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.