Feeling Good Producing Food and Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

e-podcast With the slogan “Fueling America, Feeding the World,”LifeLine Foods is opening a new generation ethanol plant in St. Joseph, Missouri that could eventually put to rest the whole “food versus fuel” issue.

This episode of “Fill up, Feel Good” features comments from LifeLine Foods CEO Bill Becker, ICM Inc. President Dave VanderGriend and National Corn Growers Association president and one of LifeLine’s grower-owners Ken McCauley. The interviews for this program were recorded during LifeLine’s grand opening on August 24.

The “Fill up, Feel Good” podcast is available to download by subscription (see our sidebar link) or you can listen to it by clicking here (5:00 MP3 File): [audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/epic-podcast-8-28-07.mp3]

The Fill Up, Feel Good theme music is “Tribute to Joe Satriani” by Alan Renkl, thanks to the Podsafe Music Network.

“Fill up, Feel Good” is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Facilities, Fill Up Feel Good, News

Ethanol Means Jobs for Nebraska

Cindy Zimmerman

NE EthanolFarm and Ranch Guide reports that recent figures from the Nebraska Public Power District show that the ethanol industry in Nebraska has created nearly 700 permanent jobs at ethanol plants. An additional 1,500 have been indirectly created by the ethanol industry in related industries and from increased economic activity created by the ethanol industry.

Jobs at Nebraska ethanol plants average an annual salary of $49,000 according to a 2006 survey by the Nebraska Ethanol Board, well above the average Nebraska salary of $34,300, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The ethanol industry not only provides employees with excellent compensation opportunities, it also generates wealth for entire communities, and by extension, all Nebraska,” said Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

Ethanol, News

Farm Progress Show Spotlights Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Progress ShowAs the 2007 Farm Progess Show gets underway this in Decatur biofuels will be taking center stage.

“Everybody’s beginning to kind of see some reward for the biofuel talk,” said show manager Matt Jungmann. “When the economy’s like this is when the companies step up and bring out the new technologies.”

The show has 475 exhibitors this year and some 100,000 people, mostly farmers, are expected to attend the three day event which runs Tuesday through Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will also be in attendance on Wednesday to discuss farm legislation and trade negotiations.

Chuck Zimmerman is attending the Farm Progress Show this year, thanks to the sponsorship of New Holland, so expect to see some biofuel-related posts from him in the coming days, or check out his full coverage of the event on AgWired.com.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

‘Bama & Montgomery Team Up to Make Biodiesel

John Davis

Alabama biodieselThe state of Alabama and the city of Montgomery (AL) have teamed up to produce biodiesel from used cooking oil for the city’s and the state agriculture department’s trucks.

This press release from the Alabama ag department says the announcement came during a joint press conference with Agriculture & Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks and Montgomery’s Mayor Bobby Bright:

“I can think of no better way to help clean our environment and fuel our trucks and heavy equipment at the same time,” said Sparks. “Our ability to make biodiesel right here in Montgomery is a significant step toward keeping our landfills and sewer systems free of used cooking oils and protecting our energy security.

Staff members from the Department of Agriculture & Industries’ Center for Alternative Fuels have been talking with Mayor Bright’s staff over the last few weeks to develop a plan for producing alternative fuels to be used in government vehicles. Mayor Bright said several senior city officials had recently toured a similar facility in Hoover and saw the advantages Montgomery could gain from such an operation. Sparks toured the same facility early this week and decided to put the plan into action immediately.

“Commissioner Sparks contacted me and offered this great opportunity that was just too good to turn down,” said Bright. “This process is working in several other cities across the state and we are extremely pleased that we can put this into action for Montgomery’s citizens.”

Officials are turning the used cooking oil into the clean-burning B20 – 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent conventional diesel. Not only is it god for emissions, it will keep that much used cooking oil out of area landfills.

Biodiesel

Abengoa Announcement Official

Cindy Zimmerman

abengoa announcementAbengoa Bioenergy was given a key to the city of Hugoton, Kansas last week after formally announcing plans to build a 300-million dollar cellulose ethanol plant near there.

The plant is expected to be the first commercial cellulosic ethanol facility and will eventually produce 30 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol and 85 million gallons of traditional corn-based ethanol per year.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was among the dignitaries at the event on Thursday. She told representatives from the local community that they should be proud of this “cutting-edge project” that will be home “for our new fuel supply” that the rest of the nation and world will be watching.

Abengoa‘s Kansas plant was one of six projects selected nationwide by the Department of Energy to create and develop the cellulosic ethanol industry.

Read more from the Garden City Telegram.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

Central Indiana Ethanol Plant to Open

Cindy Zimmerman

CIEIndiana Senator Richard Lugar will give the keynote address September 15 at the official opening of the Central Indiana Ethanol plant near Marion. This will be the second plan Lugar will help open in two days next month – the first being POET Biorefining – Portland on September 14.

The founder of the CIE plant is Indiana farmer Jay Berry, who started pursuing the idea of building the facility five years ago at the age of 22. Senator Lugar was instrumental in helping Berry get the plant built.

Ground was broken in November 2005 and actual ethanol production began on July 17, 2007. The plant’s nameplate capacity is rated at 40 million gallons of ethanol per year, but it will actually produce 50 million gallons, which will be produced from 17 million bushels of corn, purchased from area and regional farmers.

Read more from the Wabash Plain Dealer.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Producing Food AND Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

lifeline bannerThe newest ethanol facility to mark its grand opening is uniquely designed to maximize efficiency and produce both food and fuel from the same corn kernel.

LifeLine Foods of St. Joseph, Missouri held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the public on Friday with about 1,000 people attending. Actual ethanol production is expected to begin at the facility next month. The plant will use approximately 26.5 million bushels of corn annually to produce 50 million gallons of ethanol and complementary food ingredients.

LifeLine Foods’ corn processing facility was established in 2001 by a group of corn farmers looking to add value to their product. Since then, LifeLine has been an ingredient manufacturer for dry cereal and the snack industry as well as tortillas. Thanks to an innovative partnership with designer and builder ICM, Inc, the majority farmer-owned facility will now possess the capability to produce both food and fuel.

“This is a one of a kind, state of the art facility for the nation, first of it’s kind, and ICM is responsible for that,” said LifeLine Foods President and CEO Bill Becker during the ceremony.

lifeline openThis new generation ethanol facility features a mill in the front of the plant that separates the corn kernel into fiber, protein and starches. This technique enables increased utilization of the starch within the kernel. The resulting higher quality starches will be used for food products while the lower quality starches will be used to produce ethanol.

In addition, the plant utilizes the fiber in the corn kernel to produce energy. This process reduces the plant’s dependence on natural gas and allows the plant to generate its own fuel. “Fifty percent of our energy needs are going to be supplied by the fiber that’s produced by the solar energy our farmers are harvesting,” said Becker.

“When people ask what we do,” Becker said. “The answer is, we convert solar energy into food for humanity and clean-burning, renewable fuel, that’s what we do.”

Listen to a portion of Becker’s remarks here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/audio/lifeline-open-becker.mp3]

LifeLine Foods Ethanol Plant Opening Flickr Photo Album

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Facilities, News

Minnesota State Fair Featuring Wind Energy

John Davis

Minnesota State FairVisitors to the Minnesota State Fair (now through Sept. 3rd) are able to take in an exhibit featuring wind energy.

St. Paul-based WindLogics is supporting Windustry’s – a non-profit organization working to increase community-based wind energy opportunities for rural landowners and communities – 2007 Wind Energy Center at the fair’s EcoExperience Building. This article on Renewable Energy Access.com says people from the company will be on hand to present wind energy information and answer the public’s questions:

“We believe public outreach is essential for maintaining the momentum of wind development within the state. WindLogics participated in the center in 2006, and we appreciate the opportunity to support Windustry in its efforts for 2007,” says Lee Alnes, WindLogics Vice President and General Manager.

The Minnesota Wind Maps developed by WindLogics for the Minnesota Department of Commerce will be a central feature of the WindLogics exhibit. The maps display average annual wind speeds at 30, 80 and 100 meters above ground level, along with wind turbine capacity factors and energy production for a typical 1.65 MW wind turbine. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about the maps and wind resource assessment as it relates to wind farm development.

Check it out between grabbing a candied apple and hitting the midway!

Wind

EPA Helps Businesses Find Biodiesel Truckers

John Davis

truckThe Environmental Protection Agency and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) have teamed up in an effort to match up businesses who want to “ship green” with trucks that run on the green fuel, biodiesel.

This release from the NBB cites several testimonials from trucking companies which have taken advantage of the program:

SmartWayThe SmartWay Transport Partnership is an innovative collaboration between the EPA and the freight industry. Its goal is to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. EPA SmartWay Grow & Go will also help reduce U.S. dependence on petroleum.

NBB logo“The NBB and EPA SmartWay have a long working relationship with the goal of helping the trucking industry adopt renewable fuels to help reduce fuel usage and emissions from burning fuel,” said Mitch Greenberg, Program Manager, U.S. EPA SmartWay. “Grow & Go was developed to help increase the use and acceptance of biodiesel in the freight industry, and to educate truckers and small fleets on the benefits of biofuels. It became clear there was a need to help shippers identify carriers using renewable fuels.”

“I joined EPA SmartWay because of the Grow & Go initiative, and I’ve found it is a great resource for helping me save fuel and reduce emissions,” said Michael Frybarger, Owner Operator, Eastern Eagle Express, Inc. “I’ve been a biodiesel user for several years. I’m glad to see the EPA SmartWay program embracing biodiesel as a homegrown, renewable fuel that also reduces our dependence on foreign oil.”

The program was showcased at the Great American Trucking Show today in Dallas. You can check out the EPA’s SmartWay program by clicking here.

Biodiesel

NBB, RFA Chiefs Named Friends of GROWMARK

John Davis

Joe JobeBob DinneenNational Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe (left) and Bob Dinneen (right), CEO & President of the Renewable Fuels Association have been recognized as “Friends of GROWMARK” – an agricultural cooperative and petroleum distributor.

This story on Grainnet.com says the award came during the group’s annual meeting today in Chicago, Illinois:

The company gives the award to individuals and organizations for their contributions to the well-being of cooperatives and agriculture.

Bill Davisson, GROWMARK CEO (says) “We appreciate their commitment to the industry and value their friendship.”

“Recognition like this is truly an honor, especially coming from a forward-thinking company like GROWMARK,” Jobe said.

The article points out that during the past year the number of biodiesel plants in the country has jumped from 86 to 150! And the growth and acceptance of ethanol has grown so quickly in just the last couple of years that there have been fears the demand for the feedstocks would dramatically rise (although Cindy’s July 27th post shot a lot of holes in that thinking).

Congratulations guys!

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News, RFA