Three biofuels workshops will be held in the cities of Decatur, Birmingham and Montgomery the week of July 15 in Alabama. These workshops will focus on the advantages of quality biofuel usage and the importance of lessening America’s and Alabama’s dependency on foreign Oil.
Following is the schedule and location for each workshop:
Tuesday, July 15 in Decatur: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Calhoun Community College
Wednesday, July 16 in Birmingham: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hoover Public Safety Center
Thursday, July 17 in Montgomery: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries
Speakers will offer insight on: State & National and perspectives on biodiesel and ethanol; Alabama’s current and potential biofuel feed-stocks; Marketplace experiences from folks producing, selling and using biofuels and alternative fuels; Importance of fuel quality; Potential incentives & financial benefits available; The Facts vs. Myths about alternative fuels and more.
While Cindy and thousands of people involved in ethanol production are attending the FEW in Nashville, I thought I’d share an interview I did at the recent Corn Utilization and Technology Conference. While we’re focused on ethanol as a fuel and that seems to be its primary use, some research is being done on other products ethanol can be used to produce.
Carl Lira, Michigan State University, spoke on “Reactive Distillations for Chemical Products from Ethanol.” Carl says he’s looking at methods to diversify the ethanol production platform. For example, he’s looking at new products that can be made from ethanol so that producers can diversify and react to the market in different ways. He’s trying to get them to think with more of a bio refinery philosophy. From a product standpoint, he’s using ethanol as a reagent to produce high quality chemicals. He says they’ve done some economic analysis which is available from the National Corn Growers Association and that it looks very attractive.
Several thousand ethanol industry representatives were urged Tuesday to fight back against the attacks on ethanol in two ways.
“One, would be to take pen to paper and write your own op-ed to your local paper and let them know what ethanol means to your company and your local community and begin to fight back,” said Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen during the opening general session of the 2008 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop.
The second thing Dinneen urged the industry to do was to comment on the request to the Environmental Protection Agency by Texas Governor Rick Perry to waive 50 percent of the Renewable Fuels Standard.
“The comment period on that waiver request ends next Monday and I would ask each one of you to file a comment,” Dinneen said. He directed them to the RFA website, www.ethanolrfa.org, to find out how to file a comment to EPA.
Dinneen gave a rousing pep talk to the industry, urging them to persevere. “This is going to be a difficult summer, but we’re going to get through it, and we are going to come out of this a stronger industry.”
“You are the strength of this industry, you are the reason we will get through it, but we have to come together, we have to use our strength, we have to write op-eds, we have to comment to EPA, we have to let our members of Congress know that vilifying America’s farmers and America’s only domestic renewable fuel doesn’t make sense,” Dinneen said passionately.
After his address, Dinneen was presented with a special award by BBI International president Mike Bryan for 20 years of unwavering service to the ethanol industry.
With a ribbon cutting by ethanol industry representatives from the United States and Russia, the 2008 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop officially opened Monday evening in Nashville.
Mike Bryan, CEO of BBI International, kicked off the event by introducing Ron Fagen of Fagen, Inc. and Alexander Machikhin of JSC Tambovskiy Plant in Russia. Machikhin, who is also president of the Russian Biofuels Association, invited participants to visit the International Networking Pavilion at the trade show, which features 32 different countries with an interest in biofuels. “Next year for your 25th anniversary, hopefully you will all be here, and probably another couple thousand people will come,” Machikhin said.
Fagen delivered a very brief message to the crowd waiting to enter the huge trade show featuring more than 600 exhibitors, “All I can say gang is, hang in there, we will survive,” Fagen said, alluding to the storm of negative media reports the industry has been facing this year.
Despite that, there are thousands of people at the conference from all over the world and they remain optimistic about the future of the biofuels industry, both domestically and globally.
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.
A growth sector focused investment bank is hosting its annual Alternative Energy Conference today at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York. The Thomas Weisel Partners one-day event will focus on the opportunities and challenges of the Alternative Energy industry for 2008 and the future.
The conference will showcase presentations from over 30 established and emerging public and private companies, including those engaged in alternative fuels, energy efficiency, fuel cells, smart grid technologies, solar power, and wind power.
“Rising energy prices, political uncertainty in oil producing regions and increased environmental standards and regulations are creating tremendous potential for alternative energy solutions,” said Keith Gay, Head of TWP’s Research Group. “We believe the management teams will provide investors with a unique look into various sectors of the alternative energy industry and a chance to find out what is on the horizon for 2008.”
It looks like alternative energy is generating large fiscal interest.
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.
Organizers say the theme reflects the continued growing importance of corn as a keystone to a carbohydrate-based economy. The conference has been expanded to include new topics in wet milling, dry grind technologies, value-added products from corn and new uses for distillers dry grains (DDGs) that will be of value to ethanol producers and livestock interests.
Among the speakers will be POET Chief Science Officer, Steve Lewis, who will discuss POET’s patent-pending biorefining technologies.
Lewis’s presentation on “Cutting Edge Research in Dry Mill Ethanol Production” will focus on POET’s two innovative technologies, BPX™ and BFRAC™.
BPX is a patent-pending raw starch hydrolysis process converts starch to sugar, which then ferments to ethanol without heat. It reduces energy and water usage by up to 15 percent in comparison to conventional processes.
BFRAC separates the corn into three fractions including fiber, germ and endosperm. The endosperm is then fermented to create ethanol while the remaining fractions are converted into value-added co-products, including POET’s Dakota Gold HP™ (a high protein distillers grain feed product), Dakota Bran™ cake, corn germ meal and corn oil.
The Corn Utilization and Technology Conference hosted by the National Corn Growers Association will be held June 2-4 at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown in Kansas City, Mo.
In his book, Dr. Robert Zubrin shows how we could be using fuel dollars that are now being sent to countries with ties to terrorism to help farmers here and abroad. As the FEW keynote speaker, Zubrin will offer his vision of how switching to alcohol fuels could help safeguard homeland security and provide solutions for global warming and Third World development.
FEW 2008 will be held June 16-19 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville. The international event features speakers, workshops and an industry trade show with more than 800 exhibitors. Last year’s FEW attracted over 5,000 attendees.
Ohio describes itself as a leader in the fuel cell industry and a prominent figure in clean energy innovations. And, to support its claim, the state will host the Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium at the University of Akron this Tuesday and Wednesday (May 11-12). The Ohio Business Development Coalition wants to showcase the state’s “nurturing business environment” for renewable energy.
Fresh on the heels of the passage of Ohio’s Energy Bill, the Symposium provides an opportunity for fuel cell industry leaders to discuss the critical role of alternative energy resources for Ohio’s future.
This month, Ohio Gov. Strickland signed into law a landmark energy reform bill that will require at least 25 percent of the electricity sold in Ohio to be generated from advanced energy technology by 2025 — with a minimum of 12.5 percent from renewable energy resources. At the same time, Ohio government leaders have agreed to pursue a jobs and economic development stimulus package that will provide $150 million in advanced energy supply chain funding to further stimulate industry development.
Ohio is one of the few places in the world where you can find all phases of fuel cell development taking place. The state is also home to the Ohio Fuel Cell Initiative, a multi-million-dollar program that aims to spur job creation in Ohio while positioning the state as a national leader in the growing fuel cell industry.
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Three biofuels workshops will be held in the cities of Decatur, Birmingham and Montgomery the week of July 15 in Alabama. These workshops will focus on the advantages of quality biofuel usage and the importance of lessening America’s and Alabama’s dependency on foreign Oil. 
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While Cindy and thousands of people involved in ethanol production are attending the FEW in Nashville, I thought I’d share an interview I did at the recent 
“One, would be to take pen to paper and write your own op-ed to your local paper and let them know what ethanol means to your company and your local community and begin to fight back,” said 
With a ribbon cutting by ethanol industry representatives from the United States and Russia, the 2008 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop officially opened Monday evening in Nashville. 
The 
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.
1 comment
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. 
Organizers say the theme reflects the continued growing importance of corn as a keystone to a carbohydrate-based economy. The conference has been expanded to include new topics in wet milling, dry grind technologies, value-added products from corn and new uses for distillers dry grains (DDGs) that will be of value to ethanol producers and livestock interests.
Among the speakers will be 
The author of “
In his book, Dr. Robert Zubrin shows how we could be using fuel dollars that are now being sent to countries with ties to terrorism to help farmers here and abroad. As the FEW keynote speaker, Zubrin will offer his vision of how switching to alcohol fuels could help safeguard homeland security and provide solutions for global warming and Third World development.
Ohio describes itself as a leader in the fuel cell industry and a prominent figure in clean energy innovations. And, to support its claim, the state will host the 