Domestic Fuel

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:

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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.

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.

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.

ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kan., and Davis-Moore Dealerships of Wichita, Kan., partnered to promote the use of ethanol-enriched fuel and donated a fuel-efficient Chevrolet Aveo to the American Lung Association of Kansas (ALA). The American Lung Association of Kansas then gave the car away during a raffle held Oct. 8, with all proceeds benefiting asthma research.

“Our partnership with the ethanol industry has been a wonderful experience. We support the use of alternative fuels such as ethanol,” said Judy Keller, the executive director of ALA of Kansas.

Ethanol reduces tailpipe fine particulate matter (PM) emissions by up to 50 percent. These emissions pose a health threat to children, senior citizens, and those with respiratory ailments. Particulate matter in the air makes it more difficult for everyone to breathe, especially those with respiratory problems, like asthma.

“Through the generosity of this program, we will be able to help thousands of people who suffer from asthma. Ethanol is good for the air and good for asthmatics,” commented Keller.

The American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago credits ethanol-enriched fuels with reducing smog-forming emissions by 25 percent since 1990.

The American Trucking Associations’ Board of Directors has revised the organization’s alternative fuels policy to advocate the use of biodiesel in blends up to 5 percent as part of the national diesel fuel standard.

An ATA news release says the new policy serves as one part of the organization’s efforts to combat rising fuel prices and help shape a comprehensive national energy plan.

“We need to look at all options for extending the supply of diesel fuel,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Biodiesel represents an important part of a long-term energy plan designed to increase the nation’s fuel supply and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Interest in renewable fuels is gaining momentum within the trucking industry, which has been struggling against skyrocketing fuel prices. At current prices, the trucking industry, which consumes 35 billion gallons of diesel each year, is on pace to spend an unprecedented $85 billion on fuel this year. For many motor carriers, fuel often represents the second-highest expense after labor and can account for as much as 25 percent of total operating costs.

This is significant because more than 564,000 motor carriers in the United States transport nearly 70 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation. Trucks hauled 9.8 billion tons of freight in 2004, collecting $671 billion dollars, or just under 88 percent, of total revenues earned by all transport modes.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its fifty affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.

USDA’s number two official says ethanol production is growing so fast now it is changing the dynamics of grain marketing in this country. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner says at this point, “we are going to have to go back and re-evaluate our own methods of calculating posted county prices and the determination of local prices because ethanol plants have changed that dynamic substantially.”
Conner points out that ethanol production is also helping the economies of rural areas, with 88 plants currently producing ethanol and another 15 under construction. “Virtually all of these plants are farmer-owned plants. When they are completed these facilities will have about five billion gallons of production capacity. Nationwide, ethanol production capacity, we believe creates just about 150,000 jobs.”
Conner made his comments during a visit to Arkansas last week for a Farm Bill listening session. You can hear his comments about ethanol here.

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Ground was broken Monday for a new biodiesel plant in Missouri, the largest plant yet in the state. The Mid-America Biofuels plant in Mexico, MO is the result of a partnership between Biofuels, LLC; Archer Daniels Midland (ADM); Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers, Inc.; MFA Oil Co.; and GROWMARK, Inc., and will have an annual production capacity of 30 million gallons.

“Biodiesel demand is growing fast, and we believe Missouri is the right place to produce biodiesel and fill that demand,” said Warren Stemme, a Missouri farmer in St. Charles County and president of Mid-America Biofuels, LLC. “Additionally, we have an unbeatable team in place with each member providing resources and experience which is sure to make Mid-America Biofuels a huge success.” Stemme is also in the Missouri Soybean Association, as well as a director of NBB.

The central Missouri majority farmer-owned plant includes nearly 400 farmers.

Read the full release from the National Biodiesel Board website.

It’s good to see that Texas is going public with E85. They just opened their first public pump this past week. The picture is of Curtis Donaldson, president of CleanFUEL USA, and David Gibson, executive director of the Corn Producers Association of Texas, who helped celebrate the opening of Texas’ first public E85 pump in San Antonio.

The Corn Producers Association of Texas (CPAT) celebrated the opening of the state’s first public E85 pump in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Bexar County Fleet Maintenance Building is selling the blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. On Wednesday, the station promoted the fuel by selling it for 85 cents for a couple hours. After the promotion, the station posted a price of $2.35 a gallon, which is about 20 cents less than regular unleaded in the San Antonio area.

“It’s good to finally have a site open to the public in Texas,” said David Gibson, executive director of the Corn Producers Association of Texas. “Corn was touted really strongly there. This is good for farmers, and we’re looking forward to opening more stations. In fact, there’s a site under review in Austin right now.”

IndyCar Series Driver Paul Dana, seen here earlier this year with the Ethanol Car, will be making a pit-stop in Wichita, KS to promote ethanol-enriched fuel at a local Kwik Shop where mid-grade ethanol-enriched gasoline will be discounted $.20 a gallon. Here’s the details:

WHAT: Meet IRL IndyCar® Series driver Paul Dana and learn why the series will soon be proving that performance can be earth-friendly at 220 mph. Dana, along with the No. 91 Ethanol Hemelgarn racecar, will be visiting Kwik Shop to sign autographs, hand out consumer information on ethanol, and promote the 2006 Indy Racing League fuel switch. Kwik Shop will also be offering a $.20 discount on a gallon of mid-grade ethanol enriched fuel. Starting in 2006, the IndyCar Series will be switching to a 10 percent ethanol-enriched fuel in all their racing cars. Ethanol is a new alternative that will help reduce dependence on foreign oil, support the Kansas economy and keep its air one of the cleanest in the country. You can experience the fuel that will be powering the Indy cars in 2006.

WHERE: Kwik Shop, 7107 W 37th Street North, Wichita, Kansas

The promotion is coordinated by the Ethanol Promotion & Information Council.

Now’s the time to submit a proposal to the Fuel Ethanol Workshop for next year’s program.

The International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Exposm, the largest fuel ethanol industry event in the world, will be held June 20-23, 2006 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Abstracts will be considered for presentations in the Technical Breakout Workshop Sessions, the General Sessions and/or the “Ethanol 101” pre-workshop seminar.

Maybe we should just start a daily feature to announce the new ethanol plant “annoucement of the day.” It seems like we hear about new plants on a regular basis now. Like today’s announcement from The Andersons, Inc.

The Andersons, Inc. today announced the selection of Clymers, Indiana as the site for its proposed new corn ethanol plant with the support and assistance of the state of Indiana through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and Cass County. “Creation of this plant is good news for Hoosiers and a great application of our Clean Indiana Energy policy,” said Governor Daniels.

This new facility will be capitalized by approximately $140 million in capital investment and create 40-50 new production jobs, in addition to roughly 250 construction positions. With a planned annual capacity of 110 million gallons of ethanol and production of 350,000 tons of distillers dried grains for feed, the plant would be the largest and most modern east of the Mississippi River. The plant would process 40 million bushels of corn each year-primarily sourced from Cass and surrounding counties-significantly benefiting area farmers and agribusinesses.

The National Biodiesel Board probably plays Bonnie Raitt music in their office! They’re getting some good publicity for this renewable fuel alternative because a big star is using it on her tour.

As acclaimed musician Bonnie Raitt hits the road for her year-long Souls Alike Tour, she is fueling her two diesel-powered buses and two semis with environmentally friendly biodiesel (B20). This tour continues the Green Highway eco-partnership she began in 2002 on the Silver Lining Tour promoting biodiesel, the environment, and alternative energy solutions at shows and benefits along the way. “I believe we should do everything we can to minimize our impact on the planet, and using biodiesel is a simple step that goes a long way,” said Raitt. “By using B20 on my Souls Alike Tour, we are reducing pollution and putting a dent in imported petroleum. Biodiesel has come so far in the last few years. It’s wonderful to see it gaining momentum – we can all benefit from more biodiesel use.”

The Souls Alike Tour kicked off Oct. 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Biodiesel fits with Raitt’s Green Highway mission because it reduces emissions that are harmful to the environment as well as humans. It is a domestically produced fuel made from any fat or vegetable oil, like soybean oil. Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. Although biodiesel contains no petroleum, it can be blended with diesel at any level or used in its pure form.

I’ve seen a lot of activity out of the state of Pennsylvania when it comes to news from their government. They’ve certainly made a committment to renewable fuels with programs like their Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program that’s part of their PAGrows Initiative.

Just this past week the Governor Edward G. Rendell created the Renewable Agricultural Energy Council, which is focused on developing and expanding agricultural energy industries in Pennsylvania. “Pennsylvania continues to look for innovative energy solutions,” Governor Rendell said. “That means looking for ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, encourage conservation, build and deploy clean energy technologies and build a diversified energy base.”

“Renewable agricultural energy has the potential to support and grow the agriculture industry in Pennsylvania by providing as many as 64,000 additional jobs,” the Governor said. “Additionally, renewable agricultural energy can help diversify agricultural activities and stimulate the growth of crops that strengthen the agriculture industry. It also has the potential to save consumers hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs.

“Agricultural energy sources can save the average household $1,200 annually on energy bills,” Governor Rendell said. “Such energy sources can also provide an additional source of income for farmers and increase the tax base, benefits that stretch beyond the farm.”

The secretaries of Agriculture and Environmental Protection will serve as co-chairs on a rotating yearly basis, with the secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Wolff, serving the first term. The Council will also be composed of a diverse group of individuals appointed by the Governor, including farmers utilizing renewable energy and those who work with agricultural energy.

Jimmy Kite, the driver of the Ethanol car, #91, Hemelgarn Racing, had his best race finish this weekend in the Toyota Indy 400.

According to one of the car sponsors, the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, “Kite started 19th on the grid but quickly moved through the field getting as high as 8th at one point during the race. Unfortunately for driver Jimmy Kite the team experienced a wheel gun failure during their second pit stop costing them a lap and a legitimate shot at a top-10 finish. Despite the 13th place finish, team owner Ron Hemelgarn was happy with the day, as well as the way the season ended.

“This was our best race all year. We made huge gains on handling. We could run with anybody today. I wish we could have another race.” “We had a good race car today,” said driver Jimmy Kite. “I’d almost say that it was the best car I’ve had all year. The guys gave me great stops all year, so I can’t complain about one bad stop. I’m very happy with the car I had today; we were able to run with the leaders all day.”