IRL Doing Well with Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Indy Car Series Indy Car drivers seem pretty pumped about ethanol, according to this Dallas Business Journal article, which quotes Bombardier Learjet 500 winner and two-time Indianapolis 500 winnner Helio Castroneves and 2004 IndyCar Series Champion Tony Kanaan – both Brazilians. The article says the IRL switch to ten percent ethanol this year has been “problem-free” and Dan Layton, spokesman for Honda Performance Development, makers of the sole engine used in the IRL, says that improved fuel mileage may require the fuel tanks in Indy cars to be reduced next year in order to keep drivers from out-running their tire-life.

Here’s an interview Chuck did at the Indy 500 with Ethanol Promotion and Information Council executive director Tom Slunecka, who is also quoted in the article. Tom discusses a number of the points in the article, including Brazilian support of ethanol, the fuel’s environmental benefits and performance aspects, and the expectations for next year when IRL goes to a full 100 percent ethanol. Listen to MP3 Tom Slunecka Interview (7 min MP3)

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing

Operation Interdependence

Chuck Zimmerman

Albert RenteriaWe have a lot of participants in this AASHTO Interstate Convoy and I’ll be featuring them as I have time during the trip. One of them that we learned about this morning is Albert Renteria, founder and president of Operation Interdependence.

Albert says that a lot of the stuff sent to our deployed military doesn’t get where it’s supposed to be and a lot of money is wasted in the attempt. His organization has been formed to create a system that makes it easier to send items and easier for the soldiers on the receiving end to manage the materials. Additionally, his system saves money by being more efficient in how it packages and schedules regular monthly shipments.

I’ll let him explain what Operation Interdependence does in his own words: Listen to MP3 Albert Renteria Interview (5 min MP3)

Audio

The Army Will Lead The Way

Chuck Zimmerman

Army ParticipantsIn 1919 Lt. Col Eisenhower (later to become President of the USA) made a cross country trip with primarily military participants. It showed the need for a good system of roads in this country which became the interstate system. Our commemorative journey in the reverse direction wouldn’t be complete without today’s military, represented by these Army soldiers. They are from left to right, Sgt. Alicia Sexton, SSG Eric Miller, SSG Adron Hayes and Sgt. Eggleston Jeter. All are with the Movement Control Team. They’ll be leading our convoy.

I talked briefly with Sgt. Sexton who says they’re just trying to figure out their role and duties since they just arrived. You can hear our interview here: Listen to MP3 Sgt. Alicia Sexton Interview (2 min MP3)

Audio

Keeping An Eye Out For Trouble

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff BeattyPart of our training session here in San Francisco prior to departing on our cross country trip to celebrate the interstate involved becoming certified in the Highway Watch program administered by the American Trucking Association in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security. Our trainer was Jeff Beatty, founder and president of TotalSecurity.US.

We learned about what to keep our eyes out for when travelling the highway and who to report suspicious activity to.

Highway Watch is the roadway sector’s national safety and security program that utilizes the skills, experiences, and “road smarts” of America’s transportation workers to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure and the transportation of goods, services, and people

Uncategorized

E85 Observations from the Road

Chuck Zimmerman

Rick TolmanI’m not the only one writing about ethanol on the road. So is Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. Rick’s posting some road commentary on E85 which you can find on this page. It’s not quite blogging but it’s close. Here’s an excerpt from his last post:

Yesterday, I reported on the state of E85 pricing and availability as my wife, Linda, and me set out on our road trip to St. Paul, Minn. I went so far as to characterize the pricing and availability as “ugly.” I am optimistic as we travel onward that pricing and availability will improve. There is only one E85 station in the greater St. Louis area (although the NEVC Web site www.e85fuel.com lists 59 stations in all of Missouri). Illinois has nearly twice the number of stations—122—so I am hopeful the E85 infrastructure is improving.

I think it’s great stuff that NCGA members will appreciate reading. You can also hear a report from Rick on the post too. Here’s a link to the latest audio report.

Audio, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles

Ethanol Plant Number 101

Cindy Zimmerman

Pac Eth Front Range Front Range Energy LLC and Pacific Ethanol Inc. today announced the completion of Front Range Energy’s ethanol plant in Windsor, Colo.
According to a Pacific Ethanol release, the ICM-designed facility has a nameplate capacity of 40 million gallons per year of fuel ethanol. The plant produced its first ethanol on June 9, 2006, and expects to ship its first loads of ethanol and wet distillers grains later this week.
Pacific Ethanol, in addition to marketing all of the fuel ethanol and WDG output of the Windsor plant, has a contract to procure corn, manage plant operations and market products for Front Range Energy. Pacific Ethanol will market all the ethanol through its Kinergy Marketing subsidiary and will market all the WDG through its Pacific Ag Products subsidiary.
Front Range Ethanol is counted by the Renewable Fuels Association as the 101st ethanol plant in the country.

Ethanol, Facilities

ADM CEO High on Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

ADM CEO Archer Daniels Midland CEO Patricia Woertz is expecting big profits from biofuels for her company in the next few years. According to an AP article, Woertz said profits from the renewable fuel plants “will be quite robust at something less than that.” Speaking by webcast from a conference in Paris Tuesday, Woertz also said that while there are a number of new competitors in the business, ADM’s advantage is “around experience, network capabilities and cost advantages.” ADM is the largest producer of ethanol, with a 25 percent market share.

Incidentally, there was a little piece of financial advice in USA Today this week about whether now would be a good time to invest in ADM to take part in the growth of alternative fuels. Financial writer Matt Krantz says, “It sounds corny, but you are late to this party.”

Meanwhile, VeraSun’s party is just getting started.

Ethanol

VeraSun Rises

Cindy Zimmerman

Verasun Financial services are buzzing this morning with the red-hot debut of VeraSun’s IPO. In the most recent Bloomberg report, the story is that shares of VeraSun Energy Corp., the second-largest U.S. ethanol producer, jumped as much as 34 percent on the first day after an initial public offering that tapped rising interest in alternatives to $3-a-gallon gasoline. The shares rose as high as $30.75 after the company and stockholders yesterday sold 18.25 million at $23 each to raise $419.8 million.

Ethanol

Prepping For The Cross Country Convoy

Chuck Zimmerman

Sunny SchustHello from San Francisco. I know I said I’d start blogging the AASHTO 50th Anniversary of the Interstate event tomorrow but things got kicked off today. Right now those of us participating in the convoy that will take off Friday are getting prepped by Sunny Schust, director of communications for the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

She just welcomed us here and we’re preparing to learn more about how this whole trip is organized. Lots of questions and answers coming up.

Post Update: I interviewed Sunny after our morning session. She explains how this whole trip was planned and who is participating and why. You can hear our interview here: Listen to MP3 Sunny Schust Interview (5 min MP3)

I’ll be posting regulary on this trip over the next several weeks. We’ll learn a lot about the interstate highway system and of course focus on things like fuel, especially the alternatives like ethanol.

In fact, I’m participating as an “ethanol advocate” on behalf of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, which is an offic

Audio

Ethanol Designer Honored

Cindy Zimmerman

ICM ICM Inc. of Colwich, Kan., has received the 2006 Governor’s Award of Excellence presented by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius this week, according to a Kansas City Star report. The awards are the top honors a Kansas business can receive. ICM is an industry leader in the engineering and design of ethanol processing facilities

Ethanol