Domestic Fuel

The Nebraska Cattlemen are all for ethanol, but not so much for mandates.

The organization adopted resolutions addressing ethanol markets and mandates at it’s recent annual meeting, according to a news release.

One resolution supports a transition to a market based approach for the usage and production of ethanol and opposes any additional federal or state mandates for ethanol usage and/or production.

Nebraska Cattlemen has worked closely with corn and ethanol organizations to foster mutually beneficial programs and policies. All three industries recognize the interdependence. “We’ve participated in their meetings and visa versa,” NC President Jay Wolf said. “We have a good relationship with them and we’ve all committed to maintain that for the benefit of each of the memberships and for Nebraska in general.”

With regard to national energy policy, Nebraska Cattlemen favors the implementation of a variable import to prevent the price of oil, and its derivatives from dropping below long-term equilibrium prices.

Read more from the Nebraska Cattlemen.

The President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) has issued a report on the role of technology and emerging companies in helping to supply our nation’s energy needs.

According to a release from the Renewable Fuels Association, the report concluded that biofuels like ethanol are a vital and readily available solution to help address America’s dependence on foreign oil and that continued federal involvement is important to the sustained growth of the industry.

Included in PCAST’s proposals for the federal government regarding increasing biofuels production and use are:
-Increase the use of E10 (10% ethanol blends) as well as encourage the use of higher percentage ethanol blends.
-Support the commercial development of cellulosic ethanol technology.
-Identify lands that would be suitable for energy crop production, i.e. cellulosic material.
-Encourage automakers to increase the percentage of flex fuel vehicles (FFV) manufactured each year.

RFA notes that PCAST also proposes a suspension of the credit offset associated with imported ethanol, which they disagree with.

Read the full report in pdf form here.

A University of Rhode Island plant geneticist has launched “Project Golden Switchgrass” to develop “the variety of enhanced switchgrass that everyone needs” as an alternative crop to produce ethanol.

According to a URI release, Albert Kausch is a world leader in developing transgenic grasses, having spent 20 years genetically modifying turf grasses, rice and corn. He is also an expert on “gene confinement” who is working to create a switchgrass that does not flower or reproduce, thereby ensuring that the genetically modified organisms do not escape into the environment and affect wild switchgrass.

Kausch is now genetically engineering switchgrass that is both sterile and resistant to herbicides, and he has a long list of other traits he hopes to improve as well, including drought tolerance, salt tolerance and cold tolerance. He expects to have test plots of the genetically modified plants on the URI campus within two years, and he hopes the first varieties will be in commercial production by 2011.

Approximately 1,800 people attended Prairie Ethanol’s grand opening celebration for the 60 million gallone per year ethanol production facility Saturday near Mitchell, SD.

According to a news release, the event included a Vanguard Squadron fly-over and a program featuring political dignitaries, industry representatives and company officials.

U.S. Senator John Thune expressed his excitement about being part of the ongoing effort to advance renewable energy. “This plant is a new dawn for farming in South Dakota and a new dawn for our rural economy,” he stated. “The ethanol industry is transforming this state like never before.”

Prairie Ethanol, which will utilize Broin Companies‘ patent-pending BPX™ raw starch hydrolysis process, is one of the most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly ethanol production facilities in the nation.

Read more from Broin.

The House will be forming a new agricultural energy subcommittee in response to the role farming will play in reducing America’s dependence on imported oil, according to Representative John Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado.

The (CO) Summit Daily News reports that Salazar addressed a renewable energy symposium Saturday and said that in the new Democrat-controlled Congress there will be a strong focus on renewable energy and increased energy independence.

“If America were energy-independent, politics in the Middle East would be totally different,” Salazar said. “The only way I can ever see peace is to devalue the only resource they have in the Middle East, which is oil. The only way we can is to develop alternative energy and we must encourage other countries like China to do so, too.”

Salazar sponsored a bill earlier this year that would ensure key provisions of the 2005 Energy Bill pertaining to renewable fuels production would apply to U.S. production only. He is a member of the House committees on Transportation and Agriculture.

Read the story.

The December edition of “Ethanol Today” is a celebration of the biggest year yet for the ethanol industry.

The American Coalition for Ethanol publication provides a snapshot of the year in ethanol with some nice graphs and charts to show the industry’s growth.

Ethanol’s expansion in 2006 is an extension of a several-year growth trend. It took 20 years for the U.S. to grow its first billion gallons of ethanol capacity; since 2001, however, the industry has grown by an average 23 percent annually, adding more than three billion gallons of capacity in that time.

In terms of production, Iowa is way out front as 2006 draws to a close with over 1.5 billion gallons a year and Illinois is ranked second with about half that amount. However, that may change by this time next year as number 3 Nebraska has enough plants and expansions on the drawing board to more than double the state’s existing capacity and launch Nebraska to the position of the nation’s second largest ethanol producer.

The article also highlights the Indy Racing League switch to ethanol and pays tribute to ethanol advocate and Indy racer Paul Dana “the person who almost singlehandedly made this possible.”

Read more here.

The state of Alabama is focusing on alternative fuels.

Alabama Agriculture Industries Commissioner Ron Sparks has announced the formation of the Center for Alternative Fuels.

“Hardly a week goes by that we don’t get calls to provide guidance to interested parties on how to build biodiesel or ethanol plants, or where to purchase alternative fuels. They want to know about licenses, permits, and various rules and regulations. I get requests from various sectors of agriculture wanting to know what crops should be planted for use in bio-fuel production,” said Sparks. “I am announcing today the establishment of a Center for Alternative Fuels at the Department of Agriculture and Industries. The Center will be a kind of one-stop-shop for information on what it takes to get into the business, where consumers can find it, and how Alabama farmers can support it with crops. In addition, the Center will serve as an economic development resource for recruiting producers of alternative fuel.”

For corn growers, ethanol means markets as usual. In other words, up and down.

That was the word from the senior agricultural economist for Wells Fargo Michael Swanson, who spoke at the Farm News Ag Show at Iowa Central Community College, according to this story by Bill Shea from the Ft. Dodge Messenger.

The economist said he’s ‘‘bullish’’ about the future of ethanol. But in nearly the same breath he cautioned that ethanol production will be a ‘‘real roller coaster.’’

Sounds like what farmers are used to already.

Messenger photo by Hans Madsen.

Oakhurst Dairy, based in Maine, has announced the conversion of their delivery trucks to a biodiesel blend.

Oakhurst credited tax incentives for driving the decision to convert 90 percent of its vehicles, making it the largest private biodiesel fleet in New England. Biodiesel is produced in Maine from waste vegetable oil. Except in the coldest weather, the delivery trucks will use a blend that’s 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel. Officials say the ratio reduces air pollution without requiring engine modifications.

Every month there’s a new record set for ethanol production and the bar has now been raised to 333,000 barrels a day. That’s a 55,000 barrel per day increase since the beginning of the year, according to the latest figures released by the Renewable Fuels Association.

RFA says demand for ethanol remained strong in September at 380,000 b/d.

General Motors won the Green Car design contest at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week with the “Hummer O2.”

According to CNN, this fuel-cell powered Hummer would produce oxygen. Agae-filled body panels could break down C02, a greenhouse gas, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. When parked, body panels would fan out to catch more light, speeding the process. The 02 would be constructed from 100-percent post-consumer recycled aluminum.

Check out all the entries in the Green Car Contest here.

This article from the Lincoln (NE) Journal Star and accompanying comments illustrates the myriad of opinions about ethanol that stem from partial truths and speculation.

The article is basically a tirade against ethanol by commodity broker Douglas Carper, with the headline “Ethanol Skeptic Sees Painful Realities Ahead.”

As far as Carper is concerned, there is no constructive purpose to putting so much emphasis on ethanol as an answer to shrinking energy resources.

His reasons are:
“Even if every bushel of corn in the United States were turned into ethanol, it wouldn’t make much of a dent in overseas oil dependence”

Beyond that, he sees so much emphasis on ethanol leading to higher food prices. He sees what he called a tremendous negative effect on the state’s cattle feeders, possible disruption in the food distribution system and some substantial portion of new ethanol plants failing to make a go of it as profit margins inevitably narrow.

The article offers the defense of ethanol to Don Hutchens with the Nebraska Corn Board, who rebutts Carpers contention that hunger will be a result of a food or fuel fight with, “Is it the responsibility of the Nebraska corn farmer to keep prices as low as he possibly can so no one in the world has food availability issues?”

Over 40 readers offered comments on the article, with a pretty even balance between those who agreed with Carpers and those who disagreed. Of those who agreed, many seem to think that ethanol is a “scheme” between agriculture and the government, demonizing agricultural producers with comments like “farmers are not the stewards anymore, they will sellout their own children and grandchildren for a few more dollars.”

Others defended the opportunity for growers to make a living. “Ethanol is the farmers chance to market a much higher level of prices and not have to depend on taxpayers every year to bail out.”

Here’s a story out of Malaysia on using sap from “nipah,” or mangrove palm, to make an ethanol-like biofuel.

The substance is similar to ethanol from Brazil’s sugar cane or Europe’s sugar beet but nipah would have higher yield per hectare.

The state government, after studying a proposal from a KL-based company on Wednesday, agreed to allow the company to extract “nira” or nipah sap from 10,000ha of nipah area along the state’s coastal area.

A plant to be built in Malaysia would be the first in the world to produce ethanol from palm.

Read more.

The Associated Press reports that corn prices are at their highest levels in a decade and growers are looking at planting as much as 10 million more corn acres next year, according to Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agricultural economist.

“It’s a wonderful time for corn producers. They’re extremely excited, but they’re also apprehensive because they’ve seen booms before and they don’t last,” he said.

The average price of a bushel of corn has increased about $1.00 since September and is now about $3.45.

Former National Corn Growers Association president Ryland Utlaut of Missouri is a producer who is definitely happy to see prices higher for a change.

“I started farming 40 years ago and corn prices were $2.00,” said Utlaut. “Last year, we were $2.00 again.”

Utlaut says the 1995 “Freedom to Farm” bill helped to encourage farmers to develop more markets for corn. “And we’ve done it in big fashion with ethanol,” he said. “We haven’t seen much change in livestock use or exports, the new dynamic is the ethanol industry.”

Utlaut, who is the chairman of Mid-Missouri Energy in Malta Bend, firmly believes that the corn industry can meet the demand for ethanol and still meet the needs of livestock producers and exporters, and biotech corn will help do the job. This year’s average corn yield is estimated at over 151 bushels per acre, up almost ten percent compared to the “unprecedented” average of 138 in 2001.

Listen to an interview with Ryland about how he thinks biotech varieties will help meet demand for corn.
Ryland Utlaut (4 min MP3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.2MB)

Somewhat like when President Bush was in St. Louis at the Advancing Renewable Fuels Conference, a heckler got the headlines when General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner addressed the 100th Los Angeles Auto Show this week, according to this AP report.

The man unfurled a large black-and-white contract of sorts and asked Wagoner if he would sign a pledge to be the fuel economy leader in the industry by 2010.

Wagoner, a bit taken aback, politely said that his speech about GM’s efforts to develop green technology including a plug-in hybrid vehicle should speak for itself.

A Business Week report also highlighted the spotlight-stealing environmental activist, but at least gave Wagoner’s speech almost equal time.

When the first L.A. Auto Show debuted 100 years ago, he noted, there were three competing engine technologies—electricity, steam, and gasoline. “Going forward, it is highly unlikely that oil alone is going to supply all of the world’s rapidly growing automotive energy requirements,” he said. “The key is energy diversity.”

For GM, that meant talk of flexible-fuel vehicles, ones that run on gasoline or an ethanol blend called E85. It also meant unveiling a new hybrid gas/electric GMC Yukon sport-utility vehicle and plans for a “plug-in” version of the popular Saturn Vue Green Line SUV.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined representatives from General Motors and other car manufacturers at the show on Thursday.

The governor challenged automakers to keep making progress in manufacturing alternative vehicles.

“The cars that are clean will be the cars of the future,” he said.

Read more from Inside Bay Area.