You might have already listened to President Obama speaking yesterday in Macon, MO at POET Biorefining plant but now you can watch him. He may not have mentioned corn or corn ethanol but as you can see from his backdrop here, it was prominently displayed.
Biodiesel to Fuel Lake Erie Ferry Service
A Lake Erie ferry service will be greening up its fleet by running one of its passenger vessels on a blend of biodiesel.
Biodiesel Magazine reports that Miller Boat Line will be running its ferry, the William Market, on a 10 to 20 percent blend of a not-so-typical type of biodiesel:
The fuel, G2 Diesel, is made from reacting soybean oil and ethanol—not fossil-derived methanol as most biodiesel transesterification processes use.
G2 Diesel is produced by 11 Good Energy Inc., a Delaware corporation formed in May 2007. In November 2009, the company opened a 16.5 MMgy facility in Magnolia, Ohio.
Miller Boat Line describes itself as the most value-friendly way to travel to Put-in-Bay and the only way to bring vehicles to the island. Scott Market, vice president of Miller Boat Line, said the company has become the only environmentally-friendly option for tourists.
“As a family-owned business, we think about our kids with everything we do and we thought it was time to do something to protect the environment for future generations,” Market said. “This allows us to shrink our carbon footprint.”
The company says it hopes one day to use the G2 Diesel in all four of its vessels.
Cape Wind Green Light Big for Offshore Wind Industry
A wind energy project off the Massachusetts has gotten the federal government’s OK to move forward … and it’s seen as a major victory for the offshore wind energy industry in this country.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will allow the 130-turbine Cape Wind project, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, to be built. This story from CNN says the ruling will have a major impact for other offshore wind projects:
“The United States is leading a clean energy revolution that is reshaping our future,” Salazar told reporters in Boston. “Cape Wind is an opening of a new chapter in that future, and we are all part of that history.”
“Cape Wind will be the nation’s first offshore wind farm, supplying clean power to homes and businesses in Massachusetts, plus creating good jobs here in America,” he said. “This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast.”
The Cape Wind project has been in the works for nine years, tied up while people, such as the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, argued the turbines … miles offshore … would ruin the view from their mansions.
But don’t expect this decision to be the final word on the wind farm. The opposition is vowing to continue the fight, and those millionaires and billionaires have some mighty deep pockets.
Making the Case for Biodiesel to Obama in 90 Seconds
Just 90 seconds … a short minute and a half … that’s the amount of time that a biodiesel advocate had to make the case for the green fuel to the President of the United States.
When Pres. Obama made the trip to Iowa yesterday to talk about wind turbines, Brad Albin, Vice President at Renewable Energy Group and Secretary of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, pressed upon the President the urgency of the need for the reinstatement and retroactivity of the biodiesel tax credit:
“I shook his hand and told him that we’re losing jobs as we stand here, which seemed to get his attention,” explained Albin, who had been sitting in the second row. “I told him about plants idling and that more than 90 percent of manufacturing staff at U.S. biodiesel plants have been laid off as a result of the tax credit lapse.”
Obama acknowledged his biodiesel tax credit updates are coming through USDA Secretary Vilsack. The President continued to listen as I explained that for 20 years Americans have worked to meet the challenge of increasing energy independence; that farmers and families have invested billions, and now companies are bankrupt or bleeding to death.
“Just like some in the ethanol industry, our fear is that major, multi-national petroleum companies are just waiting to scoop up the biodiesel industry’s capacity, returning cents on the dollar to farmer investors,” Albin said to the President.
Albin further explained that the five month lapse of the tax credit could not have come at a worse time as the Renewable Fuels Standard goes into effect July 1, 2010.
“We’re going to die without this tax credit,” Albin added even after the President’s assurances. The President responded: we won’t let you die.
Albin said he continued to press his case and asked as he walked away if Obama would commit to the tax credit being in place by the end of May. He says the President turned back to him and said, “I’m the President and I promise I’ll do whatever I can.” Let’s see what that means.
President’s Ethanol Speech Lacks Substance
Ethanol producers and corn farmers who were hoping for President Obama to make a strong show of support for the ethanol industry when he appeared at a POET plant in Missouri on Wednesday were probably a little disappointed. Yes, he made the appearance and said that “renewable, homegrown fuels are a key part of our strategy for a clean energy future” – but that was about it.
The entire speech, minus introductions, was only 10 minutes long and most of it was spent talking about the economy. About three minutes were spent on what the administration has done to promote renewable energy with the economic recovery act, the Biofuels Working Group and the Navy using biofuel in a new jet. However, there was no mention at all of the top priorities for the ethanol industry – getting the tax incentives renewed and the E15 waiver approved. Without those actions, the future of the ethanol industry is questionable.
The president only used the word ethanol five times, but preferred the more generic “biofuels” which was used nine times. Once, when he strayed from his prepared remarks, he used the word “biodiesel” apparently by mistake, saying “I want us to be first when it comes to biodiesel and the technologies that are being developed in places like POET.”
It is also notable that the president did not even mention the word corn, even though he was standing next to a big front end loader filled with it. The word agriculture was used only in reference to the U.S. Secretary and state director of agriculture present at the event. Farmers were only referenced in terms of the “tough time” they were having “getting by” when he was running for office.
The good news is that POET president Jeff Broin did get a chance to speak briefly with the president about the industry’s concerns. “We talked about the fact that cellulosic ethanol had the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and that there were some policy issues that are very important to move that forward, the first being the fact that today the market is full,” said Broin. “Basically ten percent ethanol is what’s allowed in gasoline today and we need to move that wall and open up the market.” However, Broin says he only had a limited amount of time to talk with the president and was not able to address the ethanol tax incentive issue, but he did discuss it with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
One can be hopeful that meeting real workers with real jobs at a real ethanol plant in a small rural community made an impression on the president and he makes the connection between that and the need to provide real support to keep the industry growing.
President: Rebuild Economy Through Renewable Fuels
Today President Obama made his first visit to an ethanol plant since taking office. His message focused on achieving the American dream and rebuilding the economy with renewable fuels playing a key role.
Here are some excerpts from his prepared remarks (Word doc). He didn’t stick to it completely but you can listen to his recorded remarks below. I’ve also got a set of photos you can enjoy: President Obama POET Biorefining Photo Album
Ten years ago next month, this plant produced its first gallon of ethanol. Today, 45 employees produce 46 million gallons a year. So one of you is overachieving. Congratulations to all of you.
In the two years I spent running for President and visiting towns like these, a lot of folks talked about how the American Dream was getting harder and harder to reach. Families were having a tough time getting ahead. Farmers were having a tough time getting by. And worse, many of our young people grew convinced that their only chance to find opportunity was to seek it someplace else.
But success stories like POET prove that doesn’t have to be the case. And I believe we can help companies like yours replicate them across the country.
So there shouldn’t be any doubt that renewable, homegrown fuels are a key part of our strategy for a clean energy future – a future of new industries, new jobs in towns like Macon, and new independence.
Here at POET, you do more than just help stake America’s claim on that future. You stake Macon’s claim on America’s future. And I’m committed to making sure that communities like this one have a bright future of opportunity to look forward to. Thank you, everybody.
Live Audio of President Speech at Ethanol Plant
We are going to try and bring you live audio of President Obama’s speech at the POET ethanol plant in Macon, Missouri via cell phone and Ustream since there is no good internet access at the site and aircards don’t work well for live broadcasts. Speech is scheduled to begin at 12:55 central time. Audio is not clear at all since Chuck has the phone sitting on a table and is unable to take photos and hold up the phone at the same time. We will have broadcast quality audio after the event.
Post Update: We hope you were able to listen in when President Obama made his remarks from the POET Biorefining plant today.
You can now listen to his remarks below.
President Obama Visiting POET Plant Today
Hello from POET Biorefining in Macon, MO. In just a few minutes President Obama will be here to speak. We have very limited access to the internet here.
I’ll create a photo album from the activities today and be posting audio of the President and video. That might have to wait until I get out and back to some good internet though.
Keep an eye on our Twitter feed too. I’ll be tweeting some more photos.
RFA CEO Takes Case for Ethanol Incentives to The Hill
Federal incentives for the U.S. ethanol industry are good public policy by every measure of “economic growth, energy security and environmental responsibility,” according to Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, in an opinion column penned for The Hill.
Dinneen makes the case that biofuels offer hope for three major challenges facing the nation – the economy, dependency on foreign oil, and greenhouse gas emissions – and continuing tax incentives will help the industry continue in those efforts. “While American ingenuity and hard work built the biofuels industry, two public policies have helped it succeed,” Dinneen writes. “The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, including at least 16 billion gallons from cellulosic feedstocks, be used in the nation’s fuel supply by 2022. The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) provides blenders and marketers with a federal tax credit of 45 cents on each gallon of ethanol blended with gasoline.”
Sunny Day for Presidential Visit to Ethanol Plant
Chuck Zimmerman with Domestic Fuel is set up in Macon, Missouri at the POET ethanol plant in advance of President Obama’s visit this afternoon. The press has to set up way early for the visit, which will take place at about 1:00 pm central time.
Chuck reports that the weather is gorgeous and there are lots of media on site for the event, from the major media outlets to local radio stations. You can follow his updates on our Twitter feed, twitter.com/DomesticFuel.