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Janesville, Sept 27 - Eleven students from Minnesota State University, Mankato visited Guardian Energy yesterday to learn more about renewable energy production.
During the visit, the students toured the various parts of the plant’s ethanol production process including incoming grain grading and handling, fermentation, grain storage, ethanol storage and shipment and dried distillers grains with solubles production and storage.
The students were from Minnesota State Mankato’s biotechnology and food science technology course.
“We’re always pleased to welcome students from Minnesota State University, Mankato’s biotechnology and food science programs. With these tours, we’re not only able to showcase our production process and valuable co-products, such as dried distillers grains and corn oil, but we also have an opportunity to underscore the vital role our industry plays in strengthening rural economies, reducing greenhouse gases and prices at the pump, as well as in moving us closer to energy independence,” said Jeanne McCaherty, CEO of Guardian Energy.
The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels). Guardian Energy is a member of MN Bio-Fuels.
Gregg Marg, professor of biological sciences at Minnesota State Mankato, accompanied his students during their tour of Guardian Energy.
“Students in the Biotechnology Program and Food Science Technology program have great preparation from their classroom and laboratory experiences. One of our goals is to have students understand and be able to apply their education to real world situations. Our tour of the ethanol plant exposed the students to the much larger scale of an industrial facility. It helped them understand the difference between a laboratory experience and the operation of a real world production facility,” he said.
Marshall, Oct 9 - Twenty-three students from Marshall High School toured the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) carbohydrate plant here yesterday.
The students that participated in the tour were 11th and 12th graders from the school’s automotive class.
“It's always a pleasure to welcome students from Marshall High School's Automotive class. These tours give us an opportunity to showcase the ways we're able to transform a kernel of local corn into clean energy, animal feed and for use in numerous bio-industrial products.”
“Moreover, we have an opportunity to highlight to this next generation of consumers the ways our industry benefits Minnesotans by providing cleaner air, fortifying our rural economies, lowering prices at the pump and reducing our reliance on foreign oil,” said Greg Webb, vice president for state government relations at ADM.
Mike Braithwaite, agriculture teacher at Marshall High School, accompanied his students during the tour.
“Our tour of ADM provided students with a behind the scenes view of what happens at their facility. It also provided valuable insights into the agricultural supply chain, food safety, and sustainable practices, while exposing them to advanced processing technologies in our community,” Braithwaite said.
Yesterday’s tour was the second time a group of students from Marshall High School’s automotive class has visited ADM this year. A group of 17 students from the school toured ADM in April.
Benson, Oct 10 - Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) hosted 11 students from Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School today for a brief tour of the plant’s operations.
During their visit, the students toured various stages of the ethanol production process such as incoming grain grading, grain handling, fermentation, grain storage, dried distillers grain production and storage and shipment.
“We appreciate the students from Belgrade-Brooten-Elrose taking time to come learn about ethanol production at CVEC. We take pride in our production process, various co-products and many ways in which our industry strengthens rural economies.”
“In addition to highlighting career paths, it’s also important for us to share with students the vital role our industry plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, prices at the pump and our reliance on foreign oil,” said Chad Friese, CEO of CVEC.
The students that visited CVEC were from the school’s small gas engines class. All the students were from grades 10 to 12.
The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels). CVEC is a member of MN Bio-Fuels.
“My hope is that our rural ag students gained an appreciation for the many uses of corn they raise on their home farms and learned more about the many percentages of ethanol available at local gas stations around the state,” said Gary Rodgers, agriculture teacher at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School.
Burnsville, Oct 16 - The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels) held an Unleaded 88 promotion at a Holiday station in Vadnais Heights today.
During the promotion, which ran from 12 pm to 1 pm, drivers who chose Unleaded 88 were rewarded with prizes such as $20 in cash, Target gift cards, Dairy Queen gift cards and Minnesota Gopher Athletics merchandise.
MN Bio-Fuels staff educated drivers on the various benefits of using Unleaded 88 during the promotion such as savings at the pump, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, boosting Minnesota’s rural economy and making America more energy independent.
A total of 21 drivers fueled up with Unleaded 88 during the promotion.
The Holiday in Vadnais Heights is located on 1035 County Road E East.
Today’s promotion was the latest in a series of Unleaded 88 promotions by MN Bio-Fuels at gas stations in the Twin Cities metro.
Since April, MN Bio-Fuels has promoted Unleaded 88 at stations in Burnsville, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Golden Valley, Hopkins, New Hope, Plymouth, Richfield, Roseville, St Paul and White Bear Lake.
Jan 14, 2014
By Chris Reinoos
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson addressed a sympathetic audience Monday in Fergus Falls as part of a state tour supporting biofuel energy, namely ethanol.
More than 20 people, including area farmers and politicians, packed a conference room at the Green Plains Otter Tail plant Monday morning to hear Frederickson address what he sees as the negatives of a proposed Environmental Protection Agency plan to lower the national Renewable Fuel Standard.
The RFS is the amount of renewable fuel that must be found in all transportation fuel sold in the United States. In a draft rule released in November, the EPA said it would require about 15 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be used for transportation in 2014, as opposed to the roughly 18 billion gallons set in the 2007 legislation that introduced RFS requirements.
Frederickson said his department has seen plenty of opposition to the proposed changes.
“We think we have a chance to reverse this whole idea,” he said.
Several farmers in attendance voiced displeasure at what they saw as an extreme shift if the changes were to be made. Having bought equipment and set up their operations with the understanding that renewable fuels like ethanol would be used a certain way, they said it would hurt their businesses drastically if the RFS was lowered.
Rep. Bud Nornes said the best approach for these farmers to make their voices heard would be to write personal letters or make phone calls to the EPA.
“Whatever can be done to reverse this needs to be done,” Nornes said.
To that end, Frederickson and MDA Assistant Commissioner Charlie Poster handed out draft letters and envelopes to those in attendance, urging them to “step up to the plate.” Frederickson stressed that people should also write messages on the back of the letters about how the reductions would impact them.
“We would be proud if this rule was reversed and it was because of a flood of letters like this,” Poster said.
After their meeting in Fergus Falls, MDA officials also made stops in Morris and Benson Monday as part of the tour. The EPA is accepting written comment on the RFS proposal until Jan. 28.
Read the original story here Ag Tour Designed To Drum Up Support For Fight Of Planned RFS Reductions
Jan 19, 2014
By Tim Rudnicki
Last week, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture began a tour of ethanol plants in Minnesota to signal its support for the renewable fuel standard.
This tour, which ends next week, aims to raise awareness about a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency that, if it becomes law, could severely and adversely impact the rural and overall economy in Minnesota.
To recap, the EPA has proposed to cut the statutory requirements for ethanol in 2014 under the renewable fuel standard, which calls for the production of 14.4 billion gallons of ethanol, by 10 percent to 13.01 billion gallons.
This is very puzzling because the EPA’s proposed requirement for this year is even lower than 2013, which was at 13.8 billion gallons, while the potential to use more ethanol is higher in 2014.
Those who support this proposal refer to the oil industry-created “blend wall” or claim decreasing gasoline sales. As such, they wrongly conclude ethanol use should decrease.
Right now, the bulk of gasoline sold in this country contains 10 percent ethanol (E10). The congressional intent behind the renewable fuel standard, however, is to have biofuels, like ethanol, comprise an ever-increasing volume of transportation fuel.
Thus, we need to decouple this notion that only 10 percent ethanol can be in the fuel mix. Fuels such as E15 (a higher octane fuel which contains 15 percent ethanol) can easily satisfy the original 2014 RFS requirements since 77 percent of vehicles on our roads today can use E15.
For Minnesota, the EPA’s proposal is bad news.
There are currently 21 ethanol plants in Minnesota, which makes us the fourth-largest ethanol producing state in the country. Given the state’s renewable energy policies going back to the 1990s and the implementation of the renewable fuel standard in 2005, ethanol has played a significant and positive role in our state’s economy.
With 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol produced annually, the ethanol industry here supports about 12,600 jobs and injects $5 billion into the economy per annum.
Should the EPA’s proposal go through, the MDA expects the state’s economy to lose $610 million this year with a loss of 1,532 jobs.
These jobs are directly linked to the ethanol industry and include personnel in the plant as well as the suppliers of products and services that help to keep the plants operating to produce clean, renewable fuel.
Not included in the calculation are farmers who provide the renewable ingredients used to produce ethanol. What will happen to these individuals and their families who run businesses in the communities where one of these ethanol plants are located?
Under the EPA’s proposal, ethanol production in Minnesota will be reduced by over 100 million gallons, causing a ripple effect that could cost the economy another $101 million in co-products, such as dried distillers grains, which is used as a high-protein animal feed.
Lower ethanol production also means consumers could stand to lose out on potential savings at the pump.
As previously mentioned, the renewable fuel standard sought to increase the availability of fuels such as E15 and in turn drive down the demand for and price of petroleum.
E15 is priced 10 to 15 cents less than regular gasoline and is available at select stations in the state. The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association has been working with retail gas stations to increase the availability of E15.
But this momentum may be lost if the EPA’s proposed rule becomes law. Instead, it brings us backward because it sets a threshold below the current ethanol usage in Minnesota.
Ultimately, the EPA’s proposal is going to hurt our economy and consumers. It will lower the amount of ethanol used in 2014 and hinder efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save consumers money at the pump and build a strong foundation for the next generation of biofuels.
The bottom line is this: The EPA should reverse its proposed rule and stick to the original ethanol requirements Congress put in the renewable fuel standard.
We recently launched an online platform on mnbiofuels.org that enables Minnesotans to send a message to the EPA, the White House and the state’s Senate and House representatives in Washington.
Through this platform, it takes under a minute to send a message indicating your opposition to the EPA’s proposed rule. The EPA has set Jan 28 as the deadline for comments regarding its biofuel proposal. With enough voices, we may be able to persuade the EPA to reconsider its backward-looking proposal so we can keep moving forward to a more sustainable energy future with renewable biofuels like ethanol.
Read the original story here : America Ought To Move Forward On Biofuels
Jan 19, 2014
By Daniel Looker
When Senator Al Franken (D-MN) walked into the Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery near Spring Valley, Minnesota Saturday afternoon, he was the only one wearing a suit. He told some 30 farmers waiting for him that he had just come from a memorial service in Plainview and joked that he was wearing "rural business casual."
The one-time Saturday Night Live comedian hasn't lost his sense of humor, but his mood these days is one of frustration. Franken is among a bipartisan group of Senators trying to convince the EPA and the White House that a proposed rule to trim ethanol and biodiesel blending mandates in the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2014 is a mistake.
Franken brought up the subject when a group of Democrats met with President Barack Obama last Wednesday.
"I told him, he's from Illinois, a state that has a big corn crop, that the RFS rules are going in the wrong direction," Franken told the group gathered at one end of vineyard's wine tasting room. "This is exactly the wrong time to send the message we're not going to extend the RFS for ethanol and biodiesel."
Franken is also pointing out that ethanol is a greener fuel with a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline.
"I made the argument to the President that you're never going to have an ethanol spill in the Gulf," he recounted, drawing laughter from the farmers.
Franken didn't share Obama's response, but during his discussion with the farmers he said that he has also talked to the President's new senior adviser, John Podesta.
"Podesta gets it. He's going to be inside pressing on that," Franken said.
Franken was also one of 16 Democrats and Republicans from the Senate who met with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in mid-December to explain that the EPA's proposal to trim the RFS drastically ignores the intent of the law.
Franken said on Saturday that McCarthy agrees that biofuels produce fewer greenhouse gases than fuels from petroleum.
"What was weird about the meeting with Gina McCarthy -- she acknowledged all of our points. You kind of wonder where this decision is being made," Franken said.
EPA justifies its decision by citing the so-called blend wall, the lack of capacity to blend more than about 10% of motor fuel with ethanol.
Franken doesn't accept that.
"The infrastructure isn't there for ethanol because the franchisees are getting punished for putting in a blender pump," said Franken. "This is incredibly frustrating."
Bruce Peterson, a Northfield, Minnesota farmer and vice president of the Minnesota Corn Growers, told Peterson that there are a lot of farmer-owned co-ops and independent gas stations that would like to begin selling higher ethanol blends like E15 (15% ethanol), but are concerned about EPA's lowered RFS. "This certainly doesn't give them the confidence to move forward and make that switch," Peterson told Franken.
The Corn Growers organized the meeting, which also drew other farm leaders, including Dodge County Farm Bureau President Jim Checkel and another farm bureau member, Kathy King, who is from a farm north of Rochester, and Al Hein, Denny King and several other farmers on the board of the POET ethanol plant at nearby Preston, MN.
Eunie Biel, a Minnesota Farmers Union board member was there, to share a letter she had written to the EPA describing the 150-cow dairy farm that she and her husband, Robert, run in Harmony, Minnesota. They feed distiller's grains to their cows and have invested in a local ethanol plant.
And Tim Gerlach, Minnesota Corn Growers' Executive Director, told Franken that 7,000 of his group's members have written EPA.
Franken encouraged more letters, and letters like those from the Biel family that describe their farm.
"You need to say I'm a corn grower and this means a lot to our economy in Minnesota," Franken said. "It really means something if you have your handwriting on there, telling your story.
The deadline for EPA to take comments on it's proposed rule is January 28. Franken insisted that the more letters sent to the EPA and the White House, the better chance for a final rule that's more favorable.
"It isn't like Gina McCarthy is going to take 60,000 letters to bed at night," he added. But someone on her staff will read them, he said. And even the President reads 10 letters from Americans each night. Franken also suggested using email. It's faster than paper letters, since it doesn't have to be screened for anthrax.
EPA's decision to trim almost 3 billion gallons of biofuels from the target of 18.15 billions gallons set by a 2007 energy law worries Franken, who told Agriculture.com in an interview later that it will discourage investment in advanced biofuels. Franken is a strong supporter of cellulosic ethanol, and with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) he introduced language for the new farm bill that will provide support for such advanced biofuels. He also joined 28 senators who wrote EPA leader McCarthy to oppose freezing the biodiesel mandate at 1.7 billion gallons next year, well below the industry's current production.
If EPA sticks with its smaller blending targets for 2013, "then you're going to disincentivize the kind of capital you need to do the research of scaling up," Franken said.
When asked if sending letters to EPA will mean much when the agency's decisions are supposed to be based on science, Franken suggested that decision to roll back the RFS wasn't science based. "The acknowledgment by EPA is that this [blending biofuels] make sense environmentally--and they are the environmental agency," he said.
"There's always politics in this stuff," he said of the decision to reduce the mandate. "When people write letters, it makes a difference."
Read the original story here : Franken Urges More Letters To EPA, White House
Jan 21, 2014
By Josh Moniz
JANESVILLE — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota voiced heavy opposition Monday to the Environmental Protection Agency's new proposal to temporarily reduce the total amount of ethanol blended into U.S. gasoline in 2014 under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.
"They need to hear from all of you guys. They need to hear these are real jobs, and that this standard is wrong for America. It's wrong for our state. And mostly, it's wrong for our energy future," Klobuchar said.
She called for a unified front of corn producers, ethanol producers and lawmakers during a meeting at the Guardian Energy ethanol plant in Janesville. Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dave Fredrickson and state Sen. Vicki Jensen of Owatonna attended the meeting.
The EPA recently proposed to reduce the total amount of ethanol that the RFS program will require to be mixed into U.S. motor fuel in 2014. The EPA argues that a drop in U.S. gasoline consumption will cause current RFS targets to exceed market needs. The EPA suggests only requiring 13.01 billion gallons in 2014, which is less than last year and below the 14.4 billion gallons originally targeted for this year.
Critics of the EPA's proposal are afraid that a reduction will become permanent and that it would hobble the emerging ethanol market. Critics are also concerned that it will pave the way for eventually reducing the percentage of ethanol that must be blended into gasoline at the pump.
The proposal will be the first reduction of the RFS in the program's history.
Klobuchar said she joined 16 senators in voicing their concerns about the RFS proposal with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
"We had (lawmakers) from all over the country tell her that this went too far," said Klobuchar. "She listened and seemed very open to making some changes."
She said she also joined Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in briefly discussing their concerns about the RFS with President Obama during a separate meeting.
Klobuchar said the emergence of the ethanol market has created serious gains. She said ethanol was one of the major contributors to the U.S. cutting dependence on foreign oil from 60 percent to 40 percent of the total fuel supply over the last five years. She said the RFS proposal would be low enough to stop development in cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels.
She said the EPA proposal is a setback for the ethanol industry, but she is cautiously optimistic the EPA proposal can be stopped. She encouraged people to publicly voice their concerns about the RFS to bring attention to the issue.
Minnesota lawmakers vows to fight
Minnesota Democratic lawmakers Rep. Collin Peterson, Rep. Tim Walz and Franken have joined Klobuchar in opposing the EPA's proposal over the recent weeks.
Walz also recently met with EPA administrator about the RFS proposal. He said he opposes the reduction because the emerging ethanol market was one of the few new ways to generate wealth in rural communities.
"Nobody said this industry is perfect and nobody said corn-based (fuel) was the final solution," Walz said. "We're just asking for a chance to compete. We need to start here to make progress."
He said he was also cautiously optimistic because of the EPA administrator's willingness to hear concerns about the proposal.
Franken also voiced his opposition to the proposal on Saturday in Spring Valley. He said the proposal will raise the cost of gas and would damage rural communities.
The EPA is accepting public comment on its proposal for the RFS through Jan. 28.
Read the original story here: Klobuchar Opposes Move To Reduce Ethanol Targets
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Jan 22, 2014
By Kirsti Marohn
When John Mages started selling corn grown on his farm near Belgrade to an ethanol plant in Atwater instead of shipping it out of state, one of the first things he noticed was the price got better.
Mages is concerned about what will happen to that price and the state’s ethanol industry in light of a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply.
“That’s drastically going to affect the whole rural area,” Mages said.
In November, the EPA proposed lowering the corn ethanol blending target this year from 14.4 billion to 13 billion gallons.
The changes would have a serious impact on Minnesota’s ethanol industry, which has ramped up production significantly over the past two decades. The state has 21 plants that produce more than a billion gallons of ethanol a year.
The state Department of Agriculture estimates that the revised standards would cost the state $610 million in economic activity and more than 1,500 jobs.
“This is a game changer, because it sets everything backwards,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.
Changing industry
The Renewable Fuel Standard was first adopted in 2005 and expanded two years later as a way to boost the domestic renewable fuel industry and reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
Proponents of ethanol say it’s helped cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks and also helped boost the rural economy.
“We locally grow and locally manufacture our own fuel, and there’s no more efficient model in the world than that,” said Jake Bauerly, a Benton County commissioner and farmer who was one of the founding investors in the Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-op plant near Little Falls.
Most of the nation’s fuel supply is a mixture containing 10 percent ethanol. There’s also been a push by the ethanol industry to expand the market for higher-ethanol blends, including E15 and E85.
However, there have been large-scale changes in the energy industry and U.S. consumers’ driving habits since the standards were adopted.
Americans have decreased their gasoline consumption by cutting back on the number of miles they drive and buying more fuel-efficient cars, said Doug Tiffany, extension educator with the University of Minnesota, who has researched the economics of ethanol production.
“Some would say the ethanol industry is overbuilt for the size of our appetite for fuel,” Tiffany said.
Tiffany said reducing the ethanol mandate could lead to a drop in corn prices and possibly the closure of some ethanol plants.
“There would be some pain felt across the Corn Belt,” he said.
Environmental concerns
The growth of ethanol has been controversial. Critics say too much of the nation’s food supply is being turned into fuel at a substantial cost, as corn production swallows up land, increases the amount of polluted runoff entering waterways and results in higher food prices and livestock feed.
In testimony before a U.S. Senate panel late last year, Scott Faber with the Environmental Working Group argued that the Renewable Fuel Standard is not providing a powerful-enough incentive for the development of advanced biofuels made from corn stalks, wood chips or other renewable material.
“There’s enormous opportunities for ethanol refiners to retrofit their facilities to produce second-generation biofuels,” Faber said by phone. “But those opportunities aren’t being realized, because corn ethanol is saturating the marketplace for ethanol fuel.”
One plant already making the transition away from ethanol is the Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-op, one of the first ethanol plants built in the state in 1999 but now one of the smallest. It buys 7.5 million bushels of corn annually and produces 21 million gallons of ethanol a year.
In December, the co-op’s board announced the plant is being sold to Green Biologics and will switch to making butanol, which can be used in paints, plastics, pharmaceuticals, food additives and personal care products.
The plant is expected to continue producing ethanol for at least another year, said Dana Persson, the plant’s CEO and general manager.
Taking action
Ethanol proponents argue there’s no real reason higher-ethanol fuel blends can’t be used safely. They say the additional ethanol capacity could be used up by increasing the availability of E15 and higher blends.
“The whole point is to get beyond this fictional limit of 10 percent of biofuels comprising our fuel mix,” Rudnicki said.
But Faber said automakers testified before Congress about the limited number of vehicles warrantied to use higher ethanol blends.
Faber wants to see Congress act to reduce the ethanol mandate.
“Relying on the EPA to use its discretion won’t send the right signals to the investment community to accelerate the development of truly sustainable biofuels,” he said.
Proponents of ethanol are also hoping Congress takes action. Groups like the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association have urged members to send letters to their senators and representatives asking them to leave the Renewable Fuel Standard as it is.
The EPA is accepting public comments on the proposal until Jan. 28.
Several thousand messages have already been sent to Washington, Rudnicki said.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that if enough people contact members of Congress and the EPA to ask them to reconsider their proposal, we might be able to turn this around,” he said.
Read the original story here: Shift In Ethanol Blend Mandate Fuels Fears
Feb 3, 2014
By Kristy Moore
There has been a lot of discussion recently on vehicle warranties, which can be a complicated question for new fuels like E15 (15 percent ethanol, 85 percent gasoline).
To start with, E15 is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for vehicles 2001 and newer. But, this higher level fuel blend wasn’t approved by EPA when many of the vehicle owners manuals were written. There has been significant growth in the inclusion of E15 in new vehicle owners manuals since EPA’s approval in 2011; especially for brand new cars and trucks sold from 2012 to 2014. In fact, more than 70 percent of the top selling cars are approved by the automaker for E15 usage in their 2014 vehicles, including certain makes and models of Ford, GM, Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Land Rover.
New owners manuals may provide guidance on the use of E15, but that leaves car owners questioning older vehicle models use of E15 and the effect, if any, it will have on the validity of the remaining warranty coverage. Just like aftermarket fuel additives, like stabilizers and octane boosters, or the economy grade 85 octane gasoline that is offered in mountain areas, specific fuels or additives are not always called out by name in a vehicle owner’s manual. Use of these non-mentioned fuels and fuel additives does not necessarily void a vehicle warranty. In fact, vehicle manufacturers may not deny a warranty claim based on use of a different fuel if that fuel did not contribute to the problem for which the warranty claim is made.
But the truth of the matter is that E15 is the most tested fuel additive in EPA history. It has been on the market for 19 months and driven more than 60 million miles with no known cases of engine damage or liability claims against fuel retailers, blenders, refiners, automakers, or ethanol producers for E15 issues.
Read the original story here : The Truth Behind E15 and Vehicle Warranties
Feb 7, 2014
By Russell Hubbard
Green Plains Renewable Energy, the fourth-largest U.S. ethanol producer, told investors and analysts Thursday that gasolines with higher ethanol content, such as the 15 percent version known as E15, soon will begin to make their way into the nation’s fuel supply on a widespread basis.
At current prices for ethanol and gasoline, there is profit to be gained from E15, Chief Executive Todd Becker said on a conference call after the release of fourth-quarter earnings by the Omaha-based operator of 12 ethanol plants in the Midwest and other states.
Ethanol this week was selling at about a 72-cent-per-gallon discount to gasoline, making it profitable to mix the cheaper, grain-based product with the more expensive gasoline to create a blended fuel.
“We are going to start to see over time, as retailers start to put E15 in stations, competitors across the street will have to react,” said Becker. “Economics will drive the behavior.”
It is not without controversy. Ethanol-blended gasoline, with the 10 percent variety known as E10 ubiquitous at U.S. filling stations, has plenty of critics who say it is inferior and damaging to some motors. The ethanol industry dispute such claims, saying high ethanol blends are safely used worldwide in the equipment and vehicles identical to those sold in the United States.
There are also matters of law at stake. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed rules requiring refiners to blend 15.2 billion gallons of ethanol into gasoline in 2014, down from 16.5 billion gallons in 2013, and below the 18.2 billion gallons envisioned in 2007 federal renewable-fuels legislation.
The EPA proposal, still being debated and subject to a public comment period, acknowledged that it will be tough to expand ethanol use in motor fuels minus higher blend-percentages such as E15.
Read the original story here : Green Plains CEO : E15 Availability To Grow
Feb 9, 2014
By Robert C. Brown and Tristan Brown
In the face of criticism about ethanol, delays in the commercialization of advanced biofuels and the recent development of domestic supplies of fracked gas and petroleum, some people are asking, “Why are we producing biofuels?”
The answer, quite simply, is that we have few other options for achieving a sustainable energy future. Besides quality and cost, future fuels will have to meet additional metrics including environmental, social and political sustainability.
Biofuels are transportation fuels produced from biomass, which is the generic term for any kind of plant material used as an energy source. Corn ethanol and soy biodiesel were the first to emerge. The first decade of the 21st century witnessed an unprecedented boom in the U.S. biofuels industry with fuel ethanol production increasing by a factor of 10.
This was only the beginning of a national effort to substitute domestically produced biofuels for petroleum-based fuels. Recognizing that even the entire U.S. corn crop converted to ethanol would replace only about 20 to 25 percent of national gasoline consumption, agronomists have been developing alternative crops for biofuels. These include trees and tall prairie grasses, residues from traditional crop production, municipal wastes and even microalgae.
Encouraged by federal mandates for the production of advanced biofuels, venture capitalists, corporations and governments have invested billions of dollars in startup companies with business models built around cellulosic ethanol and drop-in biofuels. These investments are starting to bear fruit, with several advanced biofuels companies currently building commercial-scale plants.
WHAT ALTERNATIVES?
Conversion of biomass into biofuels is the best option for reducing use of petroleum and other fossil fuels. Why? Except for biofuels, none of the other fossil-fuel alternatives — coal, natural gas, tar sands, oil shale — has prospects for long-term sustainability as evaluated in terms of production costs, greenhouse gas emissions, water demand, impact on local communities or infrastructure investment.
Although other kinds of renewable energy can be converted into fuels, most are more costly and less infrastructure-compatible than biofuels.
Some critics of biofuels are calling for an overthrow of the legislation that made possible the successful introduction of alternative fuels into the U.S. energy infrastructure. Instead, we should be charting a path to sustainable energy that incorporates lessons learned in commercializing first-generation biofuels.
What did we learn?
We demonstrated that it is possible to produce renewable fuels at commercial scale — 14 billion gallons of ethanol per year is, after all, a lot of fuel. We discovered that increasing domestic fuel production, even though displacing only 10 percent of gasoline supply, could shake up the energy industry, with gasoline refining in the United States now facing a long decline and oil-producing nations realizing they are not the only players in fuel markets.
We recognize that the first generation of biofuels is not the last. This in no way denigrates the existing ethanol and biodiesel industries, whose leaders understand that innovation is critical to the future success of their technology-driven enterprises. Biofuels need to be improved in terms of infrastructure compatibility; optimal use of land to supply both food and fuel security; increasing the energy efficiency of biomass agriculture and biofuels production and utilization in vehicles; and achieving prices that are competitive with other fuels.
SOLAR ENERGY
Besides recognizing our profligacy in energy consumption, we need to acknowledge the grand challenge that lies ahead for future societies: harnessing solar energy. Nature already has it figured out, turning sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into energy-rich carbohydrates, lipids and proteins, which were universally used by humans for both food and energy before the coming of the Petroleum Age.
The U.S. Department of Energy has aspirations of not only emulating photosynthesis, but doing it more efficiently. In the meantime, nature goes about capturing solar energy in the form of biomass at a rate six times faster than modern societies consume all forms of energy.
Those who argue that solar energy is not sufficiently efficient or economic should remember one thing: Fossil energy that we exploit today is solar energy captured by photosynthesis eons ago. Undoubtedly, we would declare fossil energy to be inefficient and uneconomic if nature had not done the hard work for us.
Robert C. Brown is director of the Bioeconomy Institute and the Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Iowa State University
Tristan Brown is research associate the Bioeconomy Institute at Iowa State University
Read the original story here : Why Are We Producing Biofuels?
Feb 12, 2014
By Gary Truit
The National Corn Growers Association's Ethanol Committee met last week in Detroit, Michigan to discuss everything from the latest research on ethanol use in small engines to growing opportunities for distiller's grains. While there, the group also met with representatives of Ford, Chrysler, General Motors and the Environmental Protection Agency. "Meeting in Detroit provided us with a great opportunity to talk with the Big Three auto manufacturers," said NCGA Ethanol Committee Chair Jeff Sandborn. "They confirmed ethanol has a lot to offer because it provides non-toxic, economical octane, but we face significant challenges particularly the policy arena."
Sandborn, a grower from Portland, Mich., noted ethanol provides the performance characteristics auto-makers want and does so more economically than any other source. However, they are also looking direction from the Environmental Protection Agency on specific future standards so they know what engines to design and what ethanol blends might work best.
"We also met with EPA officials while in Detroit. It is clear that NCGA can and probably should step up communications and education with EPA and other governmental agencies to assure they have the best technical information available related to ethanol's potential," Sandborn said.
Read the original story here : Ethanol Fuel's High Octane and Clean Characteristics Key to Future Use
Feb 19, 2014
ORLANDO, Fla - The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) unveiled a new study today by ABF Economics entitled “Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States” at the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando, Fla.
The study examines the nationwide impact of the ethanol industry in 2013 on job creation, the economy, household income, and foreign oil displacement.
Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the RFA, commented on the new study, noting, “Last year we fought, and we continue to fight, against naysayers determined to end the Renewable Fuel Standard. These numbers should silence the opposition as the ethanol industry is clearly helping individuals, families, communities, and our country by creating jobs, displacing oil imports, and contributing to America’s economy.”
The new ABF Economics study found that the 13.3 billion gallons of ethanol produced created 86,503 jobs and sustained an additional 300,277 indirect and induced jobs.
At the national level the ethanol industry contributed $44 billion to America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while adding $30.7 billion to household incomes.
Additionally, the 13.3 billion gallons of ethanol displaced 476 million barrels of imported oil, saving Americans $48.2 billion in oil imports. That equals roughly 13 percent of last year’s expected crude oil and petroleum imports.
“The ethanol industry continues to make a significant contribution to the economy in terms of job creation, generation of tax revenue, and displacement of imported crude oil. The $40 billion ethanol producers spent on raw materials, other inputs, and goods and services during 2013 contributed more than $44 billion to the nation’s GDP and supported a significant number of jobs in all sectors of the economy.
"The use of ethanol also continues to enhance the nation’s energy independence. The dollars spent on domestically produced ethanol instead of imported crude oil and petroleum products is money that is spent and reinvested in the American economy,” said John Urbanchuk, managing partner of ABF Economics.
The study conducted by ABF Economics, and commissioned by the RFA, can be found here.
Read the RFA's original press release here : New Study Shows Powerful Impact of Ethanol Industry on Jobs & Energy Independence
American Ethanol Enhances Partnership With Richard Childress Racing and Driver Austin Dillon in 2014
Feb 20, 2014
Welcome, NC - American Ethanol is enhancing its partnership with Richard Childress Racing and driver Austin Dillon for the 2014 NASCAR season. Beginning with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on March 2, Dillon will race the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet SS in select races during the 2014 season.
"American Ethanol is extremely pleased to once again partner with Austin Dillon, Richard Childress and the entire RCR team to help promote a sustainable homegrown American fuel that is better for our environment, reduces our dependence on foreign oil and creates jobs right here in the U.S., while revitalizing rural economies across America and saving consumers at the pump," said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy.
American Ethanol, launched by Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association along with the support of other partners, is a breakthrough brand that seeks to expand consumer awareness of the benefits of ethanol and E15. Since the program launch for the 2011 season, NASCAR drivers have run more than 5 million miles on renewable Sunoco Green E15.
“We want to show the people coast-to-coast there is a great alternative to imported oil and our association with NASCAR and RCR is doing that extremely well," said Jon Holzfaster, a Paxton, NE farmer and chairman of the National Corn Growers Association's NASCAR Advisory Committee. "Ethanol is also responsible for bringing a rural renaissance from Main Street to the family farm.”
American Ethanol will also serve as a major associate sponsor for Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet for the full 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season joining Dow, Cheerios, Realtree Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops and the University of Northwestern Ohio.
“Homegrown biofuels like American Ethanol have stepped up to help our nation’s economy,” said Dillon. “NASCAR drivers have run more than 5 million competitive miles on Sunoco Green E15 and I know we will reach even more milestones together. I am proud to wear the American Ethanol colors in NASCAR and I hope I can bring them to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2014.”
Dillon is an official spokesperson for American Ethanol, the most commercially-viable alternative that America currently has to offset the economic impact of foreign petroleum. Corn ethanol reduces emissions by 59 percent. And by strengthening America’s energy independence, ethanol helps create American jobs – studies have shown that for every $1 sent overseas for oil, $1.55 leaves the U.S. economy.
Read the original story here : American Ethanol Enhances Partnership With Richard Childress Racing and Driver Austin Dillon in 2014
Feb 24, 2014
By Mikkel Pates
FARGO, N.D. — The North Dakota Cornvention 2014 focused heavily on the benefits of corn ethanol, an industry facing a hit with a proposed reduction to the Renewable Fuels Standard.
The North Dakota Corn Growers Association and North Dakota Corn Council put on the event, which featured speaker Kent Satrang, CEO of PetroServe USA. The company owns a chain of 21 convenience stores in Minnesota and North Dakota, leading the nation with 65 bioblender pumps. It operates all six private-label E15 stations in North Dakota.
Satrang said that after Gov. Jack Dalrymple helped kick off an E15 (15 percent ethanol blend) campaign in Bismarck last fall, sales have “taken off.”
Dean Drake, president of the Defour Group LLC of Fenton, Mich., and researcher for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, said ethanol’s most valuable use is an oxygenate, even as new oil fields such as the Bakken crank out lower-octane oil. He suggests establishing a new category of “mid-level” ethanol.
If E10 is used in older cars and a new class is established as a new regular, Drake sees a healthy, gradual increase in ethanol consumption.
He said that since the federal Ethanol Tax Credit and Tariff expired in late 2011, the price of ethanol dropped and is getting close to the “energy price parity” level, where a dollar of energy in ethanol is the same as a dollar’s worth of E10 regular.
“At that point, consumers will save money on ethanol, period,” he said. “Gasoline, for the first time since the beginning of the automotive age, is going to have a serious competitor.”
Pam Keck, director of biofuel programs and business development for the National Corn Growers Association, told farmers in the crowd to use and become ambassadors for ethanol.
Keck said about 30 percent of the nation’s corn crop goes into ethanol production, but the public doesn’t realize most is still used for feed. Corn as feed accounts for 39.5 percent of the U.S. crop. Two other categories — 9.2 percent goes into distiller’s grains and 8.4 percent into exports — are both feed. Another 2 percent goes into seed, food and industrial use.
An RFS cut
Farmers are growing more corn per acre now than ever. Corn has become more efficient since 1980, cutting its per-bushel land use by 30 percent, soil loss by 67 percent, irrigation water by 53 percent, energy by 43 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions by 36 percent. Ethanol had a goal of being 20 percent better than petroleum for greenhouse gas emissions by 2022, but now is closing in on being 50 percent better, Keck said.
The original RFS 2 would have required 18.15 billion gallons, or 14.4 billion gallons if advanced biofuels are subtracted.
The EPA proposed a decrease to 15.21 billion gallons of ethanol, including 13.01 billion gallons of corn ethanol.
“If they dropped it by this amount, that represents about a half a billion bushels of corn,” Keck said, adding that it will confound agricultural planting and marketing, threaten the viability of corn growers and ethanol producers, and undermine business plans for future biofuel optimization and expansion, among other things.
She encouraged farmers to buy flex-fuel vehicles and put ethanol in them.