Obama Hitches a Ride on Alternative Energy Train Ethanol helped fuel conversations and conversions among candidates in the 2008 presidential race starting back in 2007 when the upstart Senator from Illinois showed up at an ethanol plant. While former First Lady Hillary Clinton had the name recognition, by mid-2007 Sen. Barack Obama quickly saw the support for ethanol and hitched …

Higher Oil Prices Highlight Renewable Fuels for Energy Security As 2008 dawned, the world saw crude oil prices break the $100 a barrel barrier for the first time as continuing volatility of world oil and energy markets highlighted the importance of the energy legislation Congress passed at the end of 2007. Robert White, who was serving as interim head of …

EPIC Global Warming Expedition In early 2007, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) had the unique opportunity to highlight the role ethanol can play in addressing global climate change by joining legendary polar explorer Will Steger for his 2007 Global Warming 101 Expedition. Steger, who had long been a proponent of alternative energy in the fight against global warming, …

All In For Cellulosic Momentum in early 2007 was strong for increasing the Renewable Fuel Standard and President George W. Bush remained focused on finding other sources for biofuel production, such as the switchgrass he had been touting as an alternative for the past year. In February, President Bush visited Novozymes North America Inc., a company in Franklinton, North Carolina …

New Year Gets in Gear with Goal to Increase RFS On the very first day of the 110th Congress, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) re-introduced the Biofuels Security Act of 2007 which would amend the Clean Air Act and set new benchmarks for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), reaching 30 billion gallons per year by 2020 and …

Chapter Seven: Driving RFS1 to RFS2

EPA Releases Rule for RFS Meanwhile, back at the EPA, the agency finally released proposed regulations for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on September 7, 2006, almost exactly 13 months after the Energy Act authorizing it was signed by President Bush. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson went to Mead, Nebraska to announce the proposal, designed to double the use of …

Industry Fends off Tariff Challenges Now that ethanol had the backing of new domestic energy policy requiring four billion gallons to be blended into the domestic fuel supply, there were some who thought the industry should be willing to give up some other incentives that had helped it along. In May of 2006, the target became the 54 cent per …

Plant Construction Reaches Major Milestone Ethanol plant construction was already running full tilt before the Energy Act was passed in 2005 and by the end of May 2006 it hit the major milestone of 100 facilities. Approximately 1,200 people attended the grand opening celebration May 26 for the new $80 million Frontier Ethanol – the 100th ethanol plant to begin …

Triumph and tragedy strike Team Ethanol In January 2006, it was announced that Paul Dana and Team Ethanol would be leaving Hemelgarn Racing and joining the Rahal Letterman group, owned by 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal and television talk show host David Letterman. “This is a huge step up for us from a competitive standpoint because Rahal Letterman has …