BioFuel PR Launches to Tell Ethanol’s Story

John Davis

The ethanol industry knows that if it is going to be successful in the current political climate, they need to tell their personal ethanol stories. But this is easier said then done with the role of ethanol employees to produce fuel, feed and fiber – not be savvy BiofuelPRlogocommunicators. With several requests for help last fall from ethanol plants to help tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) their stories as part of the 2014 proposed rules for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), ethanol veteran Joshua Morby and alternative energy veteran and ZimmComm New Media writer Joanna Schroeder teamed up to form a unique partnership: Biofuel PR.

The new communications firm is the first and only of its kind dedicated to the biofuels industry and according to Biofuel PR Partner Joshua Morby, brings together expertise from two decades of experience working with ethanol trade associations, key stakeholders and legislators to offer the biofuel industry a new communications solution.

JoshuaMorbyHeadshotDFMorby notes that there are a number of effective national trade and industry organizations that are doing a great job developing messaging, framing the issues and providing content. But while the associations allow their members to utilize their materials in the local market, many ethanol plants just don’t know how.

“The challenge that exists is the missing link at the local level. There’s no argument about the need for activity in communities across the country. The issue has always been who at the biofuels plant is tasked with telling the local story. That’s where we come in,” says Joshua.

Not only is enhancing a biofuel plant’s message in the local community important, but DF blogger and communications expert Joanna Schroeder notes that as a writer looking for new and intriguing angles, its hard to find great personal ethanol stories. But when she does, they receive great coverage around the world of the web.

SchroederheadshotDF“If there is one thing I understand, it’s that the role of a biorefinery is to produce renewable, cost competitive biofuels and byproducts – not to be communication experts,” explains Schroeder, Biofuel PR partner. “Our firm is able to serve in this role and take the lead on telling Americans the personal and often emotional stories about what the biofuels industry means to them, their families and their communities. Since I am always looking for the story, I know how to help biofuel plants better tell their stories and as a result, help gain awareness and support for ethanol around the country.”

Granite Falls Ethanol was one of the plants assisted by Biofuel PR during the EPA comment period.

“The team at Biofuel PR was helpful to us in our efforts to motivate local supporters and members of our community during the RFS comment period,” says Granite Falls Ethanol General Manager Steve Christiansen. “Biofuel PR understands our industry, the local communities were we live and operate as well as the world of communications.”

biofuels, communications, Company Announcement, Ethanol

Corn Growers at Biofuels Beltway March

John Davis

ace14-dc-corn-teamMore than 80 people turned out for the American Coalition for Ethanol Biofuels Beltway March this year, the most ever, and the diverse group included ethanol producers, retailers, bankers, truckers, cattle ranchers, students – and a whole bunch of corn farmers. The team here consisted of (LtoR) Missouri farmer Gary Porter, Missouri Corn Growers public policy director Shane Kinne, and Minnesota farmers on the board of Chippewa Valley Ethanol Dale Tolifson and Dave Thompson.

Cindy caught up with them as they were heading out of the Capitol after making their rounds and asked them each to give a brief impression of their visits.

Shane said the highlight of the trip was getting folks into meet with their lawmakers, telling the personal stories of farmers and fuel retailers and how ethanol is making a difference.

“They have a great story to tell, and it makes a huge difference when [lawmakers] hear it firsthand.” Shane said.

Gary said he appreciated the different points of view that he heard, such as viewpoints from folks not from the Midwest who aren’t involved in ag or ethanol.

“It’s interesting for me to talk to them and listen to what they say, and also for me to share with them the way I see it,” adding that since he’s a corn grower, cattle feeder and fuel retailer, he has a pretty well-rounded view and is willing to talk to even those he doesn’t agree with.

“That’s the ones we need to talk to,” Dave pointed out. “Even though they didn’t agree with us, they were very receptive to listening, they had good questions, and I think we have a great story to tell.”

Dale echoed those sentiments and was glad to tell his personal story.

“We tell about our experiences on the farm, how we helped grow the ethanol industry, and how that industry is not only important for clean air, but it’s important for jobs and the ag community,” as well as advancements in agriculture that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for ethanol, including boosting yields to meet all demands.

Listen to what they said here: Interview with Biofuels March team


2014 ACE Biofuels Beltway March photo album

ACE, Audio, Biofuels Beltway, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Prospective Plantings Down, But Corn Stocks High

John Davis

ncga-logo-newThis year’s corn plantings are expected to be down this year, but growers say there will be plenty of stockpiles for all needs, including ethanol. The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show that American farmers expect to plant 3.7 million fewer acres of corn this year, down four percent from 2013. But the National Corn Growers Association says, don’t worry, there are plenty of stocks going into the year, and it would still be the fifth-largest U.S. corn acreage planted.

“In 2013, U.S. farmers produced a record crop abundant enough to meet all needs and provide an ample carry over into 2014,” National Corn Growers Association President Martin Barbre said. “While it is still early in the season and many factors may change the reality on the ground as planting progresses, the public can rest assured that bountiful stockpiles and adequate plantings will ensure our corn security for the year to come.”

NCGA says the plantings will yield 13.37 billion bushels, and corn stocks stand at more than 7 billion bushels, up 30 percent from the same time last year.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, NCGA, USDA

EPA Approves Summer Gasoline RVP Requests

Joanna Schroeder

As reported by Platts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved Florida’s and North Carolina’s requests to allow certain counties to continue using 9 RVP gasoline through the summer season (or known as the traditional VOC reduction season). As it relates to ethanol, this allows these counties to blend E15 (15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gasoline) throughout the summer. Last year, states including Iowa were unable to sell the E15 blend due to VOC requirements.

EPA_LOGOEPA Gina McCarthy signed the unofficial document on March 19, 2014 and has submitted the document for publication in the Federal Register. The EPA regulates gasoline volatility, measured by Reid Vapor pressure during the “summer season” from June 1 through September 15. Platts reports that for refiners and terminals, this period shifts from May 1 through September 15.

The counties approved for the 9 RVP gasoline include Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point areas in North Carolina and Broward, Dale, Duval, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Penella, all counties in and around Miami, Florida. Prior to the approval, these counties were only approved to use 7.8 RVP gasoline during this time frame.

Platts reports the rule is expected to go into effect without future notice unless the EPA receives negative comments within 30 days of the rules publication in the Federal Register.

It should be noted that this ruling, once in effect, could encourage other counties or states to also submit requests to the EPA for approval to sell the 9 RVP gasoline during the June 1 – September 25 time frame as a means to be approved to legally sell E15 year round to vehicles and light duty trucks manufactured in 2001 or later.

EPA, Ethanol

Georgia Tech Students Win ACC Clean Energy Challenge

Joanna Schroeder

A team of four students from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) have taken the $100,000 grand prize in the ACC Clean Energy Challenge hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. The team won with its electrical power grid technology that features an Internet-like control architecture. The $100,000 prize and ACC Clean Energy Cup were Energy Internetpresented by Dr. Darryll Pines, Dean of the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, Dean Chang, Associate VP, Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, University of Maryland, and Jennifer Garson, Technology-to-Market Analyst, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

Winning second place was Clemson University’s Brewcovery, whose team is developing bio-separation and bio-digestion processes to recover and refine value-added co-products from the food industry and brewery waste.

The Georgia Tech team, known as Energy Internet, presented their technology to a panel of expert judges from the clean energy community at the ACC Clean Energy Challenge Final Four on March 26 at the University of Maryland, the competition host and organizer. The team, which includes graduate students Marcelo Sandoval, Jennifer Howard, Mitch Costley and Eric Crane, now moves on to represent the southeast region in the DOE National Clean Energy Business Plan Finals, to be held in Washington, D.C., on June 11-12, 2014.

ACC Clean Energy Challenge winner Energy Internet is developing a new electric power grid approach and solution with a decentralized, autonomous, Internet-like control architecture and a learning control software system. The proposed architecture leverages smart grid investment in sensing and communications and is massively scalable and incrementally deployable, enabling grid flexibility and numerous desirable value propositions, according to the Georgia Tech team. The new architecture is based on the emerging concept of electricity “Prosumers,” i.e., economically motivated parties (residential, commercial, industrial and institutional) that can produce, consume or store electricity as determined by their unique needs and capabilities.

The Clemson Brewcovery team is developing a bio-separation and bio-digestion system to create energy and additional products from food industry and brewery waste while reducing the carbon footprint of these facilities. Those products could include bio-lipids for biofuel production, organic nitrogen and phosphorus rich soil amendments, and high protein animal feeds.

The ACC Clean Energy Challenge event featured keynote speaker Mark Johnson, Director, Advanced Manufacturing Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy and former Program Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

The $100K ACC Clean Energy Challenge is a business plan competition encouraging students from all universities throughout the southeastern United States to develop business plans for new clean energy companies focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency improvements and advanced fuels/vehicles.

advanced biofuels, biodigester, Clean Energy, Smart Grid

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFSave the date for the 10th Annual Biofuel Financial Conference taking place on August 27-28, 2014 in Bloomington, Minnesota. The event is hosted by Christianson & Associates and registration will open soon.
  • The Environmental Law & Policy Center is hosting a webinar Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 11:30 AM EDT/10:30 AM CDT to reveal the new Farm Energy Success Stories report. The report offers an analysis of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) between 2008-2012 and offers details of 16 projects from across the nation where REAP assisted in advancing biomass, biogas digesters, energy efficiency, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and hydroelectric, technologies. The 2013 Farm Bill contains funding for Energy Title programs. The USDA is now accepting applications for projects.
  • In conjunction with Washington State University Extension, USDA is co-hosting the Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels/Co-Products Conference April 28-30, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. The goal of the conference is to bring together the community of researchers, business leaders, government agencies, and economic development personnel to share and exchange research findings, ideas, and strategies for the common goal of sustainable development of wood-based bio-refineries for production of biofuels and co-products in the Pacific Northwest.
  • The Global Energy Storage Alliance has been established as an international non-profit organization to bring together many of the world’s leading energy storage and clean energy industry associations to advance education, collaboration, and proven frameworks about the benefits of energy storage. Its co-founders are the U.S. Energy Storage Association, California Energy Storage Alliance, China Energy Storage Alliance, Germany Energy Storage Association, India Energy Storage Alliance and the Alliance for Rural Electrification.
Bioenergy Bytes

Retailers Tell Ethanol Story at ACE Fly-in

Cindy Zimmerman

Fuel retailers in ethanol producing states had compelling stories to tell at the American Coalition for Ethanol Biofuels Beltway March last week in Washington DC. Several of them sat down with reporters during the event to talk about their success selling higher ethanol blends, as well as the hurdles they had to overcome to do so.

ace14-dc-badenhopGlenn Bedanhop is a third generation farmer who is also president and CEO of American Freedom Energy in the small town of Liberty Center, about 30 miles west of Toledo, Ohio. “It’s rewarding knowing the value you’re putting back in your local community,” said Badenhop, who became the first retailer in Ohio to offer E15 in January because he believes in consumer choice. “It’s their choice,” he said. “We’re not mandating that they buy Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper – it’s just like the fuels.” Interview with Glenn Badenhop, Ohio fuel retailer

ace14-dc-goodCharlie Good has been in the fuel retailing business for 34 years as a convenience store operator and auto mechanic and he started offering higher ethanol blends at his Good and Quick store in Nevada, Iowa last August despite his supplier’s objections. “I had to de-brand because the oil company didn’t want that under their canopy,” said Good. “My sales are up 20-25% a month and of the gallons that they’re up, virtually all of it is the ethanol fuels.” Interview with Charlie Good, Iowa fuel retailer

ace14-dc-vollanBruce Vollan started using blender pumps at his rural Baltic, South Dakota convenience store six years ago. “My experience has been pretty incredible,” he said. “You see a lot of people actively seeking out blends.” Vollan has seen his small business has grown to 13 full and part time employees and he says the negative publicity about ethanol doesn’t bother him because he believes he’s on the right team. He was happy to take time away from his business to take his story to Washington DC and let lawmakers and bureaucrats know what is really happening. “That’s what the ethanol industry is all about,” he said. “It’s about telling the truth.” Interview with Bruce Vollan, South Dakota fuel retailer


2014 ACE Biofuels Beltway March photo album

Coverage is sponsored in part by Patriot Renewable Fuels

ACE, Audio, biofuels, Biofuels Beltway, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Retailers

Florida Biodiesel Delivers Refinery to Africa

John Davis

Florida-Biodiesel1Biodiesel processor maker Florida Biodiesel, Inc. has delivered one of its refiners to Africa. This company news release says a B-500 biodiesel plant was sold to the Lorymat Corporation in the Ivory Coast.

The Lorymat Corporation has chosen the B-500 Biodiesel processor for their prime transesterification facility. The B-500 Biodiesel plant is economical to operate and will allow the Lorymat Corporation to safely produce 9000 gallons of Biodiesel each 24 hours. The B-500 will also be used as a hands-on educational tool to show students and government agencies how to make renewable energy. “We will process used cooking oil collected locally and from sustainably grown Palm oil into Biodiesel fuel,” says Guy Kouadio, of the Lorymat Corporation. “The B-500 is very user friendly, has a low carbon footprint, and will economically produce Biodiesel for us.”

Florida Biodiesel claims several innovations in biodiesel production equipment, including the safety external heat exchanger, cyclonic mixer, methanol recovery module, and the AUTOBIO Biodiesel plant automation system.

Biodiesel, International

IRFA: Strong Plantings Report Calls for Strong RFS

John Davis

IowaRFAlogoExpected big plantings of corn and soybeans underscore the need for a strong Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). New estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show a possible record amount of soybeans expected to be planted this year and the fifth largest corn acreage to be planted as well. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says these factors show why a strong and growing RFS is needed this year.

“The past eight years were prosperous for agriculture because the RFS was allowed to act as a sponge, soaking up additional corn and soybeans when needed,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “The vast amount of corn and soybeans expected to be planted in 2014 demonstrates the importance of a strong and growing RFS. If the EPA’s proposal to essentially gut the RFS is allowed to become final, we could see huge carryovers, crop prices plummet below the cost of production, and family farms placed in jeopardy.”

Nearly 92 million acres is expected to be dedicated to corn this year and a record 81.5 million acres for soybeans, a six percent increase from last year.

Biodiesel, biofuels, corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks, Government, Iowa RFA, RFS, Soybeans, USDA

EPA’s Feeling About RFS? Depends Who’s Asking

John Davis

epa-logoHow does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) feel about its proposal to cut the amount of ethanol and biodiesel to be blended into the Nation’s fuel supply? Well, that depends on who the folks at the agency are talking to.

Speaking before the House Appropriations Committee last week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy seemed to backtrack on last January’s statements before biofuels advocates when she told them that her agency “heard loud and clear that we didn’t hit that right,” indicating the EPA could be changing its stance. But when grilled by Congressman David Valadao (R-CA) who represents California agriculture and oil interests, McCarthy had a different response.

“We’re going to make sure to take a reasonable approach that recognizes the infrastructure challenges and the inability at this point to achieve the levels of ethanol that are in the law,” she said.

It’s also interesting that McCarthy did not challenge part of the premise in Valadao’s original question that stated how consumers’ vehicles could not handle higher blends than being offered right now, specifically E10. Biofuels advocates have long made the claim that most vehicles can handle at least 15 percent ethanol blends (E15), and two years ago the EPA approved E15 for use in 2001 and newer vehicles.

You can hear for yourself what McCarthy said here: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Before House Appropriations Committee

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFS