by Jennifer Jacobs (Des Moines Register) An air-conditioned “igloo” paid for by the Iowa Energy Forum will rise up from the straw poll campus in Ames next month, an attraction meant to woo Iowans’ affection with free treats, kids’
Iowa
Back TO HOMEDDCE Begins Second Year of Stover Collection Program
(Ethanol Producer Magazine) The second year of DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC’s corn stover collection program is under way in Iowa as the company prepares to construct Project Blackhawk - a 25 MMgy stover-to-ethanol plant which will be located adjacent
July 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Former Iowa First Lady Runs for Congress on Energy Issues
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Wind energy and biofuels are part of the campaign for Congress launched this week by former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack. ...Vilsack officially announced her bid to represent Iowa’s newly formed 4th district yesterday (July 19,
July 22, 2011 Read Full Article
US Energy Department Celebrates Loan Guarantee Successes as Stimulus-Supported 1705 Program Comes to Close
by Jonathan Silver (Department of Energy/Biofuels Digest) ...the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) has been extremely busy, committing or closing 19 additional financings of clean energy projects – including one of the country’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol
July 20, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley Q&A: Looking Forward with Biodiesel
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) (Biodiesel Magazine) Q. Why do you support the production of biodiesel? A. Too much of America’s energy comes from fossil fuels imported from countries that don’t like us. We can reduce dependence on foreign oil, and be
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Danica Patrick Says Ethanol Is Great
by Chuck (DomesticFuel.com) ...I asked her for a comment on having Iowa corn growers supporting this race again and what she thinks about racing with ethanol. She said, “I think that we’re in definitely in an age where everybody is
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
POET Receives Offer for a Conditional Commitment for $105 Million Cellulosic Ethanol Loan Guarantee
(POET) POET has received an offer for a conditional commitment for a $105 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee to construct a cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa that will produce 25 million-gallon-per-year from corn cobs, leaves, husks and
July 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Uncertainty about Ethanol Clouds Cellulosic Plant Plans
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) ...The EPA said the biorefineries expected to be online by this year had not materialized, which didn't come as news to Jim Sturdevant, manager of Poet's proposed "Project Liberty" cellulosic ethanol plant at Emmetsburg. Poet,
July 06, 2011 Read Full Article
UW & Iowa St. Report: Ethanol Lowered Gas Prices $0.89 per Gallon in 2010
(Wisconsin BioIndustry Alliance) A report by the University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University found that ethanol production helped reduce gas prices at the pump by an average of $0.89 per gallon across the country in 2010. The report, which updated the findings
July 05, 2011 Read Full Article
E10 Sales Remain Flat, but Iowans Saved $50 Million with Ethanol So Far This Year
(KCAUTV.com) The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today announced that Iowans choosing E10 blends have saved over $50 million during the first five months of 2011. Iowa Department of Revenue fuel sales figures released this week showed ethanol sales steady
July 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Oil Incentives Have to Be Talked about, Too, by the Candidates
by Walt Wendland (Des Moines Register/Iowa Renewable Fuels Association) ...When presidential candidates have discussed reforming the ethanol incentive, several news articles called this either "bold" or "risky" in Iowa. These stories operated under the assumption that support for the
July 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa 15% Ethanol Incentive Takes Effect
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Iowa could become the first state in the nation with fuel pumps sporting the new15% ethanol (E15) labels approved this week by the Environmental Protection Agency along with final rules allowing E15 to be used in
July 01, 2011 Read Full Article
DuPont to Build Cellulosic Ethanol Plant at Nevada
by Lynn Hicks (Des Moines Register) Nevada will be the site of one of the few next-generation ethanol plants in the world, DuPont announced today. The biorefinery will use corncobs, leaves and stalks as feedstock rather than corn. It will join
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
ADM's Decatur Facility to Produce More Lysine, Threonine
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A plan to produce more lysine and threonine, both amino acids, at Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s plant in Decatur, Ill., won’t mean changes on the ethanol side. “This expansion will not impact ethanol production
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa Ethanol Plant Gets Grant for Bolt-On Cellulosic Facility
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Quad County Corn Processors, which operates a 30 MMgy ethanol facility in Galva, Iowa, was recently awarded a $1.45 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund to assist in constructing a bolt-on cellulosic
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Santorum Tells Iowa Farmers He Would End Ethanol Subsidies
by William Petroski (Des Moines Register) ...Santorum, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, said he advocates phasing-out the existing tax incentive for ethanol production, commonly known as the blenders’ credit, by reducing the credit 9 cents annually over each
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Legislation Friendly to Biodiesel
by Gene Lucht (Iowa Farmer Today) ...On the biodiesel front, there are three basic components, says Randy Olson, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board: =Extension and change of the retailer tax credit. The current credit is for 3 cents per
June 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa State Hybrid Lab Combines Technologies to Make Biorenewable Fuels and Products
(Iowa State University) Laura Jarboe pointed to a collection of test tubes in her Iowa State University laboratory. Some of the tubes looked like they were holding very weak coffee. That meant microorganisms - in this case, Shewanella bacteria - were
June 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Bill Would Require Origin Labeling for Fuel
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) this week introduced legislation that would require all gasoline sold in the U.S. to carry country-of-origin labeling (COOL). ...Growth Energy president Jim Nussle says the law would create more market transparency for American consumers
June 09, 2011 Read Full Article
SynGest Taps Honeywell for Renewable Ammonia Project Design
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Iowa, Honeywell has been selected to help SynGest design a proposed first-of-its-kind processing facility that will produce ammonia from biomass. The southwest-Iowa plant will process as much as 400 tons of biomass each day to produce
June 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Virent Makes Gasoline from Cellulosic Biomas
(Virent) Biofuels Pioneer Converts Corn Stover and Loblolly Pine Into BioFormate™ Gasoline with Molecular Composition Similar to Gasoline Derived from Fossil Fuels Virent announced it has successfully produced biogasoline from corn stover and pine harvest forest residuals, as a recipient of the U.S.
June 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Romney Hearts Ethanol Subsidies
By Jonathan Weisman (Wall Street Journal) It was an odd setting for a policy pronouncement, but on the sidewalk outside the Historical Building here, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney embraced ethanol subsidies. It came just days after and blocks from where
May 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa Becomes First State to Incentivize E15
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is expected to sign a bill today, May 26, which will provide a boost to the state’s renewable fuels producers and distributors. The bill, S.F. 531, was passed by the state
May 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Subsidy Phaseout is Necessary, Pawlenty Says
by Jason Clayworth (Des Moines Register/Juice) What once would have been considered a bold, even politically suicidal, call to do away with ethanol subsidies has become the position of some key industry trade groups, paving the way for candidates like
May 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Improving Ethanol Production Economics
(WOWT.com) Iowa State University's Hans van Leeuwen has moved his research team's award-winning idea for improving ethanol production from a laboratory to a pilot plant. Now he knows the idea, which produces a new animal feed and cleans water that can be
May 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa Legislature Passes Renewable Fuels Legislation
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The Iowa Legislature today (May 4, 2011) approved comprehensive renewable fuels legislation intended to increase E15 sales and biodiesel production. ...(T)the bill includes a new 3 cent per gallon retailer tax credit for E15 sales, allowing
May 12, 2011 Read Full Article
Perennial Corn Holds Hope for Cutting Environmental Damage
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) The time could come when farmers aren't getting on their tractors every spring to plant their crops, or even plowing their fields, exposing them to erosion. At least that's the vision of a few scientists
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Drivers Line Up in Ankeny for 85 Cents a Gallon E85
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Cars, trucks and SUVs lined up at an Ankeny Kum & Go on Friday for a taste of what's to come: lower gas prices. ...Demand was no problem at the Ankeny store, where flex-fuel vehicle
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
New Biofuel to Spar with Ethanol
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Imagine filling up the car on a fuel that isn't made from oil but doesn't have the drawbacks of corn ethanol, including its lower energy content and ability to damage older cars or gas
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa State's Role in the Future of Biofuels
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Prototypes of the biofuels refinery of the future sit in a 19,000-square-foot complex on the Iowa State Research Farm west of Ames. Two experimental plants, whose network of pipes and containers looks to the lay
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Great Plains Renewable Energy Outlines Algae Plans on Q1 Call
(Algae Industry Magazine) ...Highlights of the discussion included updates on GPRE’s recently announced BioProcess Algae joint venture. Following are some comments by Mr. Becker and his answers to some shareholder questions regarding their algae ventures: ...The technology represents a true intersection
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Harkin Frustrated by Ethanol Infighting
by Daniel Looker (Agriculture.com) ...But when Senator Tom Harkin was asked about his sense of support for the Grassley-Conrad Bill on Thursday, he said that it has some risks. Harkin supports Grassley’s bill, and is one of the original co-sponsors. But
May 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Incentives of Biofuels Industry Clear Final Legislative Hurdle
by O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa) A bill on its way to Governor Branstad’s desk extends a variety of tax breaks and incentives for so-called “biofuels”. For example, the legislation creates new tax incentives for retailers who sell E-15, the slightly
May 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley-Conrad Bill Boosts Domestic Energy Production
(Senator Chuck Grassley) Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Kent Conrad of North Dakota today introduced bipartisan legislation to update ethanol tax policies in an effort to boost domestic energy production and increase America’s energy independence and security. The bill also has
May 04, 2011 Read Full Article
The Impact of Ethanol Production on US and Regional Gasoline Markets: An Update to May 2009
by Xiaodong Du, Dermot J. Hayes (Iowa State University/Center for Agricultural and Rural Development) This report updates the findings in Du and Hayes 2009 by extending the data to December 2010 and concludes that over the sample period from January
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
GROWMARK Terminal Provides Homegrown Fuels
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) GROWMARK is providing more homegrown fuels for members and area businesses around central Illinois. The regional agricultural supply company bought the Menard Terminal from Magellan Midstream Partners in 2008 and today it handles gasoline, diesel, ethanol and
May 03, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA & EPA Tour REG Biodiesel Plant in Newton, IA
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) Renewable Energy Group (REG) executives hosted USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson as well as leaders from the ethanol industry at their REG Newton biorefinery to discuss the role of advanced biofuels in
May 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Learn to Run a Biorefinery in a Virtual Control Room Developed by Iowa State Researchers
(EurekAlert!) David Grewell flipped on the augers that carry corn from a truck to a biorefinery. Then, with a few more clicks of his computer mouse, he turned on the pumps that send grain all the way through an ethanol plant,
April 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Knocking Natural Gas Off Its Throne
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Although natural gas is king of power generation at ethanol plants, there’s increasing interest in renewable energy technologies that could help ethanol plants someday produce a domestically grown fuel without using fossil fuels.
April 27, 2011 Read Full Article
Cornoil – A Growing Feedstock for REG
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The synergies between the biodiesel, ethanol and advanced biofuels industries are growing. One of the things that’s been happening over the past few years is the ethanol industry creating a new feedstock for the biodiesel industry
April 27, 2011 Read Full Article
DuPont Urges Congress to Keep Biofuel Policy
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) ...“The single most important thing that Congress can do for advanced biofuels is to provide a stable policy environment,” Jan Koninckx, DuPont’s global biofuels business director, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
April 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Super Corn Sought to Limit Nitrogen Use, Pollution
by Jon Birger (Bloomberg) ...Other than water and sunlight, there’s nothing more important to growing corn -- the most-valuable U.S. crop, worth $66.7 billion in 2010 -- than nitrogen. Generous applications of nitrogen fertilizer are essential to the 180-to-200-bushel-an- acre
April 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Sovereign Focuses on Delivering Ethanol's Message
by Jean Caspers-Simmet (AgriNews.com) Dave Sovereign tries to help people see the benefits ethanol brings to the economy. ...It frustrates Sovereign when people bash ethanol. "After 9/11 the president and Congress asked all Americans to do what they could to eliminate our dependence
April 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Harvesting, Storage and Transfer Technology Update
by Maynard Herron and Bob Matousek (Kansas Alliance for Biorefining and Bioenergy) AGCO (Hesston, KS) received an award for biomass feedstock supply demonstration as a partial match of a $5 million renewable energy R & D grant
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
The Class of 2011
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Will these biofuels projects make the expected steps towards commercialization? There was a strong response to yesterday’s Top Story about technologies that were approaching make-or-break milestones in 2012. But what about 2011, asked some? What
April 08, 2011 Read Full Article
The World Market For Ethanol You Did Not Know About.
by Stu Ellis (FarmGateBlog.com) ...(E)thanol producers who have a pipeline into the export market may find added demand from a variety of nations that need to buy it. At a time when ethanol imports are controversial along with the
April 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Key Players: Advanced Biofuels
by David Beattie (Renewable Energy World Magazine) ...Importantly, and what sets these latest fuels apart from their first-generation predecessors, is the fact that they are produced using feedstock that would normally be classed as waste or non-food. These include parts
April 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Next-Gen Biofuel Depends on Subsidies, Senate Told
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Even as President Barack Obama renewed his push for next-generation biofuels, an industry official warned that cuts in biomass subsidies could discourage farmers from providing corn residue and other needed feedstocks. If farmers “see the
April 04, 2011 Read Full Article
Senate Hearing Examines Oil Price Spikes, Role of Biofuels
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) During a U.S. Senate committee hearing on March 30, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said that focusing on advanced biofuels for homegrown energy is in the best interest of the United States. “I think that
March 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Combatting Today’s High Gas Prices
by Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo) (GlobeGazette) ...For too long, we’ve depended on foreign countries for our oil — and we’ve sacrificed our independence and our national security in the process. But there’s no one, easy solution to the problem. We need
March 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuel Bus Idea Developed By Grad Student
by Caleb Denison (IBTimes.com) ...(David) Correll, (a Ph.D. student at Iowa State University’s College of Business) ... is the co-founder and president of “ISU BioBus” – a program created to convert spent cooking oil from one of the university’s
March 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Has Come a Long Way Since Its Iowa Roots
by Richard Johnson (Globe Gazette) ...And, he (Walt Wendland) said, his industry can adapt to technological changes, such as cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel derived from cellulose plant fiber. “We think there’s great synergy between cellulosic production and what we’re doing now,” Wendland
March 21, 2011 Read Full Article
DuPont Leader: Renewables at the Heart of Clean Technology Market Opportunity
(DuPont) DuPont is uniquely positioned to deliver clean technology opportunities, including both advanced biomaterials and biofuels, DuPont Applied BioSciences President Craig F. Binetti told attendees at the Jeffries 11th Annual Clean Technology Conference. “We are meeting the growing demand for reducing dependence
March 17, 2011 Read Full Article
E85 Sales in Iowa Break Records
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) E85 sales in Iowa have broken all records reaching an all-time high for the state. According to the Iowa Department of Revenue, sales of E85 by Iowa retailers reached 9,311,908 gallons last year representing a 43%
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
U.S. Sen. Grassley: Ethanol and Energy
(IowaPolitics.com) Floor Speech of Sen. Chuck Grassley Ethanol and Energy Independence Delivered Monday, March 07, 2011 ...We must look to alternative and renewable resources so we can improve our energy and national security. This includes supporting energy from wind, biomass, hydroelectric, solar,
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Sinclair Partners with REG on Biodiesel Blending Terminal
by Luke Geiver (Biodiesel Magazine) Drivers in the Ft. Madison, Iowa, area will now have access to biodiesel after Sinclair Oil Corp. officially announced the company will offer REG-9000 dyed and clear biodiesel blends at its Ft. Madison blending
March 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol Gets Boost from Rising Oil Prices
by Erin Golden (Omaha.com) ...Headlines about higher gas prices are putting a big-picture focus on the country’s dependence on oil, said Todd Becker, the CEO of Omaha-based ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy. And on a smaller scale, he said,
March 09, 2011 Read Full Article
DuPont Exec: Company to Become Renewables 'Powerhouse' by 2015
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) DuPont Applied BioSciences President Craig Binetti told attendees of a recent clean technology conference that DuPont expects the biofuels industry worldwide to grow by $25 billion in the next five years and it plans
February 25, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley and Ethanol: Industry Loses Key Ally in Deficit Battle
by Phil Brasher (Des Moines Register) Cutting the deficit is more important than protecting the ethanol industry if it comes to that, says Sen. Chuck Grassley, long the biofuel industry's most powerful ally in Congress. Grassley said Tuesday that he would
February 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Ethanol is 'Good, Good, Good,' Grassley Says
by Courtney Blanchard (Telegraph Herald) Senator rejects new criticism of U.S. ethanol policy that comes after reports of low corn reserves. Near record-high corn prices and the lowest reserves in 15 years have reinvigorated the debate over ethanol. U.S. Sen. Chuck
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit: Conference Report
by Bill Brandon (Advanced Biofuels USA) On February 10 & 11, about 120 participants gathered in chilly Chicago for the first Municipal Solid Waste to Biofuels Summit presented by the British firm, Eye for Energy. The conference drew participants from
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Funding for Projects to Create Jobs and New Economic Opportunities for Rural Residents
(USDA) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 16 projects in 10 states for funding to create jobs and provide new economic opportunities. The projects are being funded through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG), which
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Students Show Talent in Renewable Fuels Video Contest
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) Students were challenged to create the best video highlighting the importance and benefits of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, to local communities, Iowa and the nation and the four winning videos were featured at
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Algae Project Advances at Green Plains Renewable Energy Plant
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) BioProcess Algae LLC has begun operating commercial-scale algae bioreactors at Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc.’s 65 MMgy ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa. The project is a joint venture among GPRE, BioProcessH20 LLC, a division
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
Gingrich to Obama: Focus on Energy
by Kathie Obradovich (Des Moines Register) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a 2012 run for president, called on President Obama to use his State of the Union speech tonight to make the American energy production a “major
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa Economy Powered by Renewable Fuels
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) ...At the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) released a new study detailing the positive benefits that provides for Iowa. According to the report, the renewable fuels industry, both
January 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Enervation Advisors Aquires Tri-City Energy Biodiesel
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ...The company will deploy multiple feedstock technology as rising costs of feedstocks are a common source of financial hardship for biofuel plants. It has recently been reported that rising corn prices are currently squeezing ethanol margins. This
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Green Jobs Offer Limited Hope to Iowa
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) ...The potential for some green jobs, especially in biofuels, is dependent on technologies and processes that haven't proved economical. Ethanol giant Poet LLC wants to produce fuel from corncobs, a form of cellulose, as
January 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Power Fund Board Approves Terms for Iowa Cellulosic Ethanol Project by DuPont-Danisc
(Iowa Office of Energy Independence) Project Would Produce Jobs and New Energy Technology for Iowa The Iowa Power Fund Board (Board) approved terms January 12, 2011, to start contract negotiations on a grant award for one of the first in the nation,
January 14, 2011 Read Full Article
POET Cellulosic Ethanol Efforts Could Have Nearly $38 Billion Impact on Iowa
(POET) New analysis outlines jobs, economic output of Project LIBERTY work POET's Project LIBERTY will generate as much as $37.8 billion in economic activity over 20 years and could employ more than 2,800 people, an independent analysis claims. A report done by Impact
December 21, 2010 Read Full Article
SynGest'S Bioammonia Project Completes Award Contract with Iowa Power Fund and Iowa Office of Energy Independence
(SynGest/BusinessWire) Mini plant will make 150 TPD of nitrogen fertilizer from biomass San Francisco, CA - (Business Wire) December 13, 2010 - SynGest Inc. announced that the Iowa Power Fund and Iowa Office of Energy Independence have approved an award contract in
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Grassley Speaks Out on Renewable Fuels Tax
(Farm Futures) Iowa Senator says what's fair for oil should be fair for ethanol. ...During a speech on the Senate floor, Grassley said, "I'd like to remind my colleagues of a debate that we had earlier this year on an amendment
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
FRA Advances Use of Bio-Based Fuels and Lubricants with New Research Grants
(US Department of Transportation) U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced two research grants totaling $766,562 intended to advance the use of bio-based fuels and lubricants with the goal of cleaner air and decreasing the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. “We are
December 03, 2010 Read Full Article
King: GOP House Good for Ethanol, Biodiesel Tax Cuts
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) Republicans taking control of the U.S. House is good for the chances of the federal ethanol and biodiesel tax breaks seeing renewal … that’s according to a GOP member from Iowa. AgriNews.com reports that U.S. Rep. Steve
November 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Growing Sorghum for Biofuel
(EurekAlert!/American Society of Agronomy) Iowa State researchers examine the efficiencies and environmental impacts of growing sorghum for ethanol Conversion of sorghum grass to ethanol has increased with the interest in renewable fuel sources. Researchers at Iowa State University examined 12 varieties of
November 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Power Fund Gives Corncob Ethanol Plant First Approval
by Dan Pillar (Gannett/Des Moines Register) The Iowa Power Fund Board voted Wednesday to enter into negotiations with a joint venture of DuPont and Danisco, for an $19.8 million grant for the joint venture to build an ethanol plant in Story
November 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Is Corn Stover the Next Big Biofuel?
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) If the cobs, stalks and leaves left behind after corn harvest become the next big source for ethanol, the technology to pick up the stover is decidedly old-school. "A farmer who bales hay can do this,"
October 25, 2010 Read Full Article
Blairstown Ethanol Plant Gets $2.9 Million State Grant
by George Ford (SourceMedia Group News/Eastern Iowa Business) The Iowa Power Fund Board awarded a $2.9 million grant to a cellulosic ethanol plant in Blairstown. Fiberight-Blairstown Operating LLC received the grant to demonstrate how municipal solid waste can be converted into cellulosic
September 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Gets Iowa Football Fans Pumped Up
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel) Did you know that 60 cents of each gallon of E85 purchased stays in the state of Iowa? I didn’t know that until I participated in the Iowa Corn Fed Game Day pump rally at Riverside,
September 13, 2010 Read Full Article
News: Fiberight Making Ethanol from Paper Mill Waste; Household Garbage May Be Next
by Dean Close (Vinton Today) ...In layman’s terms, what Fiberight does is take waste from a paper mill in Cedar Rapids, and uses rare bacteria – Stewart Paul refers to that bacteria as “the bugs” – to convert the sugar
September 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Ag Secretary Candidate Thicke Promotes 'New Vision'
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Francis Thicke of Fairfield, the Democratic candidate for Iowa agriculture secretary, used his State Fair Soapbox speech Wednesday to call for a "new vision" for Iowa agriculture based on renewable fuels, ecologically sustainable production
August 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Lab Test: ICCC Lab Becomes National Leader in Biodiesel Testing
(PR Newswire) Community college is first to earn BQ-9000 designation, driving business to the state. Don Heck has heard a lot of talk about making Iowa the "renewable energy capital of the world," and he thinks he's found a way to
August 10, 2010 Read Full Article
New DOE Video Highlights Impact of Biofuels on Rural Communities
(US Department of Energy) DOE also released May 6, 2010, a new video which showcases how cellulosic biofuel technologies can help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur growth in the domestic biofuels industry, and provide new revenue opportunities to farmers in many
May 11, 2010 Read Full Article
US Farm State Senators Offer Bill to Extend Ethanol Tax Credit
Nick Snow (Oil and Gas Journal) US senators from agricultural states introduced legislation on Apr. 20 that would extend the federal ethanol tax credit through 2015. Failure to do so would cost 112,000 jobs nationwide and reduce domestic fuel ethanol
April 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Plant to Break Ground in May
by Richard Johnson (GlobeGazette.com) ...Mt. Valley will use all types of feed stock — grease, soy, sunflower seeds — in a closed-loop, emissions-free facility. It will be able to produce 3 million gallons of biodiesel fuel per year for its first
April 05, 2010 Read Full Article
Federal Legislation for Ethanol Pipeline Being Introduced
March 29, 2010, Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA) and Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE) held a news conference to highlight a bipartisan effort to boost our country’s homegrown energy industry by improving infrastructure for moving ethanol from the Midwest to the rest
April 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Stacking Traits in Algae is Focus of Grant to Iowa State University Researcher
Genetically stacking traits in corn in order to increase production, resist insects, improve standablity and many other characteristics is so common in agriculture that producers have come to expect it. Some traits found in corn help it function as a better
March 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Experts Push for Farm Change
“Our current industrial model of agriculture is only possible because of cheap fossil fuels,” said Francis Thicke, a candidate for Iowa secretary of Agriculture. “We’re nearing the end of our cheap fossil-fuel era.” Laura Krouse, the owner of Abbe Hills Farm,
February 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Study Shows Iowans Want Biodiesel in State’s Diesel Fuel
Nearly seven out of 10 Iowa voters say they want legislation to ensure the state’s diesel fuel supply includes five percent biodiesel (B5). The Iowa Biodiesel Board released the results of new public opinion research today to show legislators that
February 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry to Ask for Iowa Mandate of 10% Blend
(DesMoines Register) The Iowa ethanol industry plans to ask the legislature to pass a bill requiring that all motor gasoline in the state carry at least 10 percent ethanol. Despite being the largest ethanol producer in the U.S., Iowa has
February 02, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Sen. Harkin Pushes for Extension of Biodiesel Blenders' Tax Credit
by Grant Gustafson / Kate Cyrul (IowaPolitics.com) Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today wrote to Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, urging them to prepare and introduce legislation to
December 10, 2009 Read Full Article
Fiberight to Produce MSW-Based Cellulosic Ethanol
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The former Xethanol LLC ethanol production facility in Blairstown, Iowa, has been purchased by Fiberight LLC and will soon be producing cellulosic ethanol at a demonstration scale. The company recently acquired the shuttered plant
November 30, 2009 Read Full Article
Senator Charles Grassley Speaks Out Against Inappropriate Use of International Indirect Land Use Change Analysis
Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley: Biofuels and the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday, October 29, 2009 ... The first issue I’m speaking about relates to the EPA’s proposal to penalize biofuels for greenhouse gas emissions from supposed changes in international
October 30, 2009 Read Full Article
Two EPA Administrators Tour Farms, Visit Biorefinery
by O.Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa) Two top officials in the Environmental Protection Agency who've never visited an American farm were in Iowa today, at Senator Chuck Grassley's invitation. They toured Grant Kimberly's farm near Maxwell. ... Senator Grassley says he wants