ACE Conference 2026

Petroleum Equipment Group Joins E85 Coalition

Cindy Zimmerman

The Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) has joined the Coalition for E85 – a group of retailers, producers, equipment manufacturers and other supporters of E85 fuel.

PEI executive vice president Robert Renkes says the goal of the Coalition is to protect the investments of 2,500 small businesses and stop a multimillion-dollar tax hike on consumers. “Fuel marketers, equipment manufacturers and the motoring public have invested a significant amount of money in building the E85 infrastructure and flex-fueled vehicles,” said Renkes. “We must not abandon E85 this close to self-sustainability.”

According to the Energy Information Administration, Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) capable of running on up to 85% ethanol fuel represent approximately 98 percent of all the alternative fuel vehicles operating on the nation’s highways. “E85 represents a form of liquid transportation fuel that is growing in use and has an infrastructure investment cost similar to unleaded gasoline,” said Renkes. “Following the lead of the Congress and several recent presidents, many of our members have committed to the production of E85 fueling equipment, and we call on the Congress and Obama Administration to maintain the small incentives provided to advance the sale of E85.”

Currently, other alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas, propane and hydrogen, receive a $0.50 per gallon tax credit as part of the Alternative Fuel Credit and the Coalition believes E85 should be included as well.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles

American Ethanol Celebrates Great First Year

Cindy Zimmerman

The partnership between NASCAR and ethanol is officially one year old and it has been a great year for racing on the renewable fuel.

It was one year ago last week at the NASCAR Champions Week in Las Vegas that American Ethanol was announced, a partnership that includes Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association.

Throughout the 2011 NASCAR season, every race car and truck in the Sprint, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series ran on Sunoco Green E15 as part of the American Ethanol partnership. And every race weekend, NASCAR’s newest special award, the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award was given to the participating driver who recorded the fastest average speed on restarts and who finished the race on the lead lap – a reminder of American Ethanol’s dedication to NASCAR’s green initiatives.

At this year’s Champions Week in Las Vegas, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis gave an overall award to No. 17 driver Matt Kenseth for winning the Green Flag the most times in the 2011 season.

“I appreciate American Ethanol and Growth Energy and Sunoco for making such a great fuel this year,” Kenseth said when he accepted the award. “It worked great, it’s been good for the environment, it’s been good for NASCAR and we appreciated being a part of it.”

According to NASCAR officials and drivers, the E15 fuel blend has met and surpassed expectations – providing increased horsepower with minimal decrease in mileage. In fact, NASCAR’s 2011 Million Mile Report, proved that NASCAR racing vehicles accumulated more than a million miles of practice, qualifying and racing laps on E15 without any problems.

American Ethanol, corn, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NASCAR, NCGA

Iowa Renewable Fuels Partners with Petroleum Marketers

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa (PMCI) have formed the Renewable Fuels Partnership where representatives of both groups will serve in an advisory capacity to exchange ideas on advancing the availability and use of renewable fuels in Iowa. The goal of the partnership is to bring more renewable fuels to Iowa motorists while addressing the needs of the marketplace and providing consumer education.

“Working collectively, we can bolster the distribution network for domestically-produced fuels and strengthen the local economy,” said Dawn Carlson, president of PMCI.

“Cooperatively, we’ll bring a strong education program to consumers on the benefits of having a variety of renewable fuels to meet their needs and their wallets,” said Lucy Norton, IRFA managing director.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Looks Like Income Pretty Steady For Most

Chuck Zimmerman

The slices on this ZimmPoll pie are almost the same size! In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” The idea for the question came from the recent USDA Economic Research Service Net Farm Income Forecast that showed a 28% increase over 2010. The responses to our question were Higher – 34.4%; Lower – 31.2% and Same – 34.4%.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What’s tops on your Christmas gift list?” If your income is the same or higher than last year perhaps you have a little more in the disposable category for holiday shopping. What categories are tops for you this year?

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

ZimmPoll

RFA Responds to Letter Sent to Senate Committee

RFAThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has sent a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leadership refuting statements that were made in a Nov. 30th letter sent to the committee by ethanol critics.

According to RFA, the letter sent by ethanol critics misrepresented the findings of two recent papers on American biofuels and American biofuel policy — one from the National Academies of Science (NAS) and one from United Nations Committee on Food Security (CFS). Authors of the letter, including corporate livestock, food manufacturing, fossil fuel production, and other industries, are seeking a hearing on domestic biofuels and the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

In a follow-up letter sent this week, RFA provides additional research confirming the benefits of domestic biofuel production. Specifically, RFA took exception to assertions made that the NAS study offered definitive conclusions about the environmental impacts of ethanol or the efficacy of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

RFA also highlighted a finding of the NAS report that was omitted in the letter that, “using biofuels holds potential to provide net environmental benefits compared to using petroleum-based fuels…”.

RFA notes that even some participants in the NAS research work have questioned its incompleteness and lack of definitive conclusions. It has been reported by the American Association of Advancement of Science that Dr. Virginia Dale, an ecologist at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory believes the NAS report, “is not based on the most current information” and could be “misleading if the assumptions of the analysis are not considered.” Dr. Dale encouraged readers to “read the details with care,” a point which RFA notes was left out of the letter to the committee.

Regarding the UN CFS study, the RFA noted that no mention of the RFS or specific biofuel policies were included in the study.

RFA believes the letter and claims sent by the ethanol critics does not warrant a hearing by the Senate EPW Committee. However, if a hearing is granted, RFA encourages the committee to hear from witnesses from the biofuels industry and academia who can testify to the benefits of the biofuels industry.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Largest Government Purchase of Biofuels Announced

Cindy Zimmerman

The largest government purchase of biofuels for military application was announced today.

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack jointly announced that the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed a contract to purchase 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in biofuel.

The biofuel to be purchased is made from a blend of non-food waste (used cooking oil) from the Louisiana-based Dynamic Fuels, LLC, a joint-venture of Tyson Foods, Inc., and Syntroleum Corporation, and algae, produced by Solazyme. The fuel will be used in the U.S. Navy’s demonstration of a Green Strike Group in the summer of 2012 during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), the world’s largest international maritime exercise.

“The Navy has always led the nation in transforming the way we use energy, not because it is popular, but because it makes us better war fighters,” stated Secretary Mabus. “This unprecedented fuel purchase demonstrates the Obama Administration’s commitment to seeking energy security and energy independence by diversifying our energy supply.”

“In March, the President challenged me, Secretary Mabus, and Secretary Steven Chu to work with the private sector to cultivate a competitively-priced—and domestically produced—drop-in biofuel industry that can power not just fighter jets, but also trucks and commercial airliners,” said Secretary Vilsack, “Today’s announcement continues our efforts to meet that challenge. This is not work we can afford to put off for another day.”

The biofuel will be mixed with aviation gas or marine diesel fuel for use in the Green Strike Group demonstration.

Read more from USDA and listen to press conference of the announcement.

algae, Biodiesel, biofuels, biojet fuel, Government, USDA

Butamax Signs First ‘Early Adopter’ Agreement

butamaxButamax Advanced Biofuels has entered into an agreement on commercialization principles with Highwater Ethanol, a leading ethanol producer based in Lamberton, Minn.

Butamax, a leading global biobutanol technology development company, is working to offer current ethanal producers proprietary biobutanol technology to permit improved biofuels growth and plant profitability.

“We are developing relationships with a group of early adopters. These facilities are among the most efficient, well managed facilities in the United States. Their knowledge and expertise are a complement to the commercialization of Butamax technology,” said Peter Matrai, COO of Butamax.

ethanol plant
Highwater Ethanol is the first entrant to the Butamax Early Adopters Group. Their ICM-designed facility was constructed by Fagen with a nameplate capacity of 50 million gallons per year.

Biobutanol is a high performing drop-in biofuel that can be blended at higher concentrations than ethanol, without the need for infrastructure changes. At 16 percent volume, biobutanol delivers twice the renewable energy content of 10 percent ethanol blends.

Last year, Butamax announced the addition of a technology laboratory in Paulinia, Brazil to accelerate process development efforts for producing biobutanol from sugarcane. In addition, the Butamax technology demonstration facility in Hull, England is producing biobutanol to support design of commercial facilities.

biobutanol, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Chicago Farmers Meeting on Alternative Energy

The Chicago Farmers, an agriculture and agribusiness organization, will discuss, “Alternative Energy’s Impact on Farm Income,” at its December meeting, Mon., Dec. 12 at the Illini Center in Chicago.

Fred Iutzi, of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, will provide a strategic overview and update on renewable energy trends and a status of the industry in Illinois. Corn ethanol and soy biodiesel, advanced biofuels from cellulosic biomas, biomass heat and power, and wind and solar power all will be discussed. The presentation will highlight policy and development issues for both large-and small-scale renewable energy projects and connections between Illinois and the wider national energy economy. It will be followed by a question and answer session.

Reservations are due by Fri., Dec. 9. Participants are encouraged to
register early.

Biodiesel Conference, Ethanol, Miscellaneous

POET Ramps Up Production of Corn Oil for Biodiesel

By the end of 2011, POET will be producing enough corn oil as feedstock for 12 million gallons of biodiesel per year.

POET has been selling Voilà corn oil for biodiesel and feed markets since January. With its patent-pending technology expanding to a total of six plants, POET has increased its capacity.

POET Biorefining in Hudson, South Dakota, was the first to produce Voilà. Since then, the technology has been installed in five more POET plants, with more on the way in 2012. Plants that are producing corn oil today are POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg, Gowrie, Jewell and Hanlontown in Iowa. POET Biorefining – Laddonia, Mo., will be coming online next week. The six plants’s combined capacity is about 100 million pounds of corn oil per year.

“Voilà has been a very strong part of POET’s business this year, and I’m excited to see more plants getting this technology,” POET founder and CEO Jeff Broin said. “The more we can diversify into new profitable products, the more successful our plants will be.”

Voilà is just another item on POET’s growing list of products created at its plants. In addition to ethanol, POET produced quality products for animal feed including Dakota Gold distillers dried grains. POET also captures carbon dioxide at seven of its plants for sale to beverage producers, and the company last year unveiled Inviz, a zein product used to replace petroleum-based films and coatings.

See more on Voilà from POET in the following video:

Biodiesel, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, POET

General Motors Seeks to Reassure Volt Owners

Cindy Zimmerman

General Motors is working to offer assurances and incentives to owners of Chevy Volts in the wake of concerns about the potential of damaged batteries in the electric cars catching fire, and may ultimately have to take the car of the future back to the drawing board.

Earlier this week, GM announced initiatives for customer satisfaction and battery safety research to ensure ongoing confidence in the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported last week that electrical fires that occurred up to three weeks after lithium-ion battery packs were damaged in crash testing on some of the vehicles.

GM has established a program offering free GM vehicle loan to any Volt owner and vowed to work closely with NHTSA, suppliers, dealers and manufacturing teams to initiate any necessary changes in the vehicles as soon as possible.

An Associated Press report today quoted General Motors CEO Dan Akerson as taking that even further, saying they would buy the cars back from owners who are worried about the issue, and that the company is ready to do a total recall of the more than 6,000 Volts on the road and repair them once the cause of the three post-crash fires in tested vehicles is determined.

Car Makers, Electric Vehicles