Domestic Fuel

Rains and flooding kept farmers in the Midwest corn and soybean belts out of their fields for a long time this spring. But according to a new report from the USDA, the actual stockpiles of the main feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel are higher than expected.

This story in Forbes says the U.S. has a 30-day stockpile of soybeans… a relief for biodiesel producers who have been worried what a tight supply could do to their industry:

A survey of farmers and warehouses pegged the stockpile at 205 million bushels on Sept. 1, compared with the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Sept. 12 forecast of 140 million bushels or a three-week supply.

In a pair of reports, USDA said the corn and wheat stockpiles were larger than a year ago. This year’s wheat crop totaled 2.5 billion bushels, up 2 percent from its previous report and the largest wheat crop in a decade.

Corn and soybean prices on the Chicago Board of Trade fell on the news… once again, good news for the ethanol and biodiesel industries… with November beans down 25 cents at $10.69 a bushel and Decemmber corn off six-and-a-half cents at $5.06-3/4.

As lawmakers wrestle over a bailout for Wall Street, some renewable energy producers on Main Street are wondering if they’ll at least get an extension of some valuable tax credits.

This story from Agriculture Online quotes Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, as saying that if Congress adjourns without passing a tax relief bill, it would be a catastrophe because of how reliant wind and biodiesl are on their tax breaks:

The tax bill, which also would prevent more Americans from being caught by the Alternative Minimum Tax when they file next April, contained several alternative energy tax breaks championed by Grassley. It extended a tax credit for wind energy through 2009, as well as a $1-per-gallon tax credit for biodiesel.

Grassley said he wasn’t certain what the effect of not extending alternative energy tax credits beyond the end of this year would be. In 2004, a similar delay in extending the tax credits for wind shut down that industry for six months, he said, adding that he believes the industry is stronger today.

Grassley says he doesn’t think Congressmen will want to go home and face constituents who would now have to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax. About 23 million people would have to pay the AMT… as much as an extra $2,000 in the tax bills for those who make less than $200,000.

According to the American Lung Association of Iowa, September has proven to be THE month for ethanol blended fuels! The state held several successful events promoting the domestically grown fuel.

“We would like to welcome our first three blender pumps to the state of Iowa: Galva Holstein in Galva, Unity Biofuels in Olds, and Popkes in Rock Rapids,” noted Jessica Zopf of the Iowa Clean Air Choice Team. “Collectively these pumps offer E10, E15, E20, E30, and E85. A big thanks goes to the Department of Agriculture for attending and showing their support for cleaner-burning fuels! A special thanks also goes to Kum & Go for their commitment to offering renewable fuels with their 17th E85 location in Iowa.”

Following is a run down of the events the past month:

Sept. 3rd: Kum & Go Ground Breaking, Johnston, IA for E85 site
Sept. 5th: Unity Biofuels, Olds, IA pumped 600 gallons of ethanol-blended fuel
Sept. 6th: Green Fair, Urbandale, IA with Bob Brown Chevrolet
Sept. 8-9th: Biobased Industry Outlook Conference Display, Ames, IA
Sept. 10th: Kum & Go, Urbandale, IA pumped 1150 gallons of E85
Sept. 12th: Popkes, Rock Rapids, IA pumped approximately 600 gallons of ethanol-blended fuel
Sept. 15th: Farmer’s Coop, Forest City, IA pumped 1000 gallons of E85
Sept. 17th: Galva Holstein, Galva, IA pumped 1335 gallons of ethanol-blended fuel

October also looks to be a busy month in the state of Iowa.

A research service for the chemical industry say that the U.S. is poised to be the world leader in biodiesel consumption by 2012.

According to a press release posted on MarketWatch.com, SRI Consulting has published its Global 2008 Biodiesel Report, which says Americans will consume nearly one-fifth of all the world’s biodiesel by 2012… a dramatic turnaround from being a distant second to Europe just a few years ago:

A slower pace of growth is projected for the global biodiesel industry due to market uncertainties: ongoing fuels versus food debate, rising raw material costs, changing regulatory environment, a slowing global economy and the current financial crisis.

An important development over the last several years has been the shift in global biodiesel patterns. Only five years ago Europe was a dominant player, with 83% of capacity. By 2007 the European share had declined to about 46% as North America and Asia grew to 23% and 19% respectively.

The release goes on to say that the future success of the biodiesel industry will rely on political support and incentives.

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

A recent report clearly illustrates the energy improvements being made at ethanol biorefineries across country.

According to the report by John Christianson, CPA of the independent accounting firm Christianson & Associates, the average amount of energy as measured by British Thermal Units (BTUs) required to produce ethanol and a livestock feed co-product across all ethanol production technologies was reduced by 13.5 percent between 2004 and 2007.

The most efficient biorefineries demonstrated an even more dramatic reduction 19 percent reduction in BTU energy requirements, today using fewer than 21,000 BTUs per gallon of ethanol produced. In addition, electricity usage at ethanol biorefineries also declined. The Christianson report shows a 13% reduction in electricity consumption at the average ethanol facility.

Read the entire report here.

The Nebraska Ethanol Board, in cooperation with the University of Nebraska Center for Energy Science Research, is hosting a policy forum in October to discuss issues of rising energy and food prices.

The forum will provide an opportunity for Nebraska policymakers and consumers to better understand how ethanol policy plays a role in economic development, energy security, agriculture and the environment.

The Nebraska Ethanol Board is inviting presentations from a diverse group of people, including corn growers, restaurant owners and livestock feeders. Confirmed presenters include Dr. Ken Cassman of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Terry Klopfenstein of UN-L, Michael Kelsey of the Nebraska Cattlemen, Jon Holzfaster of the Nebraska Corn Board, and Jim Jenkins, rancher, restaurateur and chairman of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

The forum is scheduled for Friday, October 24 at 9 a.m. at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha.

Algae has traditionally been a nuisance to catfish farmers, but it could end up being a new source of income for them and a new source of energy for the southeast.

Ron Putt, an associate research professor at Auburn University, has been studying the feasibility of using algae from catfish farms for biodiesel production. “Currently I have a small project that is going to demonstrate the ability to harvest algae from the catfish ponds in the western part of Alabama,” Putt says. “I see them as the core of the algae farming industry throughout the southeast. My goal is to turn the southeast conference into the new OPEC.”

He says catfish farmers have embraced the idea that believes could help the catfish industry which has been struggling with lower priced imports and high feed costs.

Randall Weiseman of Southeast Agnet interviewed Ron Putt at the recent Northwest Florida Bioenergy Conference and Expo. Listen to that interview here:

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Farmers on the panhandle of Florida can now make their own biodiesel on the farm with the help of the Three Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) in Milton through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The council recently invested in a portable biodiesel extruder that can be taken out to local farms to make biodiesel from plants and used cooking oil, according to Coordinator John Harper.

“We relied on the knowledge of one of our county commissioners who is an expert in biodiesel processes. We work with our farmers and show them how to get into biodiesel production for themselves,” Harper said. The washing machine-sized processor can produce 100 gallons of biodiesel in ten hours and can easily transported to a farm.

The extruder has been out for demonstrations around the panhandle area in recent months, including a bioenergy workshop held September 19 at the first annual Northwest Florida Bioenergy Conference and Expo.

Randall Weiseman of Southeast Agnet interviewed John Harper at that event. Listen to that interview here:

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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is reducing the fees his state slaps on people who collect some of the raw materials to make biodiesel for their own personal use.

This story on the Best Syndication web site says The Gubernator signed a bill by Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia) to cut those fees:

“By reducing fees to use biodiesel fuels, more Californians will be encouraged to explore green technologies as a means of clean, safe, alternative energy,” said Adams. “The use of biodiesel fuel can help improve air quality for all Californians and decrease our dependency on foreign oil.”

Current law requires a $100 registration fee and a $300 enforcement fee per vehicle to transport inedible kitchen oil, which is used to make biodiesel fuel. These fees reduce the incentive for individuals to obtain a license to collect the inedible oil.

The measure reduces the fee for individuals to $75. The law goes into affect on January 1, 2009.

A gas crisis is striking the area of Georgia around Atlanta. With the recent spate of hurricanes and storms knocking out the Gulf Coast’s and Southeast U.S.’s refining of non-renewable petroleum, drivers are finding a shortage of fuel in the region.

But this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says some enterprising Atlantans and other people from across the country are discovering the beauty of alternatives, in particular, biodiesel:

Driven to help the environment, or their own pocketbooks, many Atlantans are seeking alternatives to the gasoline habit. The most adventurous, like [East Cobb resident John] Knop, retrofit their diesel engines to run on waste oil from restaurants, picking up free fuel while their friends wait hours in line and pay through the nose…

These and other concerns prompted former veggie-oil driver Rob Del Bueno to begin brewing his own biodiesel, a product created by using methanol to chemically alter vegetable oil. Del Bueno soon learned that home-brewing fuel also was illegal, for a variety of reasons, and he went through the complex, and expensive, process of going legit.

The article goes on to say that Del Bueno joined the National Biodiesel Board and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and had his fuel certified. Now, he sells a quarter million gallons of biodiesel a year with plans to expand into Tennessee and Illinois.