conference here in St. Louis. Speakers have included government and university experts who are presenting what challenges face the bioeconomy, especially on the environmental side of the issue. Kitty Smith with the USDA’s Economic Research Service and chair of the …

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, Government, News