Domestic Fuel

The ethanol industry in Brazil has been developing some major traction. Marcos Jank, President of UNICA, says the demand for ethanol in Brazil is now matching that of the demand for gasoline. He says ethanol is gaining ground and Brazil “won’t move back to gas.”

Marcos was one of seven speakers at today’s Ethanol Summit held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. General Motors sponsored the event. The object of the Summit was to explore Brazil’s strong and sustained success with ethanol while also taking a look at where and how the U.S. ethanol industry has room to grow.

Marcos and Indy racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi – a Brazilian ethanol producer – highlighted a number of milestones the Brazilian ethanol industry has already attained:

• All fuel sold in Brazil contains a 20 to 25 percent blend of ethanol
• The unsubsidized ethanol industry offers a fuel that is on average one dollar below the price of gasoline
• Virtually all 33,000 gas pumps offer E100
• Just one percent of the 40 percent of arable land in Brazil is being used to produce sugarcane ethanol
• Forty-five percent of fuel for cars is from sugarcane
• Sugarcane ethanol production is 100 percent self-sufficient
• The food industry is growing faster than the ethanol industry
• Ninety percent of all new automobiles sold are flex-fuel automobiles
• One-hundred percent of GM vehicles produced in Brazil are flex-fuel
• Twenty percent of all cars are flex-fuel vehicles today
• Fifty percent of all cars will be flex-fuel vehicles by 2012
• Three percent of electricity is from sugarcane
• Honda and Yamaha are introducing flex-fuel motorcycles this year

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A Connecticut-based wind power company plans to be the first solely focused wind energy business in the U.S. to go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq later this year.

This story on CNNMoney.com says Noble Environmental Power Inc. plans to raise up to $375 million through the IPO under the symbol “NEPI”:

Noble Environmental currently operates 282 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in New York state and has 950 megawatts that it expects to bring online in 2008 and 2009. By the end of 2012, it expects to have 3,580 megawatts of capacity by expanding to other states, including Maine, Minnesota and Wyoming.

No other company focused exclusively on wind power generation has ever launched an IPO in the U.S., although there have been 17 such offerings in other parts of the world since 1995, according to data tracker Dealogic. But it was inevitable that a wind-related offering would come to market in the U.S., given the growth in the industry and a rise in private investments in the sector, says Randall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group that promotes wind power.

The article goes on to point out that Noble Environmental just started operating wind farms three months ago. But the company is putting its trust in the growing demand for renewable and clean energy sources, as well as hopes that legislation supporting wind power will be renewed by Congress.

The head of the National Biodiesel Board is telling consumers not to buy what some grocers are selling: placing the blame for food price hikes on biofuels.

Joe Jobe is blasting the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s campaign to blame the green fuels for rising food costs:

“The feeding frenzy on biofuels as the reason for higher food prices has got to stop. The GMA’s anti-biofuels campaign is not based on sound science, but rather on their desire to find an easy target for defending their profits,” Jobe said.

The NBB applauded Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Kit Bond (R-MO), and Ken Salazar (D-CO), who joined today in sharp criticism of GMA’s public relations plan to discredit biofuels. They said the grocers’ attempts to blame biofuels for food price increases are not based on sound science, sound economics, or common sense. The senators expressed strong support for continued federal programs that encourage biofuel production and use.

The NBB also points to a U.S. Department of Agriculture economic analysis that says the real driving factors behind the skyrocketing prices in the grocery aisle are high energy prices, increasing global demand, drought and other factors… not biodiesel and ethanol. In addition, biodiesel can be made from non-food sources and waste, such as restaurant grease. And even with using soybeans, 80 percent of the soybean can still be used for animal feed or food.

The microbe that rotted Grandpa’s uniform and wreaked havoc on his equipment while fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II might be the same fungus that could help fill up your gas tank.

This story from Biofuels Media Ltd. says that research by commercial and government scientists working with the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and Los Alamos National Laboratory has unlocked genes in Trichoderma reesei that could help produce biofuels:

“The information generated from the genome of T. reesei provides us with a roadmap for accelerating research to optimize fungal strains for reducing the current prohibitively high cost of converting lignocellulose to fermentable sugars,” said Eddy Rubin, DOE JGI Director and one of the paper’s senior authors. “Improved industrial enzyme ‘cocktails’ from T. reseei and other fungi will enable more economical conversion of biomass from such feedstocks as the perennial grasses Miscanthus and switchgrass, wood from fast-growing trees like poplar, agricultural crop residues, and municipal waste, into next-generation biofuels. Through these incremental advances, we hope to eventually supplant the gasoline-dependent transportation sector of our economy with a more carbon-neutral strategy.”

One of the commercial collaborators on the project calls this “a major step towards using renewable feedstocks for the production of fuels and chemicals.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), General Motors and Natural Resources Canada today announced the 17 teams selected to participate in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, a collegiate vehicle engineering competition set to begin in the Fall of 2008. EcoCAR will challenge university engineering students across North America to reengineer a Saturn VUE to achieve improved fuel economy and reduced green house gas emissions, while retaining the vehicle’s performance and consumer appeal.

Students will design and build advanced propulsion solutions that are based on the vehicle categories from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) regulations. They will be encouraged to explore a variety of cutting-edge clean vehicle solutions, including full-function electric, range-extended electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell technologies. In addition, they will incorporate lightweight materials into the vehicles, improve aerodynamics and utilize alternative fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and hydrogen.

The following teams have been selected to compete in the EcoCAR competition:
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL)
• Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA)
• Howard University (Washington, D.C.)
• Michigan Technological University (Houghton, MI)
• Mississippi State University (Starkville, MS)
• Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, MO)
• North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
• Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
• Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA)
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, IN)
• Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX)
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada)
• University of Victoria (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)
• University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
• University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
• Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA)
• West Virginia University (Morgantown, WV)

During the three-year program, GM will provide production vehicles, vehicle components, seed money, technical mentoring and operational support. DOE and its research and development facility will provide competition management, team evaluation and technical and logistical support.

Additional information about EcoCAR is available on the Web at www.ecoCARchallenge.org.

Jeff Simmons: not just a racing pro but a national writing champ!

I caught up with former Team Ethanol Driver Jeff Simmons today. Although Jeff is no longer with Rahal-Letterman Racing he will still be out at the Brickyard competing this year… and not just once, but twice. Jeff is racing in both the Indy Lights Series Freedom 100 and the IndyCar Series Indy 500. You can watch for Jeff in the #41 ABC car for A.J. Foyt Racing for the Indy 500.

Jeff and I had a little chat during the driver interviews and we covered everything from his “Indy two-step,” to choking down boiling water in a boiling cockpit to his editorial for EPIC winning the top honor at NAMA this year.

You can listen to my chat with Jeff and another reporter here: indy-08-simmons.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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There are lots of perks that come along with covering the Indy Racing League. Perks like meeting IndyCar Drivers, photographing the world’s most significant motor sporting event (Indy 500) and meeting some of the most talented journalists and photographers of the motor sports industry. Those amazing opportunities come on a regular basis with IRL coverage. Sometimes, a few extras get thrown in. In Kansas City, I got to take a couple laps around the track with IndyCar Driver Davy Hamilton. No, not in an IndyCar. But, it was an Indy pace car and we did go 118 miles an hour around a 1.5 mile oval, getting just centimeters away from the wall. By the way, Davy will drive the #22 Hewlett-Packard/KR Vision Racing car during this weekend’s race.

Just last night, Joanna and I got to take another “Indy” style spin. This time it was in a street legal two-seater IndyCar.

Check out our video here:

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

The media has been keeping Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay busy. When I popped in for the first session of driver interviews I saw that media interest in Ryan maintained a steady flow. Phillip Wilson from the Indianapolis Star got a quick video interview of Ryan. Phillip says the video will be posted on IndyStar.com later today. Be sure to check it out!

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Well, from head to shoe really. The E-logo is everywhere here at the Brickyard. From IndyCars and trailers to flags and t-shirts. But, so far, the most interesting places I spotted the logo during this year’s Indy 500 race weekend were on a ‘Cat in the Hat’ style hat and painted on a Keds kid-sized shoe.

Mark Lackner is the owner of the “special replica” of the Team Ethanol IndyCar. He says he won the painted shoe at a trucker’s event. He explained the “paint job” was done with official Team Ethanol IndyCar paint. I spotted him at the IndyCar driver autograph session where he was snagging a signature from former Team Ethanol Driver Jeff Simmons. Now, the shoe is signed by both Jeff and current Team Ethanol driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. I pointed out the shoe to Joanna Schroeder, the Director of Communications for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. She is going to have Bobby Rahal sign the shoe so Mark has a complete collection of sigs. She’s also sending him a real replica of the the Team Ethanol car. Mark has the Simmons and Hunter-Reay replicas, but not the Paul Dana replica. Joanna is making sure Mark’s collection of Team Ethanol IndyCar replicas is complete too.

The video of the 2008 Corvette winners is finally uploaded on Youtube. Click here to view our post with the video.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

This Memorial Day weekend many motorists may be wistfully remembering the days of $2 a gallon gasoline as prices at the pump may hit $4 average nationwide by the holiday.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) predicts that nearly 32 million drivers will hit the road for the long holiday weekend. However, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says there is some good news. Because ethanol is keeping gasoline prices about 15% lower than they otherwise might be, RFA says the gasoline price savings this weekend alone will amount to over $200 million – enough for 133 million cups of Starbucks coffee.

Meanwhile, as crude oil prices jumped over $4 Wednesday to settle at more than $133 a barrel, oil company executives faced tough questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on why prices continue to climb.

The oil executives defended their profits and the price increases with statements such as, “The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work,” made by John Hofmeister, chairman of Shell Oil.

They also brought up biofuels and restrictions on drilling for oil in the United States. Peter Robertson with Chevron Corporation said, “Congress has recently made some hard policy choices on renewables and energy efficiency. We hope you can also make the equally hard choices to open up more federal lands and allow us to responsibly produce more American oil and natural gas, which can supply us for decades to come.”

The Democratic National Convention in Denver will be fueled with ethanol made from beer waste, thanks to a donation from Molson Coors Brewing Company.

The Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee has announced that the leading global brewer and its U.S. subsidiary, Coors Brewing Company, will be the “Official E85 Ethanol Producer for the 2008 Democratic National Convention.”

Molson Coors is donating all the ethanol fuel for the fleet of General Motors flex-fuel vehicles to be used for Convention transportation needs. Coors’ ethanol is made from waste beer generated at their brewery in Golden, Colo.

Coors is the nation’s first major brewer to convert its waste beer into ethanol. The company began recycling waste beer and converting it to ethanol in 1996 and today the Golden ethanol facility produces about three million gallons of ethanol per year.

The National Biodiesel Board is welcoming the news of passage of the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6049)… better known as the the Energy and Tax Extenders Act by the NBB.

It’s no wonder the group considers its final passage the NBB’s top legislative priority as it extends the biodiesel tax incentive, and contains other biodiesel provisions:

The House approval is an important step in allowing the U.S. biodiesel industry to continue to grow America’s energy security with cleaner-burning domestically produced biodiesel,” said Joe Jobe, CEO of the NBB. “Biodiesel is a new green industry that supports over twenty thousand jobs and added over four billion dollars to the U.S. economy last year. The extension of this incentive is an important investment in America’s long-term energy future.”

* Extends biodiesel tax incentive for 1 year through Dec. 31, 2009.
* Provides $1 per gallon incentive for all biodiesel regardless of feedstock.
* Shuts down the abusive “splash and dash” loophole that currently allows foreign produced fuel to enter the U.S, claim the biodiesel tax incentive, and be shipped to a third country for end use.
* Properly defines tax benefits available to co-processed renewable diesel.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the bill… and its tax incentives… are not out of the woods yet. It still faces opposition in the U.S. Senate and a threatened veto from the White House.

The U.S. House today has passed a measure seen as important because it extends renewable energy production and investment tax credits has cleared its latest hurdle. H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, got through the U.S. House by a 263-160 margin.

This story posted on RenewableEnergyWorld.com says if it clears Congress, it will mean billions of dollars for alternative energies:

H.R. 6049, is a US $54 billion tax extenders package that contains an extension of the federal production tax credit for wind power (PTC) through December 31, 2009 and contains a new small-wind investment tax credit (ITC). The bill also extends the 30% investment tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, and the 10% investment tax credit for microturbines through the end of 2014. Biomass, geothermal, landfill gas and other technologies receive a three-year extension under the legislation.

Passing through the House doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing to become law. There is already opposition in the U.S. Senate and President Bush has threatened to veto the measure.

Stay tuned… we’ll keep you updated.

Biodiesel-powered vehicles were the dominating force during this year’s Challenge X… a four-year engineering competition with 17 university teams from across North America developing General Motors vehicles using alternative energies.

Drivers pulled up to the U.S. Department of Energy’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. earlier today in the final 400-mile rally for the competition. This press release from GM says a group of Bulldogs from Mississippi State University ending up taking top honors:

The Mississippi State team designed a through-the-road parallel hybrid electric vehicle powered by a 1.9L GM direct injection turbo diesel engine fueled by bio diesel (B20). It achieved a 38 percent increase in fuel economy over the production vehicle on a modified urban test cycle.

“I want to congratulate this year’s Challenge X champion, Mississippi State University, and all of the other participants for their innovative designs and applications of advanced clean vehicle technologies,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. “This competition is a unique demonstration of how tremendous technological advancements that are occurring at universities across North America can help us achieve a new energy future — one that is cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, more secure and less reliant on carbon-based fossil fuels.”

A dozen biodiesel-powered vehicles took part in the competition, while hydrogen was another popular fuel source. You can read more about Challenge X at the competition’s web site: www.challengex.org and the GM FastLane Blog.

The 2008 Indy Pace Car corvette wasn’t the only shiny new toy to check out at the giveaway this morning. The Indiana Corn Marketing Council debuted its new interactive mobile marketing unit complete with videos detailing the production of ethanol and a database of local fuel retailers that offer E10 and E85 fuel blends. Visitors can even print off a list of local stations.

I caught up with Indiana Corn’s Mark Walters again, as well as ICMC’s Mike Shuter (pictured), the council’s President and a Frankton, IN farmer. We talked about the new mobile marketing unit, the truth about ethanol as they see it and how IN corn fits into the ethanol industry. You can listen to my interview with Mark and Mike here: shuter-walters-indy.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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