Obama Wants to Maintain Ethanol Progress

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol came up in a meeting this week between President Barack Obama and regional newspaper reporters in Washington D.C.

ObamaAccording to the Des Moines Register, the president did not say whether the administration would increase the amount of ethanol that could be added to regular gasoline, as requested by the ethanol industry, but did indicate he would ultimately make that decision, which he said would involve “reconciling a lot of different issues.”

Obama also said that while he does not believe corn-based ethanol will “provide us with the energy-efficient solutions that are needed” he does want to maintain the “progress we’ve made in building up a biofuels infrastructure and the important income generation that has come from ethanol plants.”

The president met with 15 newspaper reporters from around the country in a round table discussion that allowed them to ask about topics pertinent to their particular areas.

POST UPDATE: Here is a link to the official transcript of Obama’s answer to the Des Moines Register question on higher blends, courtesy of the Quad City Times.

Audio, blends, Energy, Ethanol, Government, News

Southeast Missouri State University Goes Green

semo-logoSoutheast Missouri State University (SEMO), in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, will be saving money as well as doing its part to save the environment. Facilities management have devised a recycling and waste management plan and will also purchase flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).

According to The Arrow, SEMO will use the oil that dining hall kitchens would normally dispose of to heat the facilities management shops. The recycling program will be boosted by adding more bins around campus. And, over spring break, facilities management plans to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles that will use E85, rather than gasoline.

“We plan on purchasing two vehicles from Tiger Trucks,” Terry Major, manager of grounds, custodial, fleet and support services, said. “We want a pick-up truck for the grounds and a van for maintenance.” The University had purchased electric cars in the past but they were proven more of a hassle than a convenience.

Currently, there are no E85 fueling locations in the city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

E85, Environment, News

Book Review – The Tyranny of Oil

Joanna Schroeder

the-tyrannay-of-oilThis week I read the book, The Tyranny of Oil by Antonia Juhasz. It started off highlighting a lot of what other energy books discuss but then it got interesting. So much so that I’m giving the theme of this review, “How long will American citizens live in denial?”Here are a few facts as laid out in the book that it seems the average American refuses to acknowledge.

1) Big Oil runs our country – not the federal government.

2) Over 30% of the price of gasoline at the pump falls directly under the control of a Big Oil. Huh. Yet they don’t have any role in price manipulation techniques or the prices at the pump.

3) The war in Iraq is an “Oil War” facilitated in part by Big Oil’s desire to get their hands on Iraqi oil. It is believed that Iraq has the second largest amount of untapped oil in the world.

4) Although Big Oil is touting its “alternative energy investments” on average, they equal less than five percent of all company expenditures. Oh, and most oil companies consider development and research in oil shale as an investment in alternative energy.

I could go on but I will say that Juhasz lays out a plan for taking on Big Oil. One of the most important elements, she claims, is the Separation of Oil and State. She writes: “a separation of oil and state”: a commitment to renounce money from the oil industry and support sustainable clean energy alternatives.” A DC based group, Oil Change International, is fighting for this. The alternative energy industry is not represented in this campaign but needs to be involved.

Well if you need something to fire you up and reafirm your support of alternative energy, this is just the book to get you going.

book reviews

Corn Ethanol Remains Industry Building Block

Cindy Zimmerman

As the ethanol industry seeks a waiver to allow the use of up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline, corn-based ethanol remains the basic building block for increased use of the product nationwide.

Wesley Clark“We have to build the cellulosic industry on the foundation of corn-based ethanol,” Growth Energy co-chairman Wesley Clark told reporters during an appearance at the National Press Club’s Newsmaker Series last week. “Corn-based ethanol has been the pioneer. It’s set up the marketing, it’s set up the distribution, it’s encouraged vehicles to be flexible-fuel, and all of this sets the basis for cellulosic.”

However, Clark pointed out that ethanol production has essentially capped out under the current regulatory standard, so moving to a higher approved blend level is essential for the industry to move forward. “The E15 is perfectly acceptable in American cars because vehicle fuel systems have been upgraded to meet US regulations and tested against even more aggressive fuels,” Clark said.

blends, corn, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Iowa Eyes Biodiesel Mandate

John Davis

A measure that promises to promote biodiesel gowth in Iowa, create green collar jobs and reduce dependence on foreign oil has passed a key committee in the Iowa legislature.

beallThis article from the Des Moines (IA) Register says Sen. Daryl Beall’s (D-Fort Dodge) biodiesel mandate bill cleared the Senate Transportation Committee. And if it passes the full legislature and is signed by the governor, it would kick in as early as this summer:

Under the new proposal, the required blend of biodiesel would ramp up from 5 percent this summer to 20 percent by 2015. Among those opposed to the bill are truckers and convenience stores…

Gas stations wouldn’t need special pumps for biodiesel, but they may need an extra tank, lobbyists said.

Although the state currently subsidizes retailers to pump biodiesel, the bill calls for those tax credits to end.

The credits, which amount to around $5 million a year, are set expire anyway in 2011, Beall said. After three years, the state would save about $15 million per year.

During cold weather months… between November 1st and March 31st… only a 5 percent blend would be required. If the measure passes, Iowa would join Minnesota as states with a biodiesel mandate.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Honda Hits the Road with Flex-Fuel Bike

John Davis

Honda has introduced the world’s first flex-fuel motorcycle. No surprise, the CG150 Titan Mix, is being sold by a subsidiary of Honda in Brazil, a country that really leads the world in biofuels production.

hondatitanmixThis article from Gizmag.com has details:

The 150cc motorcycle is equipped with a Mix Fuel Injection System, a newly developed fuel supply and fuel injection control system that enables consumers to use a flexible mixture of environmentally-responsible bio-ethanol and gasoline fuels, hence reducing CO2 emissions and fuel costs.

In Brazil, penetration of flexible-fuel technology is well advanced, and approximately 90% of new automobiles sold there are equipped with flexible-fuel technology. As the first flex-fuel motorcycle, the BRL 6,340 real (USD$2700) CG150 TITAN MIX looks certain to grab a hug chunk of the market, and Honda expects to sell in excess of 200,000 units a year – approximately 10% of the market – in the first year. In 2008, Honda sold approximately 1.326 million motorcycles in a market with 1.91 million units.

E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles

Ag Secretary, Biodiesel Board Meet Over RFS

John Davis

nbb-logoThe National Biodiesel Board seems happy with what it heard from USDA regarding what the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) will bring in the future.

Members of the NBB’s Governing Board had a meeting today with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack:

“Implementation of a workable RFS-2 program is consistent with a national energy strategy that values the replacement of petroleum diesel with domestically-produced low carbon fuel,” stated Joe Jobe, NBB CEO. “Secretary Vilsack clearly understands this, and the U.S. biodiesel industry applauds his leadership on this important issue.”

RFS-2, enacted as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, for the first time specifically requires the use of low carbon, renewable diesel replacement fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently crafting the rule to implement this program. Under RFS-2, fuels must hit greenhouse gas (ghg) emission reduction targets to qualify for the program. The U.S. biodiesel industry is concerned that the methodology being employed by EPA to calculate the ghg emission profile of biodiesel produced from vegetable oils – particularly as it relates to Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) assumptions – is being based on inaccurate and unreliable assumptions. The result would be a program that disqualifies vegetable oil as a biodiesel feedstock, an outcome that would be make it impossible to meet the Advanced Biofuels targets established in RFS-2.

Jobe added that his group is looking forward to helping the Ag Secretary achieve a successful implementation of RFS-2.

Biodiesel, Government

California Ethanol Lawsuit Dropped

Cindy Zimmerman

An oil refiner has dropped a lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) challenging a regulation that would boost ethanol consumption in the state by 2010.

TesoroAccording to a story in the Sacramento Business Journal, Tesoro Corporation dropped the lawsuit after a judge denied the company’s request for a temporary injunction to delay a new gasoline standard set to take effect next year which would increase the percentage of ethanol required to be blended into gasoline sold in California from 5.7 percent to 10 percent. The company claims that the standard is in conflict with a state law that calls for a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions because some studies suggest the production of ethanol increases greenhouse gas emissions.

The paper reports that Judge Timothy Frawley said he was not persuaded that Tesoro would prevail on the merits of its case at trial or that the company would suffer “irreparable harm” from the new standard. He also said a 1999 environmental evaluation that assessed impacts of using ethanol in amounts up to 10 percent was sufficient to meet state health code.

Tesoro is an independent oil refining and marketing company which operates two refineries in California.

Environment, Ethanol

Accelerating Drive Toward Higher Blends

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report PodcastThe drive toward higher blends of ethanol in gasoline is accelerating and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is working to ensure that the blend wall is just another bump in the road for ethanol to ride over.

This edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast features comments from RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, EPA Acting Biomass Program Manager Valri Lightner, and Outdoor Power Equipment Institute Executive Vice President Kris Kiser about work being done to increase the amount of ethanol approved for use in regular gasoline.

You can listen to “The Ethanol Report” on-line here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/ethanol-report-28.mp3]

Or you can subscribe to this podcast by following this link.

Audio, blends, Ethanol, Ethanol Report, RFA

USDA Increases Corn for Ethanol Use

Cindy Zimmerman

The newest supply demand report out from the US Department of Agriculture today increases estimates of corn for ethanol usage.

USDAAccording to the report, “U.S. corn ending stocks for 2008/09 are projected 50 million bushels lower this month as higher ethanol use more than offsets a reduction in exports. Corn use for ethanol is projected 100 million bushels higher on indications of improving blender incentives and higher ethanol use. Blender margins have become increasingly favorable since late February as gasoline prices have risen relative to those for ethanol. A continuing recovery in weekly production of gasoline blends with ethanol is also supportive of ethanol demand as are the latest data on ethanol production, imports, and stocks which indicate record use in December.”

corn, Ethanol, USDA