Ethanol Night at the Races

Joanna Schroeder

Nebraska corn farmers are teaming up with the Junction Motor Speedway to promote Ethanol Night at the Races. The event takes place during Junction Motor Speedway’s Fifth-Annual O’Reilly POWRi Cornhusker Midget Challenge happening Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29.  The race brings the best of the best to compete for the twin “Cornhusker Crystal & Chrome” trophies.

DSC00491Hamilton, York and Blue River corn grower associations, along with the Nebraska Corn Grower Association (NeCGA), are combining their efforts to be the title sponsor and promote corn ethanol during the two-day Cornhusker Challenge. Tuesday night’s winner receives $3,000, while Wednesday night’s champion gets to cash a $5,000 check.

NeCCA President and member of the Hamilton County Corn Growers Association Brandon Hunnicutt, said in an article in the York News-Times, “The Cornhusker Challenge draws a lot of fans to central Nebraska, to the heart of the nation’s corn industry, so it is a perfect place for farmers to help get out positive messages about corn ethanol.”

Rick Gruber of the York County Corn Growers Association commented, “We’re going to be on hand promoting corn and ethanol and everything that brings to Nebraska and the country as a whole,” Gruber said. “Nebraska is such a great place for ethanol production — we have the corn and we have the livestock industry to take advantage of the distillers grains that ethanol plants produce. Ethanol is a great win-win for us because other states can’t match that synergy.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Promotion, Racing

Report: Airlines Should Use 80% Biofuels by 2050

John Davis

PolicyExchangeThe airline industry should shoot to have 80 percent of its fuels come from ethanol and biodiesel by the year 2050.

This post on the gas2.0.org Web site says the “Green Skies Thinking” published today by right wing think-tank Policy Exchange pushes the phase-in of an EU Sustainable Bio-Jet Fuel Blending Mandate by 2020, leading to aviation companies having to commit to a rising proportion of jet fuel from sustainable bio-jet fuels:

Crucially, the report also reckons that growing the feedstock needed for advanced biofuels would require significantly less land and be more sustainable than first generation biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel, generally used by road transport.

In detail, the report’s key recommendations are:

* The introduction of a EU Sustainable Bio-Fuel Jet Mandate, starting from 20% of aviation fuel in Europe being sourced from or blended with bio-fuel in 2020 and rising to 80% in 2050. The report claims this could reduce EU aviation sector carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 and save the UK £37.41 billion between 2020 and 2050.
* Minimising the cost of supplying sustainable bio-jet fuels to ensure its production cost drops to around $80 a barrel by 2030, and $70 by 2050, which the report says compared well with the average jet fuel price between 2000 and 2008 of $62.29.
* An increase in UK support for companies conducting research and development (R&D) into producing sustainable biofuels; in particular increasing the current R&D tax credit regime to include companies researching bio-jet fuels. Along with further tax support for the sector, it claims the support would cost less than £5 million a year.
* Charging the Renewable Fuels Agency, which administrates the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, with the task of drawing up and enforcing standards to ensure bio-jet are produced sustainably and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report’s author says that if aviation emissions are not kept in check through measures such as using biofuels, they could make up a fifth of all global greenhouse emissions.

biofuels

Biodiesel from Chicken Feathers

John Davis

chickenFrom the guys who brought you biodiesel brewed from coffee grounds (see my post from Dec. 11, 2008), now they’ve come up with a process to turn the 11 billion pounds of poultry waste produced in the U.S. each year into the green fuel.

Science Daily has details of the process from the researchers at the University of Nevada-Reno:

In the study Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, Narasimharao Kondamudi, and Jason Strull note that chicken feather meal consists of processed chicken feathers, blood, and innards that have been processed at high temperatures with steam. Currently feather meal is used as animal feed and fertilizer because of its high protein and nitrogen content. With as much as 12 percent fat content, feather meal has potential as an alternative, nonfood feedstock for the production of biofuel, the report says.

The researchers describe a new process for extracting fat from chicken feather meal using boiling water and processing it into biodiesel. Given the amount of feather meal generated by the poultry industry each year, they estimate this process could create 153 million gallons of biodiesel annually in the U.S. and 593 million gallons worldwide. In addition, they note that removal of fat content from feather meal results in both a higher-grade animal feed and a better nitrogen source for fertilizer applications.

Biodiesel

Oregon Biodiesel Mandate Ready to Start

John Davis

OregonFlagStarting next month, nine counties in Northwest Oregon will require all diesel to contain at least 2 percent biodiesel. This comes two years after all gasoline statewide had to have a 10 percent ethanol blend.

This story from OregonLive.com says that while the city of Portland has already mandated a biodiesel blend since August 2007, Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk, and Marion counties will now also require biodiesel:

State officials, including the Department of Agriculture, say biodiesel produces fewer harmful emissions than regular diesel and is a renewable energy source produced in part by Oregon farmers, rather than by foreign sources.

Motorists shouldn’t see any change to fuel economy or performance when using a two percent biodiesel blend, said Stephanie Page, the agriculture department’s renewable energy specialist.

“Pure biodiesel, or B100, contains only eight percent less energy per gallon than the diesel motor fuel currently offered for sale in Oregon,” Page said in a news release. “A two percent biodiesel blend, or B2 blend, has less than two-tenths of a percent less energy that the standard diesel motor fuel. That is such a small difference that motorists should see no noticeable effect on their fuel mileage.”

Officials are cautioning biodiesel users that the fuel actually clean fuel lines and tanks, so they should be ready to change fuel filters after the mandate goes into affect on August 1st.

Biodiesel

Andrew Young Discusses Wind Energy at IFMA17

Cindy Zimmerman

IFMA 17Wind energy is an up and coming technology in the U.S. and central Illinois. Attendees of the International Farm Management Association 17 Congress (IFMA 17) got a chance to learn more about this current, complex energy issue. Andrew Young, CDO of Horizon Wind Energy, addressed the IFMA 17 Congress today in the Brown Ballroom at Illinois State University. Young’s presentation outlined the wind energy industry, the company itself and the current policies and incentives in place to help grow the industry.

Horizon Wind Energy is the company that manages the wind farm located in McLean County. The Twin Groves Wind Farm is located five miles east of the Central Illinois Regional Airport. The wind farm produces 396 megawatts of clean energy per year enough to power around 120,000 homes in Illinois. With over 240 massive turbines the Twin Groves Wind Farm is one of the largest in the country.

One of the main factors in starting a wind project is getting land owners to sign on to the project. The ideal placement for wind farms is on open range and actively cultivated farm lands, thus relevant to many of the attendees of the IFMA 17 Congress.

Young also stressed the challenges that exist to furthering the wind energy industry in the U.S. Currently, the U.S. energy grid system is not structured to support the full potential capacity for wind farming technology. Lack of connection to the grid has tabled some wind farm projects in areas that are ideal for wind technology. Also, tax credits and incentive programs are another main factor in funding and starting a wind farm project, Also, community opposition and difficulty in obtaining permits can slow a wind project.

Ultimately, tax incentives are critical to wind energy’s success. At the end of the presentation, a man from Australia wondered what the growth of wind capacity would be in the U.S. without tax incentive programs from the government. Young responded, “Very slow, since every form of energy is subsidized in the U.S., there would be no way that this industry could grow without this program.”

Wind

IFMA 17 Delegates Travel on Bio-Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

IFMA 17The International Farm Management Association (IFMA) was not kidding when it came up with its concept for the second Congress ever held in the U.S. Conference planners have woven the theme of “Food, Fiber and Energy” throughout the past few days of the Congress. However, it may surprise a few of the international delegates to learn their transportation is also joining the IFMA 17 Congress to implement the “energy” component of the theme.

Since Sunday, delegates have had the opportunity to ride shuttle buses to and from the Congress’ events. These Peoria Charter Coach buses are currently running on bio-fuels.

This practice is not uncommon for the company, who has been running its shuttles on bio-fuels since March 2004. And in its five year history of using bio-fuels, the company is pleased with their decision.

Bill Winkler, president of Peoria Charter Coach said,” To me, it is a three win situation…It burns cleaner. It’s cheaper, and it helps the farmers.”

As delegates look to the future of the agriculture industry, the issues of sustainability and a poor economy are sure to arise. However, Winkler was quick to mention this clean-burning fuel is mixed locally, reducing the cost. With these incentives, Winkler looks forward to continuing this practice in the future.

Peoria Charter Coach Company has served over 400,000 passengers since its start in 1941.

For a complete itinerary of IFMA17 events, visit: ifma17.org.

biofuels

USDA Undersecretary to Keynote Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

American Coalition for EthanolThe American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has announced that Dallas Tonsager, Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will give a keynote address at the organization’s national ethanol conference set for next month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

ACE’s 22nd Annual Ethanol Conference & Trade Show will be held August 11-13 at Milwaukee’s Midwest Airlines Center and registration is now open online at www.ethanol.org.

As Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA, Tonsager oversees programs that provide financial assistance to America’s ethanol producers and will be a key participant in the new Biofuels Interagency Working Group recently announced by President Obama.

Tonsager will speak on Wednesday afternoon, August 12. View the full agenda here.

ACE, conferences, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Efficient Irrigation Can Improve Biofuels ROI

Cindy Zimmerman

ZimmaticLindsay Corporation, maker of Zimmatic® irrigation systems, has produced a new biofuels brochure called “Improving Biofuel ROI Through Efficient Irrigation Solutions.”

The eight-page full-color brochure includes information on key biofuel crops, the benefits of biofuels, market growth opportunities for biofuels, and irrigation management recommendations to help growers optimize the yield, size distribution and quality of biofuel crops.

“Several factors are influencing a growing worldwide interest in biofuels, including climate change, rising oil prices, future oil supplies, and exploration and drilling costs,” says Dirk Lenie, vice president of marketing and export sales at Lindsay. “Lindsay is committed to helping growers meet the increased demands of a fuel-hungry world and to providing growers with the tools needed to produce more biofuel per gallon of water used.”

The Lindsay brochure provides a step-by-step guide to properly plan and successfully complete a biofuels irrigation project. Key biofuel crops discussed include canola, corn, jatropha, miscanthus, soybeans, sugar beets, sunflowers, sweet sorghum.

For a copy of the biofuels brochure, go to the downloads section at www.zimmatic.com.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming

Wind Could Spark Minnesota’s Economy

John Davis

Minn2020In these times of tough economic news, a new wind could be blowing opportunity into the Midwest.

This story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal says a report from the think tank Minnesota 2020 says that state, already the fourth largest provider of wind energy in the nation, could create more than 2,200 jobs and generate about $9 billion in economic development over the next several decades by constructing 4,059 megawatts of wind generated power:

A good portion of the jobs created would be in the manufacturing sector, according to the report, an industry that has been hit hard during the recession.

In order to achieve this, the report states that Minnesota should focus on localizing wind turbine building and ownership, which has a greater impact on stimulating local economy.

Since 2005, Minnesota rapidly increased its wind capacity, growing by about 31 percent each year.

The increase in wind energy would help Minnesota get closer to its mandate that utilities must generate 25 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2025.

Wind

Iowa State Biodiesel Work Wins “Oscar of Invention”

John Davis

And the Oscar goes to… researchers at Iowa State University for their work on biodiesel.

This ISU press release posted on IowaPolitics.com says the team won a 2009 R&D 100 Award, dubbed the “Oscars of Invention” by the Chicago Tribune and handed out by the editors of R&D Magazine that salute the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year:

leeuwenA team of 10 ISU researchers led by Hans van Leeuwen, an Iowa State professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and president and founder of MycoInnovations, for their work to use a microscopic fungus to produce biodiesel from plant processing wastes…

The special biodiesel they developed, now being commercialized as Mycofuel(tm), is made from lignocellulosic biomass. The process involves treating switchgrass, corn stover or forestry wastes with ammonia and naturally occurring white-rot fungi to degrade the cellulose. The resulting sugars are used to grow a different, fat filamentous fungi – mold that’s about 60 percent oil. The oil is released using an ultrasonic treatment, which causes the fungal cells to explode. The oil is then recovered by extraction with an improved organic solvent system.

A catalyst – along with some added ethanol or methanol – aids in rapid transformation of the oil into a biodiesel fuel. A byproduct of the leftover fungal biomass can be used as a high-protein animal feed. The water can be reused in the fermentation process.

“Biodiesel production from traditional oil-rich crops is limited by land availability, climate, and environmental and social issues regarding the use of feed and food crops for fuel,” Van Leeuwen said. “This method of producing biodiesel is green, sustainable and doesn’t compete with food crops.”

Last year, Van Leeuwen picked up a 2008 R&D 100 Award for his work improving the efficiency of the corn-to-ethanol conversion process using a different fungal process.

Biodiesel, Research