Testing Ethanol in the Engines at Indy

Cindy Zimmerman

Indy Ethanol Here’s a screen shot from the home page of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway heralding the ethanol fuel test drive Monday on the track. According to an Indy release, drivers Jeff Simmons of Rahal Letterman Racing and Tony Kanaan of Andretti Green Racing drove Dallara/Honda/Firestone cars powered by ethanol and the 3.5-liter engine, the first time that package was tested at Indy.

Indy LogoSimmons, who drives the No. 17 Ethanol-sponsored car co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and late-night talk show legend Dave Letterman, said changes in the performance of the car, with the new fuel and engine combination, are noticeable.

“There’s a difference, and it’s all been positive so far,” Simmons said. “It’s great to be one of the guys to have the chance to run the new motor next year with the 100 percent ethanol.

Pictures and lots more information are on-line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway site.

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, Racing

Ethanol on the Cob

Cindy Zimmerman

ADM Archer Daniels Midland Company will participate in the Citigroup “Ethanol on the Cob” Biofuels Conference on October 3. ADM Executive Vice President, John Rice, and Group Vice President and Controller, Steven Mills, will be presenting.

The ADM presentation will be Web cast live. The link to the Web cast: http://www.admworld.com/webcast will be made available at 2:25 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 3, 2006. This presentation can be accessed for replay on the ADM Web site until October 13, 2006.

Ethanol

Emperor of Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Ron Fagen Fagen Here’s a nice column from Pioneer Press on Ron Fagen, founder of Fagen, Inc, one of the largest ethanol design/build firms in the country.

According to the piece, Brian Jennings, executive director of the American Coalition for Ethanol in Sioux Falls, S.D., says Fagen’s company is building seven of every 10 ethanol plants in the country. “Ron and his company are central to the U.S. ethanol industry,” says Jennings.

Fagen is an unabashed cheerleader for ethanol. “I think it’s the best thing that’s happened to the farmer since the combine,” is a favorite phrase of his.

Ethanol’s been a very good thing for Fagen Inc., too. The company expects to record sales of at least $750 million for the fiscal year ended Saturday, up from $420 million in 2005. Ron Fagen projects sales of around $1 billion for fiscal 2007. He says the company has enough backlog to stay busy until 2010.

Fagen Inc. has built 46 ethanol factories. Another 27 are under construction, and nine more are slated to begin rising by the end of the year.

But Fagen’s bet on ethanol doesn’t end there. Ron Fagen is a cofounder and 25 percent owner of US BioEnergy, an ethanol manufacturer that has its main offices in Inver Grove Heights. Two months ago, US BioEnergy disclosed plans to raise up to $300 million in an initial public offering. Fagen also has equity stakes in all the ethanol plants his company has built since 2001.

Ethanol

Taking the Gas Out of Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

ISU Research Iowa State University researchers are working to cut the use of natural gas from the production of ethanol, which would make it less expensive to make since natural gas is the second largest expense in the ethanol process behind the corn.

ISU Mechanical Engineering professor Ted Heindel, says they’re working with Frontline BioEnergy of Ames, Iowa to develop “fluidized bed gassifiers” that are used to gasify biomaterial into a gas that can be burned in the place of natural gas.

Common waste materials like corn stalks, corn stover, distillers dried grains or switchgrass could be turned into burnable gas.

Pictured is Ted Heindel with ISU’s X-ray flow visualization facility that will be used to observe and measure the action inside a fluidized bed where biomass can be converted into flammable gases. Photo by Bob Elbert

Read more about this story here.

Ethanol, Production, Research

Putting Ethanol in the Pipeline

Cindy Zimmerman

Harkin Funny Car Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, pictured here squeezing into an ethanol-powered funny car, is calling for a study into distributing ethanol by pipeline.

Harkin and Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) introduced legislation on Friday to direct the U.S. Department of Energy to study “the feasibility of transporting ethanol by pipeline from the Midwest to the East and West coasts, where demand is growing.”

According to a Harkin press release, given the increasing ethanol demand, there may be economic benefits to transporting ethanol through dedicated pipelines. However, such a dedicated system could take a decade or more to build.

“With the ethanol production and demand both on the rise, we need an accurate and fair analysis of the potential to distribute ethanol around the country by pipeline,” said Harkin. “We continue to hear comments that it can’t but done efficiently, but it is happening right now in Brazil. The goal of this bill is to examine the issue and get all the facts on the table.”

Distribution, Ethanol, Government, Racing

MO Money For Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

Equity drives for biodiesel plants in Missouri are going well, according to the Missouri Soybean Association.

Paseo Biofuels is getting close to half of the $24 million it is raising for a biodiesel plant in Kansas City, Mo., to be owned by Missouri farmers and Cargill. (see previous post) So far, more than $10 million in shares has been committed.Heartland

Meanwhile, the equity drive for Heartland Biodiesel, (see previous post) is reported to be progressing well and organizers anticipate closing it in the near future. That 30 million gallon a year plant proposed for Rock Port, Mo. is allowing non-producers to invest as well.

Biodiesel

Peachy Deal for Georgia Biofuels Plants

Cindy Zimmerman

PerdueGeorgia Governor Sonny Perdue this week proposed a sales tax exemption for materials and equipment used in the construction of biofuel facilities in Georgia. According to a press release from the governor’s office, the four percent tax incentive, an annual savings of $2 to 4 million, will be available to facilities producing and processing certain biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel and butanol) derived from Georgia-grown agriculture products and biomass. The governor made the proposal at the site of BullDog BioDiesel LLC, which is converting a former Goodyear tire plant into a 15 million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant in the metro Atlanta community of Ellenwood. (read more) Xethanol

Another company that could benefit from the tax incentives is Xethanol which recently purchased a former Pfizer pharmaceutical manufacturing complex to construct a 50 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant in Augusta, Georgia. (see previous post)

Biodiesel, Ethanol

RR Spur Renovation Will Serve IA Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

Green Plains Green Plains Renewable Energy and BNSF Railway Company have completed renovation of the rail spur running from Red Oak, Iowa to Shenandoah, Iowa. The spur will serve the 50 million gallon per year ethanol plant being built by Green Plains in Shenandoah. GPRE is also building a second 50 million gallon facility near Superior, Iowa.

Barry Ellsworth, CEO and President of Green Plains said they are “happy that the rail line will be available for this year’s harvest. We hope that it will be of benefit to the local elevators and farmers.”

Ethanol

Corn Cob Hot Rod

Cindy Zimmerman

Corn Cob Hot Rod The National Corn Growers Association, the Ohio Corn Growers Association, the Renewable Fuels Association and five-time International Hot Rod Association Funny Car champion Mark Thomas were on Capitol Hill Wednesday to promote ethanol’s success as America’s renewable fuel. Nearly 1000 people turned out to see the race car, which runs on 100 percent ethanol on the IHRA circuit.

Corn Cob DC

Pictured in the close up are Mark Thomas; Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.); Corn Cob Bob; Bob Dineen, RFA President: and Jon Doggett, NCGA Vice President of Public Policy. The full shot of everyone also includes Aaron Poldberg, President of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA); Mike Perry, IHRA; Scott Mackie, General Motors Regional General Manager; Rick Tolman, NCGA CEO; Dwayne Siekman, OCGA Executive Director; David Gibson, Corn Producers Association of Texas, Executive Director and Craig Floss, Iowa Corn Growers Association CEO. Click here to see the BIG picture of all the suits.

Ethanol, Government, Racing

Bill Would Bring Ethanol To Big States

Cindy Zimmerman

Higgins New York lawmakers have introduced bills in Congress to provide tax credits for ethanol plants in four states which consume more than 2 percent of gasoline but make less than 2 percent of ethanol. The four states are New York, California, Florida and Texas. Small producers in these states would receive a credit of 20 cents per gallon of ethanol produced, up to 50 million gallons a year, as long as total annual production does not exceed 150 million gallons.RiverWright

Congressman Brian Higgins of Buffalo, NY introduced Senator Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) Ethanol Stimulus Act of 2006 in the House this week. Logically, Higgins’ district in western New York would stand to benefit from the bill. RiverWright Energy LLC, a Buffalo-based alternative fuel company, is planning to build an $80 million ethanol plant along the Buffalo River with a 110 million gallon per year capacity.

Ethanol, Government