Corn Crop Still Strong and Good for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Even though USDA lowered its forecast for 2009 corn production in the latest report out today due to lower yields, farmers are still expected to see record yields and production is still expected to be the second highest on record.

Corn production is forecast at 12.9 billion bushels, down 1 percent from last month but 7 percent higher than 2008. Based on conditions as of November 1, yields are expected to average 162.9 bushels per acre, down 1.3 bushels from October but 9.0 bushels above last year. Despite the drop in yield from October, this yield will be the highest on record if realized. Total production will be second highest on record, only behind 2007.

corn harvestThe harvest continues to be slow throughout the Corn Belt. According to USDA, just 37 percent of the corn had been combined as of Sunday, compared to 82 percent average and even well behind last year’s slow harvest which was 69 percent complete at this time in 2008. Meanwhile, despite moisture issues, corn quality remains strong, up one percent this week to rate 68 percent good to excellent.

While high moisture and low test weights are getting to be major concerns with the crop, ethanol plants are able to utilize the lower quality corn. Arlan Suderman with Farm Futures spoke with Dave Vander Griend, President and CEO of ethanol developer ICM, Inc. of Kansas about the situation last week.

“We can utilize the crop,” says Vander Griend. “A lot of people don’t want it, which means that it will be discounted. Many people in the industry haven’t been through this before, but I’ve been around long enough to have lived through it before and know that it can work. Ethanol plants can usually beat the price of the other discounts being offered and make use of it.”

Suderman notes that Vander Griend emphasized the importance of farmers talking to their local ethanol processor now about how to best care for and deliver lower quality corn.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming, USDA

Stimulus Bucks Fund New Hampshire/Maine Wind Project

John Davis

A consortium of New England schools will get $700,000 in federal stimulus money to develop three deepwater wind energy test sites in the Gulf of Maine.
GulfofMaine
This press release from the University of New Hampshire says UNH’s Center for Ocean Renewable Energy… better known as CORE… has teamed with the University of Maine-led consortium, known as DeepCwind, and will test the first prototype floating structure with a wind turbine:

Unlike other offshore wind projects, which consist of wind turbines mounted on shafts sunk into the ocean floor in relatively shallow water, deepwater wind utilizes floating turbines moored to the ocean floor. The DeepCwind project will launch only the second deepwater wind energy facility in the world (the first is in Norway) and the first offshore, deepwater wind project in the U.S.

“This is a really exciting project, because we’re pushing the envelope,” says CORE director Ken Baldwin, professor of ocean and mechanical engineering.

Within the next year, CORE will install a wind turbine with a 25-foot diameter on a 60-foot tower floating in 170 feet of water just south of the Isles of Shoals, where a mooring grid is already in place – and permitted – from UNH’s Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center. The site is six miles offshore and one mile south of White Island. CORE researchers will equip the 10-kilowatt turbine with extensive instrumentation to measure wind, wave, and temperature effects on the turbine itself, the platform on which it floats, and the mooring lines that anchor it to the ocean floor.

This offshore wind energy project has been a big deal for Maine for several years and picked up UNH’s ocean engineering expertise to help bring this dream of 10- and 100-kilowatt wind turbines home.

Wind

Street Edition of VW Biodiesel Racer Available Soon

John Davis

VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC.A version of the same Volkswagen that raced on biodiesel the past couple of years will soon be available for the general public.

Racer.com reports Volkswagen of America, Inc. has announced the Jetta TDI Cup “Street Edition” will be hitting the showrooms this coming January:

“Since our inaugural TDI Cup series in 2008 we have received numerous inquiries as to whether or not we would offer a TDI Cup replica vehicle,” said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “We’re thrilled to announce that a special edition Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition will be available in dealer showrooms early next year. What makes this special edition so unique is that it features the optional, race inspired, TDI Cup body kit package combined with our clean diesel engine. The Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition is one exceptional special model that is as much fun to drive as it is to look at,” added Barnes.

As you might remember from our posts earlier this year, the TDI Cup ran all of its VW TDIs on 5 percent biodiesel… and your street edition will burn the same (maybe even more). In addition, buyers will get an Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle Federal Income Tax Credit of $1,300.

Biodiesel

Kansas Project Turning Algae into Biodiesel

John Davis

JayHawkResearchers in the land of sunflowers are looking for a way to convert sunshine into algae… and then into biodiesel.

The Lawrence (KS) Journal-World & News reports University of Kansas scientists are working on one of just a few in the world functioning, pilot-scale bioreactors connected to a municipal wastewater treatment plant, where they’re turning sewer waste into the green fuel:

“From the point of view of the EPA, this should be like heaven,” said Val Smith, a KU professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. “We’re harnessing a waste, making it do work for America, and purifying it all at the same time.

“It’s like a win-win-win-win-win.”

The KU effort is being financed by the university’s Transportation Research Institute, using money from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Bob Honea, the institute’s director, is confident that the work of KU researchers — collaborating on a “Feedstock to Tailpipe” program that includes a wide variety of biofuel efforts — is on the right track. Gasoline prices eventually will return to $4 a gallon or more, he said, and the world will continue to seek ways to lessen a reliance on petroleum.

Using algae to make biodiesel simply makes sense, Honea said, given the aquatic organisms’ built-in advantages compared with traditional crops: higher yields on less land.

KU officials believe they are the verge of a major breakthrough.

algae, Biodiesel, Research

Utica Energy Pays Penalties for Water Pollution Claims

utica-energyUtica Energy, an ethanol plant operating in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay $480,000 to settle state alleged water pollution violation claims. The state of Wisconsin originally granted the 48-million gallon per year ethanol plant a permit to discharge their wastewater to a tributary of Sawyer Creek or in the Land Butte des Mortes Watershed. However, as reported in Opis Biofuels the complaint was that Utica Energy violated terms of the permit by failing to conduct wastewater samples, exceeding effluent limits and failing to report their noncompliance in a timely matter.

“As soon as the issue was discovered, we addressed the issue,” Utica Energy spokesman Jay Stoflet explained to OPIS. “This is just part of the settlement,” he continued.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Utica Energy has agreed to pay $280,000 in penalties, plus at least $200,000 to connect to the City of Oshkosh wastewater treatment system. In addition to its penalties and fines, the company will pay stipulated forfeitures of $25-$1,000 for each day that its wastewater discharge exceeds permit limits, until it completes the connection with the city sewer system. If Utica Energy does not connect to the city sewer system by September 2010, it shall promptly take all steps necessary to come into complete compliance with its current permit conditions.

This is not the first time Utica Energy has been in trouble with the state. In June 2008 Utica Energy violated air pollutant control requirements and paid $75,000 in fines and penalties.

corn, Environment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Biomass Baler From AGCO

Chuck Zimmerman

AGCO Biomass One PassAGCO is one of the companies working on a prototype biomass harvest/transport system. At POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day they demonstrated a pulled behind baler system to harvest corn cobs and stover.

Dean Morrell, Product Marketing Manager for Hay and Forage Harvesting, was on site and talked with me about their system. He says it’s a one pass system which utilizes combine technology and durable large square baler technology. He says the material doesn’t touch the ground and makes for a very clean bale product. They had to do some major customization on the equipment and they have two units out working in the field as part of the development process.

You can listen to my interview with Dean below.

POET Project LIBERTY Field Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, biomass, Cellulosic, corn, Equipment, Ethanol, POET

#FuelChat Session Tuesday

Cindy Zimmerman

fuel chatThe Renewable Fuels Association will be hosting an online Twitter chat session on Tuesday, November 10 at 3:00 pm Eastern time.

FuelChat will feature RFA president Bob Dinneen talking about ethanol from a global perspective and what he learned during his trip to F.O. Licht’s World Ethanol 2009 12th annual conference in Paris last week.

Follow along and participate by using any Twitter on-line service such as TweetChat.com, and enter the search term, #fuelchat to see a live list of Twitter posts using that hashtag term. Another useful mechanism is Twitterfall.

Follow RFA’s official twitter (@ethanolRFA), or Bob Dinneen on twitter (@ethanolbob).

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Verenium Optimistic Despite Decline in Revenue

Cindy Zimmerman

VereniumVerenium Corporation reports lower revenues so far this year, but lots of accomplishments.

According to the cellulosic ethanol company, total revenues for the nine months ended September 30 were $49.3 million compared to $49.9 million last year, with product revenues representing more than 55 percent of total revenues in all periods. Product revenues for the this year are $32.1 million, compared to $37.0 million for same period in 2008, representing a 13 percent decrease, “reflecting the impact of the current economic recession.”

Accomplishments for the company so far this year include, continued development of the demonstration and pilot plants in Jennings, LA; and forming Vercipia, a joint venture with BP for the commercial cellulosic ethanol project in Highlands County, Florida. Verenium has entered the due diligence phase of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program for the Florida plant.

President and CEO Carlos Riva says he is pleased with the progress the company has made. “I am particularly enthusiastic about the ongoing discussions with the DOE for a loan guarantee for our first commercial facility, as well as the significant improvements we made to our overall capital structure,” he said in a statement.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Cellulosic Biofuels Summit Fast Approaching

Joanna Schroeder

Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy

The 4th Annual Cellulosic Biofuels Summit will be held in Washington D.C. on November 16-19th. Attendees will represent the feedstock, industrial biotech, biofuel technology, plant developer, finance, and oil and transportation sectors. The main goal of the conference is to share information on the perspectives and progress in reaching commercial production of cellulosic biofuels.

There will be three forums:

  • *Forum 1: Finance & Investment, November 16th
  • *Forum 2: Cellulosic Biofuels, November 17-18th
  • *Forum 3: Feedstock Supply Chain, November 19th

The keynote speaker is Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.

For more information, visit the conference website.

Cellulosic, conferences, Ethanol

Hummer Goes Green and a Few Other Colors for 2010

2010-hummerHummer has always been known as a gas guzzling vehicle that was anything but eco-friendly. Well, it’s nearly 2010 and times are a changin’! HUMMER announced today that updates to their 2010 HUMMER H3 and H3T midsize all-terrain vehicles will be flexible fuel and include new exterior colors.

“In 2007, HUMMER committed to offer a biofuel powertrain in every vehicle by 2010 and follows through on that promise with the addition of a new 300-horsepower, E85 Flex Fuel capable 5.3L V8,” says James Taylor, HUMMER CEO. “This is just the first step in HUMMER’s evolution to offer responsible, yet highly capable all-terrain vehicles. Future models will be lighter, more efficient and will continue to offer the best blend of off-road capability and on-road performance.”

According to Hummer’s press release, the new 5.3L V8 Flex Fuel engine is standard in all 2010 Alpha series’ models. The Hydra-Matic 4L60 electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission has a 5.3L engine. Flat towing is enabled on all H3 and H3T models.

The new colors available will include Red Rock Metallic, Silver Stone Metallic, and Canyon Metallic. The 2010 HUMMER H3 and H3T should arrive in in dealerships by next month.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News