According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Iowans chose E10 nearly 74 percent of the time in 2007. This is up from 69 percent in 2006 and just below the all-time record of 75 percent set in 2005.
“Iowa’s ethanol sales were strong in 2007 as E10 was often 10 to 13 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline without ethanol,” said Monte Shaw, IRFA Executive Director. “Our neighbors to the north and south (Minnesota and Missouri) use ethanol in every gallon of gasoline, so we’ve still got work to do. But strong growth in E85 sales and implementation of the 25-percent Iowa renewable fuels standard should move us in the right direction.”
Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production with 28 ethanol refineries and the capacity to produce nearly 2.1 billion gallons annually. There are 16 ethanol refineries under construction or expansion that will add over 1.5 billion gallons of annual capacity. In addition, Iowa has 14 biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of over 315 million gallons in operation and two more under construction that will add another 35 million gallons of capacity.
Keep in mind this is only the fifth annual conference for this industry and about 4,000 people are at the event with almost 400 exhibitors. Many of the booths are showcasing new technology for the industry – while others, like New Holland, are focusing on the fun stuff.
Bark beetles are busy little buggers in the Rocky Mountain region these days, killing off swaths of trees thanks to a couple of warmer winters that have kept them more active than normal.
One of the companies at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo is Solazyme, a company that is making biodiesel out of algae. In fact, the folks from Solazyme brought a sweet ride to the conference… a Mercedes Benz C320 that runs on the green fuel made from the green algae.
Country music star Michael Peterson was one of the featured speakers at this morning’s 
Cindy grabbed Michael for a quick interview right after he returned from a test drive of a 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel pick up truck running on B20. As he stepped out of the vehicle, he joked how he was just sure the organizers meant for him to take the truck home (sorry, Michael!). But, seriously, he really loved the way the vehicle drove and its acceleration.
Reports of the demise of the ethanol tariff in the new 
Domestic Fuel is here at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, bringing you the latest updates from this gathering of biodiesel industry experts.
Just after we flew into the sun and warmth of a beautiful Central Florida day, Cindy was off to track down Ed Hegland, chairman of the National Biodiedsel Board. She caught up with Ed at a session on sustainable biodiesel production where it was announced a new task force would be formed to look at making biodiesel more sustainable and possibly move away from more expensive feedstocks, such as soybeans.
The 2008 National Biodiesel Board Conference and Exp is underway in sunny Orlando, Florida, where thousands of biodiesel producers, marketers, and industry folks gathered for the four-day event.
Domestic Fuel is there as well, covering the events of the conference. We’ve already heard presentations on sustainable biodiesel efforts, the state of the industry, and even a Super Bowl party featuring NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood (shown with me… Jack is on the left), who was signing footballs and helmets to raise money for the National Biodiesel Foundation… a group that is promoting education and research efforts to advance the biodiesel industry.
A food bank association and a renewable energy company have joined to produce electricity from food and food by-products that would have been just thrown away.
The Ontario Association of Food Banks and StormFisher Biogas, an Ontario-based renewable energy utility will work together to produce the power through what’s being called Plan Zero, according to