Producers Discuss Life After VEETC at the 2012 FEW

Jamie Johansen

The general session panel was a highlight for many Monday morning at the 28th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop. Tom Bryan, Vice President BBI International, served as the moderator for the group with panelists Mark Marquis, President and General Manager Marquis Energy Inc., Ray Defenbaugh, President and CEO Big River Resources, Randy Doyal, CEO Al-Corn Clean Fuels and Walt Wendland, President and CEO Golden Grain Energy.

Topics varied from the future of RFS and E15 to traits these industry leaders take to continue their success. But the theme for the event centered around how U.S. ethanol producers are achieving profitability without VEETC. These ethanal plant CEOs and general managers shared their early experiences in this new reality and outlined operational and financial strategies for staying not just on line, but in the black.

Listen to the full panel discussion here: FEW Panel Discussion

2012 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

Audio, corn, Ethanol, FEW

Ag Facility Early Adopter of Solar Technology

Joanna Schroeder

Kirschenman Enterprises, an agricultural company that grows, packs ands ships potatoes, grapes and watermelon, has installed a solar system at their cold storage facility in Bakersfield, California. The fixed tilt ground and roof-mounted 510kW solar electric installation features Coenergy Solar’s PH235P solar modules and SunTop and SolarLinea II mounting systems. The solar system has the capacity to produce 768,182 kWh of energy each year.

While another solar system may not seem like news, in fact, this is the first system installed in the region using Coenergy’s “Elevated Agricultural Solar Structure“. The structure is 20 feet tall and at the lowest point does not interfere with loading dock operations taking place directly beneath the solar array. The installation included two ground mounted systems, three roof mounted systems and the Elevated Agricultural Solar Structure.

Kirschenman has been looking for ways to increase long term sustainability of its farming operations, an extremely important challenge for growers in the San Joaquin Valley.

“The Elevated Ag Solar Structure design is cutting edge and really works well for agricultural facilities who might not otherwise have the room for solar,” said Conergy Project Development Manager David Vincent. “It is a great concept and I expect to see many other Agricultural facilities utilizing the design.”

Agribusiness, Electricity, Energy, Solar

UnicaData Goes Live Providing Cane Industry Data

Joanna Schroeder

The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has unveiled new industry data and statistics. UnicaData is a customizable tool designed to provide detailed industry information focused on the cane industry in Brazil. The free data is derived from third party institutions and features information on areas such as:

 

  • Sugarcane harvest
  • Quality of harvested cane
  • Harvest projections
  • Sugarcane production and processing
  • Sugarcane acreage
  • Consumption
  • Exports and imports

Luciano Rodrigues, manager of UNICA’s Economics Department, said most of the data available should provide nearly all the information on the sugarcane industry needed. “On this first stage, we added the most sought after data as indicated by web searches involving our industry. We will continue to analyse the demand and gradually enhance and expand the content.”

Along with the ability to search for published reports, the tool can also develop customized reports as requested by a user. In the future, UNICA will enhance and expand the data provided.

advanced biofuels, biofuels, Brazil, Ethanol, UNICA

14 POET Plants Producing Voila

Joanna Schroeder

POET is off and running with the installation and production of Voilà, its branded corn oil that is used to produce biodiesel. Fourteen plants have installed the technology increasing annual production capacity to nearly 235 million pounds per year. This is enough corn oil to produce nearly 31 million gallons of biodiesel. Voilà technology was first installed in January 2011 at the POET Biorefining-Hudson facility.

“We’ve had a great response from Voilà customers, and I’m excited to be able to expand production to meet more of the demand,” POET CEO Jeff Lautt said.

POET has been expanding the use of each kernel of corn for many years and today the company produces animal feed including Dakota Gold distillers dried grains. In addition, five plants capture carbon dioxide and are sold to companies such as beverage producers.

Lautt added,  “At POET, we’re focused on getting the most value from corn as we possibly can. Ethanol is obviously a big part of that, but the many other products we produce are also very important to our business. We’re also working hard to develop even more biorefined products.”

Biodiesel, corn, POET

Farmers Benefit From Atrazine Settlement

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is Atrazine lawsuit settlement good for farmers?” We posed this question after a lawsuit against Syngenta related to the herbicide was settled with an offer of over $100 million by the company, even thought there has been no evidence of harm in drinking water caused by the product and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit acknowledged they had not commissioned any research on the subject or seen any new research to the contrary either.

Our poll results: Sixty percent said Yes, time to move on; twenty eight percent said No, still other challenges and twelve percent chose Other.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you prefer corn sugar to high fructose corn syrup?” Recently the FDA denied a request from the Corn Refiners Association to allow food labels to use the term corn sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Nutritionally, there is no difference in regular table sugar and HFCS so I don’t see why FDA ruled like they did. There reasoning had to do with their definition of sugar as a crystalline solid. This is basically a public relations war over words since the “problem” with both substances is how much someone consumes. Nothing wrong with cane sugar or corn sugar in my opinion. I like them both. Apparently consumers like HFCS better according to this story. What do you think?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Growth Energy Launches Flex Fuel Finder at 2012 FEW

Jamie Johansen

Right after Growth Energy launched a new website featuring a Flex Fuel Finder application, I got to chat with Tom Buis, Growth Energy CEO, and Jeff Broin, Growth Energy Board Member and CEO of POET. They each expressed the positive impact RFS has had on the ethanol industry and the importance of keeping it implemented. Along that line they discussed what tools Growth Energy has put into place to educate the general consumer about E15 and Flex Fuel pumps.

Growth Energy launched a new user-friendly interface for EthanolRetailer.com, a website that seeks to outline the benefits of ethanol and the growing availability of Flex Fuel pumps. The website launch is part of Growth Energy’s new national campaign to increase awareness of E15.

The website is a comprehensive and easy to use resource for current and prospective ethanol retailers across the company, as well as consumers. It also features a Flex Fuel Finder application, which simplifies the process of locating ethanol blend pumps. The application is accessible from both the website and as a smartphone app, making it easier for Americans to locate cheaper, cleaner fuel while on the go.

Listen my interview with Tom Buis and Jeff Broin here: Interview with Growth Energy

2012 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, FEW, Growth Energy, POET

Bob Dinneen Gives Keynote Address at 2012 FEW

Jamie Johansen

During the opening session of the 28th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop, Bob Dinneen, President & CEO, Renewable Fuels Association, addressed producers. Bob highlighted the challenges facing the ethanol industry in the near future and also the importance of maximizing demands. Sporting a “Don’t Mess with the RFS,” button Bob stressed the importance of RFS and what he is doing in Washington, D.C. to keep it in place.

“There are marketplace challenges because margins are tight right now but those are temporary and this is a commodity market selling into a commodity market so that doubles the challenges today. But with the crop that is expected I think most of the people around this room are fairly optimistic that we will get through those.”

“You got to have a button, that’s what makes a campaign, but it also reflects the seriousness with which we take this. RFS has been a tremendous success. When the first Renewable Fuels Standard was enacted in 2005 we were 60% dependent on foreign oil and liquid transportation fuels and today we are 45% dependent. That is a consequence of the growth in ethanol, a result of Renewable Fuels Association and because the people in this room who produce ethanol day in and day out have been successful.”

Listen to my interview with Bob here: Interview with Bob Dinneen

Listen to Bob’s complete keynote address here: Bob Dinneen's Keynote Address

2012 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

Audio, conferences, Ethanol, FEW, RFA

SunShot Initiative Summit Focuses on Solar

Joanna Schroeder

The solar industry will be the focus of the upcoming SunShot Initiative Summit and Technology Forum on June 13-14, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. Hosted by the Department of Energy (DOE), the forum aims to develop a plan to achieve grid-parity solar energy within the decade.  To promote development, the DOE is sponsoring a Grand Challenge series designed to address the scientific, technological, and market barriers to achieving breakthroughs in national energy challenges.

The SunShot Summit and Technology Forum will include sessions featuring industry leaders and Energy Secretary Steven Chu; offer discussions focused on key priorities and transformational ideas needed to achieve the SunShot goal of cost-competitive solar by the end of the decade; and offer a technology forum featuring exhibits from a wide range of SunShot partners and grant recipients, as well as Department of Energy National Laboratories.

Leading up to the SunShot Initiative Summit, Energy.gov is running a special series that shares personal success stories from across America’s growing solar workforce – from finance experts, to scientists, to engineers. According to the Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2011, more than 100,000 Americans are now employed in the solar industry. The kick-off, which took place yesterday, featured a solar industry slideshow, giving a look into the daily lives of the U.S. solar community at large.

conferences, Electricity, Energy, Solar

Embrace Ethanol This Summer

Joanna Schroeder

The summer driving season is in full swing and today there are more than nine million flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) on American roads according to the Department of Energy (DOE). But more vehicles than FFVs can benefit from savings at the pump provided by ethanol; E10 is available across the country and E15 is being rolled out with the Midwest in the lead. Today, there are approximately 3,000 flex fuel pumps across the U.S. with more scheduled to open throughout the next few years.

One retailer who has embraced ethanol is the Martin-Eagle Oil Company. President Stephen Martin said that his company recently opened five flex fuel pumps in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex and is planning on adding more. “We decided to install Flex Fuel pumps because there are thousands of FFVs in our surrounding cities that can fuel up. It has been a successful addition to our fuel lineup and continues to grow.”

Today the average family spends 8 perent of its household income for a nationwide total near $470 billion in 2011. As consumers look for ways to save at the pump, many are doing just this with ethanol.

“Americans are standing up against years and years of price gouging and financial abuse by the likes of foreign oil to embrace an affordable solution that is home-grown and distributed in communities across the U.S,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, an association that is working with retailers across the country to install flex fuel pumps.

Need some help finding ethanol near you? Look no further than EthanolRetailer.com, a website that features a Flex Fuel mapping tool along with a smartphone app for drivers. To promote the site, Growth Energy is encouraging Americans to embrace ethanol.

“This campaign comes at a critical time as Americans will soon be able to enjoy higher blends of ethanol fuels as the EPA recently approved provisions allowing E15 to be used in all vehicles made after 2001. Thanks to ethanol, fuel can and should be affordable for all motorists,” added Buis.

biofuels, E85, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Biofuels Take to the Skies in Brazil

Joanna Schroeder

Renewable jet fuel will be taking flight during the upcoming Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil on June 19, 2012. Azul Airlines, powered with renewable fuel produced from sugarcane by Amyris, has scheduled a demonstration flight on an Azul E195 aircraft powered by GE’s CF34-10E engines. The flight is being coined “Azul+Verde,” which means “a greener blue”.

Amyris’s renewable jet fuel offers lower greenhouse gas emissions including a reduction of carbon dioxide. The fuel is being developed to be compliant with Jet A/A-1 fuel specifications and should provide equal performance to traditional jet fuel. Sugarcane is a major crop in Brazil and supplies the biofuels industry with feedstock.

Additional flight plans will be released once the demonstration test is approved by Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency.

advanced biofuels, aviation biofuels, biojet fuel