Australia is getting into the ethanol business. Dalby Bio-Refinery Limited has announced it will commence Stage One construction of an ethanol plant, worth $54 million, near Dalby during the first half of 2006.
Chris Harrison, Director of Dalby Bio-Refinery Limited, said the first stage of the project would produce 40 million litres of ethanol while the full project will have annual production of a minimum of 80 million litres. “We are constructing the plant in two stages, to allow our project to grow with the market,” he said. “We are using proven grain to ethanol technology from an industry leader in the US fuel ethanol industry, Delta-T Corporation of Williamsburg, Virginia.” It will be the first Dry Mill grain to ethanol plant constructed in Australia and the first plant built specifically for the production of ethanol for fuel since the Second World War. The refinery will produce ethanol from sorghum and wheat, but can also utilise other grains such as corn and barley.
ETHANOL IN THE BOOTHEEL
On Monday, November 7, the farmer-leaders of southeast Missouri announced Bootheel Agri-Energy, a pioneering effort to build an innovative 100 million gallon, coal-fired ethanol plant. Near as I can tell, 100 million gallons a year is about the most any ethanol plant in the country produces, and it’s twice the capacity of any already operating or planned for Missouri. Missouri Corn Merchandising Council chairman Mike Geske, a farmer from the bootheel area, says they are very excited about the plans for an ethanol plant in that region. “There’s a lot of production down here – one of the largest corn production areas in the state. It was very much a gap in our ethanol production ability in the state of Missouri.” I interviewed Mike about the plans for this week’s Missouri Corn Growers CornTalk.
Ford Driving To Increase E85
Ford Motor Co. announced on Friday a partnership with South Dakota renewable energy company VeraSun Energy Corp. aimed at expanding support for vehicles capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol, known as E85. 
The partnership will concentrate on growing the ethanol infrastructure in 2006 and converting existing fuel pumps to VeraSun’s branded E85 in existing retail outlets. A consumer awareness campaign will also be launched.
IOWA ETHANOL NEWS
An ethanol plant is coming to Sioux City, IA. Mayor Karen Van de Steeg and the city council proudly made the announcement this morning that an $80 million plant will be built near Sioux Gateway airport. 
Baard Renewables LLC, a subsidiary of Baard Energy of Vancover, WA, will construct the plant which company officials say will produce 60-million gallons of ethanol every year. The operation will create 48 permanent jobs that pay between 40 and 140-thousand dollars a year. Construction is expected to begin next September with completion set for one year later.
Breaking New Ground
Groundbreaking ceremonies are being held within the next few days in two states for two new ethanol plants.
Siouxland Ethanol will break ground on a plant in Jackson, NE on Friday, November 4. When completed, Siouxland Ethanol will produce 50 million gallons of ethanol annually using 18 million bushels of corn from the region. The plant will provide 32-36 news jobs for the local area. Fagen, Inc. of Granite Falls, Minnesota is handling both construction and management of the project. ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kansas will provide the process design. According to the American Coalition for Ethanol release, Nebraska is the nation’s third largest producer of ethanol.
Then on Monday, November 7, ground will be broken for the Missouri Ethanol, LLC plant in Laddonia, MO. That plant is a partnership between East Central Ag Products (ECAP), Northeast Missouri Grain, LLC and Broin Companies. Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and other state and national dignitaries will be on hand for that event. Accoring to Missouri Ethanol President David Vogt they hope to begin ethanol production next fall. “The plant should produce about 45 million gallons of ethanol and 134,000 tons of distiller’s grains,” said Vogt. He adds that it will use about 17 million bushels of corn a year and provide about 40 jobs in the area. I interviewed David Vogt about the project for the Missouri Corn Growers Association’s weekly CornTalk program, which you can listen to here.
Bio Town, USA
A small “one stoplight” town in Indiana is trying to make a new name for itself – Bio Town, USA.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels recently announced his ambitious plan to make Reynolds, IN the first community in the country that gets all of its energy from biorenewable sources. “BioTown , USA is an aggressive plan that I believe will become a model for rural communities throughout our state and country,” said Governor Daniels. “We are taking challenges and turning them into opportunities by developing homegrown, local energy production to become independent from foreign sources; creating a cleaner environment; finding new solutions to animal waste management issues; and developing new markets for Indiana agricultural products and by-products.”
Phase 1 of the BioTown, USA plan for Reynolds revolves around biofuels. Governor Daniels announced that an E85 (85 percent ethanol) fuel pump would be located in the center of Reynolds to support the flex fuel vehicles already in the town – and more flex-fuel vehicles are coming. The town has committed to convert its fleet of vehicles to E85. The Indiana State Department of Agriculture is working with a vehicle manufacturer to get more flex-fuel vehicles into this town and is also planning to convert many of the remaining cars and trucks in Reynolds into flex fuel vehicles.
Listen to a USDA newsline report about Bio Town, USDA here.
Update on EPIC
Ethanol has received a lot of media attention lately. Chuck Zimmerman interviewed Tom Slunecka, Executive Director of the Ethanol Promotion & Information Council to find out why. He provides reasons that include new energy legislation, auto manufacturers who have announced new models built specifically to run on ethanol, the pressure on gas supplies due to the recent hurricanes and higher gas prices. Slunecka also says that EPIC has conducted some recent promotions that show that although consumers may be aware of ethanol, they aren’t sure just how it affects them personally and they don’t yet associate it with the fuel they pump into their cars. This is why EPIC is working on an ethanol brand to help fuel retailers and producers develop a sustainable positive image and demand for ethanol. You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Tom here:
December Meetings to Focus on Biofuels
Toronto and St. Louis are the locations for dueling biofuels conferences on almost the same dates in December.
First, by a day, is the 2005 Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit to be held December 13-15. According to the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, the “Canadian biofuels market is poised for a massive expansion. Ontario is about to implement a 10% province-wide renewable fuels mandate, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have already done so.” This is Canada’s second annual Renewable Fuels Summit and the theme this year is “Open New Opportunities.”
On December 14-15, Farm Foundation and USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses are hosting the Energy from Agriculture Conference at the Marriot St. Louis Airport. This conference “will provide farmers and ranchers, rural community leaders, energy executives and state and regional government officials with practical, science-based information on agriculture’s role in energy production,” and is a follow-up to the June 2004 conference, Agriculture As A Consumer and Producer of Energy.
E3 Biofuels Complex
I think this is a real pretty logo. Nice website these E3 Biofuels folks have too – not too flashy, but very classy. Their slogan is “Merging Technologies for Earth, Energy and Environment.” The company made some domestic fuel news this week with the public unveiling of the complex it is building near Mead, NE. The E3 Biofuels Complex is being called a cutting-edge closed-loop system that combines ethanol production, livestock production, and waste management. The system incorporates a dairy or feedlot, an ethanol production process, and an anaerobic digester into a self-sustaining, closed-loop system. The manure from the livestock is handled by an on-site waste management facility and turned into biogas. This biogas powers the ethanol production process, eliminating fossil fuel costs. Wet distillers grain – a co-product of the ethanol production process – is fed to the livestock, completing the loop. Similar concept to the Panda Energy plant planned for Southwest Kansas, which DomesticFuel reported on September 19. The American Coalition for Ethanol has a story about the complex on its website, and the E3 Biofuels website features a story from the OmahaWorld Herald.
Car Clinic for Women Teaches Benefits of Ethanol
The Ethanol Promotion & Information Council, also known as EPIC, has a goal of informing consumers about the benefits of ethanol and recently the organization teamed up with a Wichita, KS car dealer to bring that good news to women. 
Don Hatten Chevrolet regularly hosts clinics to educate women on the basics of car maintenance and last week’s clinic included information about the performance, safety and environmental benefits of ethnanol blends. About 50 women attended the clinic, according to a release on EPIC’s consumer information site. Steve Rust, a member of the EPIC staff, conducted the ethanol portion of the clinic.