Nebraska Ethanol Board to Talk Ag Careers

John Davis

NEethanolboardThe ethanol industry holds lots of job opportunities in agriculture-related businesses. That’s why the Nebraska Ethanol Board staff will be at the Nebraska Agriculture Youth Institute Career Fair this Thursday, July 9, at 3:30 p.m.

The Nebraska Agriculture Youth Institute (NAYI) is a weeklong experience – July 6-10 – for high school juniors and seniors from across Nebraska to learn about career opportunities within agriculture. This conference features speakers, workshops, agricultural education, networking with peers and industry leaders, professional development and leadership experience.

“NAYI is an opportunity for high school students to get a taste of the variety of opportunities in agriculture,” said Trent Mastny, Nebraska Agriculture Youth Council head counselor. “Youth from across the state can make connections and share their passion for agriculture and feeding the world.”

A recent impact study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln economists reveals Nebraska’s ethanol production growth was tenfold in the past two decades, which means high-quality jobs in the state. Nebraska’s 24 ethanol plants staff 1,300 full-time employees earning $71 million in annual wages and benefits.

“The ethanol industry has opportunities in agriculture fields, as well as careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), which are in high demand,” said Todd Sneller, Nebraska Ethanol Board administrator. “Ethanol plants provide jobs for educated youth in rural communities.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News

U.S. Energy Efficiency Increasing

Joanna Schroeder

Energy efficiency is improving in America. A new report find the country’s energy intensity, the measurement of energy used per dollar of gross domestic product, is down from 12.1 thousand Btus per dollar in 1980 to 6.1 thousand Btus per dollar in 2014. The report, Energy Efficiency in the United States: 35 Years and Counting, was released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

ACEEE energy reduction report infographicThe report found that nearly 60 percent of the improvement in energy intensity was due to energy efficiency and about 40 percent to major structural changes in the economy. The bottom line according to ACEEE:  Just the energy efficiency portion saved U.S. consumers and businesses about $800 billion in 2014, roughly $2,500 per capita. Even though U.S. energy use edged up by 26 percent from 1980 to 2014, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 149 percent.

The report concludes that “while much progress has been made, there are large and cost effective energy efficiency opportunities that, by 2050, can collectively reduce energy use by 40-60 percent relative to current forecasts.”

Report co-author and ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel said: “Energy efficiency has made great strides in the past 35 years, and we have learned many important lessons on how markets and policies can work together to advance it. Looking forward, we find opportunities to reduce 2050 energy use by half relative to a business-as-usual reference case. In order to harvest these large efficiency opportunities, we need to take our efforts to a higher level. The challenges are many, but so are the benefits in terms of lower energy bills, a stronger economy, improved energy security, and a cleaner environment. The past has shown us what efficiency can do and it can guide us to even greater success in the future.”

In addition to highlighting the areas that have achieved most significant energy reduction, the report also recommends tactics to be taken to further improve energy efficiency.

Clean Energy, energy efficiency

Clean Jobs Continue to Rise

Joanna Schroeder

A new report finds that more than 9,800 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced in the U.S. in the first three months of 2015. This is nearly double the number of jobs announced during the same timeframe in 2014. The report was released by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

E2 Q1 2015 top clean job statesThe top three states for the quarter were: Georgia (2,870 jobs), California (1,885) and Texas (1,612). New Mexico, Michigan, Colorado, Virginia, Utah, Maryland and Indiana rounded out the top 10. Georgia’s No. 1 ranking was its first since E2 began its clean energy job-tracking analysis in 2011. The vast majority of its jobs came in the solar sector.

“Nearly 10,000 new job announcements in one quarter shows just how fast clean energy is growing in America,” said Bob Keefe, executive director of E2. “But building an economy increasingly fueled by clean, renewable energy like wind and solar doesn’t happen in just one quarter. Smart policies like the federal Clean Power Plan – which will reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants and increase clean energy – will help keep the job growth going.” Final Clean Power Plan standards will be announced later this summer.

Nationally, solar was the top sector in Q1, with more than 6,600 jobs announced from nearly 20 projects in solar generation and solar manufacturing. The report attributed declining materials costs as a primary reason for the solar industry’s strong showing. In the wind energy sector, more than 1,400 jobs stemming from 11 projects were announced, while the biomass, energy storage, advanced vehicle and lighting efficiency sectors announced hundreds of jobs each.

Clean Energy, Solar, Wind

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDF1An upcoming episode of “In America” will cover the topic of water power and dams. The episode will be hosted by famous actor and voice-over specialist, James Earl Jones. The purpose of this episode is to inform viewers about how we obtain electricity from water. It’ll also cover the history of hydro-electric power and the future of associated endeavors.
  • IKEA has announced it officially has ‘flipped-the-switch’ on a fuel cell system installed at its retail location in Emeryville, CA. Slightly larger than the physical size of a commercial back-up generator, the 300-kW system will operate on biogas and produce approximately 2,497,651 kWh of electricity annually for the store. Combined with the solar energy system installed atop the store in 2011, these fuel cells will help generate more than a majority of the store’s energy onsite.
  • RGS Energy has completed the previously announced $5 million offering of units consisting of its Class A common stock and Series F common stock warrant at a price of $3.65 per unit.
  • The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has launched a digital ad campaign thanking Rep. Cheri Bustos for her vote against Rep. Whitfield’s H.R. 2042, gutting the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The $20,000 digital ad campaign aims to hold Members of Congress, including Rep. Bustos, accountable for their votes last week on Rep. Whitfield’s bill.
Bioenergy Bytes

Biodiesel Industry Testimony on RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

While ethanol got most of the attention at the recent EPA hearing on proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), biodiesel producers had their say as well.

At least two dozen biodiesel representatives from across the country testified at the hearing to thank EPA for increasing volumes in the latest proposal while at the same time calling for further growth in the final rule set to be released in November.

epa-hearing-jobe“The biodiesel industry can do much more to make the whole program stronger,” said National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Joe Jobe in an interview at the hearing. “Biodiesel is the only domestic, fully commercialized, advanced biofuel and we’ve helped the advanced biofuel category meet its goals nearly every year of the program.”

Biodiesel falls under the Biomass-based Diesel category of the RFS, which is a subset of the overall Advanced Biofuels category. The EPA proposal would gradually raise biodiesel volumes by about 100 million gallons per year to a standard of 1.9 billion gallons in 2017. Because of biodiesel’s higher energy content, this would count as 2.95 billion ethanol equivalent gallons under the RFS. The overall Advanced Biofuel standard would rise to 3.4 billion ethanol equivalent gallons in 2016. NBB had requested more aggressive growth to a biodiesel standard of 2.7 billion gallons by 2017, along with additional growth in the overall Advanced Biofuel category.

Listen to Jobe explain more in this interview: Interview with Joe Jobe, NBB

EPA RFS Public Hearing photo album

Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing is sponsored by
Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing sponsored by RFA
advanced biofuels, Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, biomass, EPA, RFS

American Ethanol Driver Safe After Daytona Crash

Cindy Zimmerman

american-ethanol-dillonAmerican Ethanol driver Austin Dillon had a wild July 4th weekend, earning his first career win at Daytona in Friday night’s Xfinity Series race and then ending a rain-delayed Coke Zero 400 race with a car upside down and in pieces just moments before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. crossed the finish line after 2:40 am.

Dillon, who was not driving the American Ethanol car in the race, had only minor injuries in the horrific crash that tore down fencing and threw debris on fans. The grandson of racing legend Richard Childress, Dillon afterward thanked “the good Lord for taking care of me and for what NASCAR has done to make the sport this much safer.”

American Ethanol is a partnership with NASCAR and all races are run on 15% ethanol-blended fuel. Dillon is an official spokesperson for American Ethanol and drives the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet SS in select races.

American Ethanol, Ethanol, NASCAR

American Farmers and Energy Independence

Cindy Zimmerman

flag-fuelThanks to American farmers, our nation is closer than ever to energy independence. As you celebrate this weekend, remember the farmers who have helped make this country great for nearly 240 years!

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Wishing you a safe and blessed Independence Day!

Uncategorized

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDF1Tom L. Ward, chairman and CEO of Tapstone Energy, has joined the Board of Directors of Nopetro. Ward also completed an equity investment in the company, which is Florida’s leading compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure provider. Ward previously co-founded and served as president and COO of Chesapeake Energy, and as founder, chairman and CEO of SandRidge Energy. Ward’s investment in Nopetro will support the company’s expansion across the U.S.
  • Abengoa has had its credit rating upgraded by one notch by the rating agency Standard & Poors (S&P). S&P has revised the rating of Abengoa from B to B+ with a stable outlook.
  • Merkur Offshore has signed with respectively Alstom and DEME a binding Turbine Supply Agreement and Balance of Plant Contract for the construction of the Merkur Offshore wind farm, including supply and installation of 66 Alstom Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbines. Additionally, Alstom has signed a long term service and maintenance contract.
  • Under an agreement by Eagle Mountain LLC to buy the Kaiser Eagle Mountain mine near Desert Center from CIL&D (formerly known as Kaiser Ventures) is moving forward with the goal of transforming the site into a pumped storage electricity station that can bank energy from solar, wind and geothermal power plants for release during times of peak demand and to maintain grid stability. The proposal calls for converting two of the mine’s vacant pits into reservoirs that transfer water back and forth through a state-of-the-art underground turbine system that can produce up to 1,300 megawatts of electricity – enough to power nearly 1 million homes.
Bioenergy Bytes

Ethanol Blends Save Drivers Money

John Davis

aceAs drivers are hitting the road for the 4th of July weekend, they’ll be able to do so with a little extra jingle in their pockets, thanks to ethanol. This news release from the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) says gas prices are lower because of the green fuel.

“People are traveling more because gas prices are about a dollar a gallon less than last year,” says ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty, “American drivers are paying $11 billion a month less at the pump. That’s almost $40 bucks a month for every man, woman and child in the U.S.”

Lamberty says ethanol production gains made possible by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are a big help in lowering the price of gas.

“Ethanol costs less than gas, so adding ethanol lowers the price of gas,” Lamberty explained. “And when people can use more ethanol in fuels like E15 or E85, that’s more competition for gasoline. That forces oil companies to lower their prices to compete, and that’s why they badmouth ethanol and the RFS.”

Lamberty also warned that Big Oil is trying to get Congress and the EPA to eliminate or dramatically weaken laws that allow ethanol to compete with gasoline, and if petroleum interests are successful, we’ll all end up paying more.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Our Poll on RFS Changes Gets Mixed Results

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Will EPA change RFS volume proposal?”

The EPA recently released a new proposal for biofuels volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard – one that has made no one happy but particularly corn farmers and ethanol producers who note that the agency is not implementing the law as intended. EPA held a public hearing to get comments on the proposal but will it lead to a change? Half of those who took our recent poll believe that the EPA won’t change RFS volumes. Time will tell.

Here are the poll results:

  • No – 50%
  • Yes – 29%
  • Maybe – 21%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What’s on your grill this 4th of July?

Beyond fireworks, grilling seems to be a top priority when families and friends gather to celebrate Independence Day. July is also known as National Hot Dog Month. So, will you be joining the tradition by eating hot dogs on the 4th or will you be grilling up something else?

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, ZimmPoll