Biodiesel Blend Regulations Expected to Boost Support and Demand

John Davis

Biodiesel is expected to become a hotter commodity with consumers. The ASTM International D02 Main Committee has approved a trio of ASTM specifications for biodiesel blends.

  • Changes to the existing B100 biodiesel blend stock specification (ASTM D6751)
  • Finished specifications to include up to 5% biodiesel (B5) in the conventional petrodiesel specification (ASTM D975)
  • A new specification for blends of between 6 percent biodiesel (B6) to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) for on and off road diesel.

Automakers and engine manufacturers have been requesting a finished blend specification for B20 biodiesel blends for several years, with some citing the need for that spec as the single greatest hurdle preventing their full-scale acceptance of B20 use in their diesel vehicles.

Steve Howell, Chairman of the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force, said, “The new ASTM specifications for B6-B20 blends will aid engine manufacturers in their engine design and testing processes to optimize the performance of vehicles running on biodiesel. The new specifications will also help ensure that only the highest quality biodiesel blends are made available to consumers at the retail pump.”

The approval of ASTM specifications for inclusion of up to 5% biodiesel (B5) in the regular diesel fuel pool also means that biodiesel could soon become more readily available at retail fueling stations nationwide.

For more information about biodiesel visit the USDA Biodiesel Website.

Biodiesel, Energy

Duke Energy Ohio Looks for Renewable Energy Options

John Davis

Duke EnergyDuke Energy Ohio is seeking proposals for renewable energy resources. The energy company says it’s looking to begin delivering energy through more renewable means sometime between 2009 and 2012. The effort falls in line with Ohio’s new renewable energy portfolio standards.

Types of renewable resources that would qualify:

— Wind energy
— Solar photovoltaic or solar thermal energy
— Geothermal energy
— Fuel derived from solid wastes not mainly due to combustion
— Biomass energy
— Hydroelectric power
— Biologically derived methane gas
— Energy derived from pulping/wood manufacturing
— Fuel cells
— Storage facilities that use off-peak power from renewables.

The recent Ohio energy law requires Ohio utilities to generate 50 percent of their renewable power from facilities located within the state.

biomass, Energy, Solar, Wind

Ethanol and Dan Wheldon Win in Iowa

Chuck Zimmerman

Iowa Corn Indy 250This year’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 is over and as usual, ethanol won. Actually, Dan Wheldon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing won the race.

He’s seen here holding up the trophy which is a replica gas pump.

The Team Ethanol car ran as high as 3rd place but according to driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay, they lost a gamble on fuel strategy. He ran a strong race all day and really wanted to finish on the podium in front of so many fans of ethanol but it wasn’t to be. He finished 8th though and maybe he’ll get some breaks to go his way next time.

I’m out of here and heading home before getting on the road again tomorrow for the “Transition To a Bio Economy” conference in Berkeley, CA. I’ll be doing some posts from there starting on Tuesday.

Don’t forget to check out my photo album from all the activities of the past few days.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

Ryan is the One

Chuck Zimmerman

Ryan Hunter-ReayThe qualifying session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 got rained out last night so unfortunately that means the drivers will start according to their points standing. That was a blow to Team Ethanol. The car was performing very well and would likely have had a much better starting position. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who spoke at the EPIC member reception last night, says he’ll make up for it though.

Members attending the reception were able to ask him questions, get his autograph and have their pictures taken. This little guy seemed very surprised to be picked up by Ryan for a picture.

You can listen to Ryan’s comments here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-08-hunter-reay-3.mp3]

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

Conference Addresses Ethanol Policy Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Foundation Bioeconomy Conference“Policy Risks and Consequences for the Biofuels Industry” will be one of the topics addressed during a Farm Foundation conference entitled “Transition to a Bioeconomy: Risks, Infrastructure and Industry Evolution” June 24-25 in Berkeley, California.

Seth Meyer with the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) will talk about some of the findings in a new report that presents 500 different scenarios based on possible weather, production and other market influences.

Seth Meyer FAPRIMeyer says they found that the two main important factors in any scenario are the price of oil and feedstock production.

“We did this in January and yet we’ve seen oil prices exceed most people’s expectations and that changes the dynamics of which policies are important,” Meyer said. “And then you add to that an unexpected change in (corn) yields and it changes which policies are important yet again.”

Generally speaking, if oil prices are high and production is normal, the Renewable Fuels Standard for corn ethanol is less important. “When we start getting a short crop, those mandates all of the sudden become very binding. It’s a very complicated question,” said Meyer.

When it comes to the blender’s credit, Meyer says that again depends on the situation. “If oil prices would moderate, the mandates would be driving production.”

Listen to an interview with Meyer here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/seth-meyer-pre.mp3]

Domestic Fuel will provide coverage of the Transition to a Bioeconomy conference that will include an overview of the industry, how biofuels are impacting other segments of the market, and the bioeconomy’s impacts at the farm level. Other sessions will address risks of the bioeconomy; legal, transportation and public policy infrastructure issues; and the challenges and opportunities of the next decade in research, education, business and finance.

Energy, Farm Foundation

Iowa Speedway Pace Car Ride

Chuck Zimmerman

Pace CarAfter today’s ethanol press conference the media were treated to rides out on the track in the Iowa Speedway Pace Car.

Our driver was Davey Hamilton.

For most of us it was our first time and even though we only went about 95 mph, the curves were tough to deal with. As hard as I was pressing up against the door I was very glad to have my seat belt on.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Video

Driving Agricultural Productivity

Chuck Zimmerman

Troy HobbsMonsanto was represented at this morning’s ethanol press conference at the Iowa Speedway by Troy Hobbs, Corn Biofuels Strategy Lead. He started his comments explaining that the company’s mission is to drive productivity in the agricultural sector. He spoke to how quickly they’ve been able to increase the per acre yield in corn with their research on seed and traits.

With their Processor Preferred program they’re working with ethanol plants to make sure they’re getting the corn that is best suited to their production. He also made a good point about how ethanol production is helping keep American dollars in America which is good for our economy.

You can listen to Troy’s comments here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-08-hobbs.mp3]

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, corn, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News

Iowa Corn Growers Optimistic

Chuck Zimmerman

Craig FlossJust a few minutes ago I got interviewed by one of the journalists here and he asked what I had heard from corn growers who are at the track. I told him they’re very proud to be growing the fuel that’s being used in the IndyCars out here and that they’ll recover from the flooding problems they’ve been having.

Representing the Iowa Corn Growers Association at this morning’s ethanol press conference was their CEO, Craig Floss. They’re one of the main sponsors of this weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250. Craig said he had a chance to fly over the state yesterday and he was not prepared to see how much water is still standing in fields. However, he also had to say that he saw a lot of corn growing in areas outside of the river bottoms. He thinks they’ve still got a good opportunity to produce a good crop this year.

You can listen to Craig’s comments here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-08-floss.mp3]

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Audio, corn, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News