Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

IA RFA Top state officials will keynote the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Summit on Wednesday in Des Moines.

The event will feature the latest news in Iowa’s biodiesel and ethanol industries with a keynote address by Iowa Governor Chet Culver and a special address by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.

Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production with 26 ethanol refineries and the capacity to produce over 1.7 billion gallons annually. There are another 21 ethanol refineries under construction or expansion that will add 1.6 billion gallons of annual capacity. In addition, Iowa has 14 biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of over 315 million gallons either in operation or under construction.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association was formed in 2002 to represent the state’s ethanol and biodiesel producers.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Sunshine State Energy Grants

Cindy Zimmerman

Florida Energy The state of Florida has announced grants for a number of renewable energy projects using various types of biomass.

Here are just a few of the projects being funded for 2007:

Citrus Energy LLC, “Fuel Ethanol Production from Citrus Waste Biomass” ($2.5 million): Based in Clewiston, the company will construct a four-million-gallon-per-year ethanol bio-refinery to use citrus waste to produce ethanol.

Alico Inc., “Commercial Ethanol Production from Biomass” ($2.5 million): The project will use biomass products to co-produce ethanol and electricity at a savings for consumers.

Losonoco Inc., “Losonoco Mulberry Ethanol” ($2.5 million): Losonoco Inc. will purchase, refurbish, and operate a shuttered fuel ethanol production facility in the City of Mulberry in Polk County.

Florida International University, “Assessment and Development of Pretreatment for Sugarcane Bagasse to Commercialize Cellulosic Ethanol Technology” ($990,532): The university project will determine the technical feasibility of using Florida sugarcane waste as a feedstock for a large-scale ethanol industry in the state.

Through the 2006 Florida Energy Act, the Florida Legislature appropriated $15 million for renewable energy technologies grants to stimulate capital investment in the state and promote and enhance the statewide utilization of renewable energy technologies, including ethanol and bioenergy.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Montana Latest to Move Forward on Biodiesel Mandate

John Davis

The Montana State Senate today voted to give initial approval to a bill that would require all biodiesel sold in the state contain at least 5% biodiesel.

This AP story in the Great Falls (MT) Tribune says Senate Bill 432 – a measure sponsored Sen. John Brueggeman (R-Polson) – passed 35-15:

Sen. John Brueggeman (R-Polson) Brueggeman said biodiesel fuels can be made from oils derived from Montana’s farm crops. By using these homegrown, renewable energy resources, he said, Montana could help curb the country’s dependency on foreign oil.
“The U.S. has to take steps now,” Brueggeman said, “or else we will be subjugated to the Asian economies.”

The bill does have some exceptions for the railroad and mining industries and if biodiesel becomes more expensive that conventional diesel.

Biodiesel, Legislation

Big Oil Gets Into Biodiesel

John Davis

Chevron logo In what might seem like a bit of an ironic twist, oil giant Chevron is getting into the biodiesel business. The California-based company has a 22% share of a 20-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel refinery set to open next month in oil-central Galveston. The Houston Chronicle reports the plant will be one of the largest in the country and marks a change in attitude for at least one major player in the oil industry:

“Over the last couple of years, our company has come to the point of view that there is more global demand for energy coming than we know how to meet the way we’ve always done things,” Rick Zalesky, Chevron’s vice president of biofuels and hydrogen, said during a recent tour of the Galveston plant. “So oil and gas will continue to be the major source, but is that enough? And we’ve concluded no.”

CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, Joe Jobe, says this is a good thing and is a win-win situation for Chevron and the biodiesel industry. Chevron gets a foothold in the growing biodiesel market, and biodiesel makers get the technology and experience of a major refiner.

Biodiesel

Ethanol Drives Farmland Prices

Cindy Zimmerman

FRB ChicagoThe Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s latest AgLetter reports that ethanol is helping to fuel a surge in agricultural land prices.

According to the report, the 2006 annual increase in farmland values was 9 percent for the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Iowa and parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

The area with the biggest rise was northwest Illinois, where prices soared by 17 percent last year. Iowa posted a 13 percent annual increase because of a fourth quarter gain of 7 percent.

Based on 213 survey responses from agricultural bankers, the quarterly rise in the value of “good” agricultural land was 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006. Almost 50 percent of the respondents expected farmland values to increase, as well as to remain stable, in the first quarter of 2007.

Ethanol, News

Bush Charged Up Over Alternative Automobiles

Cindy Zimmerman

Bush and Car A day after getting a close-up look at a 100 percent ethanol-powered IndyCar, President Bush checked out the battery-powered options on the White House South Lawn, calling on Congress to fully fund his budget request for alternative sources of energy.

“It’s going to require collaboration between the public sector and the private sector. It’s going to require making sure our smartest scientists understand that this is a national priority. But I firmly believe that the goal I laid out, that Americans will use 20 percent less gasoline over the next 10 years is going to be achieved, and here’s living proof of how we’re going to get there,” he said.

“Americans ought to feel optimistic about our future. We’re going to be driving our cars using all kinds of different fuels other than gasoline, and using batteries that will be able to be recharged in vehicles that don’t have to look like golf carts.”

Energy, Government, News

UF Ethanol Expert Meets With President

Cindy Zimmerman

Bush and friendsA University of Florida microbiology professor was among a small group of alternative energy experts who met with President Bush Friday at the White House.

Dr. Lonnie Ingram, director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels, has been studying ethanol for more than 20 years and has developed a biotechnology “bug” that converts biomass and other farm wastes into fuel.

Lonnie IngramAccording to an article from the Gainesville Sun, Ingram talked to Bush about “Florida’s potential to be a key player in the alternative fuel market.”

“I told him Florida produces more biomass than any state in the country,” Ingram said. “Florida could lead the country.”

After the meeting on Friday, President Bush told reporters that he “met with people that are working to help us develop a fuel industry that will be able to have ethanol derived from produce other than corn. In other words, I’m talking with people on the leading edge of change. And the reason why I’ve asked them to come in to see me is because I want to make sure that the goal I set by reducing gasoline usage by 20 percent over a 10-year period is a realistic goal. I know it’s a necessary goal: it’s necessary for national security purposes; it’s necessary for economic security purposes; and it’s necessary in order to be good stewards of the environment.”

Listen to a previous Domestic Fuel interview with Ingram about his biomass technology research. Listen To MP3 Ingram Interview

Audio, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

Commodity Classic Time

Cindy Zimmerman

classic 07 The 2007 Commodity Classic is upon us. For the first time this year, the annual commodity event brings together the “Big Three” – corn, soybeans AND wheat. The first two have been meeting in a combined event for years, now wheat has decided to join the club.

The meeting will have a pirate theme this year, being held overlooking beautiful Tampa Bay, famous for its annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival. And domestic fuels will be taking center stage at the event, since all three of these important commodities are being affected by the biofuels boom. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Soybean Association (ASA) and National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) will all be holding their annual meetings at the Classic and making policy decisions that will definitely include energy and biofuels.

NCGA CEO Rick Tolman says the “Corn Congress” will be considering resolutions on what corn growers would like to see in the 2007 Farm Bill. “In addition, we’ve got some real challenges with biofuels policy,” said Tolman. “We’re rapidly meeting a point where current policy will not drive the market anymore – we’ve outgrown that market. So, we’ve got to have some new policy there as well.”

You can listen to an interview with Tolman here: Listen to MP3 File Rick Tolman Interview (5 min MP3)

Stay tuned to Domestic Fuel for complete coverage this week of the Commodity Classic.

Audio, Biodiesel, Commodity Classic, conferences, Ethanol, News

USDA Helping With Rural Development

Chuck Zimmerman

Allan JohnsonUSDA’s Rural Development department has been involved in assisting rural communities in a number of project areas over the years. One of them is the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

At the recent Cattle Industry Convention, I met with and interviewed Allan Johnson, USDA Rural Development, Senior Advisor. The conversation turned to renewable energy right away since ethanol was a big topic of discussion among livestock producers attending the meeting. Allan talks about the ways USDA has assisted rural communities in this area, like funding feasibility studies.

He didn’t have the statistics at hand, but I obtained some from USDA that include the following:

More than $428.1 million in renewable energy and energy efficient ventures, including $304.9 million in Value-Added and Business Ventures involving wind power, anaerobic digesters, solar, ethanol plants, direct combustion and fuel pellet systems and other bioenergy and energy efficiency related systems. And $58.2 million in Biomass research and development grants and $119 million in renewable Electric Utility upgrades and expansions.

You can listen to my interview with Allen here: Listen to MP3 File Allan Johnson Interview (6 min MP3)

Audio, Government

Great Smoky Mountains Going Green

John Davis

Great Smoky Mountains Natl Park
National Park Service diesel vehicles on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be filling up with 50% biodiesel. This story in the Haywood County (NC) News says the biodiesel will go into about two dozen vehicles that burn 12,000 gallons a year:

“This biodiesel refueling project will help us achieve our long-term goal of stabilizing or improving air quality in the park,” said Dale Ditmanson, Park Superintendent. “We also see it as a great opportunity to lead by example as we host local school groups and millions of visitors from all across the country and world.”

The change is made possible through a couple of grants… one from the Clean Fuel Advanced Technology Project, managed by the North Carolina Solar Center and North Carolina State University… and one from specialty license plates in the state.

Biodiesel, Government