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Dems Also Irked Over Conoco/Tyson Biodiesel Plans

John Davis

This week, we’ve heard a lot of talk about a change in Internal Revenue Service policy that will allow big oil companies to cash in on a $1-a-gallon tax credit originally intended to help the biodiesel industry off the ground (see my posts on April 16th & April 18th). The National Biodiesel Board has blasted the IRS for the change, and now some key Democrats in the U.S. Congress are vowing to change things back.

This article on Bloomberg.com tells more:

Rep. Lloyd Doggett“There appears to be abuse that demands legislative correction,” said Texas Representative Lloyd Doggett, who is drafting a measure to overturn the IRS rule with Representative John Larson of Connecticut. Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, said yesterday during a Finance Committee hearing that the companies tried to “go around” Congress and that the tax credit needs to be “re-examined.”

Doggett, a senior member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said he may introduce his bill as early as today. Cantwell, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, is still drafting hers.

Opponents of extending the credit to the oil companies point out that this could force the other biodiesel ventures out of business.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Purely POET

Cindy Zimmerman

The company formally known as Broin has officially completed the name changing of all its ethanol production facilities.

Poet POET, formerly known as Broin Companies, announced today that all 26 of its ethanol production facilities have changed their name to POET Biorefining. With the addition of the plants, the 32 entities that made up the Broin Companies are now united under the POET brand as the largest dry-mill ethanol producer in the country.

POET President & CEO Jeff Broin said the change will strengthen their communications and more clearly represent their position in the ethanol industry. “The 32 entities that comprise POET have always operated as one,” said Broin. “Now that we are operating under the same name, the strength of our team will be unmistakable.”

POET has one plant opening next month in Corning, Iowa and another seven currently under construction.

A blog on product names, called the Name Wire, did a recent post about Broin’s name change to POET asking readers to vote on whether they like it or not. Rural Iowa commentator Chuck Offenburger also gave his poetic opinion. So far, POET is getting rave reviews.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Obama Calls for Low Carbon Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

ObamaOn the campaign trail in New Hampshire on Friday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) called for a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (NLCFS) similar to one created in California earlier this year by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to a news release, Obama’s proposal would require that all transportation fuels sold in the U.S. contain 5 percent less carbon by 2015 and 10 percent less carbon by 2020. The NCLFS would also create an incentive for the production of more flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on ethanol and more plug-in hybrid vehicles that run on electricity.

“It will take a grassroots effort to make America greener and end the tyranny of oil. This Earth Day should mark the beginning of a nationwide effort to harness our technology, our ingenuity and our will to achieve energy independence in our time,” Obama said.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, News

Gulf Ethanol Expansion

Cindy Zimmerman

Gulf Gulf Ethanol is expanding its search for plant sites throughout the Texas and Louisiana coastal region.

According to a company release, Gulf Ethanol has a non-binding letter of intent to purchase an existing manufacturing facility in Bayport, Texas from Clean-Fuel International Corp., and is actively evaluating additional sites for the processing and production of ethanol and other biofuels.

“We feel there is an exceptional opportunity to grow a production and processing capacity along the gulf coast. The majority of America’s ethanol production is currently in the corn belt,” noted JT Cloud, Gulf’s President. “We see ample opportunity to expand processing and production to the heavily populated south. We expect to use fuel stocks grown in Texas and Louisiana as well as considering the importation of raw sugars from Brazil and other South American countries,” he added.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Greening the Gas Pumps

John Davis

California, especially the San Francisco Bay area, is known for its environmentally conscious ways. According to this story in the North County Times, the area’s first public biodiesel station takes green to a whole new level:

BioFuels OasisBiofuel Oasis, a Berkeley-based retailer, said its station will feature credit-card operated pumps, air and water hoses, a convenience store and long hours. But the four well-lit pumps will be solar powered, the convenience store will sell organic lemonade, and the pumps will only dispense biodiesel, which is frequently made from products such as vegetable oil or soy.

The new station should save time for the Bay Area’s ever-increasing flock of biodiesel drivers, who now have to wait as long as an hour to fill up at Biofuel Oasis’ one-pump warehouse in West Berkeley or drive to a membership co-op in San Francisco during its very limited hours.

“We think this is going to bring biodiesel to a whole new level,” said Melissa Hardy, Biofuel Oasis co-owner. “Although we like to think of this as the anti-gas station.”

There are about a dozen biodiesel stations in the Bay Area, but the others are cooperatives for members only and are opened limited hours.

Biodiesel

Manitoba Considers Biodiesel Mandate

John Davis

The Canadian province of Manitoba is considering legislation that would ensure biodiesel quality sold in the province and could eventually mandate a minimum standard.

Check out this story on the pending Biofuels Amendment Act on TruckNews.com:

Rondeau“We are excited about the potential the biofuels industry holds for Manitoba,” said Jim Rondeau, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines. “This new legislation will provide the framework to ensure real and sustained growth of the ethanol and biodiesel industries for years to come.”

Rondeau noted the proposed legislation would also position the province to implement a mandate for biodiesel at some point in the near future.

If the legislation passes, Manitoba would be the first Canadian province to mandate biodiesel.

Biodiesel, International

Robotic Ethanol Research

Cindy Zimmerman

Robotic A robotic arm is providing a helping hand for USDA researchers doing cellulosic ethanol research.

The one-armed robot is helping scientists with the Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, Illinois speed studies aimed at harnessing the power of proteins for industrial uses, such as making fuel ethanol from fibrous corn stover.

According to an ARS article, the robotic system can carry out tasks hundreds—or even thousands—of times faster than a human could.

Of particular interest is using the robotic system to genetically modify new strains of yeast that can metabolize sugars locked up within corn fiber—something these microbial workhorses have so far failed to do.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News, Research

Chavez Shifts Gears on Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

ChavezVenezuela President Hugo Chavez has appeared to shift his stance on ethanol this week, at least as it relates to Brazil.

The Associated Press reports that Chavez is only opposed to U.S. plans to increase production of ethanol made from corn.

“We aren’t against biofuels,” Chavez said at a two-day South American energy summit that ended Tuesday. “In fact we want to import ethanol from Brazil.” He said Venezuela needs some 200,000 barrels of ethanol a day to be used as a fuel additive.

Chavez recently criticized an agreement between the United States and Brazil to promote ethanol production, saying that it would lead to starvation. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva disagrees.

“The truth is that biofuel is a way out for the poor countries of the world,” he said. “The problem of food in the world now is not lack of production of food. It’s a lack of income for people to buy food.”

Comments from both leaders came at the conclusion of a South American energy summit this week.

Ethanol, International, News

Ethanol Fires Back at Stanford Study

Cindy Zimmerman

AceThe ethanol industry is firing back over headlined reports of a Stanford University computer model prediction that indicates “nearly 200 more people would die yearly from respiratory problems if all vehicles in the United States ran on a mostly ethanol fuel blend by 2020.”

Officials with the American Coalition for Ethanol stated that, “Air quality has improved in every city, county, and state that has switched from straight gasoline use to ethanol blended fuel. Those are real world results, not predictions.”

“Ethanol’s record as a clean air fuel is unmatched. The track record for the predictive models issued by ethanol opponents – especially with respect to California predictions – has been less than stellar,” ACE’s statement continues.

The Stanford study, which was published in Wednesday’s online edition of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology, is based on all cars using a blend of 85 percent ethanol, a scenario that could not happen within the foreseeable future, if ever. First, it would require that all cars on the road be flex-fuel vehicles, capable of using E85. Only about five million are currently on the road and auto makers have no plans to make all future vehicles flex-fuel. Secondly, there is no foreseeable way that the ethanol industry, even with cellulosic, could supply as much ethanol as the study assumes.

Ethanol, News

Small Wind Tax Break

John Davis

Those who generate their own power through small windmills could get a tax credit for the cost of the turbines.
Sen SalazarSen Smith
According to this article posted on Compositeworld.com, the Rural Wind Energy Development Act is primarily sponsored by U.S. Senators Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Gordon Smith (R-OR), and co-sponsored by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Larry Craig (R-ID):

The “Rural Wind Energy Development Act” (S. 673) would provide a federal tax credit of $1,500 per 0.5 kilowatt (kW) of capacity to purchasers of small wind systems nationwide. This five-year credit would apply to all wind systems with capacities of less than 100 kW that are used to power individual homes, farms or small businesses.

The American Wind Energy Association is praising the bill:

AWEA logo“There is a great satisfaction in gen-erating your own electricity and do-ing so in a way that reduces global warming emissions and strengthens the country’s energy security,” says AWEA executive director Randall Swisher. “The bill proposed by senators Salazar and Smith empowers consumers and is good energy policy.”

Wind