POET Wants LIBERTY From Foreign Oil

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff BroinJeff Broin is CEO of POET and his company just continues to make innovations in the ethanol production business. Lately they’ve been very focused on what they call Project LIBERTY. The goal is to make cellulosic ethanol out of corn cobs. The company held a field day to showcase some of the equipment that companies like John Deere, Case IH and others are developing to assist with the harvest and collection of this biomass that’s left over after harvesting the grain.

Forbes magazine calls Jeff, Mr. Ethanol and has a nice article on him titled “Mr. Ethanol Fights Back” in their latest edition. I spoke with him today about Project LIBERTY. He says they’re not only adding 100 million gallons of grain ethanol production to the Emmetsburg plant but an addition 25 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol production from corn cobs. They will begin construction on these additions late next year and will have the cellulosic production going by 2011.

Jeff says they’ve invested millions of dollars in the cellulosic ethanol process and have been working with ag equipment OEM’s on corn cob collection. I’ll have more interviews coming up on the various ways they’re doing that. One thing this effort to grow ethanol production from corn cobs does is show the close connection between agriculture and the renewable fuel business. Jeff says cellulosic ethanol production from corn cobs can potentially produce an additional 5 billions gallons of the fuel which would replace a significant portion of the fuel we have to import from foreign countries. He says that’s good for America and the future of our country.

You can see photos of today’s event here: Project LIBERTY Field Day Photo Album. I’ll have a lot more tomorrow. Right now I’ve got a long drive home.

You can listen to my interview with Jeff here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/poet/poet-liberty-08-broin-1.mp3]

You can also download the interview with this link (mp3).

Audio, Cellulosic, Ethanol, POET

POETry In Action

Chuck Zimmerman

POET EmmetsburgAs I was driving into Emmetsburg, IA last night I saw this plant off in the distance. I’m pretty sure this is the POET Emmetsburg ethanol plant. Actually, it’s the AGP soybean processing plant. The POET plant is behind it from the direction I took the photo. I’m here in town for today’s Project LIBERTY field day. We’re supposed to see some field demonstrations but it rained last night and it’s raining right now so we’ll see what happens. Here’s some information about the field day from a recent POET news release.

Farmers next month will see first-hand how equipment manufacturers are responding to the latest advancement in ethanol production and the new revenue opportunity for farmers: harvesting corn cobs for cellulosic ethanol production.

POET hosts Project LIBERTY Field Day Nov. 6 in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The event, which is open to the public, will bring equipment manufacturers large and small together with farmers at POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg to show prototype equipment for efficiently harvesting corn cobs. Farmers will have the chance to talk with equipment dealers and see prototype equipment in action.

Ethanol, POET

Renewables Have Mixed Results at Polls

John Davis

Renewable energy proposals had mixed results in yesterday’s elections, with Missouri easily passing one measure but California rejecting two others.

This entry from the InformationWeek blog has details:

In Missouri, Proposition C was passed, requiring investor-owned electric utilities “to generate or purchase electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower with the renewable energy sources equaling at least 2% of retail sales by 2011 increasing incrementally to at least 15% by 2021, including at least 2% from solar energy; and restricting to no more than 1% any rate increase to consumers for this renewable energy.”

In California, Proposition 7 on renewable energy generation was handily defeated. With 77% of precincts reporting, the measure lost by a 2-to-1 margin. Likewise, Proposition 10 failed by a wide margin. Had it been approved, Proposition 10 would, according to the official voter information guide, “eliminate a credit that allows oil and gas companies to deduct property taxes from severance taxes. The change would bring in an estimated $321 million in the first year, with most going to college scholarships, plus communities affected by energy development, wildlife habitat, and clean energy projects.”

California’s Prop 10 came under fire from some environmental groups… as well as some readers of this blog (see my post from Oct. 18th and the associated comments). Just a quick note to all readers: I’m not necessarily promoting any of the items I blog about. I just want to make you aware of these items. It’s up to you to evaluate these things for yourself (whether a ballot measure or some new product). I blog… you decide.

biomass, Government, Legislation, Solar, Wind

One VeraSun Plant Opening Delayed

Cindy Zimmerman

The opening of one VeraSun ethanol plant is now in limbo since the company filed for bankruptcy.

VeraSunVeraSun announced that it is indefinitely delaying the startup of its 110 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery in Janesville, Minnesota but will continue operations at its 14 facilities across an eight-state region.

Construction on the Janesville facility is nearly completed and the plant was scheduled to begin operations prior to the end of the year. Construction began in January 2007 and ownership of the plant moved under VeraSun following its merger with US BioEnergy in April. VeraSun started operations at three other plants recently in July, August and September.

Ethanol, News

ADM and Brazilian Company to Produce Sugarcane Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

ADMArcher Daniels Midland Company and Brazilian agricultural company Grupo Cabrera have formed a joint venture to produce ethanol from sugarcane.

The joint venture will construct two processing complexes, each consisting of a sugarcane plantation, a sugar mill, an ethanol distillery and a biomass- powered cogeneration facility to provide power and steam. The complexes will be located in Limeira Do Oeste in the state of Minas Gerais, and Jatai in Goias. Upon completion, each mill will have crush capacity of three million metric tons annually.

Agribusiness, Ethanol, News

USDA Under Secretary Resigns

Cindy Zimmerman

The exodus of appointees under the Bush Administration has begun.

Tom DorrU.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced the resignation of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr.

“Tom Dorr has been a transformational leader for USDA Rural Development,” Schafer said. “As the transition to a new Administration continues in the months ahead, senior leaders will be moving on, but Under Secretary Dorr’s contributions to USDA and rural America will be felt for many years to come.”

Dorr has been a proponent of biofuels helping rural economies and has been a regular speaker at renewable energy conferences over the past several years. A native of Marcus, Iowa, Tom Dorr joined USDA in 2001, serving as USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development and Senior Advisor to the Secretary. He was appointed in December 2005 by then-Secretary Mike Johanns to chair the USDA Energy Council and served as co-chair of the Federal Biomass Research and Development Board.

His resignation is effective December 1. No word yet on where he will be going.

Government, News, USDA

Ethanol Pleased with Election Results

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association wasted no time today in congratulating Barack Obama on his victory.

RFA“Throughout this campaign, President-elect Obama has reiterated that American farmers and ethanol producers are a critical component of our national strategy to help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil,” RFA said in a news release. “We look forward to working with an Obama Administration and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to ensure the full potential of America’s home grown ethanol industry is realized.”

EPICThe Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is pleased with “the role energy independence played in the 2008 presidential election.” Executive director Toni Nuernberg says that in this time of great uncertainty, it is time for the country to work together. “Our fight for Energy Independence should rival the efforts and sacrifices expended at other critical moments in our nation’s history; times when Americans pulled together not only by rationing and conserving, but thinking creatively, experimenting to develop new innovations and efficiencies, abandoning tradition, and working side‐by‐side to get the job done,” Nuernberg said.

In his so-called “closing arguments” in the Wall Street Journal this week, Obama said he would “invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new, green jobs that pay well, can’t be outsourced, and can help end our dependence on Middle East oil.” The ethanol industry is reading that as good news for the next four years.

EPIC, Ethanol, News, politics, RFA

Ethanol and an Obama Presidency

Cindy Zimmerman

What will an Obama presidency mean for ethanol and other biofuels?

VeraSun ObamaIn August of 2007, when no one was really expecting him to even get the Democratic nomination, Obama headlined the grand opening of VeraSun’s Charles City, Iowa ethanol plant. At the time he said that ethanol “ultimately helps our national security because right now we’re sending billions of dollars to some of the most hostile nations on earth, and makes it more difficult for us to shape a foreign policy that is intelligent and is creating security for the long term.”

About a month ago, Obama granted an interview to farm brodcaster Stewart Doan with Agri-Pulse who quizzed him on a number of agricultural issues, including biofuels. “I’ve been a strong supporter of biofuels in the past and a Renewable Fuels Standard,” Obama said. “What I do believe though is, given the pressure that we’re seeing on food crops and how that’s affecting feed prices, I do think that it is important for us to recognize that we need to move into things like switchgrass and cellulosic ethanol and we need to work with farmers to figure out how can we produce ethanol from non-food sources that would allow farmers to increase their incomes, would continue to improve rural economies, would help us with our dependence on foreign oil and would reduce climate change, but would not put so much pressure on feed prices.”

Listen to the Agri-Pulse interview with Obama here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/audio/doan-obama.mp3]

Ethanol, News, politics

Underwriters Laboratory to Approve E85 Dispensing Equipment in 2009

Two years ago, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) rescinded certification on E85 dispensing products. According to Ethanol Producer Magazine, Gilbarco Veeder-Root and Dresser Wayne have each submitted pumps (Dresser Wayne dispenser shown left) for E85 UL certification and it is expected that there will be certification in 2009.

According to Scott Negley, Dresser Wayne’s director of product management for North America and secretary on the board of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, the equipment his company manufactures has already passed UL’s required testing procedures for E85. All equipment on the dispenser must be certified, however, and that is what the industry is now waiting for. “Until you get a full set of components certified, we are not allowed to put a label—a certification mark—on our dispenser because the system lacks certification,” Negley says. He says that dispensing hoses will most likely be the last piece of equipment to be certified.

Gilbarco’s Richard Browne, vice president of North American marketing, said, “Our flexible-fuel unit has special material coating and elastomers that will stand up to the aggressive/corrosive nature of high alcohol fuels,” Browne says. “Every component in the dispenser that comes in contact with the fuel has been upgraded.” Gilbarco’s dispenser expects UL approval by the end of this year.

E85, Ethanol

Biodiesel, Wind & Solar Powered Hotel Offers True “Green” Acres

John Davis

Looking to get away from it all… including the dependence on foreign oil? Well, a cozy little hotel on Virginia’s Eastern Shore might just be the ticket for you.

This story from The Chief Engineer says Thomas “Spess” Neblett, the owner and creator of The Neptune Vacation Suite Apartments in the quiet little town of Onley, Va. (population 450), says besides the quirky, 1960’s retro feel to the place, guests are enjoying a truly green vacation with alternative energy powering the place:

“We absolutely have to get off this addiction to oil and fossil fuels,” he said. “It’s killing us.”

So this year he started researching, and in June solar panels went up, the wind turbines were placed on the balcony and he started brewing biodiesel from waste oils and grease collected from local restaurants.

Neblett pays 10 restaurants for their grease, which he then dewaters and filters and later sells in recycled pickle barrels as Gassux.

He describes the Neptune as “the only solar- and wind-powered accommodation on the Eastern Shore” which is partially true; his inn is partially powered by those renewable sources, though the suites remain tied to traditional electricity.

The Neptune is not the only “green hotel” on the Eastern Shore, either. Hoping to take advantage of increasing environmental awareness, more than a dozen inns, hotels and bed-and-breakfasts now participate in the “Virginia Green” program, in which they pledge to reuse, recycle and reduce, according to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission.

The article goes on to say that Neblett has built his own windmills to power the place and shares his knowledge with anyone who asks… even if you’re not a guest. Neblett says the turbines cost him about $100 each to build. Five are already up, and he’s hoping for more.

You can check out the place by clicking on its website: www.neptuneva.com.

Biodiesel, Solar, Wind