Ethanol Hearing in Nebraska

Cindy Zimmerman

Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) brought the Senate Agriculture Committee to the heartland Monday to get to the heart of the food vs. fuel debate. The hearing was the culmination of a statewide energy tour Nelson kicked off last week that also included stops at an E85 fuel station in Omaha and an ethanol plant in Hastings.

Ben Nelson at Hastings ethanol plantDuring the hearing held at University of Nebraska-Omaha, Nelson commented that ethanol has been “been blamed for practically every problem under the sun. What’s next? Summer colds? Computer viruses? Bad hair days?”

Witnesses at the hearing came from both sides of the ethanol debate, including poultry and livestock producers who argued that ethanol production was driving up their feed costs.

Tim Recker, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, testified on behalf of his organization as well as the National Corn Growers Association, the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and the Nebraska Corn Board. “The world is hungry for both protein and petroleum, and the American corn grower can help satisfy both in the form of energy from ethanol and protein from corn-fed red meat and poultry,” Recker said.

Jim Jenkins, chairman of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, also testified at the hearing. “Ethanol, in addition to the rapidly growing wind industry, offers our nation a significant opportunity to begin the important diversification our energy portfolio away from fossil fuels,” Jenkins said.

Other witnesses included Dean Oestreich, Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred and Vice-President DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition; Dr. Thomas Foust, Biofuels Technology Manager with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Jeff Lautt, Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations with POET.

Energy, Ethanol, Government, News

Kansas Launches Ethanol Blender Pump Program

Cindy Zimmerman

EPICKansas Corn CommissionKansas is now the second state to lead the nation in raising public awareness for higher blends of ethanol as the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), ICM and the Kansas Corn Commission Monday launched a blender pump incentive program for the Sunflower State.

EPIC Deputy Director Robert White says the blender pumps will allow gas stations to sell more blends of ethanol-enriched fuel to consumers driving flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs). “This program will provide support and incentives to fuel station retailers who want the opportunity to offer blender pumps, and raise awareness among consumers,” White said during a kickoff event to announce the program Monday in Colwich, KS.

The initiative will help fuel station retailers obtain funding and the equipment needed to sell higher blends of ethanol, which range from E20 to E50 and can only be used in FFVs. One of the main goals is to increase the state’s blender pump infrastructure by installing a minimum of 100 blender pumps over the next year. Currently, three blender pumps are open in the state thanks to a pilot program adopted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture that made Kansas one of the first states in the nation to allow ethanol blender pumps.

Earlier this year, South Dakota launched a similar program.

corn, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

MO Biodiesel Plant Set for Opening

John Davis

A combination soybean-crushing and biodiesel plant is set for a grand opening ceremony in Southwest Missouri.

This story in the Fort Scott Tribune says the Prairie Pride, Inc. soybean oil extraction-biodiesel refining facility located about six miles east of Fort Scott, Kansas near Eve, Mo. will have the ceremony and other activities starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23.:

The company’s $80 million 210-acre production facility, which began operations last fall, crushes soybeans to extract the soy oil, a product which is then refined into biodiesel fuel…

Prairie Pride is a new generation producer cooperative that requires the producer to be a member in order to sell to the plant, which will eventually convert 21 million bushels of soybeans each year into 30 million gallons of biodiesel fuel, and 486,000 tons of soybean meal that can be fed to livestock. Co-op producers from five or six nearby states share in the ownership and profit of the operation.

Producers and farmers in Bourbon County, Vernon County, Mo., and other surrounding counties within a 100-mile radius will benefit from the plant. Prairie Pride, Inc., receives a percentage of the profits for every gallon of biodiesel sold. More than 1,000 producers have invested money in the plant. The average investment per producer is about $36,000, company officials said.

Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton, along with representatives for Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and Missouri Senator Kit Bond, will join local officials for the ceremony.

The plant could generate more than $250 million in gross income annually and employs between 35 and 40 people.

Biodiesel

Central Florida Town Becoming Biodiesel Mecca

John Davis

A town in Central Florida is on track to become a vital center of biodiesel production, second only to an area around Houston Texas.

This story from the Orlando (FL) Business Journal says Groveland, about 30 miles west of downtown Orlando, is on track to have three biodiesel refineries up and running by the beginning of next year:

Together, the three Groveland plants — CleanFuel LLC, Southern Energy Holdings Inc. and Summit Biodiesel — represent a significant investment in the area: Southern Energy estimates its operation alone cost $5 million — and the three firms could create up to 100 jobs, paying a minimum of $15 an hour.

Dottie Keedy, director of the Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment, said the jobs being created through the biodiesel companies are significant for the area.

The companies also have ambitious 2009 sales targets for their operations: Summit Biodiesel, $3.8 million; Southern Energy Holdings, $9 million; and CleanFuel, $120 million.

CleanFuel currently produces about a million gallons of biodiesel a year and expects to ramp that up soon to five to six million gallons a year. Southern Energy Holdings will open its 350,000-gallon-a-month plant next month with plans of increasing that output to 1 million gallons a month. Summit will open a 1-million-gallon-a-year refinery in the Groveland area next year.

Biodiesel

Solar Panel Cleaner Needed in Wake of Wildfires

John Davis

The recent California wildfires, that have charred thousands of acres and done millions of dollars in damage, have also had an impact on the state’s important solar power industry. The soot from those fires obscures the photovoltaic cells, making them less efficient.

SolarFrameWorks, a maker of solar technology, has introduced a new solar panel cleaning agent, PowerBoost… a touchless, biodegradable solution that cleans solar panels to boost their power production. This company press release has more:

“Solar panel cleaning is extremely important to achieve maximum output of a solar electric system,” said Dr. Patrina Eiffert, CEO, SolarFrameWorks. “The financial impact of a clean solar panel is immediate. More electricity produced by the solar panels means less dollars billed by the utility company and a direct savings to the owner. During this time of year, when solar systems generate the most power due to air conditioning usage, cleaning maintenance is especially important.”

Available for both residential and commercial applications, PowerBoost can be applied within minutes using a standard garden hose. The intense foaming solution contains high-quality surfactants that remove grime thereby increasing the level of solar insulation that is able to reach the solar cells. PowerBoost works on all types of glass, such as the tempered glass layered on the top of most crystalline solar panels. PowerBoost not only enhances the cleaning process but leaves behind a specially-formulated coating to reduce the number of cleanings required.

More information, including how to order the solution and cleaning system, is available at SolarFrame Works web site’s PowerBoost page: www.solarframeworks.com/powerboost.html.

Solar

E85 and Biodiesel Promotions in Minnesota

Two fueling facilities in Minnesota will offer alternative fuel discounts in the next week. Neubauer Sinclair Oil Company in Wells, Minnesota and Kwik Trip in Eyota, Minnesota will be holding the promotions.

Neubauer Sinclair, located at 479 North Broadway, will promote E85 and B2 at the site tomorrow, August 16, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. The station will sell E85 for 85 cents off per gallon and B2 for 25 cents off per gallon for the two hours. Event sponsors for the promotion are: Faribault County Corn & Soybean Growers, MN Corn Growers Assoc., MN Soybean Growers Assoc., General Motors Corp., National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, US Dept of Energy Clean Cities, American Lung Assoc. of MN & The MN Clean Air Choice Team.

Kwik Trip at Highway 14 and Highway 42 in Eyota will promote E85 on August 21 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The station will be offering E85 for 85 cents off per gallon. Event Supporters include: Olmsted County Corn & Soybean Growers, MN Corn Growers Assoc., General Motors Corp., National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, US Dept of Energy Clean Cities, American Lung Assoc. of MN & The MN Clean Air Choice Team.

For more information on these two events, go to www.cleanairchoice.org.

Biodiesel, E85, Facilities

Kansas Ethanol Initiative to be Announced

Cindy Zimmerman

EPICKansas Corn CommissionA new program and pump promotion will help raise awareness for higher blends of ethanol in Kansas.

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), ICM and the Kansas Corn Commission are holding the event, which will include discount prices on ethanol blends for flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) at TJ’s Convenience Store in Colwich from 6:30 to 8:30 am on Monday. FFV owners will have a 40 cents discount on E20, 60 cents discount on E30 and E85 will be offered for just $1.85/gallon. All drivers can save 20 cents per gallon on E10 fuel, approved for use in any gas powered vehicle or engine.

Immediately after the pump promotion, EPIC and the Kansas Corn Commission will announce a major new initiative for the state. Speakers will include Robert White, deputy director of EPIC; U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback; Adrian Polansky, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture; Dave Vander Griend, president and CEO of ICM, Inc.; and Bob Timmons, chairman of the Kansas Corn Commission.

blends, corn, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Iowa Ethanol Production Expands

Cindy Zimmerman

VeraSunVeraSun Energy has announced the startup of its 110 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery located near Hartley, Iowa. The Hartley production facility marks the 13th VeraSun biorefinery in operation, increasing the company’s annual production capacity to more than 1.3 billion gallons.

VeraSun Hartley is the fourth VeraSun facility to come on-line this year, joining sister production facilities in Marion, S.D., Bloomingburg, Ohio, and Hankinson, N.D. According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, the Hartley facility is the 31st operating ethanol biorefinery in the state of Iowa, expanding overall production throughout the state to almost 2.5 billion gallons annually.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Trouble Mounts for Once-Promising Imperium

John Davis

A year ago, I was telling you about how Imperium Renewables was opening a 100-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant in Grays Harbor, Washington (near Seattle) and how just the week before that announcement Imperium had inked a deal to provide 18 million gallons of the green fuel a year for the next four years to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

But what a difference a year makes, as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that a series of missteps by the company has resulted in Royal Caribbean canceling that long-term contract and Imperium continuing its downward spiral:

The loss of the contract with Royal Caribbean – Imperium’s largest customer – is a huge setback. And it follows a series of events over the past eight months – including the cancellation of an initial public offering, staff layoffs and executive departures – that highlight the troubles facing the one-time rising star in Seattle’s clean tech industry.

In a short statement provided Thursday to the Seattle P-I, Royal Caribbean said that “any financial or contractual relationships between our company and Imperium Renewables were ended by July 1, 2008.” Royal Caribbean spokesman Michael Sheehan declined further comment.

A spokesman for Imperium also declined to comment.

This latest development raises some serious questions about the future of Imperium and the Grays Harbor refinery, which was the nation’s largest biodiesel plant in the nation when it opened a year ago.

Biodiesel

$100-Million IPO for Turkey-to-Biodiesel Company

John Davis

A company that turns leftover turkey parts into biodiesel has made a $100-million initial public offering as the company goes public.

This story from SustainableBusiness.com says West Hempstead, N.Y.-based Changing World Technologies, Inc. sells biodiesel and organic fertilizers that it produces from animal and food processing waste:

The company is noted for financial backing by the owners of the New York Mets and also for a plant in Carthage, Missouri that takes roughly 250 tons of carcasses daily from the ConAgra Butterball turkey factory and turns them into fertilizer and diesel fuel for heating oil.

Changing World Technologies is funded by Apex Capital, ConAgra, Stonehill Capital and the venture capital unit of Fred Wilpon’s Sterling Equities. Mr. Wilpon is chairman and principal owner of the Mets.

Biodiesel