Ethanol Not to Blame for Tortilla Prices

Cindy Zimmerman

TolmanRising tortilla prices in Mexico are not the result of increased U.S. ethanol production or U.S. corn prices, according to the CEO of the National Corn Growers Association.

Rick Tolman told grain and livestock producers meeting in central Missouri Wednesday that lots of things are being blamed on ethanol that are undeserved and one of them is the price of tortillas in Mexico.

“There’s a quarter of a cent’s worth of corn in a tortilla. You double the price of corn, it goes up to a half cent,” said Tolman. “The reality is that tortilla prices are going up in Mexico because they have a tariff rate quota system that’s a supply system. We export yellow corn, tortillas are made from white corn, they control imports of white corn. They have mismanaged that and they have supply issues. That’s why the tortilla prices have gone up, not because of ethanol.”

Tolman was in Jefferson City, Missouri for a Missouri Corn Growers Association meeting on “Profiting in the New Paradigm: Feed and Fuel Security in the Booming Ethanol Age.”

Listen to his presentation here: Listen To MP3 Rick Tolman (25:00 min MP3)

Audio, Ethanol, News

Loan Guarentee Process Holds Up First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

Iogen Back in June, Canadian biotechnology company Iogen was waiting on loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a $500 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Idaho.

The company is still waiting, according to a report from McLatchey Newspapers.

According to the article, the loan guarentee is being held up because the U.S. Department of Energy office in charge of the process has only one employee and there’s no money to hire more staff to deal with the more than 100 applications that have been submitted so far.

Congress authorized the Department of Energy to back loans for new energy technologies “a year and a half ago,” said Jeff Passmore, Iogen’s executive vice president, “and we still don’t have a loan guarantee initiative up and running. That’s disappointing.”

The company has everything in place to break ground in Shelley, about 10 miles from Idaho Falls, including equity from such investors as Shell Oil. But it can’t close on an approximately $200 million loan without a government-backed loan guarantee.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

Biodiesel Heating Up in Brazil

John Davis

Carnaval (Mardi Gras) is not the only hot thing in Brazil at this time of year. A U.S. firm is investing $35 million dollars in Brazil’s burgeoning biodiesel industry. Check out this story from CattleNetwork.com:

“We are going to build a facility capable of producing 28 million gallons of biodiesel from soy and sunflower oils,” said Tyler Bruch, president and chief executive of Global Ag Investments. “We’ll have the crushing capacity built on our property so we’re not at the mercy of buying oils from the large multinationals. Plus we’ll have our own biodiesel plant.”

So will it pay off? Well, the article goes on to say that an accounting firm in Rio pegs the return on investment at 40%.

BrazilPrez11.JPG You might remember my post earlier this month where the President of Brazil attended the opening of the country’s biggest biodiesel mill. (See photo of the event on the right). And Cindy reported last week about how the U.S. and Brazil are seeking an ethanol partnership. Looks like plenty is afoot in the alternative fuels biz way south of the border.

Biodiesel, International

New California Ethanol Plant Announced

Cindy Zimmerman

A New York-based ethanol company plans to build a second plant in California – its fifth currently in the works.

According to an AP report, economic development officials in California’s Kern County announced that U.S. Ethanol Holdings LLC plans to build a $200 million plant in Wasco with the capacity to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol per year.

U.S. Ethanol has four other plants under development in Indiana and Illinois. Construction on the Wasco plant is planned to begin later this year.

Ethanol, News

Vilsack Gives Energy Speech

Cindy Zimmerman

Vilsack Democratic presidential candidate Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, unveiled his plan for energy security during a speech in San Francisco Tuesday.

According to an Associated Press report, Vilsack set out a seven-part plan for achieving his goal to “dramatically reduce energy imports and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.” That plan would include a reduction in greenhouse gases produced by the United States by 2050, principally through a mandatory “cap and trade” program among businesses and other institutions.

Vilsack would also require a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by automobiles, more cellulosic ethanol research, and strive to make the nation’s whole transportation system “virtually petroleum-free.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

E85 Promo Items

Cindy Zimmerman

NEVC stuff The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition has a number of great promo items to show your support for domestically-produced ethanol, including five brand new additions.

Among them are two bumper stickers with the statements “This vehicle is CornFed, E85” and “Ethanol Guzzler,” available in small and large sizes.

NEVC stuffThe round “I Drive E85, the future of Clean Air” magent is big enough to make a statement, yet small enough to fit tastefully over the outside of a vehicle’s fuel door.

NEVC stuffThere are also coffee mugs, hats, clings, key rings and more available to order on-line here.

But my personal favorite has to be the Calvin decal. That just says it all.

Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Miscellaneous

Ethanol Conference Anticipates Record Crowd

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA Conference The 12th Annual National Ethanol Conference next week is expecting a record 2,000 industry leaders and experts to discuss and shape the future of the U.S. ethanol industry.

“Building New Horizons” is the theme for the conference being held Feburary 19-21 in Tucson, Arizona. Much is on the agenda for the policy and marketing conference, from “Understanding the RFS Program” to “How Long, How Much and How So for Cellulosic Fuel Ethanol?” Highlighted speakers include EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, Bobby Rahal of Rahal Letterman Racing, and Congressmen Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Kenny Hulshof (R-MO).

RFA Registration for the conference has already reached capacity and is officially closed, although there is a waiting list. But Domestic Fuel reporter Chuck Zimmerman will be on hand to cover the event live and post all of the happenings on to the official Ethanol Conference Blog and highlights here on Domestic Fuel, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association.

Ethanol, News

Chevy Shoots for Sequel Debut in 2010

John Davis

A heads up from our friends at Engadget.com… GM wants to debut a production version of the Sequel… the latest generation fuel cell vehicle using lithium-ion batteries to produce kinetic energy from simply braking and a third-generation General Motors fuel cell. This from Engadget.com:

SequelThe Sequel shares traits aplenty with GM’s Chevy Volt, specifically the shared electric motor for the front wheels, with in-hub motors for both rear wheels.

And AutoblogGreen says:

Most likely GM will follow a model similar to the one Honda will be using starting in 2008 for the production version of the FCX. The FCX will be built initially in low volumes with availability limited to locations that have some hydrogen filling stations such as California and Florida.

There are two prototypes of the Sequel already under testing. A large-scale field trial of the technology begins this year with 100 outfitted Chevy Equinoxes hitting the road.

Flex Fuel Vehicles

Companies Merge for Cellulosic Technology

Cindy Zimmerman

Bioenergy Solutions Diversa Corporation and Celunol Corp. have merged to “create a new leader in the emerging cellulosic ethanol industry.”

According to a press release, the combined company will be the first within the cellulosic ethanol industry to possess integrated end-to-end capabilities in pre-treatment, novel enzyme development, fermentation, engineering, and project development. It will seek to build a global enterprise as a leading producer of cellulosic ethanol and as a strategic partner in bio-refineries around the world. At the same time, the company will continue to pursue broad market opportunities for specialty industrial enzymes within the areas of alternative fuels, specialty industrial processes, and health and nutrition, with a primary focus on enzymes for the production of biofuels. The combined company will be headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and have research and operations facilities in San Diego, California; Jennings, Louisiana; and Gainesville, Florida.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Natural Gas Solution

Cindy Zimmerman

Bioenergy Solutions A California-based company will begin providing natural gas created from animal waste to the state’s largest electricity provider by this summer.

BioEnergy Solutions, a Central Valley waste-to-energy company, announced an agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Company to deliver renewable electricity to customers in central and northern California. BioEnergy Solutions is expected to break ground on the project in the spring and begin delivering renewable natural gas to PG&E in the summer.

BioEnergy Solutions’ first project will be Albers’ Vintage Dairy, located in Fresno County, California. Manure from the farm’s 3,000 dairy cows will be flushed into covered lagoons that will trap the methane gas produced as the manure decomposes. The methane will be “scrubbed” to remove carbon dioxide and corrosive materials to meet PG&E standards for power plants, then delivered to PG&E through the utility’s pipeline and used to produce renewable energy for California consumers.

BioEnergy Solutions is a subsidiary of American Dairy Parks, LLC which develops sustainable, vertically integrated farming operations that include crop farming, milk production, milk processing and waste-to-energy facilities.

Energy