ZimmComm, Marketing & Communications is the publisher of DomesticFuel. Our staff wishes you and yours a very merry Christmas.
From l-r are Amy, Cindy, Chuck and CJ the office dog. We promise to bring you a lot of interesting news and information in the coming year. It’s time now to take the weekend off and celebrate why we are so blessed.
It gets to be monotonous to report that ethanol production is continuing to increase, but it is. The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that ethanol production in the U.S. averaged 269,000 barrels per day (b/d) in October, up 8,000 b/d from September. The Renewable Fuels Association reports that demand for ethanol also grew substantially to 278,000 b/d, which is the second highest monthly demand, surpassed only by August demand. RFA President Bob Dinneen says it shows the industry is here to stay. “Now producing well over the first year requirement of the RFS, the ethanol industry is fully prepared to exceed the requirements of this program in the years to come.”
Papers and presentations given at the recent Energy From Agriculture Conference in St. Louis are available on the Farm Foundation website. The conference was presented by Farm Foundation and USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses as a follow-up to the 2004 conference, Agriculture as a Consumer and Producer of Energy. USDA’s Office of Rural Development and Natural Resources Conservation Service also helped sponsor the event, so it was quite heavily focused on any USDA programs related to energy. Lots of information here – production, research, marketing, legislation – pretty well covers the waterfront. An executive summary of the conference proceedings will be available early 2006.
Our neighbors to the north may soon have a national biofuels standard. The two leading politicial parties in Canada are both promising to require that renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, make up 5 percent gasoline and diesel fuel by the year 2010. According to a Reuters Canada report, three of the 10 provinces — Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — already require some renewable fuels but there is not a national standard. The two major party candidates are Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin and Conservative leader Stephen Harper and the election is just over a month away, January 23.
Wisconsin is poised to become the fourth to enact an ethanol blend requirement for gasoline. The state assembly last week passed a measure that will require all 87-octane gasoline to contain 10 percent ethanol by October 1, 2006. The state senate will vote on the bill after the holidays and if it passes the governor is expected to sign it. The three other states that already have ethanol mandates are Minnesota, Montana and Hawaii. According to the American Coalition for Ethanol, Minnesota’s E10 requirement has been on the books since 1997 and Hawaii’s will go into effect this coming April. Montana’s E10 law is contingent upon having 40 million gallons per year of in-state production capacity. Several other states, such as Missouri, have legislation in the works.
Now we’ve got an ethanol plant being built on the east coast. That’s different! We’ve seen so many of them being built in the midwest that it was only a matter of time until we saw them popping up in other areas.
Thanks to Mark Simone at Andrew B.Bellingham Commodity Trade Analysis for the heads up on this announcement.
Dave Brady, managing member of Agri-Ethanol Products, LLC (AEP) today (Dec. 16) announced the location of a $150 million ethanol plant to be located in Beaufort County, near Aurora, North Carolina. Mr. Brady thanked Governor Easley for the assistance that the state of North Carolina provided in making the plant possible. He also expressed his sincere appreciation to Secretary of Commerce, Jim Fain, Secretary of Revenue, Norris Tolson, Senator Marc Basnight, Representative Arthur Williams, Representative Joe Tolson, Larry Shirley and NC Department of Energy, the Northeast Partnership, Tom Thompson and the Beaufort County Economic Development Commission, the Town of Aurora and Roseview Capital.
The plant will produce 114 million gallons of ethanol per year as well as co-products consisting of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and CO2. This will be the first ethanol plant in North Carolina and the first on the East Coast of the United States. The ethanol production will be delivered in each of two, 57 million gallon per year phases, with the co-products output doubling accordingly. Phase I ground breaking and construction start-up is expected during the first quarter of ’06. Approximately $2 million will be utilized through various grant sources from the State to facilitate rail improvements critical to the operation of the plant.
It’s time to get yourself a Ford Tough F150. Ford has just announced that the first flex fuel trucks are rolling off the production line.
As Ford continues to drive American innovation, a new version of America’s best-selling vehicle is rolling off the line at the Kansas City Assembly Plant. Production of the first Ford F-150 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) began this month, continuing the company’s commitment to producing 250,000 FFVs in the coming year. The flexible fuel technology is being built into the 5.4L, V-8 engine model and is available to consumers at no additional cost. FFVs can operate on gasoline or ethanol blends up to E85 – a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
“We’re pleased to begin production of F-150 FFVs. Flexible fuel vehicles give customers the option of fueling with gasoline or the ethanol,” said Ken Ward, Kansas City Plant manager. “Customers will find that the F-150 FFV offers the same functionality as the gasoline version F-150 – including horsepower and torque.”
Made in America, ethanol is a renewable fuel that supports U.S. jobs and reduces the nation’s dependency on foreign oil. It is produced primarily from corn grown in the Midwest and is generally less expensive than regular unleaded gasoline – saving consumers money at the pump.
As I was checking this story out I came across FordF150.net which has a user forum set up. Here’s a link to a conversation thread on ethanol.
Colorado-based Biofuel Solutions and Cargill are together on a deal to build a 110-million-gallon per year ethanol plant in Wood River, NE. The plant is expected to use about 41 million bushels of corn annually from the Cargill elevator adjacent to the plant, and Cargill will also market and distribute the ethanol, in addition to 375,000 tons of dry distiller grains a year for animal feed. Construction on the facility is expected to begin early next year. Biofuels Solutions recently announced plans for a similar plant in Fairmont, MN that would utilize the same type of deal with Cargill. Thanks to Mark Simone of A.B. Bellingham Commodity Trade Analysis, Inc. for passing that story on to us. We appreciate it!
Farm Foundation and USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses kicked off their Energy from Agriculture conference today in St. Louis. I was not able to attend and I have not seen any coverage of the event yet anywhere – even on USDA’s newsline. Seems that the WTO talks in Hong Kong is the bigger news story this week – that and the opening of the Japanese beef market. But, several of the top USDA head honchos were scheduled to be at the event today, including NRCS Chief Bruce Knight. I was supposed to interview the chief about USDA’s energy initiatives tomorrow (Thursday), but he had to reschedule so that will have to wait until next week. I will post that interview on Tuesday. Of course, the Secretary himself is in Hong Kong for the talks.
The agenda for the conference today included an assessment of current technologies, market impacts, energy production from non-traditional feedstocks and a review of the USDA energy program. The conference will conclude on Thursday at noon after a look at some energy from agriculture success stories and energy legislation.
While Googling around today, I came across this story from British Columbia, Canada – the New Society Publishers. This group has a website called RenewableEnergyAccess.com and they have this cute little kids book called “Have Fries Will Travel – the Adventures of a Veggie-Powered Car and an Eco-Rap Star.” They call it “The Perfect Holiday Gift: A book of exciting green adventures on the road with a biodiesel car.”
So, the car is named Tiny “his exhaust smelling like yummy French fries” and the “eco-rap star” is named Rock. The two set off on a road trip to encourage others to use biodiesel in their cars and to meet Senator Slade Twist in Washington, D.C.
* They visit farmers growing soybeans especially for making biodiesel;
* They pick up a colorful assortment of biodiesel converts, including the one and only Ms. Liza Merriweather;
* Rock performs rap songs about the need to stop global warming – with biodiesel cars being a good idea since biodiesel is a very clean fuel.
* A parade of vehicles, including a biodiesel-fueled farm tractor and a big rig follow Tiny into D.C. where a surprise ending awaits.
Hmmmmm….. Anyway, the book is 12.95 in USD and is available at the above link, if you want to check it out.
The mission of the New Society Publishers, according to their website, is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.
