Alternative Fuel News

Dave Vander Griend, CEO of ethanol producer ICM (based in Colwich, KS), has a fantastic op-ed published in the Kansas City Star today. Vander Griend begins with talking about the recent manufactured “food or fuel” argument. In the past, the ethanol industry has been blamed for high food prices and environmental damage. Last month, the EPA along with several major universities corrected those misconceptions, stating that ethanol is not the root cause for higher grocery prices . In fact, corn prices have recently fallen sharply despite increased ethanol production. He then goes on to discuss a specific plan ICM has with a local gas station. At TJ Convenience, a mom-and-pop store in Colwich, ICM is kick-starting a program that demonstrates how important ethanol is — to consumers, to agriculture, to the environment and to our nation's security. At the station, we use special blender pumps to mix fuel on demand to create blends ranging from 10 to 85 percent ethanol. We've priced E-10 5 cents below unleaded , and higher percentages of ethanol-enriched fuel are discounted to reflect the subsidy as well as the percentage of ethanol. The piece wraps up with a discussion o..

Wilcox & Flegel Oil Company, one of the largest fuel distributors in the Northwest, is committed to E85 and is offering the product in the city of Olympia, Washington. This is the sixth location the distributor is supplying. The recently opened E85 pump located at the Shell station at 3505 Pacific Ave., is selling the product at more than 80 cents below regular unleaded gasoline. In the past week, the facility sold more than 270 gallons of the clean burning, alternative fuel. Aaron Wilcox, special projects manager for Wilcox & Flegel said that the group is a longtime distributor of diesel and gasoline that started selling E85 fuel about a year ago. They began selling E85 because the Detroit automakers chose to build flexible fuel vehicles. Wilcox & Flegel Oil Company plans on adding up to ten E85 sites across the state of Washington.

ew Zealand's Energy Minister David Parker today (4th September) welcomed the passing in Parliament o ...

We haven’t addressed crop conditions for a few weeks but they remain critically important for the fi ...

Sugar output in Brazil, the world's biggest producer, will rise less than forecast after rains slowe ...

Regulators on New York's state Public Service Commission have voted unanimously to approve the buyout of Energy East by Spain-based world energy company Iberdrola for $4.6 billion. This article from Forbes says there are some caveats to New York's approval: For example, the commissioners required Iberdrola to put aside $275 million to offset future rate increases. That's compares with the $646 million PSC staff analysts initially proposed as a condition of the sale. The commission said Wednesday that Iberdrola must sell the fossil fuel generating plants but may keep the wind energy plants as long as it commits to spending up to $200 million on wind energy development in the state. The company has publicly said it will spend $2 billion on wind energy in New York, but it hasn't made a firm commitment. Under the terms the PSC laid out, Iberdrola would also be required to make any future investments in wind energy using money from a non-Energy East subsidiary. The commissioners, who have had Iberdrola's proposal before them for more than a year, characterized their decision as a compromise that protects Energy East's customers while not imposing conditions so onerous they'd cause Iber..

A 13-week study of vehicles fueling with B99 biodiesel had no mechanical issues, ran more smoothly and significantly reduced CO2 emissions and other air toxins compared to petroleum diesel. This press release posted on MarketWatch.com says that Seattle-based Propel Fuels, a leading retailer of low-carbon renewable fuels and The Essential Baking Company, announced the results of a study where B99 replaced petroleum fuel in the baking company's delivery fleet: “This study reflects what many in the industry have known for years — biodiesel performs as well as, if not better than regular petroleum oil,” says Rob Elam, founder of Propel. “As more and more fleet owners look for ways to reduce their emissions, they can feel confident that our biodiesel is a quality fuel.” During the 13-week trial, six Essential Baking vehicles fueled with strictly B99 blend biodiesel from Propel's Clean Fuel Points, travelling approximately 37,000 miles on 2,500 gallons of B99, with one vehicle logging over 14,000 miles. Vehicles selected varied in model, types of routes, and mileage driven. No vehicle failures and no operational issues were experienced. Cold weather proved ..

While the focus in Minneapolis-St. Paul this week has been the Republican National Convention, another important meeting is set for the Twin Cities later this month. Facing a Renewable Fuels Standard that will go from using 600 million gallons of renewable fuels next year, growing to 21 billion gallons by 2022, the Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show will work on real solutions during its meeting September 28-30th at the Minneapolis Convention Center: Building a technological bridge from first- to second-generation biofuels is America's 21st Century “moon shot,” an undertaking as massive and consequential as the Apollo space program… The Advanced Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show is designed specifically to help entrepreneurs, biomass producers, researchers, and technology, equipment and service providers prepare for this green fuels revolution. The conference will focus on technology updates, feedstock science and management, market challenges, research and development activities, and government policies and programs in support of advanced biofuels. It is both a timely primer and an invaluable networking opportunity for anyone seeking new prospects in this fast..

Auto blogs are buzzing about ethanol boosting technology. Pickup Trucks.com reports this week that Ford is developing a new line of turbocharged ethanol direct-injection gasoline engines under the code name Bobcat. Bobcat engines will feature ethanol boost technology, developed by Ethanol Boosting Systems, LLC of Cambridge, Mass., that promises 5 to 10 percent greater fuel economy than EcoBoost engines. Ethanol boosting starts with a small turbocharged engine with separate gasoline and ethanol fuel injectors for each cylinder. The gasoline system mixes fuel and air in the motor's intake manifold using port injection. The second system injects small amounts of ethanol directly into the combustion chamber to control premature detonation, or knock, that results from the high temperature and pressure of a turbocharged engine. The ethanol prevents knock by cooling the air/fuel mixture until the engine is ready for combustion. The Bobcat engines could become viable alternatives to diesel engines in full-size pickups.

Cellulosic feedstock powder may sound like a form of fairy dust - a powder that enhances the productivity and viability of cellulosic ethanol production. But producer Gulf Ethanol is prepared to prove it to anyone who asks. The company announced today that they are offering free samples of the microscopic cellulosic feedstock powder produced by its processing unit as a way to address those who are skeptical of their claims. “Skeptics and short sellers have been implying that our technology is not real or that it doesn't produce the fine cellulosic powder as we have announced,” said Gulf Ethanol president Bill Carmichael. “Now, we are going to eliminate the doubts of any honest investor by giving them an actual sample of the powder we have produced.” Individuals may request a sample by writing to the company at Gulf Ethanol Corp., Sample Request, 1240 Blalock Road, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77055.

If you could sum up the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council's AgNite event held Tuesday in the Twin Cities in one word, it would have to be the overused “awesome.” Everything was awesome from the venue and the crowd, to the refreshments and entertainment. The crowd was officially estimated to be in excess of 3,000 - but it sure seemed like more than that to me. The venue was the historic Minnesota Depot in downtown Minneapolis, which was skirted on the outside with potted corn stalks and inside the 60,000 square foot area was dotted with comfortable seating around video screens where those attending could just relax and enjoy the food and refreshments while taking in some information about the various agriculture-related sponsors. The best part of the event was that all segments of the food, agriculture and biofuels industries came together as one. Event sponsors included the corn and ethanol industries, as well as livestock, poultry and food processors. Everyone put their differences aside, both political and policy, for at least one evening to unite for agriculture. It was a beautiful thing. Take a look at the on-line AgNite Photo Album for pictures from the event and see ..

Greenhunter Renewable Power LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GreenHunter Energ, Inc. announced the closing of an acquisition of an existing 14-megawatt (MW) wood waste-fired biomass power plant located in Telogia, Florida. The plant, Telogia Power LLC, and an associated entity, Telogia Power Unit #2 LLC, were acquired from CQ BioPower Producers, a subsidiary of CQ, Inc.

New Zealand's Energy Minister David Parker today (4th September) welcomed the passing in Parliament of the Biofuel Bill, which he said would stimulate the market for sustainable alternative transport fuels. The legislation introduces a biofuels sales obligation which means that biofuels will have to make up 0.5 percent of oil companies' sales this year, with obligation levels rising by 0.5 percent increments to 2.5 percent in 2012.

A contract to design and build a power plant fuelled by sugar cane bagasse, worth over €33 million, has been awarded to Areva by Brazil’s largest private power generator, Tractebel Energia. The plant, with a 33 MW capacity, will be installed on the site of the Andrade ethanol plant, in Pitangueiras, São Paulo. Construction work has already begun and commissioning is scheduled for April 2010. This is, says Areva, the first Tractebel Energia S.A. plant fuelled by sugar cane bagasse.

Kansas-based Edenspace Systems Corp. has licensed Michigan State University technology that uses enzymes from a microbe in a cow's stomach to create plants that can be more efficiently turned into biofuel.Enzymes that allow a cow to digest grasses and other plant fibers can be used to turn fiber from other plants into simple sugars. Mariam Sticklen, MSU professor of crop and soil sciences, discovered a way to insert a gene from a bacterium in a cow's stomach into a corn plant so the fiber in corn leaves and stalks can be more easily converted into simple sugars. These sugars can then be fermented into biofuels or other valuable chemicals.

During the Republican National Convention this week, delegates have been educated about ethanol in the state of Minnesota in several ways, thanks to the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest Clean Air Choice Team. Communications Director Bob Moffitt was at the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council's AgNite event on Tuesday evening in the Twin Cities where ethanol was featured as a sponsor. “Cleaner burning biofuels have made an enormous difference for Minnesota,” Moffitt said. “Minnesota is kind of the focus of the world right now with the RNC and we want to try to make biofuels a big focus.” He is pictured here on the right with Matt Hartwig of the Renewable Fuels Association at the event. In conjunction with the convention, the St. Paul-based Clean Air Choice Team held an event to offer E85 for $1.00 off the current posted price at a station in nearby Eagen, Minnesota. “In terms of E85 stations, we are number one in North America with more than 350 stations,” Moffitt said. In addition, GM flex-fuel vehicles fueled with E85 were the official vehicles for the RNC as they were at the Democratic National Convention. Listen to my interview with Bo..

The United Kingdom is one of the worst performers in the EU when it comes to increasing its share of renewables in the energy mix. However, the country is rapidly speeding up its investments in clean energy, with biomass spanning the crown. The UK now has a dedicated biomass capacity larger than 1400MW operational and in the pipeline. The interest in biomass has grown strongly because of its inherent advantages over intermittent sources and its cost-effectiveness. Farmers Weekly Interactive has an interesting overview of recent developments in the sector in the UK. Biomass fuels in Britain are both produced locally as well as imported. Many of the large power plants are located in coastal areas, facilitating (long distance) imports. Fuels include both waste biomass (wood from industry, green waste) as well as fuels made from dedicated energy crops, such as miscanthus or short rotation willow. Imports include wood chips and pellets from Scandinavia and Canada. Besides large power plants, the number of smaller, dedicated co-generation plants that yield both power and heat in a highly efficient manner is on the rise. Picture : dedicated energy crops, like Miscanthus x giganteus , are..

With recent increases in grain and fertilizer prices, even small changes in management may significantly impact profit, as researchers report in Agronomy Journal . Varying the rate of crop production inputs such as fertilizer and seed makes intuitive sense, as farmers have long observed differences in crop yield in various areas of a single field. The availability of spatial yield information from combines equipped with yield monitors has provided a good resource for improved management. So, optimizing inputs to match yield potential of different areas within fields may increase profit and reduce the environmental impact associated with over-application of fertilizer or pesticides. With recent substantial increases in grain and fertilizer prices, even small changes in management may have the potential to significantly impact profit from a field. Scientists with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) compared an approach to site-specific nitrogen and seed density management for irrigated maize, based on soil properties and yield potential zones, to whole field uniform management based on current University of Nebraska best management practices (BMPs). The researchers wanted to kno..

Brazil's foreign minister says his country is likely to press the World Trade Organization to take a ...

Ethanol maker Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc expects ethanol margins to be soft but not nega ...

Republicans would end a mandate requiring expanded production of renewable fuels under a platform re ...

Ford says the next generation of their Ecoboost engine technology, codenamed Bobcat, will provide 30 ...

Iowa Farmer Today (I should take out a subscription I'm quoting the publication so much at the moment) has a good piece looking at how much stover should be left on the fields after corn harvesting. Stover could be good source of cellulose for cellulosic ethanol in a couple of years time. But there are issues about the soil's ability to maintain itself if significant amounts of organic material are removed each year.

You might have noticed that there are a couple of conversations chuntering on in earlier post s. Mostly these deal with the ability to plant enough corn to sustain the US ethanol business and keep people fed at a reasonable price. Here's breakthrough that is stunning in its simplicity from Iowa Farmer Today: plant the corn closer together . No really. Its that simple. No details on increased water requirements, or fertiliser needs in subsequent years. Its an idea from Monsanto.

Thanks to Draka for this information on the state of ethanol production in India from Current Science . As Draka says, in a comment below, sugar cane takes a lot of water to grow.

Today we all are feeling the need of growing green. We have already put the various resources of planet earth on risk and some of the resources will not last for our great-great grandchildren for future use. So it’s better that we start mending our ways. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and [...]

Brazil is considering a World Trade Organization challenge over the United States ethanol import tariff. Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday that they have “a very strong case and there is a good chance” that they will challenge the 54 cent per gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol. The tariff was extended through 2010 and is designed to keep foreign ethanol producers from taking advantage of the blenders tax credit that was recently cut from 51 cents to 45 cents per gallon under the 2008 Farm Bill. All ethanol blended with gasoline in the U.S. qualifies for the VEETC or blenders' credit, no matter where the ethanol comes from. Under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, ethanol from certain nations may be imported tariff free.

Ethanol was showcased to Republican National Convention goers this week during an event sponsored by the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council . The Renewable Fuels Association and Minnesota's ethanol producers joined together to be one of the sponsors of AgNite, a non-partisan event to celebrate the food, agriculture and biofuel industries of the state and nation. The event was held in the historic Minneapolis Depot and drew over 4,000 attendees who browsed through exhibits, ate local foods and listened to music. The biofuels industry was also well represented by two of the event's top level sponsors, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and CHS , which is a supplier and distributor of both ethanol and biodiesel and an owner of ethanol manufacturer US BioEnergy.

A company that turns chicken fat into biodiesel has been honored as the Manufacturing Industry of the Year for small companies for Pasco County on Florida's Gulf of Mexico coast. The Tampa Tribune reports Agri-Source Fuels picked up the honor at the Pasco Economic Development Council's annual awards banquet: EDC President Mary Jane Stanley said Agri-Source was honored because, as the state's only biodiesel firm, its $1.7 million venture in Dade City represents an investment in the future. “They're at the forefront of the search for alternative fuels that the country and the state are involved in,” Stanley said. Agri-Source is part of a nationwide boom in biodiesel production that has been driven by a federal subsidy set to expire at the end of this year. A $4 million state grant will help set up another biodiesel plant in the Panhandle in the coming years, company officials said. The company makes about 3 million gallons now, but it has the potential to expand that to 10 million gallons in the near future and to 60 million gallons within a few years. The article goes on to say that despite the cost of their feedstock, rendered chicken grease, doubling in the last year,..

Three agribusiness majors have joined forces to explore technologies and processes to turn crop residues into feed and bioenergy products. The collaboration between Archer Daniels Midland Company, Deere Company and Monsanto Company to carry out research into corn stover, was announced last week (28th September). According to the companies, stover is usually left on the field, where, in proper amounts, it helps reduce soil erosion and build up soil organic matter. A 170-bushel-per-acre corn crop, which was the average last year in Iowa, also produces about four dry tons of stover. The United States Department of Agriculture forecasts that in 2008, farmers will harvest 12.3 billion bushels of corn, resulting in approximately 290 million tons of stover.

Today, Gerda Verburg, Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Food Quality, opened the world's largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure. The €150 million project is owned and operated by multi-utility company Delta, cooperative DET, ZLTO and Austrian Energy & Environment A.G. (a consortium including Siemens Nederland N.V.) The facility will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households. The biomass power plant solves a key environmental problem in the Netherlands: managing the vast excess stream of chicken manure, which, until today, had to be processed at a high cost. The biomass power plant will utilize approximately 440,000 tons of chicken manure, roughly one third of the total amount produced each year in the Netherlands. Many European countries, including the Netherlands, suffer under an excess of different types of animal manure that pollute the environment. Costly methods are used to avoid it being spread out over land, to process it or to avoid creating the excess in the first place. Using the manure as a carbon-neutral energy source has become the most efficient, environmentally-friendly, and cost-effective of all management options...

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced that 639 individuals and businesses in 43 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been selected to receive US $35 million in grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy systems or to improve energy efficiency in farm and business operations.

The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) has announced that during model year 2009, Chrysler Corporation, a member of the NEVC, will offer cars, light trucks and SUVs as Flexible Fuel E85 compatible (FFV) in the upcoming year.

When a firm in India invests in a renewable energy source to meet growing energy needs, it may be able to acquire carbon credits. These carbon credits are sold on international markets generating income for the owner of the credits. Carbon credits, which are issued to organizations based on their efforts to limit climate change, and renewable energy projects are intricately linked in India.

http://girlmark.com/tour/#brooksville Girl Mark is returning with her renowned biodiesel classes to Brooksville FL (about 1.5 hours west of Orlando, 1 hour north of Tampa) on October 9-10-11-12. (She offered classes earlier this year at the same location.) You can read about the classes at her site. She is being hosted by Michael P., part of the Florida Biodiesel Yahoo group.

According to the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), scientists have found more positive results which reinforce the potential of ‘biochar’ to revolutionise climate mitigation and adaptation in Australian agriculture. Researchers found a 150% increase in maize yield when poor soils were amended by biochar. Because of these and other major benefits, biochar has reached the political agenda, with Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald saying that it is a possible saviour for Australia’s carbon-depleted soils, and has multiple greenhouse gas benefits. A first project to assess the feasibility of building a renewable energy power plant that simultaneously yields electricity with negative emissions and biochar has been initiated. Researchers from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) continue to unlock the potential of biochar, which is a charcoal-like product that is the residue of a renewable energy production process called slow-pyrolysis. Products like paper mill waste, green waste, animal manures or other biomass can be recycled by heating to 550 degrees Celsius in the absence of oxygen, generating energy and biochar. Adding biocha..

The Iowa State University is looking hard at Miscanthus as a potential biofuel feedstock , says the Des Moines Register. Miscanthus, on the other hand, holds the potential to make up to 2times as much ethanol per ton as corn. A University of Illinois study in 2005 showed that using corn or switchgrass to produce enough ethanol to offset 20 percent of gasoline use -- a current federal government goal -- would take 25 percent of current U.S. cropland out of food production. That's got to be better than corn: a technology that takes two bushels of food out of the equation for every three that are processed into ethanol.

Reuters has posted a story this morning in which they report that Brazil has hired lawyers to look into the current US import tariff against Brazilian ethanol. “Brazil's Sugar Cane Industry Association hired lawyers to study the compatibility between the U.S. tariff and WTO rules. The collapse of the Doha Round of world trade talks in July made litigation against the United States more likely.  Amorim said the case could be presented in the next one or two months , depending on final consultations with producers and the government's lawyers.” “My reading is that we have a very strong case and so there is a good chance we will challenge ,” Reuters reports Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on Tuesday. What will this possible litigation mean for the future of the domestic US ethanol industry? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Read the whole report here.

Greenhouses in desert areas near the sea could be used to grow a range of plants including Jatropha according to Guardian Unlimited. The answer lies in using the sun's energy to evaporate sea water... 

Concerned with the abnormally high prices of molasses, sugar mills have asked oil companies to raise ...