Domestic Fuel

As the ethanol industry pushes towards higher level blends, one of the biggest challenges will be small engines.

Kris Kiser, Executive Vice President of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, spoke to the National Ethanol Conference on a Marketing Higher Level Blends panel.

“We are not anti-ethanol,” said Kiser. “We are simply concerned about the welfare and well being of the consumers of our products.” Those products include some 300-400 million lawn mowers, chain saws, trimmers, boats, etc.

Kiser stressed the need for educating the public about the use of higher ethanol blends in small engines and pointed out the problems with warranty protection and potential lawsuits.

He pledged to work with the industry to find ways to use higher level blends of ethanol safely in small engine products.

See photos from the National Ethanol Conference here.

The state of the U.S. ethanol industry is still strong, despite significant challenges, according to Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association.

“Some look at what we’re up against and see “an industry in crisis.” I look at what we’re up against and see an industry with the perseverance and determination to succeed,” said Dinneen in his annual address this morning at the National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio.

Dinneen outlined the accomplishments of the industry in the past year, including record production at more than nine billion gallons, economic growth of 34 percent, another 240,000 jobs, and 85 percent operating capacity despite recent plant closures.

Acknowledging the challenges facing the industry, Dinneen called for unity – both in the United States ethanol business and internationally. “Our industry must reject division and approach the challenges that face us all with the same spirit of cooperation, dedication and vigor that has always served us well,” he said. Dinneen also announced that the national ethanol trade associations of Canada, Europe and the United States are joining together in a Global Alliance to educate and promote ethanol in international forums.

You can listen to Bob’s speech here: nec09-dinneen-open.mp3

At about 1800, attendance at the National Ethanol Conference is down less than organizers expected compared to last year, and those who are at the meeting continue to be optimistic about the future of the industry.

See photos from the National Ethanol Conference here.

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We’ll be posting comments here from the opening general session at the NEC. You can also watch the opening speech in the post below.

Tune in live a few minutes after 8am Central time for Bob Dinneen’s opening speech streamed live here from the National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio. We’ll post the speech afterward for you as well. When our broadcast is live just click on the player below to view it.

Post Update: Here’s the recorded video from our live stream this morning of RFA’s opening general session speech by President, Bob Dinneen:

The 2009 National Ethanol Conference is underway in San Antonio. Cindy and I are on location and will be bringing you as much of the activities as we can courtesy of the Renewable Fuels Association. We’ll also be posting content onto The Ethanol Report site for RFA.

Today, one of the main activities is the annual golf tournament which is being played at The Club at Sonterra. It’s a beautiful sunny morning and we have a good crowd out having a good time. I’ll be here with them through lunch at their awards before heading back to the hotel. This evening we’ll have an opening reception and then tomorrow the main conference programs get started.

Just prior to the start of the golf tournament I spoke with RFA Chairman, Chris Standlee, Abengoa Bioenergy Corp. Chris is expecting this to be a great conference and said that not only are we in oil country but that there are more attendees this year from the oil business than usual. Chris says that he’s very optimistic about the health of the ethanol industry even in light of the challenging year we just completed.

You can listen to my interview with Chris here: nec-09-standlee.mp3

Keep an eye on our conference photo album which we’ll be adding to throughout the event: 2009 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

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I finally had the chance today to sit down and listen to the entire speech Assistant Energy Secretary Andy Karsner made at the National Ethanol Conference last month. He is quite the orator and he definitely got the crowd all fired up. If you can find 40 minutes to listen to it all, it is well worth the time.

But, here was my favorite part. “It’s a truism to call these things ‘domestic fuel,’” Karsner said, leading into a push for ethanol blends between E10 and E85. “For a long time, we thought that domestic fuel and ethanol meant E85. I love E85, but it is not the exclusive pathway,” and he says its the government’s role to certify mid-level blends to get biofuels into the marketplace “in an uninterrupted and continuous way.”

I just thought it was cool that he called it Domestic Fuel. If we were a radio station we could use that as a promo!

Here’s the sound bite: karsner-cut.mp3

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The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is now in the publishing business after announcing the introduction of “Ethanol Retailer” magazine this week. Robert White, Publisher, is pictured (center) during a panel he participated in on E85 during the National Ethanol Conference. I interviewed Robert about the new venture and the panel he was on.

Ethanol Retailer is the only magazine dedicated to reaching over 22,000 independent fuel retailers from their own viewpoint. These retailers are the backbone of the ethanol market, servicing over 6.8 million flex-fuel vehicles.

The quarterly magazine addresses ethanol from a business case, and includes the latest ethanol news, facts and resources, fuel retailer success stories, and ethanol government updates.

You can listen to my interview with Robert here: nec-08-white.mp3

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Our Undersecretary for Rural Development, Tom Dorr, was first up on the program here this morning at the National Ethanol Conference to speak about the farm bill and focus on renewable fuel policies and provisions.

He says the ethanol industry is going through some growing pains, or put another way, transitional challenges. He’s convinced these will be overcome. Like many of the speakers here he talked about the attacks on ethanol, especially of late, in terms of sustainability. He said that some of the same regulatory rhetoric being discussed in Europe in regards to biofuels is creeping up in the debate in Washington, DC. He pointed out that farmers have long been working on sustainability and the facts show that they’re increasing yields while reducing inputs.

You can hear most of Dorr’s speech here (I missed the very beginning): nec-08-dorr-1.mp3

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The National Ethanol Conference got a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll tonight and a whole lot of corn fed. I don’t know about you but I love being corn fed and I love Shannon Brown’s song. I got to meet her this afternoon here at the National Ethanol Conference and she and her band performed an awesome show.

I asked her about the song and how it all came about and what she thinks of the ethanol business that she’s been involved in through her sponsorship by VeraSun Energy.

Shannon says the song reflects the fact that she’s a corn fed Iowa girl and the song signifies who she is and where she comes from. She says that working with VeraSun has been an eye opener and she’s fully behind the mission of the ethanol industry. She says consumers should definitely feel comfortable putting it in their car.

You can hear my interview with Shannon here: nec-08-brown.mp3

And if you’d like to hear how this song sounded on stage then you can also do so here: nec-08-corn-fed.mp3

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Bob Dinneen, RFA President, isn’t the only one to preach a powerful sermon here at the National Ethanol Conference. I was very surprised and pleased to hear Andy Karsner, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, speak at today’s luncheon. He gave a very passionate speech that you would really enjoy listening to. That’s why I decided to post a link to the full speech below for you. I know it’s a little long but you can listen to as little or as much as you’d like this way.

I think he went to great lengths to talk about the mis-information filtering out to the public about renewable fuel sources. In fact, as so many of you know, it’s hard to believe how much of it is out there. So he addressed those problems head on with good scientific information.

He tells a very moving story about how much he travels for his present position and how that has affected his family and young children. He says that even though it’s difficult, it’s minor compared to what our military men and women are doing to fight the war on terror overseas. He says it’s the least we can do to do our part here at home which includes developing sources of energy that make us more independent of those countries that would do us harm.

Another message that came through loud and clear was his idea that the solutions to our energy needs are something that will be done by not just the government but by private industry and government working together.

You can listen to Andy Karsner’s speech here: nec-08-karsner.mp3

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The Reverend of Renewable Fuels got up and preached a powerful sermon today on the state of the ethanol industry. Bob Dinneen, President of the Renewable Fuels Association, gave his annual state of the industry speech this morning.

Speaking before more than 2,200 attendees at the 13th Annual National Ethanol Conference in Orlando, Florida, he declared that the state of the U.S. ethanol industry is sound:

“With your continued commitment, I can report to you without exaggeration or hyperbole that the state of the U.S. ethanol industry is sound, that we are prepared to meet the opponents of change with facts, with a resolute spirit, and with renewed dedication to the proposition that together we can change our nation’s energy, economic and environmental destiny.”

The complete text of Dinneen’s State of the Ethanol Industry Address can be found here (pdf).

You can listen Bob’s speech here: nec-08-dinneen-speech.mp3

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It has been a great first day here at the National Ethanol Conference.

The opening reception was held outside just before sunset and it was a big party. According to RFA President, Bob Dinneen, this is the biggest ever with over 2,300 attending. It seemed like they all came out to the opening reception.

I spoke with a lot of industry representatives today getting an idea of how things are going and the mood is upbeat even with all the challenges out there. Tomorrow kicks off the serious sessions and I’ll have a lot more interviews at that point.

Here at the National Ethanol Conference golf is the first activity. RFA President Bob Dinneen got everyone started here this morning out at ChampionsGate golf course. Just before he gave everyone the send off I spoke to him about the Conference.

Bob says that this is the biggest and best Conference ever with over 2,300 people attending. He says they’ll be talking about the challenges ahead including climate change and the food vs. fuel debate that keeps raging.

Bob says the future is bright and the industry is on solid footing.

You can listen to my interview with Bob here: nec-08-dinneen-1.mp3

NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood is also on hand with us here today at the golf tournament. He welcomed everyone out at the start of the event.

Jack played with the Rams in 5 NFC Championship games and in Super Bowl XIV. He’s a tough guy but very friendly. Today he’s out on hole number 2 helping teams out since he takes a drive and they can use his if needed.

I spoke to Jack in between groups on his hole. He says that here in Florida they’ve had their hand in the ethanol business for several years. He’s really pleased to see the enthusiasm on the part of the people involved in the industry and is looking forward to seeing what’s going on in the business here at the Conference.

Jack wants consumers to know that ethanol is a renewable resource that can take us in the direction we want to go. As he puts it, when it comes to fuel, “we want to grow our own.” He thinks it’s the most common sense approach to relieving our dependence on foreign oil that there is.

You can listen to my interview with Jack here: nec-08-youngblood-1.mp3

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It’s time for the National Ethanol Conference. I’ll be providing on the scene coverage once again this year and working closely with the Renewable Fuels Association again, including posting onto their blog site.

So far we’ve just had registration taking place this afternoon and tomorrow we’ll have the annual golf tournament as the first scheduled activity before tomorrow evening’s opening reception. You can count on interviews and lots of pictures.

In fact you can keep up with things if you’d like with my Conference Photo Album which is already started.

The chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association is excited about the developments in cellulose technology for the future of the ethanol industry.

“And we fully believe that many of these technologies will in fact be proven to be economically viable on a commercial scale,” said Chris Standlee, who is executive vice president of Abengoa Bioenergy in St. Louis.

He says support from the US Department of Energy through research grants is definitely helping to speed the process along. “We are fortunate enough to be the recipient of a grant to prove our cellulose technology on a commercial scale in a facility that we are building in southwestern Kansas,” one of six grant-funded plant that are scheduled to be in operation by 2010.

Standlee says the recent article in Science challenges the ethanol industry to step up its efforts to make sure the public gets the whole truth about ethanol, not just part of the story. “Even the study itself acknowledges the greenhouse gas emissions benefits of the use of ethanol,” he says. It just makes assumptions about land use for biofuels production that “just simply are not true.”

As chairman of the RFA, Standlee is looking forward to the upcoming National Ethanol Conference in Orlando February 25-27, to celebrate success and look forward to the future. “We have record attendance this year as we’ve had virtually every year since the start of the conference,” he said. “We expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 people to be attending the conference. It really is an exciting opportunity.”

More information about the National Ethanol Conference can be found on the RFA website.

Listen to RFA’s “The Ethanol Report” podcast with Chris here, or subscribe to it on “The Ethanol Report” blog.
ethanol-report-07.mp3

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