2011 State of the Ethanol Industry

Cindy Zimmerman

Bob Dinneen at 2011 NECThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is celebrating 30 years of advocating for the ethanol industry, and while the industry has come a long way since that time, some things never change.

Giving the “State of the Ethanol Industry” address to some 1300 attendees at the National Ethanol Conference, RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen started off quoting the organization’s first president, Dave Hallberg, in 1981 that sounded like it could have been written today. “Dave went on to cite the inimitable comic strip character Pogo, “We are faced with insurmountable opportunities,” concluding with a familiar sense of optimism that they would be realized,” Dinneen said, adding that, “This industry can and will meet today’s challenges as it has met every ‘insurmountable opportunity’ of the past, and that we will, once again prevail.”

Bob Dinneen at 2011 NECDinneen addressed the pivotal changes facing the ethanol industry, starting with expiration of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) at the end of this year and the potential for complete reform of federal ethanol policy. “Congress does appear ready to end the ethanol tax incentive program, however. At least, end it in its current form and cost. Our industry needs to work with Congress and the Administration to reform the tax incentive moving forward.”

“One way or another, change is coming to this industry,” Dinneen concluded. “We need to do what the RFA has done for 30 years – build bridges. We need to build a bridge wide enough for the entire biofuels industry to cross to a more sustainable energy future. We need to build a bridge to our customers and consumers so the road to increased ethanol use is paved with understanding. We need to build a bridge to lawmakers so that we end up with a motor fuel policy befitting a 21st century energy industry. And we need to stride confidently across this bridge with enough vision, strength and innovation to conquer the insurmountable opportunities of our time.”

Listen to or download Dinneen’s remarks here: Bob Dinneen - 2011State of the Ethanol Industry

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Live Feed of State of Ethanol Industry

Chuck Zimmerman

Good morning from Phoenix, AZ and the National Ethanol Conference. We’re going to stream the opening remarks and state of the industry speech for you starting at 8am MST. On the stage will be Renewable Fuels Association Chairman, Chuck Woodside and President/CEO Bob Dinneen. After their remarks I’ll post the audio and recorded video for you as soon as I can.

So, feel free to send a link to this post to your friends and neighbors who are interested in ethanol for a look at what’s ahead for the industry. Just click on the player below to begin the feed.

Post Update: Here’s the recorded version of our live feed from this morning.

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA, Video

Gaining A Better Understanding of the Ethanol Industry

Chuck Zimmerman

Chuck WoodsideThe Chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association is Chuck Woodside, KAAPA Ethanol, LLC. He gave everyone a welcoming speech prior to the start of today’s golf tournament. I spoke with him during breakfast.

Chuck says he brings a lot of people from his company to the conference to gain a broader understanding of what’s been accomplished over the last year and a look ahead at what’s coming. He wants his folks to go home with a better understanding of the issues and how they’ll affect them.

You can listen to my interview with Chuck here: Chuck Woodside Interview

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Preview of National Ethanol Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

Bob DinneenThe National Ethanol Conference in now underway in Phoenix, AZ. Cindy and I are here and will bringing you all the action. We started out cool and wet for this morning’s golf tournament. The course remains open all afternoon for those who want to complete their round.

I sat down with Bob Dinneen, CEO, Renewable Fuels Association for our annual preview of the conference. Bob says attendance is up and the networking opportunities like today’s activities provide are going to be used by those attending to get some work done. Featured speakers include James Carville and Mary Matalin who will provide their perspective on policy. He says this is going to be a pivotal year for the ethanol industry.

You can listen to my interview with Bob here: Bob Dinneen Interview

I’ve got a photo album started which you are free to view and download what you’d like. We’ll be adding to it over the next couple days: 2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Oil Scores a Victory in House, Ethanol Continues Battle

Joanna Schroeder

In an update to a story posted earlier this week, in a late night vote the House of Representatives have approved provisions that would block the implementation of E15 into the marketplace. Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) presented a provision to the House Continuing Resolution (a short-term resolution that would fund the government through the end of this year) that would block the EPA from its ability to roll out E15 and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) presented a provision that would disallow blender pumps and ethanol storage facilities. Both provisions were accepted into the resolution that was passed by the House.

“The Sullivan provision picks politics over science. EPA’s consideration of E15 was based on a more exhaustive study and collection of data than any of the 11 previously-approved petitions. No other fuel mix has been tested more,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, which filed the Green Jobs Waiver for E15 in March 2009. “With all the turmoil going on in the Middle East and elsewhere, the House of Representatives just voted to stop the only viable alternative to foreign oil: ethanol. It is the wrong move at the wrong time for the wrong reasons.”

Renewable Fuels President and CEO Bob Dinneen expressed his frustration with the action made by the House. “Last night, political science trumped physical science. The fact remains ethanol is a thoroughly tested, safe, and effective motor fuel. Americans spend nearly $1 billion a day importing oil, often from hostile regions of the world. If the chaos in the Middle East teaches us anything, it should be that America must forcefully begin down the path of energy self-reliance. Increasing the use of domestic renewable fuels like ethanol is the first, and arguably, the easiest step we can take.”

While at this point, these provisions are not law, the Senate must also pass an identical package and from there the president must also sign the bill. President Obama has indicated that he would veto a bill that contains provisions that blocks biofuels from entering the market. Not only will these provisions keep the country from meeting its renewable fuels goals set out in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, but it keeps the country beholden to energy produced from oil produced in volatile regions.Read More

blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, Legislation, RFA

Fuel Marketer: Fed Tax Break Helps Biodiesel Price

John Davis

An Indiana-based oil exploration, production, refining and marketing company (including biodiesel) says reinstatement of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel blenders credit is helping make the green fuels competitive with non-renewable petroleum products.

CountryMark of Indianapolis says biodiesel blended fuel prices at the farmer-owned cooperative are reflecting the difference the credit is making:

“The biodiesel blender tax credit of a dollar per gallon has biodiesel blended fuels very competitive in the marketplace,” says Jon Lantz, CountryMark Vice President of Marketing. “In light of this change, we encourage fuel buyers to talk with their local cooperative about biodiesel-blended fuels.”

Biodiesel-blended fuels reduce dependency on foreign oil and are good for the environment. These are benefits and values consumers have been looking for and with the change in the tax credits, these fuels and associated benefits are available at a competitive price. We, in the CountryMark system, are looking forward to delivering these all-American biodiesel blended fuels, Lantz added.

CountryMark Member Cooperatives will be working diligently to reach out to school transportation directors, municipalities, county highway departments, fire departments and emergency vehicle managers in the coming weeks to talk about the benefits of B20 and the new prices which have been reduced by the passage of the biodiesel blenders tax credit.

Last year, CountryMark bought 750,000 gallons of biodiesel for blending and hopes to blend 3 million gallons of B100 into diesel fuel this year.

Biodiesel

USDA Matches Biofuels Facilities with Feedstocks

John Davis

The USDA is working on matching the best places to build biofuel refineries with the areas that have the best feedstocks to produce the green fuels.

This Agricultural Research Service article says they’ve been looking at the potential in the Pacific Northwest:

[ARS] agronomist George Mueller-Warrant, plant physiologist Gary Banowetz, and hydrologist Jerry Whittaker calculated that the 6.2 million tons of straw left over from the production of Pacific Northwest cash crops could be used to produce more than 430 million gallons of biofuel. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of developing new sources of bioenergy.

The scientists, who work at the ARS Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit in Corvallis, Ore., revised a statistical approach that had been developed by other site analysts to identify the best locations for commercial and public facilities.

Then the team used the revised program to calculate the number of biofuel conversion facilities that could be supplied by the average annual straw yield, and identified the best locations for the conversion facilities so that the costs of transporting straw could be minimized. Straw is a high-bulk, low-density commodity, which adds to the expense of moving it from field to market.

The team ran its calculations for facilities that had three different scales of annual production. Small-scale facilities could process 1,100 tons of straw, medium-sized facilities could process 11,000 tons of straw, or large-scale facilities could process 110,000 tons of straw.

Even discounting the amount of straw needed to be left on the fields, ARS researchers’ results found there would be enough feedstock for 6,200 small facilities, 660 medium facilities, or 64 large biofuels facilities.

biofuels, USDA

FAO Promotes Farming Food & Fuel

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new report, “Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems (IFES) Work for People and Climate – An Overview,” the simultaneous production of food and fuel by farmers can help to reduce poverty in countries such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. This according to FAO who published the report this week.

“Farming systems that combine food and energy crops present numerous benefits to poor rural communities,” said Alexander Müller, FAO Assistant Director-General for Natural Resources. “For example, poor farmers can use leftovers from rice crops to produce bioenergy, or in an agroforestry system can use debris of trees used to grow crops like fruits, coconuts or coffee beans for cooking.”

Müller noted that other types of food and energy systems use byproducts from livestock or biogas production and with this type of integrated systems, farmers can save money – they don’t have to buy expensive fossil fuel or chemical fertilizers. Rather, than can use the slurry from biogas production, a more sustainable, less costly alternative.

“They can then use the savings to buy necessary inputs to increase agricultural productivity, such as seeds adapted to changing climatic conditions — an important factor given that a significant increase in food production in the next decades will have to be carried out under conditions of climate change. All this increases their resilience, hence their capacity to adapt to climate change,” said Müller.

IFES are also beneficial to women as they can eliminate the need to leave their crops to go in search of firewood. In addition, the report concludes that IFES farming can help to mitigate climate change, especially emissions stemming from land use change, because there is less chance land will need to be converted.

In conclusion, Olivier Dubois, an FAO energy expert said, “Promoting the advantages of IFES and improving the policy and institutional environment for such systems should become a priority. FAO is well placed to coordinate these efforts by providing knowledge and technical support for IFES implementation.”

biofuels, biogas, Indirect Land Use, International, Research

SoloPower Receives $197 DOE Loan Guarantee

Joanna Schroeder

SoloPower, a manufacturer of flexible thin film solar cells and modules announced that it has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. DOE for a $197 million loan guarantee. The funds will be used to help complete construction of their manufacturing facility located in Wilsonville, Oregon, when complete, will produce around 400 MW of thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules each year.

“This announcement is the latest confirmation that when it comes to energy policy, Oregon is on the right side of history,” said U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. “The project in Wilsonville will hire hundreds of highly skilled, highly paid Oregonians to manufacture the latest in renewable energy technology.  Oregon is already an epicenter for renewable energy projects. A loan guarantee to help companies such as SoloPower get important projects off the ground is the right approach that will keep Oregon where it belongs – at the forefront of technology.  I look forward to working with the folks at SoloPower in putting Oregonians to work creating the products that represent the future of renewable energy.”

SoloPower CEO Tim Harris added, “We appreciate and commend the DOE’s emphasis on supporting innovative, clean-tech companies as a way to further the goal of energy independence while stimulating employment and helping secure our nation’s manufacturing base in this important emerging industry. This backing allows us to rapidly ramp up our production and to promote the spread of clean, distributed solar power to the rooftops and on the ground, while providing hundreds of quality manufacturing jobs using some of the most advanced technology in the world.”

Also this week, the Nuclear Energy Institute released the results of a national survey that determined, “By a four-to-one margin, an overwhelming majority of Americans support the use of federal loan guarantees to encourage investment in the clean-energy technologies identified by President Obama in his recent State of the Union address.”

The survey found that 79 percent of respondents agree that, “to jump-start investment and maintain U.S. competitiveness, the federal government should provide guarantees backing loans for building solar, wind, advanced-design nuclear power plants or other energy technology that reduces greenhouse gases.” Nineteen percent of those surveyed do not agree, and two percent don’t know.

Electricity, Energy, Solar

Ethanol Industry On the Track At The Daytona 500

Joanna Schroeder

The ethanol industry is excited for Daytona 500, set to take place on Fox at 1:00 pm EST on Sunday February 20th. This race kicks off the first race that Sunoco Green E15 will be used, a blend of 15 percent corn-based ethanol – produced by American farmers, right here in America. To kick off the weekend, Growth Energy, who is a NASCAR partner, held a press conference from the Daytona International Speedway to give us a quick update on the festivities and promotions on the track surrounding the race and ethanol’s debut.

Tom Buis, Growth Energy’s CEO said that they were excited about this partnership with NASCAR and this the partnership they have put together under the banner of ethanol in order to educate millions of fans and followers of NASCAR nationwide about the benefits of ethanol – its good for our country, its good for America’s energy security and its good for the environment. Additional major partners in this effort are the National Corn Growers Association, American farmers and American ethanol producers.

Buis said the race will be started with the green flag that will feature an American ethanol logo, and all the cars will also feature American ethanol logos. But he encouraged viewers to pay special attention to #33 Chevrolet driver Clint Bowyer, with Richard Childress Racing who is the latest addition to the ethanol team and is being sponsored by the industry during the 2011 season. In prelims yesterday, he just missed winning the “race” by inches so he should be a real contender to win the race on Sunday. During the race, there will be other on-track and on-TV promotions as well.

You can follow the ongoing NASCAR promotions on www.americanethanolracing.com, www.growthenergy.org or www.ncga.org.

Also on the call was Growth Energy Co-Chair Ret. General Wesley K. Clark who seconded Buis’ comments and added that the fact that NASCAR is using E15 is a huge testament to the skill of farmers, to the agricultural community, to ethanol pioneers and America’s Midwest. “It’s an All-American fuel,” he said.

In conclusion, Jeff Broin, Growth Energy’s Co-Chair and CEO of POET concluded, “NASCAR is the great American race and ethanol is the great American fuel and it’s fun to see the two things come together.”

Listen to Growth Energy’s On the Track At Daytona 500 Press Conference here: Ethanol On The Track At Daytona 500

Audio, blends, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NASCAR, Racing