Ethanol Race in Maryland

Cindy Zimmerman November 28, 2006

The race is on to get the first ethanol plant in the state of Maryland, according to this article in the Baltimore Sun.

A national boom in the use of ethanol has lured eight companies into a race to build Maryland’s first factory to convert corn into car fuel.

Two of the proposals would put ethanol plants on the Baltimore area’s industrial waterfront in 2008 – one on Sparrows Point and the other in Curtis Bay. A third, on the Eastern Shore, will be considered today when Somerset County commissioners vote on a zoning change to allow a $136 million ethanol plant.

Chesapeake Renewable Energy is planning a 50 million gallon per year facility in the farming area of Somerset County, while Atlantic Ethanol has plans for a 50 mgy facility in the Curtis Bay area of Baltimore. Ecron of Annapolis is the most ambitious of the three plans – a 110 mgy plant on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that would use corn shipped from the midwest

Ethanol, News

North Dakota Considers Blender Pumps

Cindy Zimmerman November 28, 2006

Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota hosted a meeting Monday with government and ethanol industry leaders to discuss new ways to market ethanol in the state.

According to an AP report from Fargo, some are suggesting the approval of blender pumps.

Many drivers have been scared away by lower fuel efficiency and reports that cars with E-85 start poorly in the winter, said Owen Jones, a Britton, S.D., ethanol producer. He said a blender pump would allow consumers to use a more economical 20 or 30 percent blend and work their way up to E-85.

“If you’re looking at E-85 sales, you really need to look hard a blender pump,” Jones said.

Federal law prohibits the promotion and production of blends other than E-10 or E-85, said Jocie Iszler, executive director of the North Dakota Corn Growers.

“We think the blender pump concept is a common sense approach,” Iszler said. “It’s up to the federal government to test and validate what we already know is true.”

Read full AP report

Ethanol, Government, News

Ethanol Plant News Briefs

Cindy Zimmerman November 27, 2006

VeraSun Energy Corporation, the nation’s second largest ethanol producer, has begun construction on its newest 110-million-gallon-per-year ethanol production facility near Hartley, Iowa. The plant is on schedule to begin production in the first quarter of 2008. (Read full release)

US BioEnergy Corporation has set the terms of its pending initial public offering at 9.4 million common shares with an estimated, per-share price range of $15-$17. US BioEnergy’s will be the third IPO by an ethanol producer this year, after VeraSun Energy Corp. and Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. (Read AP story)

The company has also acquired options to purchase land near Altamont, Ill. as a possible location for a 100 million gallon per year ethanol plant. (Read more here)

Broin Companies, the nation’s largest dry mill ethanol producer, will celebrate the grand opening of Prairie Ethanol on Dec. 2 at the plant site near Loomis, S.D. The event will begin with the Vanguard Squadron, the world’s only 100 percent ethanol-powered aerobatic fleet, performing a series of fly-overs. (Read more from Broin)

Ethanol, Facilities, News

Coal, Natural Gas, or Other?

Cindy Zimmerman November 27, 2006

An Iowa-technology company released a report last week that is fueling debate over whether ethanol plants should be powered by coal or natural gas, or something else.

The Frontline BioEnergy study found that coal-powered ethanol plants release up to 92 percent more carbon dioxide than those powered by natural gas.

Frontline’s analysis of a plant that would produce 50 million gallons of ethanol a year show a coal-powered facility would release as much as 207,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year while a natural gas-powered plant would emit 108,000 tons.

Looking at Bright E85 Future

Cindy Zimmerman November 27, 2006

A recent pledge by the nation’s top automakers to produce more E85 vehicles is great news for the industry, according to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.

“The automobile manufacturers are behind this effort,” said NEVC Deputy Director Michelle Kautz. “Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Nissan all agreed that they’re going to have half their production flexible fuel by the year 2012. We’re very excited about that.”

The car makers issued a joint statement making that pledge after meeting with President Bush recently.

The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition recently published a 2007 E85 Purchasing Guide with the latest information on E85 and FFVs. The latest information is also available on the NEVC website.

“We update our website daily with new E85 locations and all flexible-fuel compatible vehicle models,” said Kautz.

There are currently over 1,000 E85 fueling stations, compared to just about 400 this time last year. By next year, Kautz says, “We’re hoping at least 5,000 stations.”

Listen to an interview with Michelle here: Kautz-NEVC (3 min MP3)

Audio, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Running on Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman November 24, 2006

Former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson is considering a presidential bid while he serves as chairman on the board of a new ethanol plant.

Thompson, who also served as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Bush administration, last week announced that he would be forming an exploratory committee for president next year.

In the meantime, he will be working on plans for a 120 million gallon a year ethanol plant as chairman of Global Renewable LLC, a Whitewater, Wis. company that has unveiled plans to construct and operate the plant in the Town of Sharon. The plant is expected to be operational in October 2008, and will require approximately 38 million bushels of corn annually.

Read more.

Ethanol, News

Biofuels Expected to Dominate Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman November 24, 2006

It was already a given that energy issues would dominate the writing of the 2007 Farm Bill, but even more support for domestic fuels like ethanol and biodiesel is expected now that the House and Senate Agriculture committees will be run by corn belt Democrats.

Forbes reports that with Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa steering the committees, “The consensus is that this makes it even more likely that we’ll have some aggressive biofuels policies adopted,” says Nathanael Green, a biofuels expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Green’s group would like to see ethanol plants, which are powered on natural gas or coal, switch to renewables such as wind.

“We’d be interested in seeing a grant program that would help these ethanol facilities adopt these technologies,” Green says.

Biodiesel Board Chairman Re-elected

Cindy Zimmerman November 22, 2006

For a third year, the biodiesel industry has chosen farmer-leader Darryl Brinkmann to lead the National Biodiesel Board.

A soybean grower from Carlyle, Ill., Brinkmann has the charge of leading the organization as chairman during yet another year of intense growth and change for the alternative fuel.

Brinkmann has served as a board member for the nonprofit trade association since 1998.

Based in Jefferson City, Mo., the board is dedicated to coordinating the biodiesel industry and educating the public about the fuel. Its membership is comprised of state, national, and international feedstock and processor organizations; biodiesel suppliers; fuel marketers and distributors; and technology providers.

Read more from the NBB.

Biodiesel

Case IH Supports Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman November 22, 2006

Case IH is the latest equipment manufacturer to announce support for B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel.

The company has announced that customers can use B20 in most Case IH engines and B5 (5 percent biodiesel) in all Case IH engines. In addition, Case IH uses biodiesel blends as the factory fill in most cases.

“One hundred percent factory fill of a biodiesel blend is a logical next step in the process of embracing biodiesel,” said Randy Baker, president of Case IH North America. “Adding to demand for soybeans while producing the crop is the type of strategy our customers like to pursue,” Baker said. “It’s good environmental stewardship and good business.”

Read more from Case IH and from the National Biodiesel Board.

Biodiesel

Giant Soybean Plants Could Provide Cellulose For Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman November 22, 2006

Bigger, stronger soybeans could help meet the demand for cellulosic material to produce ethanol.

USDA Agricultural Research Service chemical engineer Justin Barone and ARS geneticist Thomas Devine believe the giant soybean plants could be “specially bred with strong cellulose, for use in briquettes and wood substitutes, or with weak cellulose better suited for cellulosic ethanol production.”

In the photo, Devine measures one of his large biomass soybean plants which grow up to seven feet in height without lodging due to their stong sapling-like stalks.