energy.agwired.com

The latest report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service shows that acreage planted to corn this year is now estimated at 92.9 million acres, up 19 percent from 2006 and 14 percent higher than 2005. Farmers increased corn plantings 3 percent from their March intentions, resulting in the highest planted area since 1944 when 95.5 million acres were planted for all purposes.

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, “assuming that trend yields continue, American farmers could produce well in excess of 13 billion bushels of corn, more than enough to satisfy the needs of food, feed and fuel markets.”

Responding to this increase in production and countering critics who have sought to blame ethanol for everything from higher pizza prices to a shortage of tequila, RFA President Bob Dinneen issued the following statement:

“American farmers have heard the market signal loud and clear and they have answered that call. Such a response leaves no question about the ability of our agriculture industry to continue feeding the world and renewably fueling our nation … It is becoming abundantly clear that we must move away from imported oil with increasing haste. While ethanol is no panacea, it does provide a pathway to greater energy self-reliance and America’s farmers are helping lead the way.”

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority in Ohio has given the green light to the proposed construction of an ethanol plant… the first with direct access to the Great Lakes.

This story from the Toledo (OH) Free Press reports the plant is to be built on a site on the Maumee River:

“We are very pleased that the Port Authority feels that an ethanol plant would be a great addition to the City of Toledo and the region,” said Bob Spitler, an attorney for Buckeye Biopower. “We anticipate that the ethanol plant would have a significant positive economic impact on the region and help lead Toledo in the alternative fuels arena.”

The Port Authority, which owns the 120-acre site on the Maumee River, consented to Midwest Terminals of Toledo’s request to sublease the property. Buckeye Biopower in turn will build the 30-acre plant on the site. Midwest Terminals President Alex Johnson said groundbreaking would likely happen between October and December.

The $240 million plant will employ 40 to 50 people when completed.

The nation’s first closed-loop ethanol facility has opened near Mead, Nebraska. Closed-loop means it has a cattle feedlot attached with an ethanol plant. The E3 BioFuels Genesis Plant uses the manure from feedlot’s 28,000 cattle manure and some cellulosic biomass to make a biogas in an anaerobic digester. That biogas powers the ethanol plant, and the ethanol by-product, distillers grain, is fed to the cattle.

This release from the American Coalition for Ethanol praises E3 BioFuels ingenuity:

“The U.S. ethanol industry is all about innovation, and this E3 BioFuels facility is a prime example of how innovative
thinking can make a great process even better,” said Brian Jennings, ACE Executive Vice President. “U.S. ethanol
producers are constantly striving for higher efficiencies, and ACE congratulates E3 BioFuels on their success in
implementing this pioneering new system of ethanol production.”

The plant will produce 25 million gallons of ethanol each year.