Michigan Alternative Fuel Incentives

Chuck Zimmerman

Michigan Governor GranholmHere’s a story that ought to rile up the people who can’t seem to understand the need to provide businesses in America with incentives to develop and use alternative fuels. These folks like to use the word subsidy as if it’s a bad word. I think incentive is a much better word and in the case of this story, it’s more accurate. This is from Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm’s website last Friday:

In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced she has signed a package of legislation that will, for the first time, create incentives for consumers who buy alternative fuel vehicles and service stations that make ethanol and biodiesel available to their customers.

“The state that put the world on wheels will be the state that makes those wheels independent of foreign oil,” Granholm said. “As more E-85 and flex fuel vehicles are produced by the Big Three automakers, it is essential that we make biodiesel and ethanol products more widely available to encourage their use.”

Granholm said a portion of the $2 billion 21st Century Jobs Fund is being targeted to developing alternative energy production in Michigan. As the automotive capital of the world, Michigan is a logical choice to be the center of alternative energy research and production.

The seven-bill package reduces the gas tax by 36 percent on fuel that contains ethanol and by 20 percent on biodiesel blends. The legislation also provides grants to service station owners who want to renovate or expand their existing stations to make E-85 and biodiesel available and allows for the creation of new agriculture renaissance zones to help spur additional ethanol and biodiesel plants.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, Legislation

More on Sugar-Ethanol Study

Cindy Zimmerman

Here is a link to the power point presentation used by USDA economist Keith Collins during the press conference Monday unveiling the sugar to ethanol study. Have not yet gotten the actual report from USDA, but this might help answer some questions – or generate more.

Ethanol

Riding the Ethanol Express

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Express Truck pulling is another racing event that is being fueled by ethanol.

This is Scott Jensen with the Ethanol Express Pulling Team and here is an interview Chuck did recently with Scott explaining what he does and how ethanol plays a role: Listen to MP3 Jensen Interview (3 min MP3)

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol

Sugar Not So Sweet For Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Producing ethanol from sugar cane or sugar beets in the U.S. would cost about 2 1/2 times more than it costs to produce it from corn. That is according to a long-awaited USDA study on the economics of producing ethanol from sugar authored by the agriculture department’s top economist Keith Collins. The detailed report compares production scenerios for sugar cane, beets, raw sugar and molasses adding the net cost of the feedstock to the processing cost to derive a total cost per gallon.

The bottom line, according to the report, is this:USDA

Corn ……………. 1.05/gallon ethanol
Cane ……………. 2.40/gallon ethanol
Beets …………… 2.35/gallon ethanol
Raw sugar ……… 3.48/gallon ethanol
Processed sugar.. 3.97/gallon ethanol
Molasses ……….. 1.27/gallon ethanol

While the report does indicate that molasses is the only feedstock that compares favorably to corn in terms of production costs, Collins notes that molasses is a by-product of sugar production and “if you took all the molasses in the United States and you turned it into ethanol, you would have 150 million gallons. We’re going to produce five billion corn-based gallons of ethanol this year. So, academically it’s true that it’s our most cost effective option among the sugar feedstocks, but practically it doesn’t represent much of an opportunity.”

More on this report later – audio, graphics and links to come.

Ethanol, Production

Mixed Marriage

Cindy Zimmerman

AndersonsWe will probably be seeing more of these types of business unions take place in the near future.

Houston-based Marathon Oil Corporation and The Andersons, Inc. of Ohio have signed a letter of intent which “could lead to the formation of a 50/50 joint venture that would construct and operate a number of ethanol plants.” Marathon Oil According to a press release, the formation of the joint venture and other related activities are subject to approval by each company’s board of directors and the execution of definitive agreements.

Ethanol

MO Governor Says E-10 Bill is a Win-Win

Cindy Zimmerman

Blunt Ethanol Bill Here’s another picture of Missouri Governor Matt Blunt at one of the several signing ceremonies for the state’s new 10 percent ethanol standard. Here he puts pen to paper as FFA students look on at Missouri Ethanol, LLC located in Laddonia, Mo. The governor also wrote a personal opinion piece in the Kansas City InfoZine about the legislation that will take effect January 1, 2007.

The photo is courtesy of the Missouri Corn Growers Association.

Ethanol

Don’t Drink the Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

Here is a story from the Des Moines Register about a recovering alcoholic who tried to get unemployment benefits from the ethanol plant he worked for because he drank some 190-proof alcohol that spilled into a holding pond.

At the hearing, the judge asked, “Why would you drink fuel?”
“I don’t have a good explanation for that,” he replied. “Curiosity?”

At least the judge had the good sense to deny him the benefits, even on the grounds of terminal stupidity.

Ethanol, Miscellaneous

Cellulosic Roadmap

Cindy Zimmerman

DOE The U.S. Department of Energy has released an ambitious new research agenda for the development of cellulosic ethanol as an alternative to gasoline. According to a DOE release, the 200-page scientific “roadmap” cites recent advances in biotechnology that have made cost-effective production of ethanol from cellulose, or inedible plant fiber, an attainable goal. The report outlines a detailed research plan for developing new technologies to transform cellulosic ethanol—a renewable, cleaner-burning, and carbon-neutral alternative to gasoline—into an economically viable transportation fuel.

Cellulosic, Energy, Ethanol

Look It Up

Cindy Zimmerman

NBB Biodiesel has hit the big time – it’s in the dictionary now. The National Biodiesel Board is pleased that the word “biodiesel” appears in the 2006 update of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition . This marks the first time that it has appeared in the dictionary, and signifies that biodiesel is becoming a household word. What’s more, word has it that Merriam-Webster put biodiesel on the short list of examples of new words added to the dictionary. That means “biodiesel” joins the ranks of “ringtone,” “soul patch” and “supersize” in drumming up interest in modern lexicography.

Biodiesel

Bird Fueled

Cindy Zimmerman

Fibrowatt A British company is using poultry litter to fuel power plants in the US. Fibrowatt, based in Philadephia, has projects planned or under development in poultry-growing states across the country, including Minnesota, Maryland, Mississippi and North Carolina. According to the company’s website, Fibrowatt Ltd built the world’s first three poultry litter fueled power plants and has licensed its technology to Fibrowatt LLC for the US market.

Energy, Miscellaneous