ACE Conference 2026

Butamax and Gevo Need to Resolve Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

Yet another press release came out this week regarding the Butamax/Gevo legal battle over isobutanol technology patent infringement and frankly, we are sick of hearing about it.

This spat started over 16 months and dozens of press releases ago. There is no question that patents are important, but the fact is that both of these companies are holding up critical technology by arguing about it.

butamaxThe two have been filing dueling lawsuits over patents since January of 2011 and the trial date for the first lawsuit is not scheduled now until April 2013.

Granted, business is business, but if these two companies are truly interested in furthering the energy independence of this country by taking advanced biofuels to the next level, they would get together and collaborate to commercialize this fuel. Until then, hold the press releases unless there is a technical breakthrough or big news that will advance biofuels.  That would be interesting.

advanced biofuels, isobutanol, Opinion

Hughson Nut”s” for Solar

Joanna Schroeder

Hughson Nuts, a California based almond processor, has completed a 586 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system at its 50,000 square foot almond facility. The system has the capacity to produce more than 970,000 kilowatt hours of energy each year and will be used to power the blanching, dry roasting, and cutting lines for producing sliced, slivered, diced and milled almonds. The system was installed by Cenergy Power who says that the energy produced from the solar system will be equivalent to offsetting 730 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. This is the second solar project Hughson Nut has undertaken.

“Cenergy Power did a great job on an initial 504 kW solar project for a related nut hulling business over a year ago so we were very confident in their capabilities on this second solar project,” said Martin Pohl, principal of Hughson Nut. “They were a company of their word, which really helps us meet our dual goals of environmental sustainability while reducing energy costs for the benefit of our growers and partners.”

As part of the solar arrangement, Cenergy Power will be providing 10 years of scheduled operations and maintenance for the system, that includes touch-free panel cleanings, preventive maintenance & repair, and overall system warranties.

Electricity, Solar

2012 Farm Bill Doubtful

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked “Will we have a farm bill by end of 2012?” Is it any surprise to you that 77 percent of our respondents said No and that only 23 percent said Yes? The farm bill is a big deal to anyone who eats or produces food but in reality it’s only about 2% of federal funding. It touches a lot of nerves though since it directly impacts everyone.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Where are best job opportunities in agribusiness?” The outlook for ag jobs seems very positive according to an AgCareers.com analysis. Job postings were up last year. What area holds the most promise right now in your opinion? If you attend next week’s Agri-Marketing Conference you’ll run into some very qualified and motivated young folks, many of whom are looking for their ag career opportunity!

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

ZimmPoll

Mobilize the Earth – Earth Day 2012

Joanna Schroeder

Earth Day snuck up on me this year which is surprising considering all that people can talk about is the hot weather in the Midwest caused by “global warming”. Think what you will about that statement, Earth Day is April 22nd coined “Mobilize the Earth,” and because I can’t come up with new ideas (it must be the unusual heat) I’m going to review four environmental books and one movie leading up to the big day.

Inevitably, I’m going to get both applauded and ostracized for what I’m about to do – two of the books will be pro climate change and two of the books will be anti-climate change. Someday I may be drowning off the coast of Iowa and I will go under screaming and flapping my arms that you can’t learn and move forward if you don’t educate yourself about an issue as a whole – and that means all sides of the issue should be heard.

My review of books and movies is not an endorsement of the author’s beliefs – the point of the review is to let you know what the author thinks to determine if it’s a book you want to read in your lounge chair on the beach of Council Bluffs this summer.  And without further ado…My 2012 La Nina Reading List:

  • Climate Wars by Gwynne Dyer
  • Roosters of Apocalypse by Rael Jean Issac
  • Eaarth by Bill McKibben
  • Climategate by Brian Sussman
  • Carbon Nation

Well I’m off to the scuba shop to buy gear for my qwest to find the Hollywood sign….

book reviews, Energy, Opinion

Propane Industry Celebrates 100 Years

Joanna Schroeder

The propane industry is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary and as part of industry events, there is a Propane Centennial Celebration and Propane Clean Air Rally & Autogas Parade beginning on April 14, 2012. The rally and parade will kick off at 12:00 noon on April 14th in Centennial Olympic Park and will include a Blue Bird school bus and a Ford pickup truck both featuring the ROUSH CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system. There will also be vans, taxis, forklifts, lawn movers and more, all powered by propane autogas.

Propane was discovered in 1910, yet it wasn’t until 1912 that propane was first used in a commercial application. Shortly thereafter, in 1913, propane was used to fuel a vehicle. Thus, 2012 marks propane’s 100th birthday and according to ROUSH CleanTech, now fuels more than 17 million vehicles.

“Propane has seen many changes along its 100-year journey to what we call propane autogas today, both in application and acceptance by fleet managers, lawmakers and automobile industry leaders like ROUSH,” said Joe Thompson, president of ROUSH CleanTech. “This domestically produced, abundant fuel offers so many economical and environmental benefits to vehicle operators, and we’re pleased to celebrate its birthday and its bright future.”

The parade will kick off the 2012 National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo beginning on April 14th at the Georgia World Congress Center. On April 15, one lucky person will win a propane autogas fuel system installed in a 2012 F-250 donated by ROUSH CleanTech and raffled at 4:00 PM EST in booth 309.

Thompson added, “Propane is as American as baseball and apple pie, and that’s something to celebrate. This is a major milestone in American history as we look toward the next 100 years of propane achievement.”

Propane

Early Planting Fuels Corn Production Speculation

Cindy Zimmerman

Corn planting is running well above normal across the country, fueling speculation that this year’s crop could be huge.

The crop progress report this week shows that seven percent of the nation’s corn crop is now planted – more than double normal for this time of year. Progress in some Midwestern states has already hit double digits. Missouri has 23% of the crop planted compared to the five-year average of 8% and Illinois is at 17% where just 3% is normal. Huge gains were seen from the previous week in states like Tennessee, which jumped from 15 to 46% planted in a week, while Kentucky went from 5 to 32%. Normally, only 10 of the 18 top corn states have corn in the ground by this time of year but right now only North Dakota and Wisconsin have nothing to report.

Doing the math on the USDA Prospective Planting report predicting almost 96 million acres of corn this year and using only the five year average corn yield of 154.3 bushels per acre, there is the potential for a 14.8 billion bushel crop.

“Certainly if we have a trend yield, we’ll see record production and we should see substantial rebuilding of stocks,” said USDA chief economist Joe Glauber. “We were calculating with even 94 million acres we would see almost a doubling of stock yields.” That, he says, should moderate corn prices considerably which would provide some relief for both livestock and ethanol producers. The newest World Agricultural Supply Demand Estimate projects season-average corn prices at $6.00 to $6.40 per bushel.

The report also notes that corn to produce ethanol in 2011/12 is unchanged again this month at 5 billion bushels, while the latest monthly data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that average daily ethanol disappearance fell to a 23-month low in January pushing ethanol stocks to a new record high. Weekly EIA ethanol production data suggest average daily ethanol production during February and March has continued to fall hitting its lowest level since early last fall.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming, USDA

Ethanol Co-Product Gains Foothold in Oil Country

Cindy Zimmerman

The livestock feed that is a co-product of ethanol production is gaining a foothold in the country that is synonymous with oil, thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC).

Saudi Arabia has always been the oil capitol of the world, but when Venezuela took the number one spot last year, the Saudis began to focus on diversifying into new revenue streams, like agriculture, and started to satisfy feed demand for dairy and livestock with the ethanol co-product distiller’s dried grains (DDGS).

Saudi Arabian group tours U.S. ethanol plant to see DDGs being made

The USGC launched the effort to expand market access for DDGS into Saudi Arabia through such activities as taking officials on tours of ethanol plants in the United States so they could see how the product was made. It was difficult at first to overcome the Saudis’ mistrust of ethanol as competition for petroleum, not to mention the fact that it is alcohol, which is prohibited in that country. But the Council ultimately succeeded in getting DDGS on the Saudi’s “feed ingredient subsidy list” which allows financial support for importers to aid them in bringing foreign feed ingredients to the market in order to reduce water consumption.

To gain placement on the list, the Council addressed various obstacles through an aggressive marketing campaign focused on stimulating demand and improving market access and is now introducing programming to educate traders and nutritionists about the tremendous benefits of DDGS. With 16,000 tons of U.S. DDGS already entering the Saudi market, the Council anticipates the demand to grow along as increased emphasis is placed on expanding the agricultural sector.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, International, USGC

First Sorghum Renewables Summit This Month

Cindy Zimmerman

The Sorghum Checkoff is hosting the first ever Sorghum Renewables Summit April 19-20 in Denver.

SorghumThe summit will bring together the industry’s leading researchers and companies for an event focused on agronomics, composition, technology, corporate governance and more related to using sorghum as a feedstock for renewable fuels.

National Sorghum Producers chairman Terry Swanson, a grower from Colorado, says about one third of the sorghum crop is now used to make ethanol. “Biofuels are very important to us,” said Swanson. “We are helping with the security of our country.”

The event will include a number of speakers and panels as well as a tour of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado on April 19.

Get more information about the 2012 Sorghum Renewables Summit on the Sorghum Checkoff website.

biofuels, biomass, Ethanol, Ethanol News, sorghum

Biofuels Groups Support RFS in Federal Lawsuit

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol and advanced biofuels groups are mobilizing to fight a court challenge by the petroleum industry over the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Six biofuel trade associations have filed a motion in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to intervene in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) 2012 final rule being challenged by the American Petroleum Institute (API). The filing was made on Friday, April 6.

Specifically, the groups are standing with EPA in its implementation of the requirements under the RFS, including the cellulosic biofuels volumes. The trade associations seeking intervenor status are the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC), the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Growth Energy, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

In their joint filing, the groups noted that their “members have investments in equipment, research and development, to supply the necessary renewable fuel.” API’s challenge would reduce the standards set by Congress and EPA and deprive members of the benefit of the investments made in reliance on Congress’ policy choices.
The case is D.C. Circuit case no. 12-1139, American Petroleum Institute v. United States Environmental Protection Agency.

ACE, advanced biofuels, AEC, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, RFA

679 Renewable Energy Initiatives Supported in 2010

Joanna Schroeder

There were 679 renewable energy initiatives supported by 23 federal agencies and their 130 subagencies in fiscal year 2010. This according to a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on renewable energy. The leading agencies in renewable energy support included the Department of Defense (DOD), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Combined, 60 percent of the projects were supported by these four departments.

Of all the alternative energy sources reviewed, the majority of the supported projects were in bioenergy, solar and wind. There was a mix between projects awarded to public and private sector companies, with private companies winning the majority of awards. In addition, the study found that many projects contained the development of technology that used multiple sources of energy.

Two thousand and ten proved to be some of the highest amount of funds invested in renewable energy, in part due to the allocations of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, with those funds spent and not anticipated to be renewed, the study concluded that future levels of funds for renewable energy projects was uncertain.

For the most part, awards were given to projects in four categories: supporting research and development; using renewable energy in vehicle fleets and facilities; providing incentive for commercialization and deployment; and regulation, permitting and ensuring compliance. The study found that within these four key roles, different agencies took the lead in development.  Research and development was led by DOE, DOD and USDA; fleets and facilities was led by DOD and the General Services Administration; commercialization and deployment was led by Treasury and USDA; and regulation, permititng and compliance was led by Interior and EPA.

While the report was robust, there is no corresponding list of the projects cited nor any recommendations. You can view the entire report here.

advanced biofuels, Solar, Wind