A University of Nebraska economist warns of the perils the ethanol industry faces if Congress does not approve new mandates for use.
The Sioux City (IA) Journal says a new report, titled “Understanding Ethanol Plant Economics: Will Boom Go Bust?”, says ethanol plants will see their profits disappear over the next four years unless the new mandates prop up demand. In the report, the author projected the financial future of a hypothetical 40-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant that sees its profits shrink by 2010:
“If this does come to fruition, there is going to be some winnowing of the ethanol industry. Some plants are going to go out of business,” said the report’s author, David Peters. He teaches in the university’s agricultural economics department.
He said the reason for the winnowing is simple: supply and demand. The supply of ethanol from new refineries is growing faster than the demand for the corn-based fuel. Also, the high number of ethanol plants is pushing up the price of corn, which is good for farmers but eats into refineries’ profits.
The solution to the impending problem seems to be obvious: approve a new ethanol mandate. One is pending before Congress right now.
Australian researchers have found that diesel exhaust does much more damage to people’s health than does biodiesel’s exhaust.
Associate Professor Leigh Ackland, Associate Head of Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences, led a team of researchers who compared the effects of diesel exhaust and biodiesel exhaust on human airway cells. They found that diesel exhaust damaged and killed the cells, while biodiesel exhaust had little effect.
To whet your appetite for the upcoming International Congress on Biodiesel (as if you needed anything else to get you excited about the green fuel!), the organizers of the November gathering in Austria are offering a new podcast.
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Oil giant BP has lived up to its motto of going “beyond petroleum” with its $5 million gift to the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources… $2 million of that going to wind energy development.
She stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6th, 1944 in a bid to free Europe of Nazi tyranny. Now, LST (Landing Ship Tank) 325 is storming its way around America, running on biodiesel… possibly showing Americans how to shed their dependence on the tyranny of foreign oil.
As more than 24,000 people shuffled on board the World War II-era LST 325 ship while docked along the Illinois River in Peoria, August and September, they passed a banner proudly proclaiming “Fueled by Biodiesel.”
In an effort to promote increased use and production of high quality, renewable biodiesel fuel in California, biodiesel producers in the Golden State have formed a trade group, the California Biodiesel Alliance.
Brazilian researchers say they have had success using low frequency magnetic waves to boost the amount of ethanol produced from fermenting sugar.
The latest edition of the 
U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Co-Chair of the Ethanol Across America campaign said, “This year, with the Farm Bill and the Energy Bill, Congress has two major opportunities to drastically expand and enhance our nation’s use of renewable fuels. Ethanol is a common thread with these important bills.” said Nelson. “This information will help us in our efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, protect our environment and promote economic growth through ethanol and other renewable fuels.”
U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), co-chair of the Ethanol Across America campaign, said, “America’s insatiable appetite for oil places our country in a precarious situation of reliability on regions of the world that have become increasingly hostile to us. Increasing the development and production of renewable fuels such as ethanol will help ensure national and economic security. As the Ethanol Fact Book illustrates, with high oil prices ethanol production becomes even more important and farmers growing corn, and other energy crops, will add to our nation’s energy security while helping our communities prosper.” 
Looks like Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay found a little bit of that grip he said his crew was looking for yesterday. Ryan finished 7th after starting the race from the 12th position. Not a bad finish for a rookie driver who joined the races mid-season. In fact, Ryan’s driving impressed the racing officials enough for them to award him the title of Bombardier Learjet Rookie-of-the-Year. This award means Ryan set a new IndyCar Series record, winning the award with the fewest number of starts – just six.