Indy 500 to feature ethanol-powered pace car in 2008 race
December 28, 2007
An ethanol-powered Chevrolet Corvette will serve as the pace car for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.
The pace car will be driven by two-time Formula One champion, Emerson “Emmo” Fittipaldi, who is a part-owner of an ethanol plant in his native Brazil.
The Indy Racing League uses E100 in its race cars.
News Analysis: What Bali means for you; the impact of the UN Climate Change Conference on investors
December 28, 2007
When we think of visiting Bali, we usually think of pursuing hedonistic rejuvenation in spa palaces littered with Hindu sculpture, sun-drenched beaches, and beautiful people right out of the pages of People magazine.
During two weeks in December, 10,000 delegates from 190 nations have gathered in Bali not to bask in the sun but to come up with better ways to harness its energy.
The prize? A successor to the Kyoto Treaty on greenhouse gas emissions. The delegates concluded two weeks of tense negotiations with a Bali Roadmap outlining the timing and agenda of that new treaty.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the new treaty must be finalized by the Copenhagen conference in 2009 to give nations enough time to ratify before the Kyoto Treaty expires in 2012. Read more
BiofuelsB2B launches; will provide fuel, feedstock prices; connects buyers and sellers; 20 percent discount through Feb 28, 2008
December 28, 2007
A Paris-based biofuels network, BiofuelsB2B, launched this week to connect buyers and sellers of fuels, feedstocks, and biofuels technology. The subscription-based service also will provide up-to-date fuel and feedstock pricing. Contractors, consultants, fuel marketers, researchers, and fuel buyers are among those who will benefit from the service.
BiofuelsB2B plans to open offices in Kuala Lumpur and Rio de Janeiro.
BiofuelsB2B is offering a 20 percent discount off subscription fees for clients who sign up through February 2008. For more information, visit www.biofuelsb2b.com.
News Analysis: “Think Sustainable, Not Renewable” is the way forward for biofuels in 2008
December 28, 2007
We have been trained to think about fuels in terms of fossil fuels and renewable fuels. For a long time, fossil fuels were dirty and dirt cheap; renewable fuels were clean, and could clean you out buying them.
A lot of things have changed. Today, biofuels are generally cost-competitive with $100 oil, and will be a lot cheaper than $300 oil.
So why isn’t there a stampede to the ethanol pump? Why are there less than 1500 E85 pumps nationwide and yet the entire industry opens pumps slower than Starbucks opens coffee stores?
The answer is that the conversion to biofuels is not a one-night-only event, but a marathon staged like American Idol, and at this point a number of renewable fuels have been “voted off the show”.
Today in Biofuels: What the Energy Bill Means to You; ethanol on a comeback in the Midwest
December 27, 2007
Top Story:
Biofuels Digest has published a short report on the Energy Independence Act, titled “What the Energy Bill Means To You”
Producer News:
In Indiana, VeraSun Energy has indicated interest in renewing a development option on a site in Tipton County. The site was previously optioned by ASAlliances, which was acquired by VeraSun in August. The original ASAlliances plan projected a $170 million ethanol plant. VeraSun halted construction on a Reynolds, IN ethanol plant in October, citing financial conditions in the industry.
In California, Sutter County is targeting non-grain ethanol development following the signing of the Energy Independence Act last week. The county is focused on the potential for ethanol from rice straw, leftover from the county’s 93,000 acre, $106 million rice crop.
International News:
In the Philippines, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum and Basic Energy signed an agreement for Basic to supply Shell with 19 Mgy of ethanol for blending.
Research News:
A study released by Environmental Defense reports on greenhouse gas emission and water consumption problems arising from ethanol production. The study’s authors suggest the use of milo, sorghum or switchgrass to produce ethanol with less water consumption. The authors cited advanced ethanol plants that use manure, as opposed to coal, or plants that recycle wastewater, as examples of positive developments.
Policy and Policymakers:
In New York, Council member James Gennaro was profiled in the documentary “Fields of Fuel”. Gennaro was interviewed about his biodiesel bill, which would require that all fuel in New York City must contain at least 20 percent biodiesel by 2013.
Consumer and Fleet News:
In Oregon, the city of Cottage Grove is converting its city vehicle fleet to biodiesel. The blend was not specified. The city is also implementing a voluntary program in which residents can purchase their energy from renewable resources.
Financial News:
The Biofuels Digest Indexâ„¢, a basket of public biofuels stocks, rose 1.42 percent today to close at a new 52-week high of 133.10. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) rose 1.69 percent to $45.75 to power the Index to its new high.
Arkansas researchers achieve biodiesel production breakthrough; fast, low-cost process yields over 90 percent from chicken fat, wood pulp by-products
December 27, 2007
In Arkansas, researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new, fast process for biodiesel that has recorded yields of more than 90 percent using chicken fat and converted tall oil fatty acids. The latter is a by-product of the wood-pulping industry.
Use of the low-cost feedstocks had been previously limited by long reaction times, and the amount of methanol reuqired by conventional processes.
Citigroup says ethanol margins back on track after recent price surge to $2.31 per gallon
December 27, 2007
Citigroup says that, with recent rises in ethanol prices, “We firmly believe the new energy bill will serve as a significant catalyst to the ethanol industry, as the higher mandated ethanol levels stipulated by the new renewable fuel standard should serve to bring ethanol supply and demand back into balance, thereby strengthening ethanol’s pricing fundamentals.”
The report cites the rise in ethanol prices, which have recovered to $2.31 per gallon, compared to $2.45 per gallon for gasoline.
News Analysis: What the Energy Bill Means to You
December 27, 2007
President Bush said last January in the State of the Union speech that the United States was “addicted to oil”, and proposed several remedies. Since then, there has been tremendous activity around a comprehensive Energy Bill that would direct aspects of US energy policy over the next 15 years.
After several months of political squabbling, the Energy Bill is ready to pass through Congress this week en route to a projected signature by President Bush before the end of the year.
What’s in it for you?
1. New Renewable Fuel Standard - passed
The RFS under consideration calls for 20.5 billion of biofuels to be blended annually with conventional gasoline and diesel by 2015, and indexed to the growth of fuel demand from 2016 until 2022.
In the short term, the proposed mandate is for 8.5 billion gallons in 2008 and 10 billion in 2009, both substantial increases over the current mandate which caps blending at 4.7 billion gallons in 2008.
Current production in the US is approximately 7.5 billion gallons and the RFS would thereby balance the domestic supply and demand markets for ethanol.
Winners: Ethanol producers such as Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), and VeraSun Energy (VSA). They are likely to see price increases for ethanol as a supply glut eases. With demand ready to rise, Pacific Ethanol is looking cheap at a $244 million market cap for acquisition.
Cottage Grove, OR converts city fleet to biodiesel
December 27, 2007
In Oregon, the city of Cottage Grove is converting its city vehicle fleet to biodiesel. The blend was not specified. The city is also implementing a voluntary program in which residents can purchase their energy from renewable resources.
The conversion follows a string of conversions to biodiesel announced in recent weeks.
Last week in Pennsylvania, five school districts announced a switch to B20 biodiesel.
The announcement followed from an switch to B20 by New York’s Oneonta Public Transit buses for all five of its bus routes, and the conversion by Fresh Direct of its fleet of 150 delivery trucks to B5 in February 2008.Recently, Montclair. NJ switched its 70-plus diesel-powered fleet and off-road equipment to B20 biodiesel. In New Hampshire, Cranmore Mountain Resort has reported that its fleet of trucks, which operate on B20, have experienced no problems relating to the effect of cold on biodiesel, at temperatures as low as minus 20 Fahrenheit. Cranmore is one of two New Hampshire ski resports that have converted to biodiessel. The other is Mount Sunapee Resort, which converted its snow grooming and snow removal equipment to B20 biodiesel, and converted its hearing systems to B5. In Maryland, state highway officials said that they would convert snowplows to a B5 blend this season, and expect to convert their equipment to B20 in 2008-09.
The City of Portland’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) went into effect this year and Oregon’s RFS goes into effect January 1, 2008. The Oregon RFS calls for E10 and B5 blending after regional ethanol and biodiesel production reached 40Mgy and 15Mgy, respectively.
Study highlights emission, water consumption problems with ethanol; proposes milo, sorghum, switchgrass alternatives
December 27, 2007
A study released by Environmental Defense reports on greenhouse gas emission and water consumption problems arising from ethanol production.
The study’s authors suggest the use of milo, sorghum or switchgrass to produce ethanol with less water consumption. The authors cited advanced ethanol plants that use manure, as opposed to coal, or plants that recycle wastewater, as examples of positive developments.
In September, Environmental Defense released a report predicting that the increase in Midwestern ethanol production could place an unacceptable strain on the Ogallala aquifer. The report projected an additional 2.6 billion gallon demand from the aquifer for processing, and as much as 120 billion gallons from added corn production, which supplies water for more than 20% of all irrigated land in the United States, covering an area between Texas and South Dakota.
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