A visit to a Nebraska enzyme plant last week by a top-ranking Department of Energy helped showcase the development of enzyme technology for advanced biofuels.
Department of Energy (DOE) Senior Advisor Peter Gage visited with Novozymes North American President Adam Monroe at the company’s new enzyme plant in Blair, Nebraska to emphasize the need for energy programs touted in the President’s State of the Union address.
“As part of his blueprint for an American economy built to last, President Obama called for an all-out, all-of-the-above energy strategy that’s cleaner, safer, full of new jobs and develops every available source of American energy,” said Gage. “Extending the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit will encourage further investment in clean energy manufacturing here in Nebraska and across the nation, ensuring new windmills, solar panels and biofuel products are produced and assembled by American workers.”
“Renewable energy is real. Novozymes is proud of our successful investment in manufacturing here in Nebraska, helping to diversify our nation’s energy portfolio. We are creating jobs here in Blair and more economic opportunity for farmers and rural communities,” said Monroe.
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NEC Connect provides access to the online social networking community designed specifically for the NEC, allowing attendees to design their own profile, link other social networking sites to their profile, communicate with other attendees via conversations and private messages, as well as see which attendees they have the most in common through categories and tags. NEC Connect also lets each attendee design their own session schedule and invite other attendees to private meetings. 
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Agronomic benefits of residue removal include preventing stand establishment concerns in the following crop and avoiding nitrogen tie-up to reduce additional applications. Good residue management practices are crucial to overcoming some of the challenges associated with reduced-tillage systems.
In September 2011, Aventine announced it was delaying work on the plant due to uncertainty surrounding its ability to secure critical third-party technical and engineering support. Since that time, the company has secured the support necessary to move the project forward and now anticipates resuming work in early March 2012 with production expected to start this summer.
An Australian ethanol producer has received the first completed commercial certification from the 
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“The market for ethanol has grown exponentially over the past decade, thus utilizing an abundance of corn to meet the already-present need for a renewable, domestic biofuel,” said Chad Willis, a Minnesota corn grower who serves as chairman of the committee. “Now, we face a myriad of challenges and opportunities as those in the industry continue to innovate while some outside of it continue attempts to deny ethanol’s incredible value to our nation.”
The committee of farmer leaders from around the Corn Belt also had the opportunity to meet the NCGA’s new Director of Biofuel Programs and Business Development Pam Keck, who is a scientist and educator with more than 20 years of experience in the agricultural and biofuels industry, academia and not-for-profit research.
RFA’s Bob Dinneen says the legislation sponsored by Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) injects “parochial politics into the scientifically established process of approving new fuels.”