Racing in the Sunshine

Cindy Zimmerman

Florida FreshThe 55th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will be “Fresh From Florida” this year with a fresh new fuel.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has partnered with Sebring International Raceway to sponsor America’s oldest sports car endurance race, which will be held March 17. The winner of this year’s race will celebrate victory with a glass of “Fresh from Florida” orange juice in the winner’s circle.

RLR ALSIt will also be the first American Le Mans Series race to be run on 10 percent ethanol and will feature the entry from Rahal Letterman Racing, sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. The Hilliard, Ohio-based team spent Monday and Wednesday at Sebring in the first test for its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Team co-owner Bobby Rahal won at Sebring in 1992 in a Porsche 962 and plans on rekindling that success with a lineup of Ralf Kelleners and Tom Milner for the full American Le Mans Series season.

The 2007 American Le Mans Series opens with the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17 at Sebring International Raceway. The green flag will fall shortly after 10 a.m. and will be broadcast live on the SPEED channel and American Le Mans Radio.

And stay tuned for more racing in the sunshine later this month when the Indy Car Series kicks off at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, running for the first time on 100 percent fuel grade ethanol. That race will be held on March 24 at 8 pm and broadcast live on ESPN2.

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

University of Florida Seeking Biofuels Research Funding

Cindy Zimmerman

Jimmy CheekFlorida legislators are being asked to help fund biofuels research in the Sunshine State.

Dr. Jimmy Cheek, Senior Vice President for Agricultural and Natural Resources at the University of Florida, says they are working to convince the legislature to support an alternative fuel initiative that would provide funding to help build a pilot plant in Gainesville and support cellulosic ethanol research.

“Biofuels are critical to the future of Florida,” said Cheek in an interview with Southeast Agnet. “We will not probably produce ethanol from corn and sugar but we will produce it from cellulose.”

That includes agricultural products, agricultural waste, trees, urban waste and hurricane debris.

Listen to Cheek’s interview with Katherine Bush of Southeast Agnet: Listen to MP3 File Dr. Jimmy Cheek (1 min MP3)

Ethanol, News, Research

Iowa Forms State Biodiesel Board, Moves Key Legislation

John Davis

The Iowa Soybean Association has formed a board to coordinate biodiesel activities in the state, along with activities with the National Biodiesel Board.

Wallaces Farmer reports that the ISA hired Randy Olson to serve as the new Iowa Biodiesel Board’s executive director, as well as a senior marketing manger for the association:

“I’m very excited to join ISA and support our state’s farmers,” says Olson. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with our growing number of biodiesel manufacturers in the state. With this industry’s tremendous growth, it is vital that our producers get the support that they need.”

Meanwhile, the ISA is happy that several keys pieces of legislation for biodiesel survived the March 9th “funnel” at the state legislature. That date is the date that bills must pass out of committee… otherwise they are considered dead. The bills making it through include ones that provide funding for a biodiesel testing laboratory to ensure quality, as well as tax breaks for biodiesel facilities.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Nova Biosource Fuels Inks Deal with Scott Petroleum

John Davis

Nova logo Biodiesel maker Nova Biosource Fuels has agreed to purchase 50% of the biodiesel produced from a Greenville, Mississippi plant that is a joint ventire between Nova and Scott Petroleum.

In a company press release, Nova says the plant will be capable of producing 20 million gallons of biodiesel a year when it is finished this summer:

Nova plant “We selected Nova’s technology based upon our confidence in the technology and the entire Nova team,” said Solon Scott, President of Scott Petroleum. “Nova’s ability to utilize multiple feedstocks, produced right here in the Delta, and its ability to generate outstanding fuel quality gave us the confidence to invest and become a producer in the emerging biodiesel industry. This tolling and off-take agreement is an extension of our continuing partnership with Nova, and we are very pleased to embark on this new opportunity.”

“Our relationship with Solon and Scott Petroleum has continued to evolve largely in part because of Solon’s vision to vertically integrate from the farm to fuel,” said Kenneth T. Hern, Nova’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Scott Petroleum has demonstrated leadership with an outstanding and successful track record as a petroleum distributor in the Delta for many years. We are very pleased to see that the continued benefits of our long-term alliance with Scott Petroleum will produce biodiesel utilizing our proprietary technology while granting us 50 percent of all production from the plant.”

The plant will use catfish oil, poultry fat and other rendered products from the area.

Nova is building three to four biodiesel refineries able to produce 160 to 240 million gallons of biodiesel fuel each year. In the next few years, Nova intends to have seven 20-60 million-gallon-a-year refineries up and running.

Biodiesel

Lincoln, Coleman Look to Extend Biodiesel Tax Incentive

John Davis

Lincoln and NBBSen Norm Coleman
In a bi-partisan move, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Democrat from Arkansas, and Norm Coleman, Republican from Minnesota, have introduced legislation today to extend the federal biodiesel tax credit. The legislation would extend the federal excise tax credit and income tax credit for biodiesel to 2017. Lincoln originally introduced the credit and got it passed in 2004.

In a press release, the National Biodiesel Board was quick to praise the action:

NBB logo “Senator Lincoln is again blazing trails for biodiesel to boost America’s energy security, economy and the environment, including climate change,” said NBB Chief Executive Officer Joe Jobe who was in Washington, D.C. for the bill’s introduction. “Extending the tax incentive gives confidence for continued biodiesel industry growth.”

The release went on to point out how Lincoln’s original legislation helped the American biodiesel industry go from just 22 plants with a capacity of 157 million gallons of fuel in 2004 to today’s 105 plants able to produce 864 million gallons of biodiesel.

“Our American agricultural producers and domestic companies have demonstrated their commitment to energy independence through the production of renewable fuels like biodiesel,” Sen. Lincoln said. “It’s time for Congress to follow its initial work and make the necessary investment for continued progress and development. I look forward to working with advocates of alternative energy sources like the National Biodiesel Board towards our shared goal of promoting greater production of renewable fuels.”

“Biodiesel is central to our efforts to free America from our dangerous dependence on foreign oil,” Sen. Coleman said. “By passing the long-term extension of the biodiesel tax credit contained in this bill, we can help ensure that production of this critical renewable fuel continues to grow.”

The NBB says the industry adds $24 billion to the U.S. economy between 2005 and 2015 and will create nearly 40,000 jobs in many different sectors. Tax revenues from biodiesel will keep nearly $14 billion in the U.S. that would otherwise be spent on foreign oil… more than paying for the incentives.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Groundbreaking News

Cindy Zimmerman

US Bioenergy Pacific Ethanol US BioEnergy “continues to bring ethanol production to where it belongs – the heartland of America.” The company will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony for US Bio Dyersville Friday in Dyersville, Iowa.

Meanwhile, out on the west coast, Pacific Ethanol has announced it will begin construction on a 50 million gallon per year ethanol facility at the Port of Stockton, California within the next thirty days.

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Food Prices Only Expected to Increase Moderately

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Despite a 100 percent increase in corn prices due to higher ethanol demand, the overall impact on food prices is expected to be minimal, according to an agriculture department economist.

Ephraim Leibtag, USDA’s food price economist, says retail food prices are forecast to increase two to three percent this year. “That’s a little bit higher than what we’ve seen in the last couple years, but still within the range of what we’ve seen in the last ten years or so.”

Leibtag says corn prices do have an impact on the cost of food and feed, “but their share of the overall retail budget is relatively small.”

In fact, even with higher feed costs for cattle, beef may actually end up costing less this year because of higher supplies, and the same goes for pork. USDA is predicting about a one percent increase in retail chicken prices.

Listen to USDA report: Listen to MP3 File Food Prices (3 min MP3)

Audio, Ethanol, News

Ethanol Pipeline Proposals

Cindy Zimmerman

Lugar Harkin Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) have introduced legislation that would direct the U.S. Department of Energy to study the feasibility of transporting ethanol by pipeline from the Midwest to the East and West coasts.

The Ethanol Infrastructure Expansion Act of 2007 would look at creating a dedicated pipeline system could enable ethanol producers to deliver their products to states with a growing demand, like California, New York, and Pennsylvania, at a lower cost.

“We must explore every option for reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Overcoming problems in moving ethanol through pipelines, as Brazil has done, is important in developing the full promise of America’s renewable fuels. This legislation will help determine U.S. infrastructure planning and development,” Lugar said in a press release.

Petrobras Meanwhile, Dow Jones reports that Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras, is planning to start building an ethanol pipeline from central Brazil to the coast this year.

Chief Executive Sergio Gabrielli said, “The pipeline will serve mainly to transport ethanol for export to Japan.”

Petrobras, Japanese company Mitsui & Co. (MITSY) and the Brazilian builder Camargo Correa in late February had signed a memorandum of understanding to study the construction of an ethanol pipeline network in Brazil.

The pipelines would link ethanol producing areas in Brazil’s central state of Goias via main producing areas in Sao Paulo state to the port of Sao Sebastiao on the Atlantic Ocean.

Ethanol, Government, News

Biodiesel on a Small Scale, Too

John Davis

So many times, we talk about large biodiesel refineries coming online that will supply entire regions with the renewable fuel. But this little item in a local on-line paper caught my eye. The University of Wisconsin Extension Service is sponsoring at least two workshops… one at the Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton on March 27th and one in Dunn County on March 29th… teaching farmers how to brew their own biodiesel right on the farm.

The Dunn County News points out that Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, had intended for farmers to do just that… make their own fuel to run the tractors to work their farms. The article goes on to promise that at the upcoming workshops “farmers will get an unbiased, research-based look at what it takes to produce farm-based biodiesel”:

Jim Faust, UW Extension Ag Agent noted “There is a tremendous interest in biofuels, both among farmers, industry and government, whether it’s corn ethanol, biodiesel or ethanol from cellulose. It represents a potential win-win situation in terms of economic development in rural communities, reduction of greenhouse gases, as well as taking the U.S. on the road towards energy independence.

Gov Jim Doyle Wisconsin already has an aggressive plan for renewable energy. Governor Jim Doyle wants to replace 25% of the energy used in the state with energy from renewable sources, such as biodiesel and ethanol, by the year 2025 (see his plan here).

While these types of plans, such as the Wisconsin 2025 initiative and the big refineries, so often grab the headlines on this web site, it’s also the little initiatives such as the Wisconsin Extension Service’s attempt to teach farmers to make their own fuel that help chip away at that foreign fuel dependence.

Biodiesel

Push for E20

Cindy Zimmerman

Thune Senator John Thune (R-SD) is asking federal officials to approve the use of a 20 percent blend of ethanol in vehicles.

Thune said in a press release, “Conditions are ripe for the next big step forward in bolstering America’s energy independence. After several years of success, it is time for the federal government to prepare for the production and use of a new blend of ethanol, E-20. I have requested that EPA begin preparing for certification of the E-20 ethanol blend for use in automobiles.”

About half the gasoline sold in the nation is now a blend of ten percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, Thune urged the agency to prepare now for an upcoming waiver request from the state of Minnesota asking that the EPA approve the use of E20 in automobiles, which would ultimately pave the way for other states to follow that lead.

Ethanol, Government, News