The Corvette Racing team of Johnny O’Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows went down in history as the inaugural winners of the Green Racing Challenge. The 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans win also cinched the American Le Man Series GT1 championship for O’Connell and Magnussen.
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R also had the best score in the Green Challenge, securing the team award in the GT class for Corvette Racing and the manufacturer award for General Motors. Powered by cellulosic E85R ethanol made from waste wood, the winning Corvette had the best overall score in the competition based on based on performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact.
“It’s not just about making the engine more efficient and more environmentally friendly,” explained GM Racing Group Manager, Steve Wesoloski. “We looked at things like reducing wheel bearing friction and aerodynamic drag to win the Green Challenge. Alternative renewable fuels are an important part of GM’s gas-friendly to gas-free program, and GM already has more E85-capable vehicles on the road than any other manufacturer. Green Racing ties in with what the corporation is doing in production vehicles.”
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), and SAE International, the “Green Challenge” put the spotlight on emerging fuel technologies, including the international debut of a hybrid electric prototype race car utilizing E10. Cars were measured on performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact.
“The Green Challenge is not only a revolutionary concept in motorsports, but it is also providing a valuable testing ground for new technology that will ultimately benefit the average motorist,” said Toni Nuernberg, executive director of EPIC. “This race demonstrates the performance and environmental benefits of using ethanol enriched fuels which is something we can all do today to make an impact.”
The company, which operates refineries in Los Angeles and the city of Martinez, says “the new fuel specifications could conflict with the state’s push to cut greenhouse gas emissions and could have ramifications for the environment and U.S. food prices.”
The New Fuels Alliance, a group that includes the 
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“Biobutanol and cellulosic ethanol have the ability to transform the biofuels industry,” Vice President & General Manager John Ranieri told an investor conference last week. “Our flexible business models allow us to penetrate different geographies with the ability to convert various feedstocks to meet the significant global demand for biofuels.”
Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman are planning to release the National Biofuels Action Plan tomorrow in Washington DC.
In just about a week and a half, government officials, bioenergy experts and leaders in the private industry will gather in St. Louis, Mo., for the third in a series of conferences sponsored by the Farm Foundation addressing the issues facing rural areas as they move to a bioeconomy.
“The purpose of the conference is to provide an unbiased presentation of issues that are going to affect us in agriculture and otherwise as we transition to a bioeconomy.”
The land around Lake Okeechobee has long been one of the largest sugarcane producing regions in the nation. One company now wants to use a tract of land along the lake to produce sweet sorghum for ethanol.
Company CEO Aaron Pepper says they currently has sweet sorghum field trials underway in various types of soils in the counties surrounding Lake Okeechobee. He is shown here inspecting some of those trials. The company is negotiating with area farmers about planting sweet sorghum, which is similar to the sugarcane familiar in the area and grows up to 15 feet tall, but can yield two harvests per year and so could be planted on sugarcane acreage when it is fallow.
Ethanol plants are cool in a lot of ways. They’re producing a domestic fuel solution to our energy problems and that lessens our dependency on foreign oil for example.
“This report proves that being green is not optional, it is necessary for a healthy and robust economy,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. “Creating green jobs is an investment we must continue to make.”
Investors have stepped in to give troubled Imperium Renewables, which operates a 100-million gallon biodiesel refinery in the Seattle area, a boost to repay some of its debts.
The U.S. House of Representatives has reversed direction from just a week ago and approved 263-171 the Senate’s version of the $700 billion bill to fix the nation’s financial crisis.