Darryl Brinkmann Annual Report

Chuck Zimmerman

Darryl BrinkmannNBB Chairman Darryl Brinkmann took to the stage today at the National Biodiesel Conference and gave us a great overview of what the organization is doing. He mentioned that the word biodiesel is now in the dictionary for the first time. You can learn a lot about what NBB is doing, especially in the area of quality control. Darryl talks about the growth of the BQ-9000 program.

Listen to Darry’s speech here: Listen To MP3 Darryl Brinkmann Speech (13 min MP3)

Domestic Fuel coverage of the
National Biodiesel Conference is sponsored by John Deere

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

DaimlerChrysler Rewards NBB

Chuck Zimmerman

Deb MorrissettThe folks at the National Biodiesel Board have to be happy about an announcement made by DaimlerChrysler representative Deb Morrissett. She said that the company would provide a nice purchase incentive for NBB board and staff members as a way to show support and thanks for all the work they do to help further the promotion and development of biodiesel.

I interviewed Deb after her presentation which you can listen to here: Listen To MP3 Deb Morrissett Interview (3 min MP3)

You can listen to her full speech here: Listen To MP3 Deb Morrissett Speech (4 min MP3)

Domestic Fuel coverage of the
National Biodiesel Conference is sponsored by John Deere

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

Michigan Gov to Call for Massive Alt Fuels Initiative

John Davis

Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm The Detroit Free Press is reporting today that in tonight’s State of the State address Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm will call for $100 million in state spending over the next three years on alternative energy in Michigan.

Here’s some of the anticipated highlights:

• Investing about $50 million over three years in public and private sector money to pay for the research and pilot programs of alternative energy companies in Michigan.

• A loan fund of about $12 million that would help the state’s alternative energy entrepreneurs reduce their debt and lower costs of capital access for renewable resources.

• Spending about $7 million to install about 1,000 biodiesel and ethanol pumps across the state by the end of 2008.

• Targeting $20 million of state money and at least $11 million from private resources toward the Venture Michigan Fund to help the commercialization of alternative energy companies across the state.

In addition, Granholm is expected to call for legislation that would require utilities to produce at least 10% of their energy from alternative sources such as wind and biofuels.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, News

Marathon First to Offer In-line Blending in Kentucky

John Davis

Marathon Oil The nation’s fifth-largest oil refiner, Marathon Oil, has announced it is the first biodiesel storage and distribution terminal in Kentucky to provide in-line blending. From a company press release dated today, Mary Ellen Peters, Marathon’s senior vice president for marketing says “Biodiesel helps us meet thechanging needs of our customers while supporting Kentucky’s alternative
fuels goals. Our focus continues to be on delivering the quality products our customer’s desire. Shipping the first load of biodiesel out of Marathon’s terminal fulfills that goal.”

Kentucky Clean Fuels - Kentucky Soybean Board
The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition, the Kentucky Soybean Board and National Clean Cities, Inc. helped Marathon get some grants to make this possible. The terminal, located in Louisville, will provide B-2 (2% biodiesel) and B-5 (5% biodiesel) products.

Biodiesel

Coal Leader Poised to be Wind Leader

John Davis

Officials in Wyoming, the country’s largest coal producer, believe the state could become a leader in using wind to generate power. This story in the Casper (WY) Star Tribune says the state ranks as the seventh windiest in America and has 14 million acres of windy land:

FPL Energy Wyoming “Wind energy is the fastest growing energy technology in the world, and the future looks bright for this clean energy source in Wyoming,” said documents from FPL Energy, which owns and operates the Wyoming Wind Energy Center near Evanston. “The state has world-class wind resources, the technology is improving and the costs are coming down, making wind power cost competitive with other forms of electricity generation.”

The Evanston center powers about 43,000 homes, and Wyoming has two other wind generation sites… one south of Cheyenne, and one in Medicine Bow. The article says the potential for wind electrical generation in the state is 883 million megawatt hours per year. Wyoming used only 12 million megawatt hours in 1999.

Wind

Riding & Driving

Chuck Zimmerman

Volkswagen TouregThe Ride & Drive is bigger and better than ever here at the National Biodiesel Conference this year. If you want, you can drive any of several vehicles like this 2007 Volkswagen Toureg TDI.

You can see a list of all the vehicles involved here: Ride & Drive List (pdf file)

If you’re interested you can also see a list of diesel vehicles which are available here in the United States: Diesel Vehicle List (pdf file)

Domestic Fuel coverage of the
National Biodiesel Conference is sponsored by John Deere

Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, Car Makers

Merle Haggard on Biodiesel

Chuck Zimmerman

Merle HaggardOne of the newest stars to advocate biodiesel is Merle Haggard. The legendary country star performed for attendees at this year’s Conference after meeting with the press and the board of the National Biodiesel Board.

Before coming to the auditorium where he performed though his bus got a fill up with biodiesel. During the press conference Merle said that he was learning about the benefits of biodiesel. When asked what attracted him to the renewable fuel source his answer was “the smell.”

Merle HaggardAs someone who is in a diesel powered bus a lot he says he really doesn’t like the smell of burning diesel but heard that biodiesel smelled different and that was what got him interested. He also said that he’s happy for how the development of biodiesel is helping American farmers. (Thanks to Brian Kanof for the picture of Merle filling up)

I recorded the full press conference which you can listen to here: Listen To MP3 Merle Haggard Press Conference (14 min MP3)

Domestic Fuel coverage of the
National Biodiesel Conference is sponsored by John Deere

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference

Freezing to Report on Global Warming

Cindy Zimmerman

Ely MeBeing a Floridian at heart, if not by birth, I can honestly say I have never been in weather as cold as last weekend in Ely, Minnesota when I had the opportunity to attend Ely’s Winter Festival and visit with the community’s favorite son, arctic exporer Will Steger.

Fortunately I did dress for the part, but I still had to wear fairly thin gloves to take pictures and there was one point that my hands went numb and it took 15 minutes of warming over a pot-bellied stove to get them to stop hurting.

It is a little difficult to operate a camera in sub-zero temperatures. Each of my two digital cameras froze up once on me during the picture taking at the Steger homestead.

Ely Col The official low Saturday night was 32 below zero, but it had warmed up to a balmy 25 below when we left Ely on Sunday morning to catch a plane out of Duluth.

It was a beautiful place and an interesting experience. Maybe I can go back there in the summertime!

global warming, Miscellaneous

Explorer, Environmentalist, Educator and Ethanol Evangelist

Cindy Zimmerman

Will and Bear The dogs may be pulling the sled when world-renowned arctic explorer Will Steger departs on his latest expedition February 14, but the trip will be powered by ethanol.

When Steger was looking for sponsors to support his Global Warming 101 expedition, he decided that the ethanol industry would be a natural choice.

“I’ve been talking up the benefits of ethanol for 18 years,” Steger said. “I wrote a book in 1988 and in that book I talked about ethanol as being one of the solutions.”

So, Steger approached Ron Fagen, president of Fagen, Inc. in Granite Falls, Minnesota, about the idea last year and Ron not only jumped at the opportunity, he brought the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) on board as well.

Fagens Will and Jeff“The world has become acutely aware that the use of fossil fuels is warming our planet at an alarming rate,” said Fagen. “We are honored to support his efforts to document these effects and inspire changes that will halt this trend.”

Steger says he really believes that if Americans use more ethanol it will make a positive difference in the global climate situation and it has other benefits as well. “It’s best for our economy and our national security and above all supporting our people in the rural areas,” he said. Steger is pictured here with Ron and Diane Fagen and Team Ethanol Indy Car driver Jeff Simmons.

Listen to a brief interview with Will done at the Mukluk Ball this past weekend in Ely, Minnesota. Listen To MP3 Steger Interview (1:30 min MP3)

To help support the Global Warming 101 expedition, EPIC is selling cute little polar bears in ethanol t-shirts, like the one Will is holding in the top picture. Go to www.drivingethanol.org and click on the e-mart link on the right side of the home page, then choose “polar expedition” under merchandise categories. They also have t-shirts.

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, global warming, News

Download Freedom Fuels for Free

Cindy Zimmerman

Freedom Fuels The documentary “Freedom Fuels” is now available for free download.

“Freedom Fuels” takes an in-depth look at renewable fuel sources, such as bio-diesel, ethanol and vegetable oil. It explores the interaction of the petroleum industry and alternative fuels over the last 150 years, and examines the global impact that bio-fuels can have on our future.

Visit www.mofilms.org to download the documentary. Download instructions are on the web page. Quicktime 7 is required to view the movie, and is also available for free download on the site.

Biodiesel, EPIC, Ethanol, News