Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal this week signed into law the Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative, the most comprehensive and far-reaching state legislation in the nation enacted to develop a statewide advanced biofuel industry. Louisiana is the first state to enact alternative transportation fuel legislation that includes a variable blending pump pilot program and a hydrous ethanol pilot program.

The legislation includes the development of ethanol derived solely from Louisiana harvested crops capable of an annual yield of at least 600 gallons per acre. The law also provides for two pilot programs - an advanced biofuel variable blending pump trial and a hydrous ethanol trial.

Officials with Renergie, Inc. are pleased with passage of the law. Renergie is in the process of developing a network of ten ethanol plants in the parishes of the State of Louisiana. Brian J. Donovan, CEO of Renergie, says the legislation will “maximize rural development, benefit consumers, farmers and gas station owners while also protecting the environment and reducing the burden on local water supplies.” The Florida-based company recently received $1.5 million in grant money to design and build Florida’s first sweet sorghum juice mechanical harvesting system and ethanol plant capable of producing fuel-grade ethanol solely from sweet sorghum juice.

Sarah Brechbill, Purdue University, got to put her masters degree project on the stage today here at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy conference. She looked at the cost to get biomass to a plant and specifically looked at switchgrass and corn stover.

She says that there’s really no one answer to what’s best for everyone. However, she did find that corn stover was generally cheaper. One reason is that it’s already being grown.

You can listen to my interview with Sarah here:

You can also download the interview using this link (mp3).

Transition To A Bio Economy Photo Album

We hear a lot about co-products with ethanol production like the DDGS but what about in cellulosic ethanol production? Well, Danielle Julie Carrier, Arkansas State University is doing work on that subject.

I was very interested to hear that there are some possibilities. She’s working with switchgrass and they’ve found that if you wash the feedstock prior to the pre-treatment for ethanol production that you get a water mix with flavonoids which help reduce bad cholesterol. Co-products like this have potential and may help make the production of cellulosic ethanol more attractive.

You can listen to my interview with Julie here:

You can also download the interview using this link (mp3).

Transition To A Bio Economy Photo Album

We had USDA Rural Development represented here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference by Tony Crooks. He works with their rural business cooperatives program and has done a lot of work with communities in the area of ethanol and biodiesel.

The challenge he says we have today in rural communities is the large capital outlay to get a biorefinery started so USDA is looking at creative ways to help them. He highly suggests that a community have a community development plan so they can better decide if a plant would be in their best interest. Ways that USDA Rural Development can help is with grants and guaranteed loans. He says they’re looking for communities who need financial assistance, especially in the second generation cellulosic area.

You can listen to my interview with Tony here:

You can also download the interview using this link (mp3).

Transition To A Bio Economy Photo Album

The 2008 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop is getting started in Nashville and is expected to attract some 4,000 visitors from around the globe.

This is the 24th year for the event that started out with just a few dozen dreamers. The FEW this year will offer 23 technical workshops on topics such as cellulosic ethanol, non-food feedstocks, water utilization and conservation, non-fossil fuel power, lifecycle analysis, training the biofuels workforce of
tomorrow; and more traditional topics including improving production efficiencies, plant management, and plant safety.

Opening speakers on Tuesday feature Dr. Robert Zubrin, author of the book “Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil.” He will deliver the keynote address during the general session and offer a plan of how ethanol could help safeguard homeland security and provide solutions for global warming and developing nations.

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen will give an industry update during the general session and provide hope to those who look to move the industry forward.

Also making an appearance on Tuesday will be Bobby Rahal, Indy car champion and co-owner of the Rahal-Letterman racing team that features the Number 17 Team Ethanol car - a model of which is on display outside the convention center.

The largest ethanol facility in Canada is becoming even larger. Suncor Energy has announced plans for a $120 million expansion of its St. Clair Ethanol Plant. The expansion is expected to double the plant’s ethanol production of 200 million litres per year to 400 million litres annually.

Expanding ethanol production is part of Suncor’s plan to invest $750 million in renewable energy initiatives by 2012. Approximately $250 million has been invested to date in wind power projects in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario as well as the first phase of ethanol production in St. Clair.

Construction of the expanded facilities will begin immediately with completion targeted for late 2009. Approximately 250 construction jobs are expected to be created during the expansion with 20 new full-time positions created once the new facilities are operational.

The St. Clair Ethanol Plant has been in production since July 2006. Suncor has announced it’s also planning a commercial demonstration facility for developing cellulosic ethanol in Colorado. The cellolosic plant will convert wood residues into ethanol and commercial products.

Moving to second generation ethanol production is obviously a priority for the nation’s ethanol producers.

A significant number of the workshops scheduled for the 2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop next week in Nashville focus on different aspects of cellulosic ethanol production development.

Workshops titles include “Cellulose Technology Update,” “Alternative Feedstocks,” “Cellulose Technology Components,” “Enzyme Technology: Cellulose,” and “Cellulose Biorefining.”

This is the 24th year for FEW, which is the premier networking and educational conference for the ethanol industry. It will be held June 16-19 at Opryland Resort in Nashville.

Florida is hosting the third annual “Farm to Fuel” summit July 30 to August 1 in Orlando.

Last year’s conference in St. Petersburg attracted more than 450 participants and Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson believes this year’s conference will be even bigger and better.

“There has been a good deal of momentum recently in our drive to get this industry off the ground,” Bronson said. “We’re eager to share that with participants and provide them with the information they need to enter this industry.”

Bronson believes that Florida can lead the nation in the production of renewable energy as a result of its mild climate, abundant sunshine, ample rainfall and long growing season.

A month ago, the Florida Legislature passed a comprehensive energy bill that sets Florida on a course to become a national clean energy leader. The bill requires all gasoline sold in Florida to contain 10 percent ethanol by the end of 2010, requires the state’s electric utilities to produce a certain percentage of their power from renewable energy sources, and sets pollution limits for utilities and requires those companies to buy carbon credits when they exceed those limits.

The 92nd Indianapolis 500 is one for the record books for Team Ethanol. Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay pilots the IndyCar sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and just a couple weeks ago he piloted the car to a 6th place finish, the best ever Indy 500 for the team. At one point in the race, Ryan was cruising in 5th with just four of the League’s biggest names in car racing in front of him. Ryan says that’s when he thought, ‘We’re in it now.’ It being the big leagues.

That’s exactly where the ethanol industry’s leading executives consider themselves to be when it comes to fueling the nation. Oil and fossil fuels are big time competitors for ethanol, but a growing criticism of the renewable simply demonstrates the alternative fuel’s mounting success.

The best part? Both Ryan and the ethanol executives think they can take a win.

The podcast is available to download by subscription (see our sidebar link) or you can listen to it by clicking here (5:00 MP3 File):

The Fill Up, Feel Good theme music is “Tribute to Joe Satriani” by Alan Renkl, thanks to the Podsafe Music Network.

“Fill up, Feel Good” is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

A cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in Louisiana is just the first planned for Verenium.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the 1.4 million gallon per year demonstration plant which opened today “could help usher in a new era for ethanol.” The plant is making ethanol from sugar bagasse and is also partnering with local farmers to grow “energy cane.”

“The issue isn’t, ‘is there going to be ethanol,’” said Verenium Chief Executive Carlos Riva. “But how can we do it right?”

Verenium plans to begin building a 30 million gallon per year cellulosic plant next year in Houston or Beaumont, Texas and is also considering other sites in Louisiana and Florida.

Verenium’s Matthew Musial describes the process of creating ethanol from the bagasse in this video from the Houston Chronicle: