E85 Promotional Campaign

Chuck Zimmerman

MFA OilA Missouri-based company is getting ready to give away a new Ford F-150 flexible fuel truck. It’s MFA Oil Company and they’ll be announcing full details on Friday, May 26. Wish I could be there.

Basically, MFA Oil is partnering with Mid-Missouri Energy to help make corn-based E85 more affordable and accessible around the state. At the announcement event on Friday, MFA Oil President Jerry Taylor will explain “the numerous benefits of this project, including how it can potentially decrease Missourians dependence on foreign fuels, lower their prices at the pump, provide a boon to the corn farming industry and improve air quality.”Read More

Agribusiness, Ethanol, Facilities, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Promotion

Ethanol Champion Interview

Chuck Zimmerman

Dave Vander GriendAs we work our way closer to the Indianapolis 500 I’ve got an interview for you to listen to today with ICM CEO, Dave Vander Griend. Dave is a founder of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. His company is a design/engineering firm for ethanol plants.

Dave got interested in the Indy Racing League partnership when he met the late Paul Dana. He talks about that relationship in the interview. I intereviewed Dave on Ethanol Day in Indianapolis. He has a great way of looking at why the promotion and development of ethanol as an alternative fuel is so important to the United States.

You can listen to my interview with Dave here: Listen To MP3 Dave Vander Griend Interview (7 min MP3)

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Facilities, Indy Racing, Racing

Old Cartoon Fuel Ad

Chuck Zimmerman

Speedway 79Times they are a changing. For example, look at this 1955 tv commercial for Speedway 79’s Powerfuel on Cartoon Modern.

Why can’t we have fun commercials like this anymore? I wonder what an animated commercial for biodiesel or ethanol would look like done in this style.

Story via Adjab.

Miscellaneous

Biotech Fuel Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

Biotechnology Industry OrganizationAfter attending the BIO 2006 Convention I’m sure that any event being organized by BIO will be world class. That’s what the upcoming World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing sounds like it will be. This is the 3rd time the event will be held.

The advance release says it will display, “The latest advances in industrial biotechnology for renewable fuel and sustainable consumer products made from agricultural feedstocks.”

The Congress, to be held July 11-14, 2006 at the Toronto Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, is hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), American Chemical Society, the National Agriculture Biotechnology Council, the Agri-Food Innovation Forum, the Chemical Institute of Canada, BIOTECanada and EuropaBIO.Read More

Biotech, International

New Transporation Energy Org

Chuck Zimmerman

A new organization is just getting itself started to “Promote Clean and Secure Energy for Transportation.” It’s the Transportation Energy Partnership (TEP). The Executive Director is Thomas Gross, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Technologies in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office of the Department of Energy. Tom spoke at the recent Clean Cities Congress and I recorded his remarks.

TEP is the new name of the former National Clean Cities, Inc. Gross says that the mission of the TEP is to support the work of Clean Cities Coalitions nationally, primarily by obtaining new funding. Learn more about TEP by listening to his comments here: Listen To MP3 Tom Gross Comments (4 min MP3)

Before leaving the stage at the Clean Cities Congress Tom received several new memberships for TEP including a corporate one from the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute. If you’re interested to learn more you can give Tom a call at 703-273-0631. The organization address is: P. O. Box 70, Fairfax, VA 22038-0070.

Audio, Clean Cities Congress

Manage Your Energy Risk

Chuck Zimmerman

Energy In AgricultureSmall and limited resource farmers as well as any producers might be interested in USDA’s “Energy In Agriculture, Managing The Risk” conference in Kansas City, MO on June 27-28. You can register online for $90 before June 5. Here’s a draft agenda (pdf file). Some travel scholarships are available if applied for prior to May 30.Read More

Agribusiness, Government

Revving It Up For Indy

Chuck Zimmerman

Indy PitsIt’s the final week before the Indianapolis 500. Time to get revved up. I’ll be heading on over later this week. On Thursday the IRL is having an Ethanol Forum which will feature speakers like IRL founder Tony George and USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, Tom Dorr. I’ll report on it for you right here.

In leading up to the activities in Indiana I’m going to post some more interviews I conducted during Ethanol Day a couple of weeks ago. So let’s get started. One of the founders of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is Jeff Broin, CEO of the Broin Companies, designers and builders of ethanol plants. Jeff is pictured on the left, next to another EPIC founder, Dave Vander Griend, CEO of ICM. They were watching Ethanol Car practice lap action in the pits. Jeff describes what EPIC does and what he thinks of all the publicity generated by the ethanol/IRL matchup.

You can listen to my interview with Jeff here: Listen To MP3 Jeff Broin Interview (3 min MP3)

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, Racing

Gas Prices Fuel Web Searches

Cindy Zimmerman

GraphPeople who keep track of such things say that higher gas prices are causing a major increase in web searches for domestic fuel terms such as ethanol and biodiesel. According to Hitwise, the share of U.S. internet searches for the term ‘ethanol’ was up 212 percent for the four weeks ending May 13, 2006 versus the four weeks ending April 15, 2006. Additionally, the share of searches for ‘biodiesel’ was up 100 percent in that same period. Hitwise is “the leading online competitive intelligence service,” according to the company’s website.
Traffic on Domestic Fuel has seen a significant increase in the past 30 days – up over 50 percent and growing every day.

Biodiesel, Ethanol

Geographic Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

From the deep South to the wild, wild West – ethanol is expanding it’s horizons.

Ethanol is a hot topic in Louisiana “where sugar cane, soybeans. sorghum and corn could be tapped for fuel production,” according to this article from the Advocate. According to the story, at least three commercial domestic fuels plants are planned for the state and another in Mississippi would use grain from Louisiana. There are also a couple of public projects in the works and state legislation that would require refiners to produce ethanol.

According to the Torrington (WY) Telegram, ethanol in the state of Wyoming is on the cutting edge. This article reports that Wyoming Ethanol, which has been in operation since 1995, plans to double its production this year to 12 million gallons of ethanol per year from approximately 4 million bushels of corn. Officials with the plant say they could sell three times what they produce.

Ethanol

The Ethanol Sprint King

Chuck Zimmerman

Steve King & ParentsAt Ethanol Day in Indianapolis recently, Steve King, sprint car driver, was there to help promote the alternative fuel. He brought his number 88 for us to see. Steve is pictured to the right of his parents, Danny & Naomi.

I interviewed Steve while we had a relatively quiet moment (there’s usually never a quiet moment at the speedway). Steve says he began using ethanol about 5 years ago. He grows his own fuel as a farmer, including having a feedlot. He says they use a blend of ethanol that allows him to load less fuel at the beginning of a race and that gives him a competitive advantage.

You can listen to my interview with Steve here: Listen To MP3 Steve King Interview (3 min MP3)

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Racing