energy.agwired.com

A group of French high school students proved that ethanol can be fuel-efficient. According to Environment News Service, an ethanol powered car engineered by French high school students has achieved the best fuel efficiency at the European Shell Eco-marathon 2006, winning the race at the Nogaro auto racing circuit in southwest France. It also took the Climate Friendly prize for producing the least greenhouse gas emissions in the process. The futuristic little car beat out the favored hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to get the energy consumption equivalent to traveling 2,885 kilometres (1,792 miles) on a single litre of gasoline, equivalent to 8,136 miles per gallon.

An ethanol facility powered by renewable energy from dairy waste is planned for a large Indiana dairy farm. Bion Environmental Technologies and Fair Oaks Dairy Farms have announced a joint venture that will enable environmentally sustainable expansion of animal agriculture in concert with ethanol production. According to the news release, Bion’s technology platform provides sufficient renewable energy from the associated animal waste stream to produce ethanol absent any outside fuel source such as natural gas or coal, while it directly addresses the growing long-term risk to distiller grains revenues as those markets become increasingly saturated by the continued expansion of U.S. ethanol production.
That’s a pretty technical way of saying they intend to use cow manure to generate the power required for ethanol production. Bion’s research indicates they can create sufficient renewable energy to support one million gallons of ethanol for every 1,000 dairy cows The joint venture will start with a research center to determine the economic and environmental sustainability of utilizing sand bedding in conjunction with Bion’s technology platform. Based upon that evaluation, Stage Two will include a Bion treatment system for Fair Oaks’ dairy herd and potentially other local dairy herds, along with an ethanol plant of a size to be determined by the number of participating dairy animals.

Alternative Energy Sources, Inc. has completed a stock-to-stock merger with Beemer Energy, led by CEO Mark A. Beemer and Chief Operating Officer Lee Blank, both former executives of Archer Daniels Midland Company, the largest producer of ethanol. According to a news release, Beemer is a privately held Delaware corporation engaged in the development of “green-field” ethanol sites, the conversion of existing industrial facilities to ethanol production and the management of ethanol businesses. The merger resulted in Beemer Energy becoming a publicly traded company, and Beemer’s management and board of directors have assumed operational control of Alternative Energy. Beemer and Blank bring extensive management and leadership abilities to Alternative Energy Sources.

Just before we got to Cheyenne this afternoon a group of old model cars joined our caravan.

Here’s the GM flex fuel E85 Avalanche next to a 1928 Leatherback Model A Ford. Quite a contrast on this convoy stop.

Pictured are Bill Newman, Wyoming Ethanol and Lloyd Harris, Oak Spokes Antique Auto Club.

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.