Domestic Fuel

Consumers in Ankeny, IA were treated to a little relief at the gas pump today when the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council teamed up with Kum & Go for a pre-race ethanol promotion.

Regular (E10) was selling for $2.50/gallon and E85 was $1.85. I filled up my flex fuel van before I left.

Four of the IndyCar drivers were on hand to help out including Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay, pictured here doing fill up duties.

I’ll have interviews and more pictures to come. We just got finished with the promotion and are taking a break to get something to eat.

Post Update: Here’s a link to the photo album I’ve started: Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Visitors to the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop this week in Nashville had a chance to meet Indy car champion and Team Ethanol car owner Bobby Rahal of Rahal Letterman Racing in an appearance sponsored by ICM, Inc.

With a model of the Number 17 Team Ethanol car behind him, Rahal chatted with ethanol industry representatives about the season so far and the talent of driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.

“This year he’s been very strong,” said Rahal. “I’m very enthusiastic about our chances and I couldn’t be happier with the kind of work he’s doing for us.”

Rahal is looking forward to the Iowa Corn 250 this weekend and thinks they have a good shot. “It’s going to be an interesting race but with each race Ryan’s getting more confident and so I expect we’ll be competitive.”

Rahal says ethanol has been great for the Indy Racing League and he thinks there is a lot of misinformation out there about the fuel. “Hopefully we are helping to dispel many of the myths and misinformation exists,” he says. “Ethanol is a credible solution to a large part of the problem that we face and the truth will reign out in the end.”

Listen to an interview with Rahal from the 2008 FEW here:
few08-rahal.mp3

2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.8MB)

It looks like the flooding in Iowa has not affected things at the Iowa Speedway where I’m headed this afternoon for pre-race activities for this weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250.

Iowa’s flooding disaster is not directly affecting scheduled events for the IndyCar Series weekend, June 20-22, at Iowa Speedway. The facility has immediate access to I-80 and is located on elevated ground near an adjacent airport. Racing fans who plan to attend the Iowa Corn Indy 250, especially those out-of-state, are encouraged to proceed with plans to attend the event.

There are a number of activities planned from various pump promotions to press conferences. I’ll be attending them all and providing pictures and interviews whenever I can. Our coverage of the activities is once again sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Moving beyond ten percent ethanol offers both opportunities and challenges for the industry.

On a panel addressing the issue at the 2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Tuesday was Robert White with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). White has spearheaded the nationwide pump branding and E85 program for EPIC and he talked about some of the success stories they have seen just recently.

“An E85 station recently opened in metro Atlanta,” said White. “The station has been opened about five weeks and as of Saturday they were selling 1800 gallons of E85 a day, compared to 1750 gallons of regular unleaded a day.”

EPIC helped to open the station, made sure it was branded, held a pump promotion and grand opening event with state officials, and send notifications out to fleets in the area. “One station that has been opened five weeks has the potential of selling 650,000 gallons of E85 a year,” White said. “That’s amazing.”

He also talked about the importance of moving toward blender pumps, which can offer a variety of blends between 10 and 85 percent ethanol. “Our recent research found that 45 percent of Americans are seeking out alternatives, they want choices, and specifically they’re looking for ethanol,” said White.

He noted that E85 and mid-level blends give consumers choices, help retail fuel stations offer customers something new, and help ethanol plants sell more product.

Listen to Robert’s address to the 2008 FEW here:
few08-white.mp3

2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

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.

American motorists are rethinking their driving habits. That is, according to a new survey commissioned by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. The survey shows that consumers think skyrocketing gas prices means the nation should start moving away from oil.

The EPIC survey found 47 percent of those polled stated that a fuel price below $5 a gallon should be the point where fossil fuels are no longer our primary fuel sources. An additional 27 percent of those polled reported that the critical price point lies between $5 and $5.99. America is getting close to the break-point as Sunday, the national average of a gallon of gasoline rose to $4.005, 90 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA.

Even in the face of heavy criticism from anti-ethanol groups and misplaced blame for rising food prices, the ethanol fuel industry continues to help keep fuel prices below the even-more exorbitant prices consumers would pay without the availability of ethanol fuel.
Read the rest of this post…

The 8th race of the 2008 IndyCar racing season is less than two weeks away. IndyCar Drivers hit the track for the 2008 Iowa Corn Indy 250 Sunday June 22nd. The track buzz isn’t just about racing though. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has a handful of activities set up for race weekend.

On Thursday, June 19th, EPIC and the Iowa Corn Growers Association are hosting a pump promotion. Consumers will be able to fill up on reduced E10 and E85 fuel at the Kum & Go on 1910 SW White Birch in Ankeny, Iowa from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

IndyCar Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay will be available at the track to talk bout ethanol’s performance on the track on Friday, June 20th.

Representatives from EPIC, LifeLine Foods, Monsanto and the Iowa Corn Growers Association are participating in an ethanol panel discussion on Saturday June, 21st. The panel discussion is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Driver Meeting Room at the Iowa Speedway Media Center.

Media representatives can then jump at the chance to take a high-speed spin around the track during the Media Hot Lap Rides presented by EPIC just after the panel discussion at 12:15 p.m. EPIC will also be providing lunch during the hot lap activity.

Of course, the performance of ethanol fuel will be showcased during the Iowa Corn Indy 250, which begins at noon.

At today’s Annual Meeting EPIC unveiled Edgar the E Man. He’s the official mascot of EPIC and available to members for appearances at events. I got Reece Nanfito, EPIC Director of Marketing to take my picture with Edgar.

The Kansas and South Dakota Corn Growers submitted the winning names which have been combined to become his official name. EPIC held a contest with members to come up with his name. The winners will get Edgar to appear at no charge to one of their events.

To hear more about the story of Edgar, I interviewed EPIC Executive Director, Toni Neurnberg. She describes the whole purpose behind the mascot initiative: epic-annual-mtg-eddgar.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (411.4KB)

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Annual Meeting is underway with keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Zubrin, on stage.

He’s the author of Energy Victory and we’ve featured an interview with him here on Domestic Fuel previously.

This is the first large scale annual meeting of EPIC and well over 100 members are in attendance. The meeting allows them to hear first hand from staff and vendors about all the projects underway to help promote ethanol and educate the general public.

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is holding its annual meeting in Omaha starting today.

This is the launching pad to the event, which is the entrance to the main meeting room for the sessions that are being held at the QWest Center in downtown Omaha. I’m attending and actually making a presentation on web communications this afternoon.

I’m sure I’ll have some more information for you during the meeting which runs through tomorrow afternoon.

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):
epic-podcast-6-2-08.mp3

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.1MB)

CleanFUEL Distribution announced that twelve E85 stations will soon be open in cities surrounding Atlanta, GA. A promotion, sponsored by several entities on June 2 and 3, will sell E85 for $1.85 per gallon parts of each day. Involved in the openings will be Protec Fuel Management, CleanFUEL Distribution, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Chrysler, SAFA Express, Indore Oil and the Atlanta Clean Cities Coalition.

“Never before have twelve E85 stations opened at once. This is a momentous occasion. Since E85 is the key to creating a market for cellulosic ethanol, this is an extremely important step that will put the greater Atlanta area on the path to increasing petroleum independence and cleaner air. Protec and CleanFUEL Distribution are proud to have worked with our outstanding partners to open these stations,” said Todd Garner, Managing Partner of Protec and CEO of CleanFUEL Distribution.

GEFA assisted in financing 21 E85 facilities in Georgia, ten of which will be part of the grand opening festivities the week of June 2.

Read the rest of this post…

Members of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council stood at attention just before the start of the Indy 500. Members clutched Team Ethanol hats to their chest during the salute to troops, a rendition of “God Bless America” and Julianne Hough’s version of the National Anthem. Julianne is a professional dancer who has appeared on “Dancing with the Stars”. She’s a two-time “Dancing with the Stars” winner. Her most recent win came last year with partner Helio Castroneves, an IndyCar Driver for the IRL. Helio is racing in the No. 3 IndyCar with Penske Racing. Right now the race is under its fourth caution. Helio is at position 14. Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has broken into the top 10 and holds position nine.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Ethanol isn’t just out on the track, but also in parking lots and parked in the infield at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, IN. And that’s something VeraSun CEO Don Endres (not pictured) is happy to see. Don is up in the Team Ethanol suite watching the 92nd Indy 500 with a few dozen other EPIC members as we speak. Just before the race I caught up with Don to talk about the success, challenges and future of ethanol over the past year with ethanol being showcased in the Indy Racing League. Don says he believes the ethanol industry is on the verge of a revolution with both starch-based ethanol and cellulosic ethanol. He adds that cellulosic ethanol should be a commercially viable option for the fuel industry in three to five years.

You can listen to my interview with Don here:
indy-08-endres.mp3

I also spoke with Jeff Broin (not pictured), CEO and founder of POET. He made a point to debunk claims that ethanol raises the prices of food. We also spoke about the future of ethanol production at POET, including cellulosic ethanol. Jeff wants to see more ethanol out at the pumps and says blender pumps are a big key to getting more ethanol into consumer fuel tanks.

You can listen to my interview with Jeff here:
indy-08-broin.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

Olympian figure skater Kristy Yamaguchi is the latest star to win the “Dancing with the Stars” competition. She’s also the latest star to signal that the race is on. Kristy flashed the green ethanol flag and the 33 competitors in the 92nd Indy 500 took off for their 200 lap run around the Brickyard. Just thirty-seven laps into the race, Graham Rahal got too high around turn 4 and smashed into the outer wall.

Keep checking back for more updates! I’ve got pre-race interviews with EPIC members Don Endres, CEO of VeraSun, and Jeff Broin, CEO and founder of POET. I’ll post them shortly.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album