New Mexico Gov Helps Open Biofuels Center

John Davis

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson helped open a new center that will feature renewable fuels.

According to this company press release, Richardson filled up the Cummins-Blue Sun Biodiesel dragster this weekend at the Nambe Falls Travel Center in Santa Fe… a Blue Sun Biodiesel complex that includes retail and wholesale sales of the green fuel:

The Nambe Falls Travel Center is representative of the future of fueling stations, featuring major alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol. The Travel Center is only the third store in New Mexico to offer E10, E85, B5 and B20.

Nambe Falls selected premium Blue Sun Fusion™ B20 biodiesel because Fusion delivers greatly improved engine performance over traditional diesel fuel, has lower emissions and enjoys a strong brand franchise throughout the Mountain States.

“We’re glad to have Nambe Pueblo Development Corporation as a partner in New Mexico to bring customers the alternative fuels they demand and to help New Mexico continue on the path to becoming a clean energy state,” said Mike Miller, President and COO of Blue Sun Biodiesel.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

E85 Over One Dollar Under Gasoline in NY

Albany, NY E85 stationThere is no excuse to not purchase E85 in Albany, NY. The cost of the domestically grown, alternative fuel is $1.10 below that of unleaded at $2.95 per gallon! Village Mobil, a member of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, is located at 88 Wolf Road in Albany.

E85 contains less energy than unleaded gasoline and when used in a flexible fuel vehicle, consumers will see less miles driven per gallon. To be adventageous financially to consumers, E85 must be priced under gasoline. According to the NEVC, the price differential should be at least 20%. Village Mobil’s price of E85 is nearly 27% below the price of regular unleaded gasoline.

There are nearly 4,700 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in Albany that can take advantage of this pricing, and over 200,000 FFVs in the entire state. For a complete listing of E85 stations, including the 20 in the state of New York, go to www.E85Refueling.com.

E85, Ethanol, Facilities, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Clinton, Obama Make Pitches for Biofuels & Voters

John Davis

The Democratic Party presidential nomination process rolls on (who’d have thunk it that we still wouldn’t have a nominee this late in the game?) with the next primary June 3rd in Montana, as well as Democratic and Republican primaries in South Dakota and the New Mexico Republican primary on the same day.

Both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama granted interviews with the Flathead Beacon (in Kalispell, MT) and made their pitch to win over voters. Part of their pitches included the topic of renewable energy:

Q: A new Bush administration report says most of the oil and nearly half of the natural gas beneath public lands in the U.S. are off limits to drilling. To get at those resources would require Congress to roll back environmental safeguards and lift drilling prohibitions on large areas of the Rocky Mountain West. As president, would you favor lifting some of these restrictions to increase domestic energy production?

Obama: I do not believe that we can drill our way out of the energy problem. I think that the way we solve our energy problem is by investing in a new generation of technologies: solar, wind, biodiesel, making our cars far more fuel-efficient. That’s the answer to our long-term energy needs and the more we put that off by trying to drill our way out of the problem, the bigger the price we’re going to pay down the road. Now is the time for us to start and that’s why I’ve said I’m going to invest $150 billion dollars, over ten years, $15 billion dollars a year, on an “Apollo Project” for energy independence and we are going to not only invest in science and research but we’re also going to invest in major projects that are going to produce millions of “green” jobs, all across the country, including Montana. That’s, I think, the kind of leadership that we need out of the White House right now.

Clinton: Not at this time, no. I’m familiar with the discussion about drilling on the Rocky Mountain Front and on other federal lands. I do not favor that at this time. I think we ought to be much more focused on energy efficiency and conservation and looking for sources of renewable energy like investing in clean-coal technology. I agree with Senators Baucus and Tester that keeping the Rocky Mountain Front untouched by drilling is essential to the enjoyment and economic security of local families and communities along the Front and all of Montana.

As I’ve mentioned before, here are the links to Obama’s, Clinton’s, and Sen. John McCain’s stances on renewable energy. And I’ll say it again: You read… you decide.

Miscellaneous

LifeLine’s Vision for Corn and Ethanol

John Davis

Domestic Fuel CastLifeLine Foods sells ethanol, but ethanol is just one of many products the company produces. The St. Joseph, MO-based corn milling plant started off as a manufacturer of snack foods in 2001. Today, LifeLine’s identity is continually evolving. The 51 percent farmer-owned company is committed to innovation and is now partnered with ICM, Inc, a world leader in ethanol facility design and engineering, in the production of ethanol.

In this DomesticFuel Cast, we hear from LifeFine Foods CEO Bill Becker about the company’s current innovations with corn, food and fuel and what’s in store for the future.
Here is the Domestic Fuel Cast #4:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/df-podcast-4.mp3]

You can also subscribe to the Domestic Fuel Cast using the following url/feed link: http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/domestic-fuel-cast.xml.

Audio, corn, Distillers Grains, Domestic Fuel Cast, Energy, Environment, Ethanol, Food prices, Indy Racing, News, Production, Research

DOE Says ‘20% Wind Energy by 2030’ an Attainable Goal

John Davis

The U.S. Department of Energy says current wind power technology is capable of powering 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. A DOE report, “20% Wind Energy by 2030,” finds an acceleration in the growth of wind power could reduce national consumption of natural gas by 11 percent and consumption of coal by 18 percent each year. The report states that this would mean a reduction of 825 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

“This is the equivalent of taking 140 million cars off the road,” said Randall Swisher, of the American Wind Energy Association.

“We can do this nationally for less than half a cent per kilowatt hour if we have the vision,” said Andrew Karsner, the DOE’s assistant secretary for efficiency and renewable energy.

According to the DOE’s report, the growth rate needed to reach 20% would pose challenges for the wind energy industry but is achievable. Already, the wind industry is attracting many new entrants — traditional utilities like Florida Power and Light, smaller wind developers and even big oil companies.

Energy, Government, News, Wind

EU Asking Biodiesel Questions

John Davis

The European Union wants more information about U.S. subsidies on biodiesel. The inquiry stems from a European Biodiesel Board (EBB) complaint at the end of April that American subsidies were unfair trade practices (see my April 25th post).

Now, according to this Reuters story, the EU is formally looking into the EBB charges:

“The Commission is in contact with the United States to clarify certain details regarding U.S. production,” an European Union diplomat said on Monday.

“This is an initial prerequisite to any move the Commission may take in this area,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

European biodiesel producers in April asked the Commission to impose duties on biodiesel imports from the United States on the grounds they broke international trade rules.

The National Biodiesel Board calls the charges hypocritical:

The head of a U.S. biodiesel group accused the EU sector of trying to use litigation for protectionist ends and said his group would “aggressively challenge” EU trade obstacles.

“It is hypocritical for the European Biodiesel Board to cry foul while they benefit from a blatant trade barrier,” said Manning Feraci, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board.

Feraci vows the NBB will aggressively challenge the EU trade barriers already in place.

Biodiesel, International

Ethanol to Fuel New Road Fleet for U.S. Air Force

John Davis

A new fleet of off road vehicles in the U.S. Air Force will operate on E85 fuel. MAG International Inc., the newest distributor of Flextek Flex Fuel Conversion technology, will help the Air Force meet its goal of reducing its exhaust emissions.

The U.S. Air Force recently accepted MAG’s bid to provide a new fleet of off road vehicles designed to reduce exhaust emissions. Reducing the exhaust emissions of its fleet is a major concern of the Air Force. The vehicles supplied by MAG will use Flextek technology to allow the vehicles to utilize emission reducing E85 fuel.

As an OEM Flextek distributor, MAG will be marketing to military installations and other government facilities as well as private off-road vehicle purchasers including farms, refineries, stadiums, hotels, resorts, casinos, amusement parks, airports, building complexes, universities and colleges.

E85, Environment, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Government, News, transportation

Sustainable Ethanol in Sweden

John Davis

Many critics of ethanol argue that it takes too much fuel to produce the alternative fuel. In fact, one reader made a comment stating that very idea just yesterday on the “An EPIC Salute at Indy 500” post. Well, SEKAB, a Swedish biofuel producer, says it has now introduced the world’s first fully sustainable ethanol.

Swedish SEKAB today announced that it is the first company in the world to supply verified sustainable ethanol. This ethanol from Brazilian sugarcane is quality assured from environmental, climate and social perspectives. SEKAB has together with progressive Brazilian producers developed criteria that cover the entire lifecycle of ethanol from the sugarcane fields to its use in flexi-fuel (FFV) cars.

Harvesting is to be at least 30 per cent mechanised today and this will increase to 100 per cent by 2014. In terms of the climate, the demands will result in a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from farming, production and transport by at least 85 per cent compared with gasoline.

Admittedly, SEKAB is working with sugarcane-based ethanol. But the Brazilian cane ethanol has been developing for more than thirty years while corn-based ethanol is still in its infancy of development. In an earlier post, “LifeLine Foods Just Happens to Sell Ethanol,” LifeLine CEO Bill Becker talked about technology that’s being developed as we speak to make the corn kernal, husk and plant just as sustainable as sugarcane when it comes to ethanol production.

corn, Energy, Ethanol, International, News

Show Me Ethanol On Line

Cindy Zimmerman

Show Me EthanolShow Me Ethanol became Missouri’s sixth majority farmer-owned ethanol plant in production last week, according to the Missouri Corn Growers Association.

Once at full capacity, the plant located in Carrollton, Mo., is expected to produce 55 million gallons ethanol per year, consuming 20 million bushels of locally grown corn and producing 176,000 tons of dried distillers grains for Missouri’s livestock industry. The plant has some 550 farmer investors.

A grand opening celebration is planned for this summer.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Corn Growers Urge Action Over Anti-Ethanol Campaign

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association is calling on its membership to communicate directly with food companies involved in the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s attack on corn farmers and U.S. ethanol production. NCGA singled out three companies in particular and asked members to express disappointment over their support for the GMA campaign.

NCGA“We’ve asked our farmers to pick up the phone or send an email urging these companies to stop this senseless campaign,” said Ron Litterer, NCGA president. “As part of the supply chain for Kraft, General Mills and Lakeside Foods, our growers need to make sure their voice is heard and respected.”

These three companies each have representatives on the GMA board of directors, and Litterer said he is hoping they will listen to farmers who supply them with raw product for food manufacturing and focus should be on the real problem – high energy costs. Litterer noted that a one dollar increase in the price for a gallon of gasoline has up to three times the impact on food prices as a dollar rise in the price of a bushel of corn.

corn, Ethanol, News