Domestic Fuel

The 2012 National Ethanol Conference, coming up February 22-24 in Orlando, is a must-attend for anyone in the ethanol industry.

Among the highlights of the conference will be opening general session keynoter Dr. James Canton, futurist and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures. For over 30 years, Canton has been insightfully predicting the key trends that have shaped our world and he will discuss the importance of engaging consumers to grow demand and improve the biofuels industry image.

The opening day luncheon address will feature presidential advisors Karl Rove and Robert Gibbs who will provide their “Insider Perspectives on Election 2012 – The Presidency and Congress.” Rove was one of President George W. Bush’s closest confidants and advisors, and Robert Gibbs has been a longtime advisor to President Obama.

With ethanol exports booming, speakers including former U.S. trade ambassador Mickey Kantor will address the trade opportunities and challenges facing U.S. producers as they seek to expand international markets.

Early registration and convention hotel rates both expire soon. Registration fees for the NEC increase by $100 after January 26. The room block at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center also expires on January 26.

The Renewable Fuels Foundation and the Renewable Fuels Association are offering scholarships to six students in higher education to attend the 17th Annual National Ethanol Conference: Accelerating Industry Innovation. Interested students now have until December 23 to apply.

The NEC will be held Feb. 22 to 24 in Orlando, Fla., at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center. The NEC is the perfect opportunity for students interested in the world of renewable fuels to meet and connect with ethanol industry leaders, policymakers and experts in the field of renewable fuels. Find out more about the conference here.

Engaging the consumer to grow demand and improve industry image for biofuels will be among the topics addressed at the 2012 National Ethanol Conference by the CEO and Chairman of the Institute for Global Futures, Dr. James Canton.

Canton is a renowned global futurist, social scientist, keynote presenter, author, and visionary business advisor who has been insightfully predicting the key trends that have shaped our world for over 30 years. He founded the Institute for Global Futures in 1990 as a leading think tank to advise business and government on future trends.

Canton is scheduled to deliver the keynote address during the opening general session of the National Ethanol Conference on Thursday morning, February 23, in Orlando. Registration is now open for the Renewable Fuels Association 17th Annual National Ethanol Conference – Accelerating Industry Innovation. The conference will be held February 22-24 in Orlando, Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center.

More information can be found on the conference website – NationalEthanolConference.com.

Keynote speakers at the 17th Annual National Ethanol Conference will offer “Insider Perspectives on Election 2012 – The Presidency and Congress.”

Karl Rove will speak from the Republican perspective. Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. He is known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns.

From the Democrat angle, NEC participants will hear from Robert Gibbs, who has been an advisor and strategist to President Obama from the early days of Obama’s 2004 Senate race on to the White House. Most recently, Gibbs has served as President Obama’s Press Secretary.

Registration is now open for the Renewable Fuels Association National Ethanol Conference – Accelerating Industry Innovation. The conference will be held February 22-24 in Orlando, Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center.

More information can be found on the conference website – NationalEthanolConference.com.

Registration is now open for the Renewable Fuels Association 17th Annual National Ethanol Conference – Accelerating Industry Innovation. The conference will be held February 22-24 in Orlando, Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center.

The program will highlight how the industry has and continues to evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing marketplace. With federal policy changing, the global, market-driven environment in which the industry must compete comes with new market challenges. Industry leaders and experts will address how we are meeting these new demands by accelerating innovation in technology, marketing, logistics and feedstocks for the production of advanced ethanol.

More information can be found on the conference website – NationalEthanolConference.com.

Here’s another video clip from the ethanol producer group known as “Green Floyd” that played at the recent National Ethanol Conference. The Green Floyd band is made up of Frontline Bioenergy CEO Bill Lee, Neil and Tom Koehler with Pacific Ethanol and Paul Kamp with Inbicon.

This song is a parody of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” with lyrics tailored especially for corn farmers and ethanol producers. Here are some of the words:

I keep on growing, this corn of mine
I keep telling the truth about the lying
I know that ethanol is worth the fighting
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Now many say it’s just a foil
That there’s no way to get off the oil
But a farmer can’t be stopped from trying
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Enjoy!

“To many of you, Ron Miller requires no introduction. He has been ethanol long before ethanol was cool,” began Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Chairman Chuck Woodside during his introduction of Ron Miller who won the 2011 RFA Membership Award during the National Ethanol Conference that recently took place in Phoenix, Arizona.

Miller has been the Chairman of RFA three times and helped establish and served on the Technical Committee for 10 years. He is only the second person to receive the Membership Award.

Ron Miller began his ethanol career in 1981, fresh out of the oil industry. One of his first steps, along with two other companies, was to form RFA. Today, he owns a consulting firm called Prisma Advisors and specializes in working with advanced biofuels companies.

Miller notes that while the industry has gone from producing a 100 million gallons per year or so back in the early ’80s to now 10 percent of the total U.S. gasoline gallons, the same problems the country had then, are still the same problems the country has today: energy, economy and environment.

“We’ve grown a lot but the problems are still the same. It might be a little different in the way they’re looked at, but the challenges of trying to grow the industry are still there,” said Miller.

While Miller said the past 30 years have been a wild ride, he’s loved every minute of it and he’s looking forward to the years ahead which he believes will be the best yet.

Listen to or download the interview with Ron Miller here: Ron Miller Interview

In the great tradition of saving the best for last, the 2011 National Ethanol Conference concluded with a lively panel discussion featuring global ethanol leaders.

Those on the panel were (LtoR) George Fitch, Director of the Caribbean Basic Ethanol Producers Association; Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association; Marcos Jank, president and CEO of Brazil’s UNICA; Robert Vierhout, Secretary General of ePURE, European Renewable Ethanol; and Gordon Quaiattini, president of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association.

Moderator Bliss Baker with the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance started the session off with a bang by asking Jank his opinion on the United States tariff on imported ethanol. “I’d like to say ‘happy 30th anniversary’ to RFA,” Jank responded, turning his attention to Dinneen on his right. “I was questioning myself, if after 30 years the industry is not now a mature industry, which means if the industry still needs subsidy or not, still needs a tariff or not.”

Noting that the U.S. is now the largest ethanol producer in the world, Jank said to Dinneen, “I hope that in three years you will be a free trader as we are. It’s time to eliminate the tariff, it’s time to compete.”

The Caribbean’s Fitch challenged Jank’s position on the tariff issue and encouraged Brazil to avoid taking action against the U.S. tariff with the WTO. “The tariff is not WTO actionable,” Fitch said. “So what you’re doing is creating trade hostilities that you don’t need to create.” He suggested instead that Brazil continue marketing ethanol to the U.S. through the Caribbean Basin. “I would think that UNICA might want to use this as an initiative on their part,” he said. Brazil now can have their own Caribbean Basin Initiative to help countries not as advanced as they are … as opposed to getting into what could be a very nasty trade fight by going after the tariff.”
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According to an economic analysis from Cardno ENTRIX, unveiled during the 2011 National Ethanol Conference, John Urbanchuk 70,600 Americans are employed directly in the production of ethanol and in industries providing goods and services to ethanol producers. Today, there are ethanol plants either operational or in construction in 29 states, and as a result of the economic activity generated by ethanol production, more than 400,000 Americans have been able to keep their jobs or find new ones.

Also according to the report, ethanol production is contributing to our nation’s financial well-being. In 2010, the report calculated that ethanol production contributed $53.6 billion to the national Gross Domestic Product and added $36 billion to American household incomes. It also discovered that the increased economic activity and income generated by America’s ethanol industry added nearly $12 billion to federal, state and local governments through increased tax revenue.

In another area, the report found that the production of 13 billion gallons of ethanol equated to the importation of 445 million less barrels of oil in 2010 used to refine gasoline. To give you a comparison, this is more oil than America imports from Saudi Arabia annually, and displacing these barrels of oil saved the U.S. $34 billion last year.

“The investments we have made in our domestic ethanol industry are paying dividends in thousands of communities all across the nation,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The jobs, economic activity, and energy security benefits we are witnessing today thanks to a commitment to renewable alternatives to imported oil are just scratching the surface. Continued innovation in ethanol technologies along with a renewed commitment to giving Americans more control over their energy future will create hundreds of thousands of more jobs and put America back in business as a leader in energy innovation.”

GM featured test drives in new Flex Fuel 2011 Buick Regal Turbos and GMC Terrains at the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) 2011 National Ethanol Conference and dozens of attendees took advantage of the opportunity. Pictured is RFA board member Ray Defenbaugh of Big River Resources West Burlington preparing to take a spin in a Regal Turbo.

I took a drive with Mark Maher, GM Executive Director for Powertrain and Vehicle Integration, to learn more about the company’s commitment to FFVs and what’s so new about the Buick Regal Turbo. “It’s got a 2.4 liter turbo-charged, E85 flex fuel vehicle engine and it’s also direct injected,” said Maher. “That helps with efficiency and it allows us to have a slightly higher compression ratio to improve efficiency. So, it’s a great match with high concentration ethanol fuels like E85 that are high octane.” Maher says 40 percent of GM vehicles were FFV, 45 percent this year, and they are hoping for 50 percent next year.

Maher had some great comments during his presentation to the NEC about E85 energy efficiency in FFVs and about the importance of not taking E85 for granted. “We need to make sure that ethanol gets credit for the CO2 reduction potential that it brings,” he explains.

Listen to or download my interview with Mark Maher here: Mark Maher Interview

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) celebrated 30 years of advocating for ethanol this week during the 16th annual National Ethanol Conference in Phoenix.

This edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast features an interview with RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen on the conference, the state of the ethanol industry, the new Advanced Ethanol Council and recent developments in Congress regarding funding for ethanol expansion, as well as thoughts about higher oil prices.

The 2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album is up to date with all the conference photos and more posts will be added in the days to come. It was a great conference and we would just like to say “Happy Anniversary RFA!”

Listen to or download the Ethanol Report on the 2011 NEC here: Ethanol Report on National Ethanol Conference

For the second year, the Renewable Fuels Association and the Renewable Fuels Foundation sponsored the National Ethanol Conference Scholarship program to help students pursuing advanced education in ethanol related careers to attend the conference.

This year’s five winners hailed from all over the country and are interested in a variety of areas related to the ethanol industry. From left to right, they are: Kai Nortey, a graduate student of Integrated Marketing and PR at Golden Gate University in California; Ethanol Kenney, who is pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Anuradha Mukherjee pursuing her PhD in chemical engineering at Oklahoma State; Julia O’Rourke, a second year MS/PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas; and Derek Latil de Ros, who recently graduated from the University of Illinois with the first Master’s degree in the U.S. focused on Bioenergy.

This talented group of young people are energetic and enthusiastic about the future of ethanol in the nation. I had a chance to interview Kai and found her to be overflowing with passion for the industry and focused on sharing her excitement with others. “We have to use alternative media sources to help get the message out there,” Kai says. She has her own blog about ethanol – evolvewithe85.blogspot.com – and she also has a Facebook page and Twitter account devoted to E85 in particular. In addition, she is in the process of using a Flex Fuel converter to make her 2005 Honda Civic capable of using up to 85 percent ethanol.

Listen to or download my interview with Kai Nortey here to hear her enthusiasm for ethanol: Kai Nortey Interview

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Corn stocks may be a little tight right now, but National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman thinks that is probably a short term situation

“Still our biggest challenge is that we can overproduce the market,” Tolman said during an interview after a presentation at the National Ethanol Conference on Monday. “Farmers respond to incentives, there’s an incentive right now to produce. I can guarantee we’ll have a big crop in 2011.”

Tolman makes that confident prediction after an informal survey of the NCGA farmer board members, who are mostly ahead of the game right now as far as being ready for spring planting, compared to where they were a year ago. “We had a great fall, farmers got their crop out of the field, they did their fall tillage, they did their application of inputs. We’re coming into the season in about as perfect a condition as you can have,” he said, adding that odds favor significant yields in 2011 and a larger carryover in 2012.

Tolman says NCGA is in the midst of a study commissioned by Informa Economics to look out to 2020 with different scenarios, including one in which there would be 20 billion gallons of corn ethanol produced. “The key point here is, even under a 20 billion gallon scenario, we see stocks continuing to grow because of this productivity equation,” Tolman said during his presentation.

Listen to or download my interview with Rick Tolman here: Rick Tolman Interview

Listen to or download Tolman’s presentation: Rick Tolman NEC Presentation

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

A gorgeous desert sunset provided the perfect backdrop for the National Ethanol Conference networking reception Monday night, featuring the ethanol industry’s own “Green Floyd.”

The Green Floyd band is made up of Frontline Bioenergy CEO Bill Lee, Neil and Tom Koehler with Pacific Ethanol and Paul Kamp with Inbicon. The group played a variety of songs from blues to folk to rock, and entertained with a couple of original parodies designed with the ethanol audience in mind. Here’s some of the lyrics to their latest Pink Floyd parody to the tune of “Wish You Were Here” – and a short video clip to enjoy.

Hey, so you think you can tell,
Heaven from Hell
Blue skies from rain?
Can you tell a Corn field from a Tar Sand Hell,
a Seed from a Drill – Do you think you can tell?

America’s most well-known political odd couple were the keynote speakers for the National Ethanol Conference luncheon on Monday.

James Carville and Mary Matalin gave their opposite views of the political landscape to a crowd of about 1300 ethanol supporters from around the country.

The couple are pictured here with Renewable Fuels Association chairman Chuck Woodside and RFA CEO Bob Dinneen.

Keep checking the photo album for more pictures!

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album