Domestic Fuel

The Carlyle Group, one of the biggest and baddest private equity firms in the world, “is set to boost its investment in the renewable energy sector,” according to Reuters.
They report that Carlyle “is raising a fund that will invest in renewable energy infrastructure.” More evidence that renewables are getting lots of attention from big investors.

Transportation issues have been added to the growing list of concerns about how demand for ethanol will be able to be met this year. According to a Reuters business wire story, officials with the US Energy Information Adminstration think there may be a shortage of trucks and railcars to move ethanol. “We’ll need to find a whole lot more rail cars that may not be readily available,” EIA analyst Joanne Shore said in an analyst conference call. “There’s also concern about trucks, and the truck drivers needed for moving this are in short supply.”

A trademarked ethanol cocktail called Ecalene™ may offer the potential to solve some of the issues relating to pure ethanol use. Power Energy Fuels in Colorado claims that Ecalene™ is “Ethanol Plus” because it has higher mixed alcohols which act as a binding agent in fuel blending, has higher octane than ethanol, is its own denaturant, has higher btu’s than ethanol with high octane that will increase mileage and performance – all according to their website. Certainly sounds promising. Power Energy has the patents on the product, they are working with NREL and have two patents on the process. Here’s another link that gives some more info about Ecalene.
I found out about Ecalene™ through a comment from Power Energy president Gene Jackson who wrote asking why I don’t “promote mixed alcohols?” Well, that would be because I didn’t know about it. Now I do – but I would ask you why YOU don’t promote it? The media is eating up anything that has to do with ethanol right now but if you do a news search for Ecalene there’s nothing. Send out a press release, for goodness sake!

The Governor’s Ethanol Coalition met this week in Washington, DC and passed a resolution urging major auto makers to make more flex-fuel vehicles that can run on 85 percent ethanol. Thirty-two of the country’s governors are members of the coalition, which was formed in 1992 to promote ethanol use. So far only midwestern governors have chaired the organization, but governors of states like New York, Arizona and Washington are listed as members. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is the new chairman of the coalition and she was quoted as saying this week, “There’s a new energy behind our efforts to promote biofuels.”
Here are a couple of links to regional stories about the meeting this week.
Wichita Business Journal
Kansas City InfoZine
KXMC-News North Dakota

Here are some pictures from the “Energy Independence Rally” yesterday at the Missouri State Capitol. According to the Missouri Corn Growers Association press release – Over two hundred farmers and ethanol advocates met at the Missouri State Capitol (Tuesday) to show their support for increased energy independence and the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard (MoRFS), legislation that would require nearly all the gasoline sold in the state contain 10 percent ethanol. It was a nice crowd and I would say that estimate is just about right. The event started at the Missouri Farm Bureau Building and ended in the halls of the capitol. The large crowd of farmers, ethanol plant members, business officials, community leaders, FFA students and others traveled to Jefferson City, Mo., to meet with lawmakers and push for passage of the statewide ethanol standard.
Once passed, Missouri will join Minnesota, Montana and Hawaii to become the fourth state in the nation to establish a statewide renewable fuel standard. Ethanol legislation is also currently pending in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and most recently, Idaho.
Thanks to Becky Grisham with MCGA for the pictures. I really need to start carrying a camera with me in my car like my husband does!

The sudden interest of private companies wanting to invest in ethanol plants is causing some consternation in the midwest. US ethanol plant development has been largely a grassroots campaign over the past decade financed by farmer-owned cooperatives. Now one of those co-ops is facing the entrepreneur’s dream dilemma – selling out for venture capital. Midwest Grain Processors, a 1,300 farmer co-op in Lakota, IA has a deal worth $100 million in the works with a little-known Australian corporation by the name of Global Ethanol. The big bucks would help the co-op double capacity, but it would cost them 60 percent interest.
The Des Moines Register reports today that Senator Charles Grassley (IA-R) is urging the farmers “not to sell control to a foreign company.” The farmer-owners must vote to approve the deal before it can go through.
When I started researching this story today, I spent about an hour searching for this Global Ethanol company on the web, unsuccessfully. I finally found an article in the Australian Courier-Mail that kind of answered my question, saying “Little is known about Global Ethanol. Director Timothy McMahon yesterday referred questions to fellow director Trevor Bourne, who is in the US.”
I think that’s a little weird that a company calling itself GLOBAL ETHANOL is nowhere to be found on the web and has little known about it. Not very global, if you ask me. I will be interested to see how this deal goes down.