Domestic Fuel

The Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Corn Growers Association (NeCGA) announced today that they applaud the bipartisan group of Senators who have spoken out against the misinformation campaign that targets corn producers and the corn ethanol industry as being behind a rise in food prices.

The group of six Senators, organized by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R), met in Washington D.C. to discuss many of the issues raised by ethanol critics and to help set the record straight on the benefits of biofuels. This is in response to the reported anti-ethanol campaign being brought about by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

“Study after study has demonstrated that high fuel and energy prices are a major factor in higher food prices. If you take away ethanol, fuel prices will increase even more and food prices will follow,” said Jon Holzfaster, a corn and cattle producer from Paxton and chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board. “That is one of the important points the Senators made, and we couldn’t agree more.”

Randy Uhrmacher, president of NeCGA and a corn producer from Juniata, said that attempts to mislead the American public are unfortunate because they create turmoil in a food supply system that provides the safest and cheapest food in the world. “Food companies and farmers would be better off working together to find solutions to the real cause of higher food prices – our reliance on oil,” he said.

NeCGA and the Corn Board said they will continue providing the facts about food and fuel on their internet sites, www.NebraskaCorn.org and www.NeCGA.org, and in other communication efforts.

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.

The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition reports that Flex Fuel U.S., a member of the coalition, has announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved an E85 conversion kit which fits the 2006 Dodge Charger 5.7 liter Hemi.

The system is the first and only E85 conversion unit certified by the EPA for passenger and fleet vehicles. A copy of the EPA certificate issued to Flex Fuel U.S. can be found on their homepage at: www.flexfuelus.com. With this Federal certificate of conformity, the Flex-Box Smart Kit™ is approved for the most popular Dodge vehicles: the Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Chrysler 300 2wd and AWD 5.7L Hemi.

The FLEX-BOX SMART KIT™ is an easy-to-install system that lets you operate your vehicle on any combination of ethanol and gasoline. One can fill up on E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), E20 (20% ethanol and 80% gasoline), E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) or pure gasoline.