Hog Producers Can Compete with Ethanol for Corn

Cindy Zimmerman

An agricultural economist says hog producers are now able to compete with ethanol producers for corn.

“This is an amazing difference from just five years ago,” said Purdue agricultural economist Dr. Chris Hurt. “The hog industry was largely set up with $2-2.50 corn going into 2006. After that we saw major increases in those corn prices.” Dr. Hurt spoke to swine veterinarians on the topic of “Global Feed Economics in a Biofuel World” during seminar in Denver on Friday.

Hog producers initially absorbed those higher costs by reducing margins, which meant big losses and ultimately resulted in reduced supplies. “You reduce the supply enough, you bring those hog prices up. That’s where we are today. Hog producers can pay $6-7 for corn with the prices they’re getting for hogs,” he said. “That up to $7 is higher than ethanol plants can pay for corn and still cover all their costs.”

Dr. Hurt is certain that the days of $2 corn are over, but he does expect prices to moderate around $5-5.50 a bushel. While he does believe that livestock producers have adjusted over the past five years to living in a “biofuel world,” he’s hesitant to say there is “equilibrium” between ethanol and livestock production. “Obviously, equilibrium is the ‘golden state’ where everybody is covering their costs but often times we’re in dis-equilibrium,” he said. “I think as we look back on this era, we’re going to say that ultimately the renewable fuels program was a very, very aggressive program. Had corn farmers had ten years to build that up, it would have caused a lot less trauma for other sectors, like our livestock sector.”

Listen to an interview with Dr. Hurt here: Dr. Chris Hurt

Ethanol, Ethanol News, livestock

Project LIBERTY Groundbreaking Tuesday

Cindy Zimmerman

POET–DSM Advanced Biofuels will be celebrating the start of construction Tuesday on Project LIBERTY, the planned commercial-scale ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa.

The joint venture between Dutch life sciences firm Royal DSM and ethanol giant POET announced the groundbreaking when the partnership was made public in January. “The joint venture anticipates that we’ll complete construction of Project LIBERTY and start producing cellulosic ethanol in the second half of 2013,” said POET CEO Jeff Broin. “Together, we’ll produce a home-grown, renewable fuel that can create jobs, clean our environment and make us less reliant on foreign oil. This partnership has the potential to change the world.”

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and representatives from POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels will take part in the formal groundbreaking for the plant starting at 10:30 Tuesday morning in Emmetsburg.

advanced biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, POET

Ethanol Industry Pioneer Wants Higher Blends

Cindy Zimmerman

The president of one of the world’s largest ethanol plant engineering and construction firms is pleased with the progress made by the industry in the last 30 years, but frustrated by the barriers to higher ethanol blends.

At the recent National Ethanol Conference, where ICM, Inc. founder Dave Vander Griend was honored with the Renewable Fuels Association 2012 Membership Award, he talked about how ethanol could replace some of the additives currently found in gasoline – called aromatics – which are used to help boost octane in gas. “We’re looking just to go from 10% ethanol to 15% ethanol with a clean, non-toxic product,” he explained. “The petroleum industry can go from 10 to 40% aromatic additions to their gasoline anytime they choose.”

He noted that Henry Ford’s Model T engine was originally designed to run on either gasoline or ethanol. “Actually, the first FFV was a Model T,” said Vander Griend. “That wasn’t something that set well with Rockefeller – he wanted everything to be gasoline, but at that time there was no octane additive to put into the gas so it wasn’t very good and cars would ping and knock. Taking that fuel they made then, if they would have added 20-30% ethanol, both parties would have won.” Instead, they got rid of ethanol through prohibition and used lead to increase octane. The creation of the EPA got the lead out of gasoline, which led to MTBE being used as a replacement until that was determined to be carcinogenic.

Vander Griend believes that ethanol could reduce tailpipe emissions by up to 50% with just a 30% blend. “Ethanol can replace aromatics on a 1-to-1 (basis) and actually give them more octane than they had from the aromatics,” he said.

Listen to interview with Dave Vander Griend here: Dave Vander Griend Interview

2012 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Support for Stabenow Transportation Bill Amendment

Cindy Zimmerman

Biofuels organizations are strongly urging lawmakers to approve an amendment to the Transportation Bill (S.1813) offered by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) that would extend tax incentives for biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol.

“We applaud Sen. Stabenow for introducing this amendment and we urge all senators to support it,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board. “This is about creating good-paying jobs and building up a U.S. energy industry that will help end our dangerous vulnerability to the kinds of oil price spikes we’re seeing now.” The $1 per gallon biodiesel tax incentive expired at the end of 2011.

Advanced Ethanol Council Executive Director Brooke Coleman wrote a letter last week to Senate leadership urging support for the amendment that would extend the Cellulosic Biofuels Producer Tax Credit (PTC) and the Accelerated Depreciation Allowance for Cellulosic Biofuel Plant Property through 2013. “Several billion dollars have been invested in the development of advanced biofuels with the expectation that Congress will stay the course with regard to its commitment to the industry,” Coleman wrote. “The PTC and accelerated depreciation allowance provide investment certainty in a high‐risk marketplace largely supply‐ and price‐controlled by OPEC.”

The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Soybean Association are other organizations that are urging Senators to pass the amendment. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has also proposed an amendment that includes extension of the biodiesel tax credit along with other energy related provisions. Work on the Transportation Bill is scheduled to continue in the Senate on Tuesday. Сайт знакомств

advanced biofuels, AEC, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Growth Energy, Soybeans

Smith Electric Produces All-Electric Step Van for FedEx

Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. has unveiled the Newton Step Van, an all-electric, zero-emission vehicle. FedEx Express will be the first company to use the vans in the United States, starting in select markets this year.

This van, an ideal solution for thousands of delivery routes in urban environments, offers a gross vehicle weight of 14,000 pounds to 26,000 pounds and a range of approximately 100 miles on a single charge. The vehicle incorporates Smith’s proprietary Smith Drive, Smith Power, and Smith Link technologies to provide superior power train performance, battery management efficiency and remote system monitoring.

“The leadership shown by FedEx in adopting all-electric vehicles has been instrumental to growing the industry,” said Bryan Hansel, CEO and chairman of Smith. “We welcome FedEx and look forward to successful vehicle deployments that demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of fleet electrification.”

“This opportunity helps support our goal to optimize and operate our vehicle fleet in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner,” said Dennis Beal, vice president of Global Vehicles at FedEx Express. “Smith’s global footprint and track record of successful EV deployments make it an ideal collaborator as FedEx continues to improve its fleet efficiency, reducing emissions while providing the best possible service to our customers around the world.”

Electric Vehicles

Growth Energy Welcomes New Board Members

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy welcomed two new board members this week during the ethanol organization’s 2012 Executive Leadership Conference in Las Vegas.

Growth EnergyAbe Hughes, Vice President North America of New Holland Agriculture, and Bob Casper, President of Ethanol Products, LLC, a subsidiary of POET Ethanol Products, both agreed to join the organization’s Board of Directors.

“As one of the largest manufacturers of agriculture equipment in the world, New Holland Agriculture is a perfect fit for Growth Energy,” said Hughes. “Through our partnership with Growth Energy, we can make the ethanol industry even more efficient and profitable for both farmers and ethanol producers. New Holland fully supports the ethanol industry and its positive impact on the agriculture industry. Ethanol is good for the rural economy and for farmers.”

“The ethanol industry is focused on bringing E15 to the marketplace, giving consumers a choice at the pump and scaling the blend wall. As a member of Growth Energy’s board, I will focus on the next steps for E15 and higher ethanol blends in the future,” said Bob Casper. “Together, we can give Americans access to this clean, renewable fuel that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower harmful emissions.”

“Bob and Abe both bring a unique perspective to the Growth Energy board, and we look forward to working with them moving forward,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “They are both passionate advocates for agriculture and ethanol and we are delighted to work with them to create a coalition to bring higher ethanol blends and greater ethanol infrastructure to American consumers.”

Ethanol, Growth Energy, New Holland

Butamax Granted Patent for Iso-Butanol

butamax Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, has been granted patent number 8,129,162 for production of iso-butanol from biological resources.

This latest patent was issued from a series of applications covering modified KARI enzymes that optimize production of biobutanol by Butamax’s proprietary microorganisms. These microorganisms are engineered with the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway invented by Butamax that includes five enzymatic steps that convert sugar to isobutanol. The KARI enzyme performs the second step of the pathway which is fundamental to achieving high biobutanol yield. This latest invention is essential to best cost of manufacture position.

Since 2003, the Butamax team has pioneered new technology innovations in order to offer the most cost-effective production of biobutanol for the transportation fuels market. The company will continue its commitment to innovation in the areas of biocatalyst, engineering design and end-use applications to deliver maximum value to licensees.

“With these new KARI enzymes, we have achieved a significant improvement in performance, which is necessary for low-cost commercial production of biobutanol,” said Paul Beckwith, Butamax CEO. “We are pleased that our research team continues to be recognized for their innovation in biobutanol technology. Their work has led to the only cost-effective retrofit option that enables existing ethanol manufacturers to produce drop-in biofuels.”

biobutanol, biofuels, Company Announcement, isobutanol

Exhibit Showcases Biodiesel at MN Auto Show

Cindy Zimmerman

The “Biodiesel Green Room” exhibit will showcase the benefits of biodiesel at the Twin Cities Auto Show, March 10-18 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The exhibit includes information on biodiesel, staff to answer questions, and new vehicles like the Audi A3 TDI, which gets an estimated 42 miles per gallon (highway) on B5 biodiesel.

Biodiesel is recognized as a “Clean Air Choice” fuel by the American Lung Association in Minnesota, which is helping to staff the exhibit. “The five percent biodiesel blend now powering diesel vehicles in Minnesota provides roughly the same clean air benefits as removing 55,000 vehicles from the road every year,” said Kelly Marczak, outdoor air program director for the American Lung Association in Minnesota. “The new diesel-powered vehicles are significantly cleaner and quieter than past models, and include advanced pollution control systems.”

Minnesota was the first state in the nation to require biodiesel blends at all diesel retail outlets. The state currently has an annual production capacity of 63 million gallons of biodiesel, made primarily from locally grown soybeans, but can also be produced from a wide variety of renewable sources, including corn, canola and recycled cooking oil. Biodiesel production uses only the oil portion of the soybean, leaving all of the protein available for animal and human consumption.

The exhibit is sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council.

Biodiesel, Soybeans

Amendment Would Extend Domestic Energy Tax Credits

Cindy Zimmerman

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced an amendment to the Transportation Bill (S.1813) Thursday that would extend tax incentives for domestically produced energy sources, including biodiesel, ethanol, cellulosic biofuels, electric vehicles, wind energy and solar.

The measure would re-instate and extend the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax incentive, which expired at the end of last year, and the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, which expired in 2010.

The amendment also includes extending tax credits for companies that install charging stations for electric vehicles and alternative fuel dispensers, like ethanol blender and E85 pumps. It would extend the $1.01/gallon production tax credit for cellulosic biofuel production through 2014, for grants in lieu of tax credits to eligible solar projects, and the Production Tax Credit for wind energy. “We cannot allow a tax increase on American businesses that are creating clean energy jobs in America,” said Senator Stabenow.

The amendment is one of 30 the Senate is considering before a vote on the final legislation takes place, possibly next week. Several of those were considered Thursday, most were rejected, and the remaining amendments are scheduled to be taken up on Tuesday.

Stabenow, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, spoke to members of the agriculture community gathered in Washington DC Wednesday night for National Ag Day festivities. During a brief interview, she was asked if she thought maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard was more important to agriculture than a new Farm Bill. “I think they’re both important. The farm bill covers everything from support for production agriculture, risk management, crop insurance, nutrition in schools,” she said. “Obviously energy is important to that as well. We need both.”

Listen to Senator Stabenow comment here: Senator Debbie Stabenow

2012 National Agriculture Day Activities Photo Album Знакомства

advanced biofuels, Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Cellulosic, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Solar, Wind

Ethanol Land Use Debate Continues

Cindy Zimmerman

The debate over ethanol, greenhouse gases and land use continues – and that was the topic of a panel discussion at the recent 17th annual National Ethanol Conference.

The panel, moderated by Renewable Fuels Association VP of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper, consisted of Thomas Darlington with Air Improvement Resource, Inc.; Dr. David Zilberman with the University of California-Berkeley; and Dr. Wally Tyner with Purdue University. The three experts addressed the latest developments in GHG analysis, and the impact of regulations like the Renewable Fuel Standard and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard on the future of the ethanol industry.

“The new thing is that we now have real world data,” Dr. Tyner said. He presented actual data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showing that in the last six years the world has added 105 million of crop land – mostly corn, soybeans, rice, rapeseed and wheat. “So, markets work – that’s basically the bottom line,” said Tyner.

The question is, how much of that can be attributed to biofuels? “Our estimate is that of that 105 million acres, 5.9 million is due to U.S. soybean and corn ethanol,” he said – or about 5.6%. “So, yes we’ve had a lot of land use change, and some of it’s been due to biofuels, but the lion’s share of it’s due to a lot of other things,” such as growing global population and increased income in countries such as India and China.

Tyner also presented some new estimates of carbon footprint, or land use versus biofuels production capacity for various feedstocks. “Our current estimate for corn is .18 hectares per thousand gallons of ethanol,” said Tyner. “That’s about a fifth of what the original Searchinger estimate was.” A hectare is approximately 2.5 acres.

The really good news Tyner’s research found was that using corn stover for cellulosic biofuels production showed zero land use change. “So in terms of greenhouse gasses, global warming, all of that, it’s golden,” he said, adding that miscanthus also shows great promise with .06 hectares per thousand gallons, but switchgrass did not show up much better than corn at .15.

Tyner is the first to admit that all of this can change and every economic is uncertain, so the debate over land use change could continue “forever.”

Listen to or download an interview with Dr. Tyner here: Dr. Wally Tyner

2012 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

advanced biofuels, Audio, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks, Indirect Land Use, National Ethanol Conference, RFA