Transportation Sec. Norman Mineta

Chuck Zimmerman

Norman MinetaKicking things off this morning for the AASHTO cross country convoy was our U. S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta.

Sec. Mineta is from California so this was a homecoming speech in a way. He spoke about then Lt. Col. Dwight Eisenhower’s historic trip in 1919 which showed the need for a road system in the U.S. and how we now have a system of highways that is the envy of the world.

I recorded Sec. Mineta’s comments which you can listen to here: Listen to MP3 Sec. Norman Mineta Speech (10 min MP3)

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

Audio

Stories About The Kickoff

Chuck Zimmerman

San Francisco SkylineThis is the San Francisco skyline behind the staging area for this morning’s convoy kickoff. It was a beautiful sunrise on the bay.

This is a view from Lincoln Park where all the convoy vehicles were on display. Lots of media was in attendance so you may find coverage of the event online. Some I found include this one, this one, this one and this one.

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

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Ethanol Truck On Display

Chuck Zimmerman

Ethanol TruckHello from Reno, NV. This is our first stopping point on the road to Washington, DC. It’s been a great day for the kickoff of the AASHTO Celebrate The Interstate Convoy.

Here’s my ride. This truck actually belongs to Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Executive Director, Tom Slunecka. He had it specially wrapped for this trip and it arrived last night. Thank you brother Alan!

Here you see it on display at this morning’s kickoff celebration in Lincoln Park in San Francisco. This was mostly a media event but we did have members of the public attend. Many stopped by the truck for information about ethanol and all were supportive in their comments.

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

EPIC, Ethanol

Chippewa Valley Celebrates Milestone

Cindy Zimmerman

Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Benson, Minnesota is celebrating a decade in the ethanol industry. The plant opened in 1996 and today is a 45 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery. In addition to producing fuel ethanol and marketing E85, CVEC also produces a top-shelf vodka under the Shakers brand. According to a Renewable Fuels Association press release, CVEC also recently broke ground on a new biomass gasification system that will significantly reduce the biorefinery’s natural gas use by converting biomass material, such as corn stover, distillers dried grains, corn, wheat straw and wood wastes, into energy.

Ethanol

Test Specifications for B20

Cindy Zimmerman

The Engine Manufacturers Association has released a test specification for biodiesel fuel to facilitate testing and evaluation of how blended biodiesel fuels perform in today’s clean-burning diesel engines. According to a release, the EMA specifications establish technical requirements for blends of petroleum fuel and biodiesel fuel that can be used to assess the effects of such biodiesel fuels on engine performance, durability and emissions.

The National Biodiesel Board has been working cooperatively with EMA on test specifications since last October.

“By approving these specifications, EMA is acknowledging the growing demand and use of B20 by customers all over the country,” said Joe Jobe, CEO of NBB. “While many original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, have taken positive steps toward B20 approval, EMA’s actions are a huge step toward national biodiesel blend fuel standards that will enhance fuel quality measures and increase acceptance of B20.”

Biodiesel

Biogas Grant

Cindy Zimmerman

Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc., an Idaho-based renewable alternate energy company, has received a $50,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Water Resources to install anaerobic digestion technology to produce useable energy from dairy biogas. According to a company release, the grant will be used to purchase energy measurement equipment at the Whitesides Dairy biogas plant. The equipment will monitor the heating values of the gas, determine its energy content, contaminate levels and flow rates either onsite or offsite locations and will assist in the expansion and remote operation of the Whitesides biogas plant.

Energy

The Rock

Chuck Zimmerman

AlcatrazAs we drove over the Bay Bridge today I tried to get a good shot of Alcatraz.

The rock actually looks very pretty sitting out in the bay. We were a long way off and moving pretty fast.

So that’s about all the sight seeing photos for you from San Francisco until tomorrow. We’ve got a final dinner tonight and will get to meet the AASHTO executive director, John Horsley. I’ll interview him about our trip and probably won’t have a chance to post again until tomorrow evening in Reno, NV. You can follow the convoy route by visiting the AASHTO website here.

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The Golden Gate

Chuck Zimmerman

Golden Gate BridgeWe’re not going to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge but I did get to see it on a beautiful sunny day here in San Francisco.

This is a view from Lincoln Park where we’ll be meeting with our U. S. Secretary of Tansportation, Norman Mineta, tomorrow morning.

I don’t think it’s always this clear so we had a great photo op today.

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Drivers Education Trip

Chuck Zimmerman

Convoy DriversHere’s some of the drivers of the convoy vehicles at the Lincoln Park staging area for tomorrow morning’s kickoff event. We got a lesson and view of our course for tomorrow through San Francisco.

We stopped here for a few minutes to take a break since we got caught in an unexpected traffic jam.

That won’t happen tomorrow as all construction will be halted on our path and we’ll have police and CHP personnel clearing things out ahead of us.

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Leading The Way

Chuck Zimmerman

California Highway PatrolHere’s what I think we’ll be seeing most of tomorrow, at least the lead vehicle in our Interstate Celebration convoy will.

The California Highway Patrol took us on a little tour of our route to the Lincoln Park staging area for tomorrow morning’s kickoff.

Then we proceeded across the Bay Bridge and back. It gave us an opportunity to sight see a little.

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