Give Thanks for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

With oil just pennies away from $100 a barrel, Americans are looking at higher costs for both their Thanksgiving travel and the turkey on the table. But, the good news is that ethanol is saving drivers about 15 cents a gallon this holiday season.

According to an analysis by John Urbanchuk, a director at the economic consulting firm LECG, LLC, Americans will fork over $520 million more this year than last year on their Thanksgiving travel. That means, based on the national gas price average of $3.11, an increase of 39 percent over 2006 just to drive over the hills and trough the woods to Grandma’s house. That is $520 million that won’t be spent on Black Friday, the traditional kick-off to the holiday shopping season. More specifically, it will cost the average family an extra $17 for roundtrip travel for Thanksgiving dinner.

RFAThe Renewable Fuels Association says the analysis also shows that without ethanol blended at ten percent with gasoline (E10), the average pump price of gasoline would be as much as $0.15 per gallon, or 4.7 percent higher than current levels and the average American household would pay $19.68 more than last year for the Thanksgiving trip.

“Americans are literally over a barrel this holiday season as oil prices are likely to remain high and gasoline will no doubt follow suit,” said Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. “Were it not for the growing availability of ethanol, Americans would be spending a whole lot more to go over the river and through the woods this holiday season.”

Ethanol, News, RFA

The New San Francisco Treat – Biodiesel

John Davis

San Francisco, California has started a program to turn the waste cooking oil from the city’s many restaurants into biodiesel.

This story in the San Francisco Chronicle has more details:

sfgreaselogo.gifToday the city launches SFGreasecycle, a free program in which the city will pick up used cooking oil and grease from local restaurants, hotels and other commercial food preparation establishments. Those substances then will be turned into biodiesel, a fuel made of plant oil that burns cleaner than petroleum-based fuels.

Although several other localities around the nation have begun limited programs to collect cooking grease for biodiesel, San Francisco officials believe theirs will be the largest such effort.

Eventually, the city wants to recycle grease produced in homes with the intention of someday using the locally produced biodiesel to power all city vehicles, including public buses and fire trucks.

“This is a case of taking what could be a bad situation and turning it into a win,” said Susan Leal, general manager of the city’s Public Utilities Commission, the agency behind SFGreasecycle.

Turning the grease into fuel also helps the city in that it costs $3.5 million a year to clean out sewer pipes clogged with illegally-dumped used cooking oil. Part of the plan is for the city to build its own biodiesel plant.

Some local biodiesel-from-grease makers are crying foul, however, as they say the city’s efforts are cutting into their feedstocks. Used cooking oil is getting to be a hot commodity, as you might remember from my story a couple of days ago.

Biodiesel

Sweet Homegrown Alabama Biodiesel

John Davis

eufalaaudubon.jpgThe City of Eufala, Alabama has cashed in on the benefits of biodiesel.

This story in the Eufala Tribune says cost savings and tax credits are helping its bottom line:

By operating various city vehicles and machines on a co-processed bio-diesel mixture, the city currently saves approximately 90 cents per gallon of fuel. That’s big savings considering the city, even buying wholesale and without taxes, pays $2.31 per gallon for diesel.

[ Bill Clark, who oversees the bio-diesel project] says even more savings may come in the form of federal tax credits. The government is giving a 50 cents tax credit for each gallon of bio-diesel produced to organizations that meet certain requirements.

Though cost may be the bottom line when considering alternative fuel sources, bio-diesel has other benefits as well.

Producing fuel locally cuts down on foreign oil dependency and also creates jobs throughout the country as more bio-fuel factories are established.

No wonder the city is known as an Certified Audubon Sustainable Community.

Biodiesel

Companies Form Montana Biodiesel Venture

John Davis

greenearthtargeted.jpgA West Coast company has joined a Texas-based company to form a joint venture to produce biodiesel in Montana.

sustainableoils.JPGThis press release from Sustainable Oils… formed from Seattle-based Targeted Growth, Inc. a renewable energy bioscience company, and Green Earth Fuels of Houston, a vertically integrated renewable biodiesel energy company… has more.

The new venture will produce and market up to 100 million gallons of Camelina-based biodiesel by 2010, launching the single largest U.S. contract for the unique biodiesel-specific feedstock. Nearly all of the initial Camelina production is expected to be grown in Montana.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Montana – it represents a combining of two major thrusts of economic growth outside the boot,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “It is energy related and it is value-added agriculture. Having this sort of major commitment is great news.” This joint venture sets a precedent for continued research and development of dedicated energy crops.

Targeted Growth has spent years applying its suite of yield and trait technologies to Camelina to create the first Elite Camelina Seed. Green Earth Fuels opened one of the country’s largest biodiesel production facilities this month, in Houston (see my November 15th post), and is successfully developing additional projects to provide biodiesel that meets exceptional quality and ratability standards to leading energy companies.

Camelina development has been a three-year project for Targeted Growth.

“We have created a better feedstock for biodiesel,” said Tom Todaro, CEO of Targeted Growth. “Camelina can be rotated with current Montana crops, it grows in land with lower agricultural value, and it doesn’t significantly increase the use of fertilizer or irrigation water. We think this will be a model for the development and use of other biofuel-specific crops.”

Biodiesel

Corn Growers Excited About Wind

John Davis

American Corn Growers AssociationThe American Corn Growers Association is excited about looking to alternative energy options, namely wind, for the production of corn. Nebraska corn grower Dan McGuire says wind power can save up to 90-million gallons of water a year. Dan serves as the Director of the American Corn Growers Association Wealth from the Wind program and he says corn growers have been committed to exploring options with wind power with the Wealth from the Wind program for five years. In fact, Dan says some ethanol plants are already using wind energy for part of their electric load.

Water isn´t the only thing wind power can help regulate. Dan says wind energy can also reduce volatility in natural gas prices. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that 11,603 MW of wind power will save over half a billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. The association says that means it expects wind power to reduce the use of natural gas for power generation by about five-percent and even up to 12 percent if 20-percent of electricity is generated by wind.

Agribusiness, Energy, Wind

Renewing Cheese Water for Renewable Fuels

John Davis

thenorthwestern.comA Wisconsin entrepreneur says producers don´t have to rely on corn, or even cellulosic waste, to create ethanol. Joe Van Groll, Owner of Grand Meadow Energy, LLC, says he can create ethanol from cheese water waste. Joe says this new method for creating ethanol is a great alternative. He points out that the ethanol industry is the target of negative publicity because critics say the use of corn takes water out of the water table and the food supply and shifts it to the energy market. But, Joe says water
is already a waste byproduct of the cheese making process, with 75 percent or greater water. Joe says using that waste to create ethanol removes that water, purifies it and puts it back into the environment.

Joe also uses canola oil for the production of biodiesel. He says there is no one “silver bullet” for creating renewable fuels. You can read more about Joe´s alternative production of alternative fuels at thenorthwestern.com.

Agribusiness, Biodiesel, Cellulosic, corn, Energy, Ethanol, Facilities, News, Production

Finding A Flex-Fuel

John Davis

EPICThere are more than 6.5 million flex-fuel vehicles out on the road today and more are on the way. Robert White, the Director of Operations for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council says the Detroit Three – that´s General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have announced that half of their production in model year 2012 will be flex-fuel vehicles. Robert adds that Toyota and Mazda will also be getting on board with flex-fuel vehicle production soon. That´s a lot of FFVs hitting the road and that´s why EPIC has a tool for identifying FFVs on its website. Robert says a lot of drivers already have vehicles that can run on E85 and don´t even know it. To find out if you can fuel up with E85 visit the Flex-Fuel Indentifier at drivingethanol.com.

E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Nebraska Offers Crops-to-Fuel Workshops

John Davis

nuianr.gifThe University of Nebraska is offering producers, consultants, dealers, and others interested in agriculture a chance to attend one of five “Growing Corn or Soybeans to Fuel Nebraska” workshops, December 17th – 21st at various locations around the state.

This press release from the school’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources has more information:

Morning topics include pointers on making cropping system decisions, information on making fuel from cellulose, crop residue values and how much can be sustainably removed, equipment and planning for planting in heavy residues and growing crops for better biodiesel.

In the afternoon, industry specialists will discuss what grain characteristics make the best ethanol. Other topics include corn, soybean and (in Sidney) wheat production costs, recognizing and managing diseases in these grains, water management to conserve both energy and water and evaluating cropping systems.

CCA credits are available in crop management 2.5, soil and water 2.0, and pest management 0.5.

You need to register one week before the actual date of the workshop:

– Dec. 17, Antelope County Courthouse meeting room, Neligh, Dewey Teel, (402) 887-5414, dteel1@unl.edu.

– Dec. 18, Extension Office, Beatrice, Paul Hay, (402) 223-1384, phay1@unl.edu.

– Dec. 19, Adams County Fairgrounds, Hastings, Ron Seymour, (402) 461-7209, rseymour1@unl.edu.

– Dec. 20, Extension Office, Lexington, Dave Stenberg, (308) 324-5501, dstenberg1@unl.edu.

– Dec. 21, Holiday Inn, Sidney, Karen DeBoer, (308) 254-4455, kdeboer1@unl.edu.

There is a nominal fee for lunch and program materials.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Biodiesel Fuels Fryer Oil Boom

John Davis

As biodiesel has gained in popularity so has a feedstock that used to be just a waste product. Used cooking oil from restaurants can be made into some pretty high-quality biodiesel, and refiners are having to compete to get what used to be thrown out.

This story on the Oregonlive.com web site says it used to cost restaurants to have the old grease hauled away. Now, it’s become a second income for them:

tysonkeever1.jpgRecycled cooking oil has traditionally been sold for use in cattle feed and cosmetics. But the segment going to biofuels has grown in recent years to account for about 20 percent of the used oil market, said Tyson Keever, co-founder of Sequential Pacific Biofuels, the state’s largest manufacturer of biodiesel.

Portland’s oil peddlers are now fighting over grease worth as much as $1.20 a gallon.

“You have processors now in the metro area who are looking at using that grease for biodiesel primarily,” said Mike McCallum, president and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant Association. “There are restaurants who are being solicited for the use of the grease and are getting some money for it.”

The article goes on to point that each person in Oregon uses about a gallon of fryer grease a month. Now, if everyone of those gallons was tunred into biodiesel, the story says it would meet only half of what’s needed in diesel for that state. But I’m more a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. Isn’t that half of the diesel we wouldn’t have to get from foreign sources or even non-renewable American sources? And isn’t it better than throwing it into a hole in the ground? Seems to me that fryer grease biodiesel is about as green as you can get.

Biodiesel

New Technology to Increase Ethanol Production

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol plants have a new tool to enable them to increase the amount of ethanol they produce per bushel of grain.

PioneerDuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred has introduced QualiTrak(SM), a new measurement and reporting system that facilitates the flow of predicted ethanol yield information to both plant personnel and corn growers.

According to a company release, QualiTrak is the only system that predicts and reports ethanol yield data in gallons per bushel.

“QualiTrak is a big step toward increasing the amount of ethanol that processors can get from a bushel,” said Russ Sanders, marketing director, Pioneer Hi-Bred. “The system can provide processors with comprehensive comparative ethanol yield prediction data for every load of grain brought to a plant. When shared with corn growers who sell grain to the facility, this information will enable the selection of seed hybrids that can produce higher ethanol yields per bushel.”

The measurement function of the QualiTrak system incorporates the Pioneer proprietary Ethanol Yield Potential calibration technology used with FOSS grain analyzers. This calibration accurately predicts ethanol yield on all commercial grain, regardless of seed source. The reporting function provides comprehensive comparative information for all loads of grain delivered to a plant. This data can help both growers and processors evaluate and compare each delivery.

Ethanol, News