Ohio to Get First Ethanol Plants

John Davis

Ohio has been laying a big, fat goose egg when it came to ethanol production, but that could all change soon… in a big way.

The Buckeye State has been lagging behind many of its Midwestern neighbors in the number of ethanol plants, such as Indiana and Illinois with 10 plants each, producing 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol for the two states. And other big ethanol producers Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska boast more than a dozen plants each. But this story in the Cincinnati Post says things are going to swing the other way for the ethanol importer Ohio:

Up to five plants should begin producing the corn-based fuel next year, said Jamie Gentry, agribusiness liaison with the Ohio Department of Development.

“We should go from zero gallons produced to 394 million almost over night,” Gentry said.

Five plants are under construction in Allen, Coshocton, Darke, Fayette and Putnam counties. They are expected to create about 330 jobs. A sixth plant is under consideration in Harrison County.

GO-EthanolA potential big producer of Ohio ethanol is Greater Ohio Ethanol, LLC (see its proposed plant picture on the left), which received $85.5 million in state incentives to get going. It’s part of $450 million in government loans and state-backed incentives to get the industry off the ground in Ohio.

The ethanol plants are also getting some help from federal and state environmental regulators which eased some pollution limits while the refineries get started.

Ethanol, News

Cruise Line Buys Biodiesel

John Davis

Royal CaribbeanRoyal Caribbean Cruise Lines has agreed to buy 15 million gallons of biodiesel this year… and another 18 million gallons a year for the next four years… to run some of its cruise ships from Seattle-based biodiesel giant Imperium Renewables.

This story in the Seattle Times says Royal Caribbean has four ships based out of the Pacific Northwest port:

Imperium“We believe this is the single-largest long-term biodiesel sales contract to an end user in the U.S.,” the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Imperium also said it had reached an agreement to purchase Royal Caribbean Cruises’ 7 percent stake in the Grays Harbor facility.

As you might remember, Imperium is set to open a 100-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant soon at Grays Harbor, Washington… the largest of its kind in the country.

Biodiesel

80 MGPY Indiana Biodiesel Plant Ready to Break Ground

John Davis

ICE PlantIndiana Clean Energy, LLC is getting ready to break ground on a $90 million, 80-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant in the next couple of months (see the artist’s rendering).

The project is the first biodiesel plant for the Frankfort, IN-based company and comes nearly two years after the company was founded. This story on the WTHR-TV web site says it came down to location, location, location:

The site was chosen because it is close to ADM and it has good access to railroad transportation and utilities. ADM will serve as the plant’s primary supplier.

Gingrich said the company is open to forming working relationships with other area growers.

“Farmers are glad to see projects like this coming along,” he said.

The company will hire Clinton County residents during and after construction for a variety of positions in sales, administration and line production when operations begin, Gingrich said.

The groundbreaking will mark more than a year of permit issues Indiana Clean Energy went through to get to this point.

Biodiesel

Cleaner Air in the Windy City

Cindy Zimmerman

ACEThe 20th annual American Coalition for Ethanol conference and trade show is underway in St. Paul, MN.

The event officially kicked off Tuesday after the golf tournament with a presentation by the CityHome O2 Diesel progran on how the ethanol industry can make positive headlines in our nation’s third largest city – Chicago.

CityHomeAfter proven success in several communities, CityHome™ is focusing efforts on Chicago and the more than 2,000 buses that Chicago Public Schools rely on every day. Success in Chicago means great news for the ethanol industry because every bus will use about eight percent ethanol. This significantly reduces hazardous emissions and creates a better environment for children-and all members of the community. This cleaner burning fuel is even compatible with other clean air technologies and equipment.

More on the ACE Conference coming soon as Chuck is on his way there.

Biodiesel, conferences, EPIC, Ethanol, News

Wind Powering Iowa State Fair

John Davis

Iowa State Fair wind turbineUsually, when you see the big wheel at the fairgrounds, it’s carrying people to dizzying heights with bright colored lights. But this year, the Iowa State Fair has another big wheel… this time, powering all those rides.

MidAmerican Energy has put up a 133-foot wind turbine at the fair’s Wind Energy Education Center. This article in Wallace’s Farmer says it will supply a quarter of the energy for the fair:

MidAmerican Energy logo“The State Fair is traditionally a place where Iowans have come to see and learn about something for the first time,” says Allan Urlis, spokesman for MidAmerican. “Wind power is an important technology to the future of Iowa.” A temporary education center will stand next to the turbine during the 2007 fair. A more permanent structure is planned in the future.

Since 2003, Iowa has become third in the nation in wind energy generation behind Texas and California.

The turbine at the fairgrounds is half the size of MidAmerican’s 323 wind farm turbines now in operation in parts of northern and western Iowa. Nonetheless, the turbine will generate the equivalent of nearly one quarter of the fair’s annual electricity needs, or roughly the amount of energy needed to power the entire fairgrounds, including the Midway rides—during the fair.

Wind energy is on the rise in the Hawkeye State. Last month, the Iowa Utilities Board approved six new wind farm locations expected to add 540 megawatts of wind energy by the end of next year. Iowa’s total wind energy production will be up to 1,000 megawatts, enough to light up 336,000 homes.

Wind

California to Blend More Ethanol

John Davis

In an effort to cut down on global warming, California regulators have stepped up the amount of ethanol to be blended in the state’s fuel supply. Currently, the state puts ethanol in gasoline at a six percent rate. That goes up to 10 percent in 2010.

This article from the San Francisco Chronicle points out the problem with that: not much of it is homegrown for the Golden State. It has to be imported from the Midwest:

The great boom in ethanol plant construction that swept the nation’s farm belt in recent years has barely touched the Golden State. Biorefineries here make only 8.6 percent of all the ethanol California uses. Other states supply the rest, shipped by rail over the Sierra or through the Southern California desert.

The California Air Resources Board this summer decided to raise the amount of ethanol that oil companies can blend into the gasoline they sell here. By 2013 – after the new rules kick in – California’s ethanol use is expected to jump more than 78 percent, to 1.7 billion gallons per year.

Experts expect the ethanol industry in California to take off to meet that demand. In the meantime, Midwest ethanol is in ample supply. The biggest issue remains getting it there.

Ethanol, News

Canadian Company Joins Biodiesel Quality Assurance Program

John Davis

Canadian BioenergyCanadian Bioenergy becomes the first company in Canada to become BQ-9000 qualified… a voluntary fuel quality assurance program, adopted by the National Biodiesel Board and the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association.

NBB logoThis release from the National Biodiesel Board praises the Western Canada biodiesel distributor’s achievement:

“Quality is everything — it’s always been our top priority and the BQ-9000 process was a natural evolution for our operations,” said Alex Russell, Assistant Director of Fuel Operations at Canadian Bioenergy. “Our customers, from coast to coast, have consistently told us how critical it is to their success, as end-users and as resellers.” Russell has spent the past two years developing quality systems which adhere to the BQ-9000 protocols.

BQ-9000 logoLeland Tong, chairman of the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission (NBAC) that oversees BQ-9000, echoes those sentiments. “We’re constantly hearing that more and more consumers in both the U.S. and Canada are making it a priority to seek out biodiesel from BQ-9000-accredited companies,” he said. “By completing this process, Canadian Bioenergy sets the mark for other companies in Canada. We anticipate that it will be one of many Canadian companies to come.”

The program covers storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution and fuel management practices.

Biodiesel

E85 Days of Summer

Cindy Zimmerman

GMKrogerExpect some long lines at the pump Wednesday morning at the Kroger Store in Irving, Texas.

Kroger and General Motors have teamed up to sell E85 at that site for just 85 cents per gallon between 7:30 am and 9:30 am on August 8 as part of a promotion to spotlight GM’s flex fuel vehicles. The price is nearly 70 percent below the current price of more than $2.54 per gallon. Only flex-fuel vehicles can use 85 percent ethanol, but regular cars will be able fill up on E10 during the promotion for 20 cents off the regular price.

The first 100 customers with GM FlexFuel vehicles to fill up with E85 will also receive $25 Kroger refueling cards. Three of GM’s Chevrolet flex-fuel vehicles will be on display at the event – the Impala, Tahoe and Silverado.

Car Makers, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, News, Promotion

Kansas Cellulosic Plant Coming

Cindy Zimmerman

Abengoa Bioenergy will formally announce the site of its cellulosic ethanol plant later this month, but word is already out that it will be located in the southwest Kansas town of Hogoton.

AbengoaThe $300 million project, which will be partly funded by a $72 million Department of Energy grant awarded earlier this year, which will also include a traditional corn-to-ethanol plant, will be officially announced on August 23. It will include an 85 million gallon per year traditional corn ethanol plant and a 30 MGY cellulosic plant. The company already operates corn ethanol plants in Nebraska and New Mexico and has done extensive cellulosic ethanol research.

Abengoa Bioenergy’s parent company is based in Spain and the company’s North American headquarters are near St. Louis.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Johanns Meets the Press Club

Cindy Zimmerman

Johanns Press ClubWhen Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns spoke at the National Press Club on July 27, the inevitable question about ethanol was asked.

“Corn-based ethanol may help the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil, but critics say that ethanol costs almost as much as the energy it produces. Isn’t corn-based ethanol a wasteful way to produce energy, and won’t it increase the cost of food?”

Johanns first response was brief and to the point, “No, and it isn’t.”

After the laughter died down, he elaborated on the issue.

“Every year we have some inflation relative to food, 2 percent, 3 percent, somewhere in that vicinity, some years maybe a little bit more, a little bit less. This year with all of this debate raging we anticipate that food prices across the board will be impacted 2 to 4 percent, about average, maybe a little bit higher. Then when you look at that, many articles I read see that and then they go right to the conclusion, it’s because of ethanol, it’s because the price of corn got high and that’s the reason.

“They leave out a whole big piece of the analysis. What’s the big piece of the analysis? The farmer doesn’t get all of that. I’m sure they wish they did. But they get about 20 cents of the retail dollar. Actually the increase in the price of energy to ship that food can have as much or more of a profound impact on the price of that food than the corn you feed to the animal.”

Read the press club transcript here.

Ethanol, Government, News