Domestic Fuel

The number of ethanol plants operating, under construction or being planned in Nebraska continues to grow.

The latest map from the Renewable Fuels Association posted last week has Nebraska with ten operating plants and nine under construction. But, that's apparently already out of date as plants keep popping up like prairie dogs in the Cornhusker State.

The Omaha World Herald reports that there are 12 operating and ten being built, with 30 more in the planning stages according to the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

If all the proposed plants were built, combined with those currently in operation, Nebraska would be propelled from the third to the No. 1 state in ethanol production. At full capacity, the 52 plants would produce 3.7 billion gallons of ethanol annually.

They also would consume 1.4 billion bushels of corn – about 180 million bushels more than the state's farmers expect to harvest in 2006.

Another story from the Herald reports that Gov. Dave Heineman said Nebraska has more plants under production than any other state and called ethanol "the greatest economic development opportunity for rural Nebraska in a decade."

"At some point could we build too many ethanol plants? I suppose," said Heineman, who is due to become chairman of the Governors Ethanol Coalition in January. "But I think that is way in the future."

Links to the Omaha World Herald articles require registration to view.

The first ethanol plant to operate without the use of fossil fuels is scheduled to begin production before the end of the year in Nebraska.

E3 BioFuels has announced that the Genesis plant in Mead, Nebraska is “the first-ever closed-loop system for distilling commercial quantities of ethanol using methane gas recaptured from cow manure, instead of fossil fuels. This virtually eliminates the need for fossil fuels in the production of ethanol.”

According to a press release, The closed-loop system — derived from an exclusive patent co-owned by an affiliate of E3 BioFuels — combines a 25-million-gallon ethanol refinery, beef cattle feedlot, and anaerobic digesters to maximize energy efficiencies unavailable to each component on a stand-alone basis. This system eliminates the potential for manure to pollute watersheds, and it enables the wet distillers grain from ethanol production to be fed on-site to cattle without energy-intensive drying and transportation costs.

Underwriters Laboratories and the U.S. Department of Energy are holding two days of hearings this week at the testing group’s headquarters outside Chicago, inviting oil companies, automakers and researchers to help develop standards for E85 equipment.

The National Ethanol Vehicle Association is “confident” that the meeting will address E85 pump safety concerns that first surfaced in an October 5 memo from Underwriters Laboratory.

According to a press release from NEVC, UL has issued a follow up document “that should serve to assuage most concerns that have been voiced by local Fire Marshals and others with jurisdiction.”

Phil Lampert, Executive Director of the NEVC said, “We have personally met with the Director of Government Affairs for UL and have had daily conversations with senior UL management. We believe that much of the current confusion has been addressed with the subsequent UL E85 update announcements. Our management and staff are working very closely with UL officials and will be attending a technical meeting to discuss this matter. We are confident that UL is aggressively addressing this matter and are working with them to establish proper certification standards.”

Another Nebraska ethanol plant officially started construction with groundbreaking on Friday in Carleton.

California-based developer Altra broke ground on the 360 acre, $200 million project which will have a capacity of 110 million gallons per year.

Altra also owns and operates California’s only large scale operating ethanol plant, located in Goshen, CA and is currently constructing a 60 MMGY ethanol facility located in Coshocton, Ohio, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2007, and an 88 MMGY ethanol facility in Cloverdale, Indiana, that is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Nebraska currently has nine ethanol plants under construction, more than any other state except Iowa which also has nine. Nebraska also has ten biorefineries currently operating.

In its quest to make cellulosic ethanol an affordable reality in the near future, Broin Companies has formed a partnership with biotech industry leader Novazymes.

According to a press release, the partnership will “take the next steps needed to bring cost-effective ethanol derived from corn stover to market.”
The collaboration is an extension of the close partnership between the two companies and is a great opportunity for Novozymes to put its unique biotechnology platform at work and for Broin to aim at a fast commercialization.

Earlier this month, Broin announced a partnership with DuPont for the same purpose.

MIT researchers are working on a smaller gasoline engine that could get better fuel economy by injecting ethanol when a performance boost is needed.

According to MIT, these small engines could be on the market within five years, and consumers should find them appealing: By spending about an extra $1,000 and adding a couple of gallons of ethanol every few months, they will have an engine that can go as much as 30 percent farther on a gallon of fuel than an ordinary engine. Moreover, the little engine provides high performance without the use of high-octane gasoline.

Basically, the researchers say this technology would be similar to a hybrid, but less expensive, and would help reduce the amount of gasoline used. The ethanol injection system with the turbocharger would give a driver more power than a conventional engine of the same size.

Reuters did a good story on this development, so did CNET news.

The U.S. Department of Energy is providing $8.6 million for 16 projects to expand the use of alternative transportation fuels.

According to a DOE release, combined with funding from the participants, more than $25 million will be invested in the nation’s alternative fuel infrastructure. The grants are part of the Clean Cities program and were selected under three topic areas including Refueling Infrastructure for E85 and Alternative Fuels; Incremental Cost for Alternative Fuel Vehicles; and Idle Reduction Training and Awareness for School Districts.

The funding includes projects all over the country, and includes both ethanol and biodiesel. Under the Refueling Infrastructure topic area alone, the 13 projects selected include the installation of alternative fuel blending and refueling infrastructure at over 180 locations in 25 states and the District of Columbia.

Read full press release.

The US Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture each talked about the need for cellulosic ethanol in two different venues this week.

Energy Secretary Sam Bodman speaking at the Chicagoland Innovation Summit on Tuesday said ethanol is America’s best alternative energy source for the future, but researchers must develop a material other than corn to make it from. According to a Dow Jones report, “Eventually, we’re going to run out of the ability to make ethanol from corn,” Bodman told Dow Jones Newswires after the speech.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns was in Minnesota meeting “with state and local leaders Tuesday to talk up the emerging technology of cellulosic ethanol production – making ethanol from wood chips, corn stalks, alfalfa and other biomass types,” according to this Associated Press report. Johanns also said corn-based ethanol can’t meet the nation’s demand.

Ethanol is pretty much a daily topic of discussion on the “AgriTalk” radio show that airs on about 70 mostly Corn-belt area radio stations, as well it should be considering major sponsors of the program include ADM, Monsanto, VeraSun, and National Corn Growers. Here are a couple of recent programs:

Ethanol design company Fagen Inc. was a major sponsor of this year’s national cornhusking contest in Columbus, Neb. where Agri-Talk did a live broadcast on October 20, 2006.

Robert White, Director of Operations for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council was a guest on Agri-Talk October 23 to discuss the new E85 equipment rulings.

The state of Nebraska is receiving $38 million from the USDA Rural Development agency for renewable energy and conservation, with most of the money to be used for an ethanol plant in McCook.

According to the McCook Daily Gazatte, the funding incudes a “$10 million Renewable Energy Systems Guaranteed loan and a $25 million Business and Industry Guaranteed loan to S.W. Energy, LLC.”

Additionally, $2.4 million in 9006 Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Improvements grants and a $300,000 Value-Added Producer grant were awarded to153 rural small businesses and agricultural producers to assist in areas of renewable energy resource development and energy efficiency improvements of existing systems.

Fall is bringing in a bumper crop of stories about ethanol earnings, corn prices and whether the gold rush is over.

Associated Press, NEW YORK — Makers of ethanol, an alternative fuel derived from corn, witnessed a third-quarter retreat from the strong industry conditions that characterized the second quarter: peak oil and ethanol prices, and rapid demand growth for ethanol as a gasoline additive.

Resource Investor Blog – As oil prices retreated, so did ethanol….

Zacks.com – Senior analyst Paul Cohen says the overall impetus for ethanol is strong and will continue to be strong.

Toledo Blade - Investing in ethanol was a high-octane activity this year, especially when the price of regular gasoline surpassed $3 a gallon. “There’s huge interest in ethanol,” said Charlie Rentschler, a 30-year agribusiness analyst now with Wall Street Access, a New York firm.

UPI – WASHINGTON — The rising cost of corn amid increased demand and sliding oil prices may hurt the burgeoning ethanol industry.

Forbes – Everything has been going right for ethanol, the corn-mash moonshine that began getting the country truly giddy earlier this year. But now that giddiness is gone.