Every month there’s a new record set for ethanol production and the bar has now been raised to 333,000 barrels a day. That’s a 55,000 barrel per day increase since the beginning of the year, according to the latest figures released by the Renewable Fuels Association.
RFA says demand for ethanol remained strong in September at 380,000 b/d.
General Motors won the Green Car design contest at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week with the “Hummer O2.”
According to CNN, this fuel-cell powered Hummer would produce oxygen. Agae-filled body panels could break down C02, a greenhouse gas, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. When parked, body panels would fan out to catch more light, speeding the process. The 02 would be constructed from 100-percent post-consumer recycled aluminum.
This article from the Lincoln (NE) Journal Star and accompanying comments illustrates the myriad of opinions about ethanol that stem from partial truths and speculation.
The article is basically a tirade against ethanol by commodity broker Douglas Carper, with the headline “Ethanol Skeptic Sees Painful Realities Ahead.”
As far as Carper is concerned, there is no constructive purpose to putting so much emphasis on ethanol as an answer to shrinking energy resources.
His reasons are:
“Even if every bushel of corn in the United States were turned into ethanol, it wouldn’t make much of a dent in overseas oil dependence”
Beyond that, he sees so much emphasis on ethanol leading to higher food prices. He sees what he called a tremendous negative effect on the state’s cattle feeders, possible disruption in the food distribution system and some substantial portion of new ethanol plants failing to make a go of it as profit margins inevitably narrow.
The article offers the defense of ethanol to Don Hutchens with the Nebraska Corn Board, who rebutts Carpers contention that hunger will be a result of a food or fuel fight with, “Is it the responsibility of the Nebraska corn farmer to keep prices as low as he possibly can so no one in the world has food availability issues?”
Over 40 readers offered comments on the article, with a pretty even balance between those who agreed with Carpers and those who disagreed. Of those who agreed, many seem to think that ethanol is a “scheme” between agriculture and the government, demonizing agricultural producers with comments like “farmers are not the stewards anymore, they will sellout their own children and grandchildren for a few more dollars.”
Others defended the opportunity for growers to make a living. “Ethanol is the farmers chance to market a much higher level of prices and not have to depend on taxpayers every year to bail out.”
Here’s a story out of Malaysia on using sap from “nipah,” or mangrove palm, to make an ethanol-like biofuel.
The substance is similar to ethanol from Brazil’s sugar cane or Europe’s sugar beet but nipah would have higher yield per hectare.
The state government, after studying a proposal from a KL-based company on Wednesday, agreed to allow the company to extract “nira” or nipah sap from 10,000ha of nipah area along the state’s coastal area.
A plant to be built in Malaysia would be the first in the world to produce ethanol from palm.
The Associated Press reports that corn prices are at their highest levels in a decade and growers are looking at planting as much as 10 million more corn acres next year, according to Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agricultural economist.
“It’s a wonderful time for corn producers. They’re extremely excited, but they’re also apprehensive because they’ve seen booms before and they don’t last,” he said.
The average price of a bushel of corn has increased about $1.00 since September and is now about $3.45.
Former National Corn Growers Association president Ryland Utlaut of Missouri is a producer who is definitely happy to see prices higher for a change.
“I started farming 40 years ago and corn prices were $2.00,” said Utlaut. “Last year, we were $2.00 again.”
Utlaut says the 1995 “Freedom to Farm” bill helped to encourage farmers to develop more markets for corn. “And we’ve done it in big fashion with ethanol,” he said. “We haven’t seen much change in livestock use or exports, the new dynamic is the ethanol industry.”
Utlaut, who is the chairman of Mid-Missouri Energy in Malta Bend, firmly believes that the corn industry can meet the demand for ethanol and still meet the needs of livestock producers and exporters, and biotech corn will help do the job. This year’s average corn yield is estimated at over 151 bushels per acre, up almost ten percent compared to the “unprecedented” average of 138 in 2001.
Listen to an interview with Ryland about how he thinks biotech varieties will help meet demand for corn.
Ryland Utlaut (4 min MP3)
Somewhat like when President Bush was in St. Louis at the Advancing Renewable Fuels Conference, a heckler got the headlines when General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner addressed the 100th Los Angeles Auto Show this week, according to this AP report.
The man unfurled a large black-and-white contract of sorts and asked Wagoner if he would sign a pledge to be the fuel economy leader in the industry by 2010.
Wagoner, a bit taken aback, politely said that his speech about GM’s efforts to develop green technology including a plug-in hybrid vehicle should speak for itself.
A Business Week report also highlighted the spotlight-stealing environmental activist, but at least gave Wagoner’s speech almost equal time.
When the first L.A. Auto Show debuted 100 years ago, he noted, there were three competing engine technologies—electricity, steam, and gasoline. “Going forward, it is highly unlikely that oil alone is going to supply all of the world’s rapidly growing automotive energy requirements,” he said. “The key is energy diversity.”
For GM, that meant talk of flexible-fuel vehicles, ones that run on gasoline or an ethanol blend called E85. It also meant unveiling a new hybrid gas/electric GMC Yukon sport-utility vehicle and plans for a “plug-in” version of the popular Saturn Vue Green Line SUV.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined representatives from General Motors and other car manufacturers at the show on Thursday.
The governor challenged automakers to keep making progress in manufacturing alternative vehicles.
“The cars that are clean will be the cars of the future,” he said.
An analyst with Bunge Ltd., expects world biodiesel output to hit nearly 16 million metric tons by 2009.
That prediction, which is more than triple the current 5 million metric tons this year, was made by Bunge’s Nancy DeVore at the Terrapinn Biofuels Finance & Investment World conference in London.
Read more from Farm Futures.
A Singapore-based company has made a deal with O2 Diesel Corporation to market the ethanol-diesel blend in the Asia Pacific and South Africa. 
Under the agreement, O2Diesel will supply its proprietary fuel technology to Energenics, which will brand the fuel as “EnerDiesel — Powered by O2Diesel,” in Asia Pacific & South Africa.
Monsanto is building a new soybean breeding facility in South Dakota. They broke ground just this week in fact.
The site will develop and test new soybean varieties developed by Monsanto’s breeders, as well as varieties containing traits in various stages of pre-commercial advancement in the company’s product pipeline. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in conjunction with the dedication of the adjacent corn breeding facility that opened June 30, 2006. “Farmers in the Dakotas have been leading adopters of biotech-improved soybeans,” said Mike Hawbaker, Monsanto North America soybean breeding lead. “This new facility further supports their adoption and growth in acreage during the past decade. Harrisburg is an ideal location, and we look forward to serving our customers with this new facility.”
The 17,500-square-foot site will have an initial permanent staff of two and a seasonal staff of up to 10 part-time employees. South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds said that Monsanto’s plans in this area — coming so soon after the opening of its corn breeding facility — has positive implications for the state’s bio-tech and agricultural industries.
From left to right: Jay Van Den Top and Craig Hagen (both representing Harrisburg Industrial Park); Clint Turnbull (Monsanto); Senator John Thune; Mike Hawbaker and Brian Ternus (both of Monsanto); Jon Klemme and Jeff Eckhoff (both representing Lincoln County Economic Development Association); South Dakota Lt. Governor Dennis Daugaard; Harrisburg Mayor Reed Ramsted, and Rob Everist (representing Harrisburg Industrial Park).
Converting wood chips and other forestry and agricultural biomass to ethanol is the goal of an agreement between a Connecticut energy company and a Massachusettes cellulosic technology firm.
According to a news release, Tamarack Energy, Inc. and Mascoma Corporation “will collaborate on the joint development of cellulosic ethanol facilities in New York, as well as follow-on opportunities in Pennsylvania and New England states, leveraging wood mills and other production facilities.”
