2007 Farm to Fuel Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm to Fuel Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson has scheduled the second annual “Farm to Fuel” summit July 18-20 at the Marriott Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg.

Hoping to build on recent developments in Florida’s efforts to establish a renewable energy industry, Bronson said the meeting will cover current initiatives relating to ethanol and bio-diesel, as well as other opportunities for renewable energy production in Florida.

“There has been a good deal of momentum recently in our drive to get this industry off the ground,” Bronson said. “We’re eager to share that with participants and provide them with the information they need to enter this industry.”

Last August in Orlando, Bronson hosted the first ever Florida “Farm to Fuel” summit, which attracted more than 300 participants, and the Commissioner believes that this year’s conference will be bigger and better.

Biodiesel, Energy, Ethanol, News

Letter from Ethanol Crusader

Cindy Zimmerman

I received this letter yesterday from a self-proclaimed “ethanol crusader” in Florida. It was pretty long, but here is an edited version with her key points:

Hi Cindy, keep up the good work.

I’ve recently join the Movement “Florida Needs Ethanol”.com.

Florida Needs EthanolToday (Memorial Day) I drove around to distribute fliers to several gas stations. Mostly the small ones like Race Track, Red Rabbit, Valero, Marathon, 7/11 Citgo and some BPs.

It was amazing and somewhat disconcerting how little they know about Ethanol. Out of the dozens station attendants I’ve talked to, only one had heard of Ethanol.

The only way I got them interested was telling them that the government was offering tax incentives to fuel retailers. I told them to visit the website to find out about it, but I can’t find the link for retailers info. Could you please make that link more obvious?

Also, I was very disappointed by the great opportunity lost by Ethanol producers, GM and Ford by not advertising their products during the Super Bowl of racing (the Indy 500).

Why didn’t they run it during this classic race making history about the three women and all the cars running on Ethanol?

Don Endres’ VeraSun has a video commercial on their website that bring tears to one’s eyes with an once of patriotism. If the Ethanol Big Guys don’t care that much to promote their product on TV during IRL races, why should I spend my gasoline money and my time to promote it?

This thing about the EPA not approving a retro-fit kit to transition to E-85 is VERY disheartening. Unfortunately, most of us that want to do the right thing cannot afford to buy a new car, let alone a hybrid or FFV.

In parting, I’d like to ask you to please forward my email to anybody and everybody involved in bringing Ethanol to the public, especially here in Florida. My friends and co-workers are eager to help save our beautiful planet.

Best Regards,
Lynda Gagnon
Ethanol Crusader

First of all, Lynda – thanks for the grassroots work you are doing to help bring ethanol to the Sunshine State. You are doing more with your campaign than you might believe. If retailers think people will buy a new product, they are more likely to begin offering it.

Secondly, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council was a major sponsor of the Indy 500, which featured spots that aired multiple times during the race. To view the ethanol spots, go to this page on the EPIC website. The television spots have run during all of the races so far this year, starting with Homestead in Florida.

EPIC also sponsored a major public and media event at the Indy 500 called the Ethanol Summit to educate people about ethanol’s benefits as a performance fuel. They have gotten major publicity from events held earlier this month at the National Press Club and Chicago Board of Trade.

Finally, you make a good point about the need for more information for retailers about incentives to offer ethanol-enhanced fuel and I have passed that along to EPIC. A good place for that information right now is the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition site, which has a page devoted to retailer information.

Thanks again, Ethanol Crusader. Just curious, do you have some kind of cool super hero costume to wear when you are out crusading??

E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, Miscellaneous, Promotion

New MO Ethanol Plant Plans

Cindy Zimmerman

MCGAThe Missouri Corn Growers Association reports that a new ethanol plant is in the works for northeast Missouri.

Mississippi Valley BioEnergy, LLC (MVBE) announced that it plans to build a 100 million gallon per year dry mill production facility near West Quincy. MVBE recently signed a letter of intent with ICM, Inc. to provide services related to the design, construction and start-up of the proposed facility. The company has also retained BBI International as its consultant to assist with project formation and development.

Brent Rockhold, chairman of MVBE and former board member with Missouri Corn, believes the company is poised to make a positive impact on Missouri’s ethanol industry and economy of the tri-state region. “Our management and advisory committees reflect some of the most well-known, respected leaders in Missouri who bring diverse backgrounds and broad expertise,” he said.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Dario Franchitti & Ethanol Win Indy 500

Chuck Zimmerman

Dario FranchittiHere’s today’s winner of the Indy 500, Dario Franchitti at the post-race press conference. He seemed like the most amazed guy in the world for having run and we certainly congratulate him.

During the press conference I asked him how he felt about winning by burning a renewable fuel in his car and how it performed. He has no problem with ethanol. In fact, he said it helped him get better gas mileage and that was beneficial in the end.

Listen to Dario talk about ethanol here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/indy-07-dario.mp3]

2007 Indy 500 Photo Album

Don’t forget to check out my online photo album which Laura McNamara and I have contributed to during this past week and have a great holiday.

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

A Soggy Finish To Indy

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff SimmonsThis race today will go down as a strange one with all the cars running into the wall and the rain delay and then rain ending it early.

You can see from Jeff Simmon’s car here that it just poured down at the end. This is on the last lap before they came into the pits and called it over.

Jeff came in 11th but sure ran a strong race today. I think this was about the best I’ve seen his car performing and it’s too bad that the rain had to mess things up. But in the end ethanol wins again.

2007 Indy 500 Photo Album

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

The Race Is Back On

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff SimmonsThe race is back on after a lengthy delay due to rain.

Jeff Simmons in the ethanol car has been running very strong today. It looks like the race will be won on strategy and pit stop timing since the cars are pretty much out of sync with their normal plan.

I’ll try to be in victory lane and the winner’s press conference after the race and will bring you the finale as we see ethanol win no matter which car comes across the finish line first.

2007 Indy 500 Photo Album

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News

1,2,3: Simmons Hovers in Top 5, Drops to 7 During Rain Delay

John Davis

Indy 500 Ethanol Team IndyCar Driver Jeff Simmons has held a top 3 position for much of the race. Just before the rain delay, Jeff held first place in the 91st Indianapolis 500. But, just as the Ethanol Team poster boy pulled into the pits to refuel, the yellow flag dropped pushing Jeff back to 7th. Indy Series officials are holding off on whether to call the race. With 113 laps completed, the race has progressed far enough to call the winner. As it stands right now, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick hold the top 3 spots.

When Jeff was holding 2nd place, I grabbed a few words from Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner and EPIC board member Don Endres:

[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/indy-07-laura.mp3]
Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

The Race Is On

Chuck Zimmerman

Green FlagWell the weather cleared up in time for the Indy 500 to get started. Here’s Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning waving the green “e” flag to start the race here this afternoon.

I’ve posted the audio of the start for you each of the last couple years and this year is now different. In the following audio file you’ll hear the most famous words in automobile racing and the sound of these high powered engines as they crank it up.

Listen to the start of the race: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/indy-07-start-engines.mp3]

2007 Indy 500 Photo Album

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News

Ethanol Set To Break More Markets

John Davis

EPIC Board President Thomas Branhan watches Indy 500 paradeThe man that built The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council from the ground up is Board President Tom Branhan, CEO and general manager of Glacial Lakes Energy. When I caught up with him on the bus, he said the transition to 100 percent ethanol fuel in the Indy Racing League is a major stride for the ethanol industry, and he said there’s certainly more opportunity to keep up that pace. Tom pointed out that every IndyCar runs strictly on Honda motors, but as the ethanol industry expands to other major motor series, that means a larger variety of engines that will be built to run on ethanol.

[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/branhan-tom1.mp3]

Tom said this year’s Honda motors built specifically for ethanol fuel are running farther and faster on the same amount of fuel than methanol – the fuel the IRL series used previously. He said ethanol’s performance shows that it can be run in just about any engine if it’s set up for it, getting better mileage and better horsepower. Tom says he’s confident the 91st Indy 500 race will also demonstrate that use of ethanol also amounts to less wear and tear on the IndyCars.

Tom pointed out that as more engines are designed for use of ethanol fuel, EPIC’s role in educating the public will be increasingly vital.

[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/branhan-tom2.mp3]
Audio, Car Makers, E85, Energy, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Indy Racing, News, Racing

Indy 500 Reaffirms Ethanol As Trusted Fuel Source

John Davis

VeraSun CEO gets up to speed on ethanol at Indy 500Amidst the hustle and bustle of race weekend events, I caught up with EPIC board member Don Endres of VeraSun Energy, a producer of fuel grade ethanol. Don said the Indy Racing League’s switch to 100 percent ethanol fuel is history in the making. He said the IRL’s investment in the fuel not only demonstrates to the world that ethanol is a trusted renewable fuel source that promotes a cleaner environment, but that it’s also a high-performance fuel with benefits surpassing those of gasoline.

[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/endres-don.mp3]

Don broke down industry projections for the growth of ethanol. He said the fuel currently accounts for just 4 to 5 percent of the fuel stream today. America uses about 142 billions of gasoline annually and that figure is growing by about a percent and a half a year. The Energy Information Administration estimates that by 2050 the demand for gas will reach upwards of 163 billion gallons a year at a 10 percent ethanol blend. That means an annual demand of at least 16.3 billion gallons of ethanol by 2050.

Don said today, the ethanol industry is producing just 6 billion gallons annually and there is another 6 billion gallons of production under construction. He added that car makers are putting a significant number of flex-fuel vehicles into the consumer market, which can burn a higher grade ethanol blend, E85. With an estimated 2 million FFVs added to the market each year on top of the current 6 million already available, Don said the market for ethanol is set to expand well-beyond where it’s at today.

For Don, it’s still rather early in the game. He added that the concentrated push for domestically-produced fuel from America’s politicians not only reaffirm his projections for a vastly growing demand for ethanol, but help drive it.

Audio, Car Makers, E85, Energy, EPIC, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Government, Indy Racing, News, Racing