A three-day conference in Tifton, Georgia next week will cover everything anyone would ever want to know about bioenergy – from research and production to marketing and legislation. The Georgia Bioenergy Conference is “not just about grain and beans,” as it focuses heavily on the use of alternative feed-stocks such as wood byproducts, grasses, and byproducts from peanut, cotton, and municipal wastes to generate energy.
The dates are August 1-3. More info is available on the website.
One of two ethanol plants being built by U.S. EnviroFuels has run into a snag due to a land issue. The company is planning facilities at both Port Manatee and the Port of Tampa, but according to the Bradenton Herald, the Manatee county site is on hold “until they can work out an agreement with Port Manatee tenant TransMontaigne Inc. to lease 16.5 acres of land.”
Meanwhile, the Tampa plant continues to moving forward and is close to groundbreaking, according to company officials.
ICM Inc. of Colwich, Kan., will design an ethanol plant in Rice County, KS between Lyons and Sterling. The plant will be capable of producing 55 million gallons per year and is being funded by an investment group that includes former Kansas Senate President Dave Kerr.
According to an article in the Hutchinson (KS) News, construction of the plant should begin in December. “We’ve worked very closely with ICM, and we’re extremely pleased to have been given a favorable start date,” Kerr said.
The alliance known as 25X’25 is gaining more visibility with its goal to have 25 percent of the nation’s energy supply come from renewable resources by the year 2025. Major organizations, congressional leaders and companies are backing the coalition and the momentum is growing.
At the Ag Media Summit in Portland this week, Chuck sat down with Mike Bowman, one of the 25x’25 Steering Committee members, and talked about their goals and how they hope to attain them.
Listen to Chuck’s interview here 
25×25 Interview (8 min MP3)
All the complaining about high ethanol prices may soon come to an end. Reports are that ethanol prices appear to be leveling out and should start falling. An article in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier today quotes Tami Foster, an energy data analyst with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Foster said high ethanol demand on the east and west coasts has stabilized. At the same time more ethanol production capacity is coming on line in Iowa and elsewhere.
That means several months of rising ethanol prices may be at an end, Foster said. And she predicts in a week or so ethanol’s price at the pump will fall back below regular unleaded.
Rahal Letterman Racing Team Ethanol car driver Jeff Simmons finished in the top ten again Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile, starting in his highest pole position at sixth and finishing ninth.
Simmons commented, “The Team Ethanol crew did a great job preparing the car this weekend. We had over best qualifying run of the year and we scored our third straight top ten despite the pit problem. I think we are working well together as a team and I feel will continue the improvement.”
Meanwhile, RLR team member Danica Patrick finished fourth in the race, amid rumors that she will bolt at the end of this season and join another team. Tony Kanaan won the race.
The state of Maryland is not towing the “Old Line” when it comes to new fuels.
Last week, the first E85 station opened in Baltimore – although it’s only for state vehicles and non-profits, according to an article in the Examiner. State officials want motorists to start thinking about using alternative fuels, said Michael Li, chief of staff at the Maryland Energy Administration.
Last month, the first biodiesel plant opened in Berlin, MD, operated by Maryland Biodiesel and earlier this month Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., outlined his plans to increase Maryland’s access to renewable energy sources and decrease its reliance on fossil fuels and natural gas.
The plan “will boost Maryland’s use of biofuels and biomass, such as animal manure and underutilized wood resources, and provide incentives for the use of renewable electricity, including solar and wind resources.”
Diversified Ethanol is establishing corporate headquarters in the “heart of ethanol country: Iowa,” according to a Business Wire release.
“We needed to be right in the middle of the Midwest ethanol plants. As we work on ethanol mergers and acquisitions, it is a significant advantage to be established within the ethanol community. Being in Iowa, it will give us first hand knowledge and information about the key players and producers within the industry. Therefore we can prepare for future trends in the ethanol industry, even before the crop reports come out. The company anticipates this strategy will enhance the company’s competitiveness within the market,” stated Taylor Moffitt, CEO.
Diversified Ethanol is a division of Chicago-based of James Monroe Capital Corporation.
Indiana-based Cardinal Ethanol has a 24-member board of directors in place and is holding public equity-drive meetings to secure the funds needed to finance an ethanol plant in Randolph County. The natural gas-fired plant is anticipated to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol per year, using 36 million bushels of corn. A total of 49 meetings are planned – if needed – to raise up to $82 million of the $150 million estimated cost of the project. Meeting dates and times at locations around Indiana and Ohio can be found on the website, as well as a prospectus and IPO information.
The governor of Nebraska and representatives from the Renewable Fuels Association and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council will be in “the Irish capital of Nebraska” this Friday for the groundbreaking of Holt County Ethanol, a subsidiary of Midwest Ethanol Producers. 
The O’Neill plant will produce more than 100 million gallons of ethanol each year, along with 350,000 tons of dry distillers grain and will consume more than 37 million bushels of corn annually.
Midwest Ethanol has another plant in Holdrege, NE and is planning to build two other plants in the state at sites yet to be announced.
