Calls For New Farm Policy

Cindy Zimmerman

AFT Some sectors of agriculture are calling for a new direction to farm policy. At a press conference last week, the American Farmland Trust unveiled its vision of a new farm policy called Agenda 2007. AFT President Ralph Grossi says this vision includes renewable energy. “Much more can be done to unleash producer innovation and entrepreneurial spirit,” said Grossi, including expanding the production of renewable fuels, “especially in developing technologies to convert cellulose to biofuels.”

Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former U.S. Congressman Dan Glickman, who endorses the AFT framework, is most excited about “the very significant role that farmers may have in producing big chunks of energy needed to produce electricity, but particularly liquid fuels, motor fuels, transportation fuels – in addition to providing environmental benefits.”

The AFT website details Agenda 2007 and includes a video webcast of last week’s press conference.

Government, Miscellaneous

Coast to Coast Ethanol Plant News

Cindy Zimmerman

US BioEnergy and Big River Resources of West Burlington, IA are joining forces to build a 100 million gallon per year (mgy) dry grind ethanol facility near Grinnell, Iowa, according to a company release.

A proposed Florida ethanol plant is facing opposition, according to an article on Gainesville.com. The proposed $80 million plant, a project of Gate Petroleum in Jacksonville, would use corn from the midwest.

A 40 million gallon a year plant is opening this week near Kodak, Colorado. According to this article in The Coloradoan, the plant will rely on corn delivered by rail.

Here’s an article from Fort Wayne.com about the race to build ethanol plants in Indiana. According to the story, at least nine more ethanol plants could join the two already operating and six under construction in Indiana.

Pacific Ethanol is moving ahead with plans to build its second West coast plant in Oregon. The 35 million gallon per year ethanol facility will be located on the Columbia River near Boardman, Oregon.

Ethanol, Facilities

News Briefs

Cindy Zimmerman

I have been letting Chuck do the talking this week covering Clean Cities and Ethanol Day. Now it’s time to catch up on some Domestic Fuel news:

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced a new biofuels policy in the Senate, while House Ag Democrats unveiled a comprenesive biodiesel energy package.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest price forecast for corn predicts that ethanol will contribute to higher prices this year. USDA officials expect corn prices to average $2.45 per bushel in the coming marketing year, up more than 22 percent from last year. Lots of stories out there about it, here’s a link to the Des Moines Register piece.

Missouri Corn Growers have their ethanol bill. Governor Matt Blunt is expected to sign a statewide ethanol standard that mandates gasoline sold in Missouri contain 10 percent ethanol. The bill passed overwhelmingly in both houses.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government

Best Clean Cities Congress Ever

Chuck Zimmerman

Annalloyd ThomasonTo get a perspective on how well the Clean Cities Congress went this year I interviewed AFVI Executive Director, Annalloyd Thomason again before leaving.

Annalloyd says it was the best Congress ever with over 17 hundred people participating. She had only positive comments and I would say this positions next year’s event in Los Angeles very well.

You can hear my interview with her here: Listen To MP3 Annalloyd Thomason Summary Interview (7 min MP3)

Domestic Fuel coverage of the Clean Cities Congress is made possible by the following sponsors:
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute Southern California Gas Company

Audio, Clean Cities Congress

Farmer, Racer, Ethanol Supporter

Chuck Zimmerman

Mark ThomasBeing a farmer today has its challenges. Being a farmer and a funny car driver simply magnifies those challenges. Mark Thomas is up to the challenge though. He is also one of the biggest proponents of ethanol you’re going to find anywhere.

Mark is a champion too, having one 5 national IHRA titles. He was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Ethanol Day. I had to wait in line to interview him as the kids and adults too stopped by for an autograph.

In my interview Mark talks about what he does for a living and how important he thinks public education about ethanol is to our country. You can to my interview with Mark here: Listen To MP3 Mark Thomas Interview (5 min MP3)

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Racing

NG Diesel Trip Is Blogged

Chuck Zimmerman

GTL TeamI hope you like our event blogging. I’ve been receiving some very nice comments on it, thank you. Here’s a story about an event that’s being blogged in Africa that you might be interested to check out. Keep your eyes on Domestic Fuel too as I have a couple of events coming up that will be covered extensively.

So, check out the Sasol Chevron GTL Challenge diary. They have photos, a daily summary and video. I would have allowed public commenting but this is extremely well done. A lot of companies are seeing the value in this kind of direct to consumer media campaign. I’m jealous that they have a team. Maybe I can work up to an assistant in the near future.

The Sasol Chevron GTL Challenge will see a team of twelve men and women embarking on a symbolic journey from Sasolburg, South Africa to Qatar, to signal the inauguration of the Oryx GTL plant in Qatar on 6th June. Read More

International, Promotion

Ethanol Flood

Cindy Zimmerman

The World Bank is being “flooded” with requests to fund ethanol projects worldwide, according to a report from Reuters. The article says that requests are coming from countries such as “Mali, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, Colombia, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Mozambique, Tanzania, Egypt and Turkey,” and that “inquiries have increased since President Bush last week called on the U.S. Congress to reconsider tariffs on imports of ethanol, as crude oil prices traded near the mid-$70s per barrel.”

Ethanol

Energy Secretary Press Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

Secretary of Energy Press ConferenceSecretary of Energy Samuel Bodman held a press conference here at Ethanol Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In his prepared remarks he paid tribute to Paul Dana and the work he did to promote ethanol and bring the industry and the IRL together as a tremendous promotional mechanism for this alternative energy resource. You can listen to the Secretary’s remarks here: Listen To MP3 Secretary Bodman Remarks (3 min MP3)

In case you’d like to watch the Secretary I got a video clip of most of his statement which you can watch here: Watch WMV File Secretary Bodman Remarks (3 min WMV)

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Government, Racing, Video

Hornish Wins Ethanol Fast Lap

Chuck Zimmerman

Sam Hornish, Jr.The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is sponsoring five days of the Ethanol Fast Lap.

This is an award for the driver with the fastest lap of the day. Today is one of those days and as I said in a previous post, it was won by Sam Hornish, Jr. with a lap of 226.789 mph. He received a check for $2,500.

Other days in the promotion include: (May 17, 18, 26).

EPIC, Ethanol, Promotion, Racing

Ethanol Lesson For Energy Secretary

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff Simmons & Sec. BodmanSecretary of Energy Bodman (r), got to learn more about ethanol and the Rahal-Letterman Ethanol Car with driver Jeff Simmons prior to getting his turn in a car on the track. He spent quite a few minutes with Jeff at the car, pointing to various components and asking lots of questions.

This was his first visit to the Speedway. He said today that he believes that ethanol is our near-term solution to importing too much oil.

EPIC, Ethanol, Government