Pump Promotion Kicks Off Chicagoland Indy 300 Festivities

John Davis

Mark Lambert, Communications Director for Illinois Corn Growers Association Greetings from Chicago! Well, Joliet actually. I’m in Illinois with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council to bring you coverage of the 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Epic, VeraSun Energy and The Illinois Corn Growers Association kicked off race weekend with an ethanol pump promotion at Gas City near the track in Joliet. Gas City sold more than 2,250 gallons of 10 percent ethanol-blend fuel and 450 gallons of 85 percent ethanol-blend fuel, with one in six cars pumping E85. Just before the promotion got underway I spoke with the Communications Director for the Illinois Corn Growers Association, Mark Lambert, about how much cash consumers would get to save by fueling up with E10 and E85 fuel blends.

You can listen to my interview with Mark here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/audio/Lambert_Mark.mp3]

Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 Photo Album

Audio, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Indy Racing, News, Promotion, Racing

North Carolina Drives Toward Statewide Ethanol Fuel Blend

John Davis

North Carolina Biotechnology Center A newly appropriated biofuel center in North Carolina will be the state’s launch pad for its latest targeted benchmark with biofuels.

Catalyzing an entire new industry for North Carolina is the long-term task of the newly established Biofuels Center of North Carolina, which moved to reality Tuesday following its first board of directors meeting.

Funded with a $5 million initial appropriation from the 2007 General Assembly, the non-profit corporation will in coming years implement North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership. The Plan was mandated by the General Assembly in 2006 and presented to its Environmental Review Commission in April of this year.

The Plan offers a challenging goal: by 2017, 10 percent of liquid fuels sold in North Carolina will come from biofuels grown and produced within the state.

At current usage rates, production of almost 600 million gallons will be required.

“Meeting this bold goal will require enormous commitment, new resources, and untold acres of energy crops across the state,” said W. Steven Burke, chair of the Biofuels Center’s board of directors. “Meeting the goal will also yield a sector of impact statewide, particularly for rural and agricultural communities. How often does a state have opportunity to create a large new industry with widespread benefit?”
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BIO, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Facilities, Legislation

Fisker to Offer Premium, Environmentally Cars

John Davis

Fisker QuantumFisker Coachbuild -maker of fine sports cars – has teamed up with Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide – a company specializing in hybrid vehicles – to build premium hybrid American cars.

A company press release says the new Fisker Automotive will offer a range of environmentally-friendly premium cars, debuting at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show in January. Fifteen thousand vehicles will comprise the initial production starting at under $100,000:

“The troubled environment is captivating the attention of the world. Developing a premium luxury green car which also delivers attractive design can make a difference. We are extremely excited to join our automotive design expertise with the plug-in hybrid technology of Quantum in Quantum Drive. This breakthrough chassis development will allow us to deliver a design with dramatic proportions — one which will carry the Fisker badge,” expressed Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, Inc. “We want people to drive beautiful fast cars that make environmental sense — cars that are eco-chic and will have less of an impact on global warming.”

Quantum is providing a cutting-edge plug-in technology known as Quantum Drive for the vehicles. The first production cars are currently in the design and technology development stage.

Car Makers

Coast to Coast Biofuels Workshops

Cindy Zimmerman

BBI WorkshopsNo matter which coast you call home, BBI has a Biofuels Workshop for you this fall.

The Western Region workshop will be held October 9-11 in Portland, Oregon. The conference includes an opening keynote address from Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and a conclusion on “Policies and Technologies for a Sustainable Biofuels Industry” by Alex Farrell, Assistant Professor, Energy and Resources Group, University of California Berkeley. In between, there are a number of panels on various aspects of both ethanol and biodiesel. Early bird registration for that event ends on September 14.

November 28-30 is the Eastern Region workshop in Philadelphia, featuring presentations from a similar group of distinguished guests. Registration information is also available on-line.

Biodiesel, conferences, Ethanol, News

Sleeping Biofuels Giant

Cindy Zimmerman

NAFAThe National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance recently conducted its first Renewable Fuels Summit, “Bioenergy Systems: Alfalfa the Sleeping Giant,” in Washington D.C.

The August 8 event, which had more than 80 registered attendees, included presentations on cellulosic ethanol, alfalfa as a green biomass alternative, the role of corn-alfalfa rotation in bioenergy systems, and more. Speakers also focused on United States Department of Agriculture research and development, as well as legislative updates.

NKNK Seeds, a business unit of Syngenta Seeds, Inc., was one of the event’s sponsors. Joe Waldo, NK alfalfa product manager with Syngenta Seeds said, “While many do not think of alfalfa as a potential source of fuel, the summit explored the role alfalfa can play in the biofuels industry, which is why we were proud to be an event sponsor.”

Summit proceedings can be ordered from the NAFA website. There is also a good article on the topic in this month’s Ethanol Producer Magazine.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Ethanol Demand Hits Record in June

Cindy Zimmerman

RFAAccording to the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol demand moved higher in June, to a new all-time record of 443,000 barrels per day (b/d). For the first six months of the year, ethanol demand is averaging 420,000 b/d.

Ethanol production also edged higher in June, though continuing to trail the ethanol demand. U.S. ethanol producers added 418,000 b/d of ethanol supply to the tight U.S. gasoline market, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). For the first six months of the year, ethanol production has averaged 393,000 b/d, producing just under three billion gallons of ethanol.

Ethanol, News, RFA

Senator Tours POET Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

POETThe Associated Press has a feature on South Dakota ethanol producer POET this week, focusing on the company’s ethanol research that “should allow it to squeeze 27 percent more fuel from each acre of the crop.”

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who toured the company’s headquarters and research lab last week, said there is only so much ethanol that can be made from corn starch.

“It’s just a way of moving on to have further independence from foreign sources of energy,” he said. “It’s a way of doing more to clean up the environment, and it’s obviously going to put money in farmers’ pockets.”

With the help of a Department of Energy grant, Poet plans to convert its Emmetsburg, Iowa plant into one of the nation’s first commercial cellulosic ethanol plants, using corn stover as well as corn kernels, which would produce more ethanol per acre of corn.

Ethanol, News, Research

Biofuels Forum in Vegas

Cindy Zimmerman

AFViThe Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute’s “Biofuels Drive Economic Solutions Forum” in Las Vegas this month will feature an automotive journalist and an energy expert as keynote speakers.

According to an AFVi news release, Michael Caudill, automotive journalist for KTLA in Los Angeles, and expert on the vehicle marketplace kicks off the morning with his insightful automotive forecast. Nationally recognized energy icon, David Freeman is the keynote lunch speaker.

The Forum focus is on biodiesel and E85 and is designed as part of AFVi’s Learning Marketplace to introduce fleets and other decision-makers to a wide range of information on the fuels, the vehicles, and available incentives. Supporting sponsors for the event are the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB).

The Forum runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 20 at The Orleans in Las Vegas. Registration is $199 and available on-line here.

Biodiesel, conferences, EPIC, Ethanol, News

Flying Electric Generators Could One Day Fill Skies

John Davis

A U.S. company might have found a way to optimize wind energy harvests. Officials with Sky WindPower Corporation believe that by elevating their wind generators to high altitudes, they can harvest the energy of the much stronger high-altitude winds.

FEGThis story from CNN.com says the picture on the right is an artist’s rendering of what such a generator would look like:

And the madcap gadget that might just provide a solution? A helicopter that doubles as a wind turbine. Or, to give it its technical name, a FEG (Flying Electric Generator).

The brainchild of Australian engineering specialist Professor Bryan Roberts, the FEG is being developed by San Diego-based company SkyWindPower.

The guiding principle of the FEG is that wind speed and constancy are far greater at high altitude than they are on the ground, especially in the two major jet streams – the Sub-Tropical Jet and the Polar Front Jet – that exist in each hemisphere (at around 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude respectively).

A turbine at great height, so the theory goes, can generate far more power than a similar turbine at or near ground level. It has been estimated that capturing just one percent of the available energy of these high altitude winds would meet the electricity needs of the entire planet.

Company officials believe the high-flying generators could produce 20 megawatts of electricity… compared to just five megawatts for the average for more land-based wind turbines now.

Wind

Bike-friendly, Pet-friendly Bus Line Getting More Earth-friendly

John Davis

Shared Ride BusIn an effort to get back on the road, Shared Route… a colorful, biodiesel bus that runs between Portland, Oregon and Olympia and Seattle, Washington… will run on vegetable oil.

This blog post in the Seattle (WA) Post-Intelligencer says the bus service known for its welcoming arms to bikes and pets… as well as the human passengers… has been suspended for a while until this latest idea to run it more efficiently came up:

Shared Route logoCompany director Jacob Rosenblum has decided to cut costs by a third. He’ll do it by converting the bus to run on vegetable oil.

A vegetable oil tank with related equipment and insurance, totaling $5,000, are needed to keep Shared Route on the road, according to the company’s media release.

Shared Route says its friendly atmosphere has won it dozens of devotees, who are hoping the bus will get its wheels back on I-5 very soon.

Biodiesel