ChevronTexaco Corp. last month openly discussed its two ethanol-blended gasoline patents which the company received approval for last year by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patents were reportedly developed in response to the issue of transporting ethanol-blended gasoline in California. 
 	
 One Chevron executive said the company intends to use its RFG patents "defensively" to preserve its freedom to practice refining technology and to produce and market RFG. Another company executive said Chevron plans to enter into royalty-free cross licensing arrangements with any interested company. Cross licensing agreements would help to insure that the industry can produce RFG and compete in refining and marketing of RFG without engaging in expensive patent disputes and litigation, the executive said. 					
 ChevronTexaco is the only major oil company which has yet to announce it will switch from MTBE to ethanol earlier than California's new 2004 MTBE ban deadline.

Company says patents will be used ‘defensively'

ChevronTexaco discusses ethanol patents

North Dakota has earned a reputation in the ethanol industry as a state with a finicky ethanol incentive program and a moderate-to-weak supply of corn. In fact, just two ethanol plants have been built in the state - ADM in Walhalla, N.D., and Alchem in Grafton, N.D. - and the construction of those plants took place over twenty years ago. 
 	
 However, ethanol proponents in North Dakota seem to be making progress, thanks to a handful of determined corn growers and an ambitious governor who has taken a leadership role with the Governors' Ethanol Coalition and outlined an ethanol initiative aimed at bringing more ethanol production and use to the state. 
 	
 Gov. John Hoeven, who served as vice chair of the Governors' Ethanol Coalition in 2002 and will take over for Missouri Gov. Bob Holden as chair of the coalition in 2003, has asked the state's Legislature to approve his ethanol initiative, including up to $3 million in annual subsidies for a possible new ethanol plant in southeastern North Dakota. 
 	
 The package includes money to encourage the use of ethanol and biodiesel, increased purchases of state vehicles that can use E-85, and $5,000 grants for as many as six service stations that agree to begin offering E-85.
 	
 In its last session, the N.D. legislature increased the subsidies it gives the state's two ethanol plants from $1.5 million to $2.5 million during the 2001-2003 state budget. Alchem will receive $1.7 million and the larger ADM plant in Walhalla will be given up to $800,000. Under the current legislation, ADM must share its portion of the state subsidies equally with any other ethanol plant that would begin operating during the current biennium. The subsidies do not extend beyond 2003. 
 	
 Promoters of a third ethanol plant in North Dakota, who are organized as Dakota Renewable Fuels, LLC of Fargo, are considering whether to build near Valley City or Wahpeton. As planned, the factory would use about 12 million bushels of corn annually, and be capable of producing 30 mmgy.
 
 A Counter-Cyclical Plan
 Hoeven's plan is "counter-cyclical," linking subsidy payments for new plants to the difference between the cost of corn used to make ethanol, and the cost to buy the fuel itself.
 	

 Cheap corn, when coupled with higher-priced ethanol, will make for healthy profits for an ethanol factory, and it should not need state subsidies, Hoeven claims. However, when corn gets more expensive and ethanol prices drop, an economic squeeze begins, and a plant would need state support, he said. 
 	
 Ethanol proponents in the state say they think Hoeven's plan is mild enough to gain approval in North Dakota's legislature, while providing enough incentive for new production to begin. "This is the most cost-effective way to go," the governor said. 
 	
 Lance Gabe, Hoeven's ag policy advisor, told EPM the governor's initiative has four legs, three of which can be implemented without legislation. 
 	
 "The only part of the plan that needs the state legislature's approval is the $3 million in annual subsidies," Gabe said. "It's still up in the air but the monies are in the state budget and the financial picture looks good."
 	
 Gabe said the initiative could be amended in the legislature this spring, but the Hoeven administration hopes the ethanol provisions are passed uncompromised. 
 	
 The concept calls first for ethanol production payments based on a formula keyed to the price of corn relative to the price of ethanol. When the price of ethanol is higher relative to the price of corn, and manufacturers are able to realize a profit in the market, they would receive no incentive payment. The incentive would pay up to $3 million dollars a year to help new plants get up and running.
 	
 The Dakota Renewable Fuels group advanced the formula concept as an effective way to structure a new industry incentive. The group is currently reviewing the potential for its proposed 30 mmgy plant in North Dakota. A plant of this size would have a $44.5 million annual economic impact on the state, according to the governor's office.
 	
 The second leg of the initiative provides up to $500,000 for a statewide renewable-fuels marketing campaign to enhance public awareness and consumption. The plan creates a marketing program to provide retail fueling stations with incentives to promote and advertise ethanol blends and other renewable fuels, such as biodiesel. The goal is to nearly double consumption in the state, from 26 percent currently to 50 percent within five years.
 	
 "We have been working closely with the Corn Growers Association and the Retail Petroleum Marketers to create a thoughtful and effective customer-awareness program," Hoeven said. "Once consumers are aware of the multiple benefits of ethanol, we believe it will create demand for the product."

 	
 The third leg of the plan encourages the availability of E-85 fuel by providing six matching grants of up to $5,000 each for stations willing to help complete a statewide network of E-85 fuel. E-85 is a blended fuel with 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Currently, the state has E-85 retail stations only in Bismarck and Grand Forks; the initiative will help to make the product available statewide.
 	
 The fourth part of the plan increases directly the state's commitment to ethanol consumption. Hoeven is directing the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to include flexible fuel vehicles (FFV) in new purchases for the state fleet. FFVs are able to run on E-85 fuel or gasoline. Last spring, the Governor directed the state DOT to use a blended fuel with 10 percent ethanol in all state vehicles.
 	
 Both Hoeven and North Dakota legislators have taken steps recently to promote ethanol use. Last January, Hoeven ordered state fleet vehicles to use a 10 percent ethanol blend. Last month, members of the Legislature's interim Agriculture Committee endorsed a bill for the 2003 Legislature that would require all regular gasoline sold in North Dakota to contain 10 percent ethanol. 
 	
 North Dakota's fleet has 2,925 vehicles, ranging from sedans to grain trucks. Feyereisen estimated that as many as 1,500 of them could eventually be replaced with flexible fuel cars, trucks and vans. The state buys between 425 and 450 vehicles annually. 
 
 Third N.D. expected soon
 Members of the Dakota Renewable Fuels group say they have enough investor interest to proceed and are now counting on the state legislature to pass Hoeven's initiative. 
 	
 "We can't really move forward until it's passed," said Jocie Iszler, executive director of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association, and North Dakota Corn Utilization Council and a DRF board member.
 	
 The steering committee for Dakota Renewable Fuels LLC received significant investor interest during state-wide informational meetings that ended Nov. 1, although the group has not said how much potential investors have pledged and the group has not officially started its equity drive. 
 	

 The organizers of Dakota Renewable Fuels hope to raise about $18 million from investors and finance the rest of the $40 million needed to build the facility. In August, the steering committee narrowed its possible plant sites from 18 to two, choosing Valley City and a site near the ProGold corn sweetener plant in Wahpeton as the best locations.
 	
 At EPM press time, the committee was still weighing the pros and cons of both sites. 
 
 Lurgi, ICM project
 The group has chosen Memphis-based Lurgi PSI to build the plant, utilizing an ICM design. The group is currently waiting on water quality and natural gas studies before determining a final site. The final selection should be made in January. 
 	
 Currently, the group has an interim board of directors that includes 10 producers, 8 community development leaders and five others.
 	
 Iszler said both sites have an adequate corn supply to sustain a 30 mmgy plant. "The growth of corn production in those areas has been marked," she said. 
 	
 In fact, corn production has risen dramatically in North Dakota. The average corn acres planted in the state for the past 18 years ranged from 700,000 to 900,000. The 2002 acreage peaked at 1.03 million acres. According to North Dakota State University corn experts, early maturing hybrids, increased wheat disease and changes in North Dakota weather patterns have been responsible for the expansion. 
 
 Can N.D. sustain four plants?
 Although the Dakota Renewable Fuels project is first in line for funds, talk of a fourth ethanol plant in the western part of North Dakota has already begun. 

 	
 A Scranton, N.D.-based group met at the town's community center this month to talk about building an ethanol plant in the region. The meeting was held to gauge the reaction of area agricultural producers. Survey forms were handed out to the approximately 40 people who attended.
 	
 Mark Erickson, a district sales manager for a hybrid seed company based out of Aberdeen, S.D., along with Ambrose Hoff of Richardton, N.D. who operates a specialty seeds company, and Jody Hoff, a grain bin manufacturer, also of Richardton, organized the meeting. 
 	
 "This is our very first step," Erickson told EPM. "We're just gauging the interest out there."
 	
 The surveys distributed at the meeting asked corn producers if they would increase their acreage, and how many acres they would plant if an ethanol plant was developed in the area. They were also asked if they were interested in buying stock in the ethanol plant, and if it should be organized as a cooperative or as limited liability company (LLC). 
 	
 If the idea is carried beyond the meetings, Jody Hoff said the next step would be to conduct a feasibility study. The study would address issues such as the plant's location, the availability of corn and access to utilities for the plant's operations. The state's Agricultural Products Utilization Commission may be a source of some of the funding for the study. The commission awards grants to projects that would assist agricultural processing ventures. 
 	
 One thing the proposed project would have going for it, Erickson said, is an ample market for DDGS.
 	
 "We have one feedlot of 9,000 head and another of 4,500 head, and the feeding industry is growing by leaps and bounds," he told EPM. "There are several operations out here feeding wet distillers grains from South Dakota. My understanding is that if we could produce the feed locally, it would save the plant and end-users considerable sums." 
 	
 The dates of future meetings regarding the proposed plant in southwest N.D. have not yet been announced.

Gov. Hoeven has asked legislature to approve ethanol initiatives, including up to $3 million in annual subsidies for new plants

North Dakota's ethanol industry making big strides

Ethanol industry veteran Rowland Nofsinger will retire from Burns & McDonnell Dec. 31, after spending nearly 20 years with the company. Nofsinger joined Burns & McDonnell in 1983 when the firm purchased The C.W. Nofsinger Company, now called the Process & Industrial Group (P&I). 

 	
 Nofsinger's father started The C.W. Nofsinger Company in 1950, and Rowland got involved in 1975 after spending 10 years working in the bakery/frozen foods business. At the time, most of Nofsinger's work was in the chemical and petroleum refining business and Rowland helped the company expand its market to include the design of food chemicals/ingredients facilities. 
 	
 Nofsinger also helped the company enter the ethanol plant design and construction business. Over the last 20 years, the company has been involved with a number of ethanol projects, including Nebraska Energy, Chief Ethanol, Farmland Industries, and Williams BioEnergy (formerly pekin Energy Company). 	
 	
 Nofsinger continues to help market bio-processing, food and chemical processing projects and hopes to stay involved after his retirement to ensure the success of a contract currently in the works. 
 	
 "I'm really going to miss visiting clients, building strategies and going after business," he says. "I'm very pleased to know that the Process & Industrial Group has great leadership going into the future."
 	
 Over the years, Nofsinger has been involved in a number of first-of-a-kind projects involving various proprietary technologies serving the chemical, petroleum refining, food ingredient and consumer food industries.
 	
 "These types of projects are what really distinguish Burns & McDonnell from its competition and I've enjoyed being a part of that," he said.

C.W. Nofsinger Company was founded in 1950

Nofsinger retires from Burns & McDonnell, Process Industrial Group

A Columbia, Mo. Conoco station has installed an E-85 pump specifically for the U.S. Postal Service.	
 
 Tiger Conoco owner Steve Gerhardt recently agreed to be the sixth fuel retailer in Missouri to carry E-85. Gerhardt's station put the pump in mainly for the U.S. Postal Service. In the city of Columbia, 28 of 100 postal trucks can use E-85.

 	
 "The plan was at one time was to have a couple different pumps around town because we thought we would have more of these vehicles," Saltzman told local reporters. "But we only have a few of these vehicles and not a whole fleet. We needed at least one pump to help keep us going." 
 	
 Gerhardt converted a 1,000-gallon diesel tank at the station to accommodate the fuel. He began selling E-85 on Nov. 18 and is keeping the fuel price the same as regular unleaded. 
 	
 "I never even thought about offering it until the post office approached me," Gerhardt said. "In time, demand will grow. There are enough people conscious about the use of cleaner fossil fuels, and more government agencies are required to have a certain amount of flexible-fuel vehicles in their fleets." 
 	
 Gerhardt's station is the first to install a new E-85 pump in Missouri in nearly two years. St. Louis and Jefferson City each have two retail pumps, while Kansas City has one. There are about 250 E-85 retailers nationwide.
 	
 "We're always looking for more retail outlets," said Fred Stemme, spokesman for the Missouri Corn Growers Association. "This is a good chance for Columbia consumers to be introduced to the fuel. Consumer demand will help drive station interest for offering it." 
 	
 Along with the federal postal fleet, the University of Missouri-Columbia also is under a mandate to have a certain amount of flexible-fuel vehicles. 
 
 This story was first reported by the Columbia Daily Tribune

28 of city's 100 postal trucks can use E-85.

Missouri Conoco to pump ethanol for Postal Service

Diesel cars have always been a major transportation component in Germany, but more recently many of these cars are being powered by biodiesel. More and more biodiesel production facilities are being built and the market is virtually unlimited. Current biodiesel production capacity in Germany is about 800,000 metric tonnes and growing, but the annual diesel fuel demand is 27 million metric tonnes. 
 	
 Most of the current production comes from canola oil, but there is a growing interest in waste greases and animal renderings. Not every biodiesel producer has refining capabilities, some purchase refined oil and convert it to biodiesel. While there are advantages to both, having the capability to refine a variety of crude oils provides extra flexibility in the types of oils that can be utilized and often can result in lower feedstock costs.
 	

 The primary coproduct, glycerin, remains in high demand and, therefore, is an important contributor to the profitability of the plant. In addition, the federal subsidies for renewable diesel play a large part in the success of the program and, in fact, have made biodiesel less expensive than traditional diesel fuel.
 	
 On another front, the ethanol industry in Germany is ready to roll as soon as future producers have some degree of certainty that imports from Brazilian ethanol made from sugarcane will not flood the market. Two companies that already have plans completed for ethanol production are Nordzucker (North Sugar) and Suedzucker (South Sugar). Each has several beet sugar facilities. Nordzucker has plans for an 80 million gallon per year ethanol production facility, adjacent to their state-of-the-art sugar factory in Klein Wansleben. Suedzucker has plans for two 40 million gallon per year ethanol plants adjacent to two of their sugar factories in eastern Germany.
 	
 "It is almost a certainty that we will build," said Klaus-Holger Dunker of Nordzucker. "All we are waiting for is the government to act. We expect that action very soon. When that happens, all plans are in place to begin construction immediately."
 	
 The primary feedstock for ethanol production in Germany will be beet molasses and barley, some raw sugar and eventually, as the technology evolves, the processing of beet-pulp into ethanol. For now, however, the focus is using the available sugars and adding value to the German beet farmer's bottom line.

Nation's biodiesel market is virtually unlimited, ethanol picking up pace

Germany poised to enter world biofuels market

If Hawaiians speak of energy independence with more urgency than mainlanders, it is because they have been, for too long, economically crippled by a near-total reliance on foreign sources of energy.
 	
 The beautiful, yet isolated, geographical characteristics of the Hawaiian Islands are as punishing to the state's energy supply and security as they are rewarding to tourism. Over 95 percent of the energy consumed in the state comes from imported fossil fuels - mostly petroleum - and the percentage of energy derived from petroleum resources in Hawaii is higher than any other state in the nation.
 	
 Fortunately, this energy quandary is not beyond repair. The state has passed legislation to provide ethanol production tax credits (see production incentives on pg. 38), intended to encourage sugar producers on the islands to produce ethanol. The program offers producers incentives to use molasses and other wastes as feedstocks for production. The credit is available to companies producing the first 40 mmgy of capacity in the state by 2012.
 	
 Hawaii legislature capped the production incentive at 40 mmgy because the state's present annual consumption of gasoline is on the order of 400 mmgy (at 10 percent ethanol blend by volume = 40 mmgy). 
 
 Design-build firms interested
 At least two U.S. ethanol plant design-build firms (and/or process-technology providers) are making efforts to gain a foothold in Hawaii by forming partnerships with sugar producers on the islands.

 	
 Williamsburg, Va.-based Delta-T Corp., and Cincinnati-based Katzen International have both entered into talks with major cane sugar producers, such as Hawaiian Commerce & Sugar Company (HC&S), a Maui-based subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, as well as Kauai-based Gay & Robinson. EPM was unable to reach either sugar producer for comment. 
 	
 Delta-T has a dual marketing agreement with Praj Industries of India. Praj would likely be working with Delta-T on any future projects in Hawaii, should one come to fruition, according to Larry Johnson, Delta-T business development manager. 
 	
 "Praj holds expertise in the fermentation of molasses (and other feedstocks)," Johnson said. "Whereas Delta-T holds expertise in distillation, purification technologies and so forth."
 	 
 Katzen International President & CEO Phil Madson declined to be interviewed by EPM but did release a statement for this article that spelled out the company's interests and ambitions in Hawaii. 
 	
 "Hawaii is a very straightforward situation that is completely different from any other part of the USA." Madson told EPM. "It cannot be understood by applying midwestern ag thinking nor Brazil/Asia sugar-industry thinking. Further, it cannot be understood by applying "49-state" political and socio-economic thought. A small team of us understand that unique set of circumstances very well." 
 	
 Due to confidentiality agreements, Madson could not talk about specific ethanol projects in Hawaii, but said Katzen International has been consulting with "the real key entities" in Hawaii for several years. 			Whether or not those entities are the state's two largest sugar producers was not stated. 

 	
 The straight-talking Johnson made a point of telling EPM that any ethanol produced from sugar processing plant streams in Hawaii would be utilizing waste molasses - not refined sugar - as the primary production feedstock. Molasses is the residue left from sugarcane processing. 
 	
 "They would not be making ethanol from refined sugar," he said. "They are talking about using low-quality molasses that sells for $48 a ton on the West Coast."
 	
 Johnson said there has been an increased level of interest in ethanol production on the islands, in part, because of the state's incentive program and high gasoline prices. However, he explained, the stars may not be perfectly aligned for ethanol production in Hawaii just yet. 		
 "There are still several factors that could be interpreted as somewhat risky. The state does not have a defined air quality program - because its not needed - and the gasoline requirement is still (lenient)."
 	
 Johnson and other ethanol experts are saying the ethanol market in Hawaii presents a "catch-22." 
 	
 "Future producers are waiting for an ethanol mandate and legislators are waiting for a guaranteed supply," Johnson said. "The state doesn't want to mandate ethanol use until production begins, and no one wants to begin producing on a large-scale basis until they have a guaranteed local market." 
 	
 Johnson, who said he toured at least two sugarcane plantations while on the islands last month, also hosted ethanol seminars for mechanics on the islands of Maui, Kauai and Oahu. Jim Collet, a certified auto mechanic from the West Coast, hosted a similar seminar on the Big Island. 
 
 Both Johnson and Collett were in Honolulu Nov. 14 for the "Hawaii Ethanol Workshop," part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ethanol Workshop Series facilitated by BBI International. The event was sponsored by DOE, Pacific Regional Biomass Energy Program, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, Hawaii Department of Health, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, JN Automotive Group, and Honolulu Clean Cities.
 	

 Over 120 people attended the Hawaii Ethanol Workshop on November 14, 2002. "Thanks to the hard work of the workshop planners, sponsors, and presenters, interest in ethanol in and for Hawaii is at an all time high," said Maria Tome from Hawaii's department of business, economic development and tourism. 
 	
 The workshop was a morale-boosting highpoint for supporters of the undeveloped Hawaiian ethanol industry, which has struggled to take flight for more than 20 years (see timeline of ethanol developments in Hawaii sidebar).
 
 Sugar production down
 Warren Hall, of Baltimore-based EA Engineering Science & Technology, holds an office in Honolulu and presented a chronological timeline of ethanol developments in Hawaii at the DOE workshop. Hall told EPM that one of the most challenging aspects of ethanol production in Hawaii would be feedstock availability. 
 	 
 "The sugar industry has downsized its production capacity enormously over the last 10 to 15 years," Hall said. "Compared to the mid 1980s, sugar production in the state is 15 percent of what it once was."
 	 
 Hall said there have been several plans to build ethanol production plants in Hawaii, but none have been successful on a large scale. Feasibility studies too, have been produced in each of the last three decades. 
 
 Economic impact study 
 BBI International's Denver-based biofuels consulting division is conducting an economic impact assessment for the state of Hawaii. Mark Yancey, director of the BBI's consulting division, presented the preliminary findings of the assessment at the DOE workshop in Nov. 14. 
 	

 "These results are preliminary," Yancey explained to the workshop participants, adding that refinery side impacts had not been incorporated into the company's findings at the time of the meeting.
 	
 Nevertheless, Yancey said that BBI has concluded that ethanol production in Hawaii would have a "significant positive economic impact" on the state. According to Yancey, BBI determined that the total construction cost of building three facilities on the islands (in Oahu, Maui and Kauai) would run as high as $104 million, resulting in a total economic impact of $253 million and creating over 2,500 jobs. Once production reached 45 mmgy, Yancey said, the facilities would have a combined annual operating costs of $57 million and create $112 million in total annual economic activity, as well as 686 new jobs. 
 	
 Yancey noted, sugar and starch feedstocks are in short supply on the islands due to declining sugarcane acreage, as noted by Hall. Hypothetically, the study found, that the islands could support up to 148 mmgy if all sugar-based crops, food wastes, organics in MSW and lignocellulosics were utilized. 
 	
 "Realistically, there are only two crops grown in Hawaii at the scale required for ethanol production - sugar cane (molasses) and pineapples, and pineapples are too expensive," Yancey said. 
 	
 In addition, sugar producers on the islands are reportedly uninterested in utilizing anything but low-grade molasses for ethanol production.
 
 "Lignocellulosic feedstocks are plentiful, but the corresponding ethanol technology is not yet commercial," Yancey said. "All the primary Hawaiian Islands have sufficient acreage to support ethanol production from dedicated crops like sugar cane or energy cane, but this would require rejuvenating historical acreage that has been retired from production."

State ethanol production incentives in place, technology providers interested, economic impact assessment looks promising

Hawaiian Islands eye ethanol

Trinity Rail Group (TRG), a division of Texas-based Trinity industries, manufactures a quad covered hopper car with 6,351 cubic feet of capacity. This uniquely oversized hopper car, simply referred to by the company as the "6351 CF" model, has been optimally designed to transport distillers dried grains. In fact, Trinity designed the car with DDGS in mind. 
 	
 "Producers and marketers of distillers grains might be especially interested in the 6351," says Andrew Brown, director of engineering and agricultural/mineral freight cars for Trinity Rail Operations, "because it has structural advantages over traditional hopper cars that are designed to carry a wide range of commodities and products. In designing the 6351, we went out to the facilities - talked to the companies that handle and ship DDGS (and similar products) - and designed a car that made sense for them." 
 	
 More specifically, Brown said, heightened U.S. ethanol production prompted the company to see where its proven line of covered hoppers would make sense to the ethanol industry. 
 	
 "Our largest "through sill" hopper car had 5461 cubic feet of capacity (CFC), with three hoppers, sized for general grain service," Brown said. "A simultaneous need for a car to carry SEM (solvent extracted meal) in a similar density to DDGS prompted us to design the four hopper 6351 CF, the largest car of its type." 

 
 The Specs
 The 6351 CF has large 30" x 30" discharge gates, and can be used in any low density grain service in the range of 28-40 lbs/CF. According to the company's specification sheet, the 6351 CF is an all-steel covered hopper car with four hoppers, a through tubular center sill, curved sides and a curved roof. The cars are furnished with a continuous trough-type roof opening - which is about 40 feet long and two feet wide -with discharge outlets on the bottom of the car. The car is about 70 feet in length and over 15 feet high. 
 	
 Empty, the 6351 CF weighs roughly 66,000 pounds, a fraction of the 286,000 pounds it weighs after being fully loaded with 220,000 pounds of DDGS. Note: Distillers dried grains weighs approximately 28-32 pounds per cubic foot. 
 
 Why a larger car?
 "DDGS is considered a lighter product, so we were able to add more storage capacity," Brown explained to EPM. "The design is optimized for the product."
 	
 Typical grain hopper cars are 4,000 to 5,000 cubic feet, Brown said. There are larger cars also for various products. These cars typically range from 20 feet to 89 feet in length. The widely used 4350 was able to handle a much smaller load. 
 	
 "The 6351 is larger and better designed," Brown said. "We focused on the products it would carry specificity and purchased a design that would best fit the needs of the end user." 
 	
 Trinity Rail Vice President of Marketing Jim Sobie said due to the light density of the DDGS product, standard grain hoppers do not provide the cubic capacity necessary to achieve the higher payloads that railroads allow. The 6351 cubic foot hopper car was produced by Trinity to achieve a combination of size and weight to allow for a more optimum payload of DDGS, he said. The car is lighter in weight and provides for a higher hopper side sill, allowing easier access to the gates and vibrator brackets for unloading personnel. The car is equipped with continuous trough hatches which allows the car to be loaded while in motion. The round side design promotes better loading efficiency and maximum use of available cubic capacity. The tube center sill reduces the direct downward force of product on the outlet gates making operation easier. Vibrator brackets are included in this design to accommodate vibration to the car when necessary. 
 	

 In addition to the 6351, Trinity's product line includes a 30,000 gallon tank car sized specifically for ethanol as well as high capacity grain hoppers to meet the rail transportation needs for the inbound as well as the outbound products of the ethanol marketplace.
 	
 The factors that influence the design of hopper cars are the product density(weight per cubic foot), angle of repose(angle formed when product is at rest), whether the product is food-grade, the moisture content of the product, as well the way in which the product is loaded and unloaded. Sobie said Trinity has developed extensive relationships throughout the ethanol industry and sought to understand the specific needs of shippers and receivers as the 6351 cubic foot hopper was designed.
 	
 The 6351 CF line has been running for just over a year and will continue to run for several years. The company has built over 300 6351s and has a couple hundred more on order, according to Greg Yates, Trinity senior market analyst.
 	
 Yates told EPM the company currently manufactures three cars a day, but could produce as many as 12, if demand called for it. 
 	
 "We see great prospects for the 6351 in the near future, he said. "The growth of the ethanol industry is a big part of that." 
 
 What about flowability? 
 Inevitably, there are sometimes problems associated with the flowablity of DDGS. Especially during certain seasons of the year, the product has been known to stick, or clump together, making it difficult to remove from rail cars. 
 	
 "That was a consideration in our design," Brown said. "Generally speaking, the steeper the car walls are, the better the product unloads. The hopper sheet angle is a trade-off - you can make it steep enough to get almost anything out, but the trade off is loss of space. You loose cubic feet at the floor level with the steep angles. So you seek a balance with the flow angle, depending on the commodity you're dealing with."
 	
 What goes into the design? 

 Several years ago, Trinity made the move to 3D design software, Pro/Engineer. Each component and fabricated part is modeled, evaluated, and test fit on the computer. This allows design, tooling, and stress analysis to progress almost simultaneously. The design is validated on the completed railcar in many AAR (American Association of Railroads) defined tests, such as curve negotiability, brake force tests, dynamic and static squeeze tests.
 	
 "Trinity's long line of successful hopper car design features flow into the 6351 CF car. The car has many features important to shippers, receivers, and end users such as the through center sill for durability and the high side sill for excellent vibrator bracket and outlet gate access," Brown said. "The most important feature to a DDGS producer is simply the support and strength of the company behind the car. The car will continue to be tailored for the needs of the marketplace, including advances in unloading difficult products like DDGS during the hot summer months and maximizing payload by car design."
 
 Purchasing & Leasing
 According to Sobie, Trinity Industries is the leading manufacturer of rail equipment in North America. A complete line of tank and freight cars, as well as a wide variety of railcar services, are available to the company's customers. Trinity can provide flexible financing structures and railcar management services to match the ever-changing needs of railcar customers. Among the financing alternatives are net lease, full service lease and outright pur"Under a net lease arrangement, Trinity provides the financing for the asset," Sobie told EPM. "This structure is favored by customers who wish to handle maintenance and the associated administrative functions themselves. A full service lease includes the financing for the asset as well as the provision for maintenance and administrative services over the term of the lease. These services include shopping of cars when in need of repair, registration of the rail car in UMLER, payment of ad valorem taxes, mileage accounting and auditing and other administrative duties." 
 	
 For customers who wish to purchase cars, Sobie explained, Trinity can provide railcar management services which allows customers to avail themselves of the same services that are provided by Trinity under a full service lease. Sobie said Trinity currently provides railcar management services for over 75,000 railcars across North America. 
 
 Industry Outlook
 "Trinity is excited about the prospects for ethanol and the growth this market has achieved thus far," Sobie said. "The ethanol industry is an important market for Trinity and we will continue to work with producers and marketers of ethanol and related co-products to meet their expanding rail transportation needs."

Trinity Rail sees growth in U.S. ethanol industry, distillers dried grains market

Rail car builder offers 6351 for DDGS transport

A renewable fuels standard (RFS) will be included in the revived U.S. energy bill in 2003 and little of substance will be compromised in the legislation, according to ethanol industry insiders. 
 	
 After the GOP took control of both houses of Congress in November, lawmakers decided to defer consideration of the energy bill until the 108th Congress, which means certain aspects of the legislation could be subject to change. But that doesn't mean the RFS fuels agreement will be diminished, according to Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. 
 	

 "When it's all said and done in 2003, I think the leadership changes in Washington will have little impact on the RFS," Dinneen told EPM. "The leadership has shifted, but the broad bipartisan support for ethanol has not. We had 70 members (of the Senate) in support the fuels agreement and I don't think that has changed."
 	
 The RFS, created by Democrats and Republicans alike and backed by both ethanol and petroleum industry executives, called for a 5 billion gallon per year U.S. ethanol production capacity by 2012. The bill contained a historic agreement that provided gasoline refiners with greater flexibility by eliminating the reformulated gasoline oxygen requirement while banning the fuel additive MTBE, known to pollute drinking water.
 	
 After the mid-term elections, Senate Republicans and Democrats in the House-Senate energy bill conference decided that differences over substantial issues in the energy bill were too complex to resolve in the remaining days of the 2002 Congressional session. While the legislation is now widely referred to as "dead," Washington insiders realize the matter has simply been handed over to the new Republican-majority Congress for consideration. 
 	
 Nevertheless, Dinneen said, energy legislation passed in the new Congress will be a "new bill and a new effort."
 
 Ethanol industry frustrated, resolved
 The ethanol industry was collectively disappointed and frustrated when the energy bill did not pass in 2002, Dinneen said, but those sentiments quickly turned into resolve to see the legislation through next year. 
 	
 "It is frustrating to see that many different groups agree on something and spend so much time and effort to make it happen - creating the coalition and generating public support - to see it not pass," Dinneen said. "But we have tremendous optimism. Every group involved in this fuels agreement remains very confident."
 
 GEC chairman says RFS will pass in 2003
 Outgoing chairman of the 27-member Governors' Ethanol Coalition (GEC) said he is confident an RFS will pass in the 108th Congress and believes the ethanol industry will reach unprecedented levels of production in 2003.

 	
 "Even though we were all disappointed (that the energy bill did not pass), we hope the bipartisan support for the renewable fuels standard we have seen in this Congress will be reflected in the new one as well," said GEC Chairman and Missouri Gov. Bob Holden (D). 
 	
 Holden asked GEC members to "maintain momentum" in 2003. 
 	
 "Americans have demanded more alternative fuels - and we have delivered," he said. "Even without immediate action on the energy bill, the outlook for ethanol is strong."
 
 NCGA leaders discuss energy bill goals
 In anticipation of the commencement of the 108th Congress, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Fred Yoder got a head start communicating NCGA's legislative agenda last month when he met with likely future Senate and House agriculture committee chairs Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). 
 	
 During the Capitol Hill meetings, Yoder discussed a number of Congressional priorities for NCGA including passage of a national renewable fuels standard and the acceptance of genetically modified corn in Europe and Africa. He also talked about NCGA's interest in advancing research initiatives, rural economic development, strengthening the livestock industry, and creating more value added opportunities for all farmers. 
 	
 The NCGA's Ethanol Committee has been exploring ways to get "back on track" to push for an energy bill, according to the organization's leaders. 
 	
 "We're lining up efforts to maintain the alliances we had this year with the original bill that died in conference. We're looking at hitting the Hill hard at the first of the year and getting this thing rolling," Yoder said. 
 	

 A representative of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) told the board last month there is speculation that the energy bill could show up as early as House Resolution 3 when Congress starts in 2003.
 	
 "There is support to continue to fight for this energy bill," Yoder said. "After talking to our D.C. staff and the Ethanol Committee, we know this is going to be an uphill battle, but all systems are go and we're going to go after this hard and heavy and we're going to get an energy bill."
 	
 Indeed, most industry insiders believe an RFS will move forward in 2003, largely due to the ethanol industry's bipartisan support. In fact, sentiments expressed by Republicans and Democrats alike have shown that members of both parties were extremely disappointed that the energy bill died in 2002. Sen.Trent Lott (R-Miss.) expressed his disappointment last month that a handful of bills, including the energy bill, were not passed, but said he is optimistic that an energy bill will pass in 2003. 
 	
 "Do you think we didn't, and still don't, want an energy bill? We do. I feel passionate about that. I think for national security and economic security, clearly, I think we should have done that," Lott said at his last official press conference of the 107th Congress. "We will have an energy bill next year," he vowed.
 
 Bush supports RFS
 Of high importance to ethanol producers is President W. Bush's support of renewable fuels and an RFS provisions in the energy bill. Bush has repeatedly expressed his support for greater use of ethanol as a gasoline additive, and a means of limiting our nation's heavy reliance on foreign oil. In the latter respect, the Bush administration has touted ethanol production and use as a matter of national security and economic stimulus. 
 	
 "The Bush administration has been supportive," Dinneen told EPM. "In particular, the Bush administration has provided (the fuels agreement coalition) with tremendous technical support. The President remains strongly in support of ethanol."
 
 Are changes unavoidable?
 Although the energy bill will certainly be revived in 2003, the shear size and complexity of it almost guarantees that it will not be passed for several months. In 2002, U.S. House and Senate lawmakers were hindered for months over the huge bill, which covered dozens of issues from pipeline safety and nuclear power plant insurance to oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

 	
 While Republicans will control the new Congress, it is still uncertain whether they will be able to pass a bill that includes Arctic oil drilling. Republicans remain short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate to cut off debate and vote on such a measure. Ethanol proponents say that could add up to further delays for the RFS and limit investment into new ethanol production plants. At EPM press time, nine ethanol plants were under construction in the U.S., and dozens more are in the planning stages. 
 	
 Ethanol backers say delays in restarting the energy bill debates could hurt investment in new plants and create uncertainty for plants under construction. All the more reason to work fast and diligently, Dinneen said. 
 	
 "We are going to look at potential vehicles to move the fuels agreement fast," Dinneen said. "That could mean putting it on faster track than the energy bill, such as tacking it on to the economic growth package. After all, there's no better example of economic growth in this country than what the ethanol industry has shown us." 
 	
 The fuels agreement will not be compromised, Dinneen said, but it could "change around the edges" as the political wrangling begins.
 	
 "The bottom line is all sides need to be somewhat flexible in order move this legislation early in the session," Dinneen said. "I won't pretend that it will be easy, but it will get done."
 
 API still supports agreement
 Dinneen said the American Petroleum Institute (API), which was instrumental in shaping the RFS package legislators agreed on in early 2002, still backs the plan. 
 	
 "API officials are standing by the agreement," he said. "They want this to move as quickly as we do. They want to be out of MTBE and have the flexibility to not have to deal with the gasoline oxygen requirement."
 

 5 billion gallon mark to remain intact
 Both houses of Congress agreed earlier this year on a target of 5 billion gallons of annual ethanol use, but wrangled over the exact timing and schedule of the RFS. The Senate bill was more aggressive, calling for increased ethanol use to start in 2004 and meeting the 5 billion gallon goal by 2012. The House proposed a phase-in between 2005 and 2014. 
 	
 "We would not support a bill that would delay or diminish the amount of renewable fuels called for in the Senate-passed bill," said Monte Shaw, spokesman for the RFA.
 	
 In fact, Dinneen added, the original schedule of the fuels agreement may no longer be an appropriate goal for the ethanol industry. 
 	
 "That number no longer reflects what the industry is capable of," he said. "We are producing 2.7 billion gallons a year now - we will be at the 3 billion gallon point next year. We are not ruling out a push to phase the plan in more aggressively." 
 
 The new timeline 
 If the RFS stays with the 2003 energy bill, the legislation could be considered in the House by the end of April, but political insiders say it could be as late as summer or early fall before the bill is ready for the Senate's consideration. 
 	
 When the 108th Congress begins business in January, one of the first items on the agenda will be spending bills. The Senate adjourned last month without resolving the U.S. government's budget for fiscal year 2003, which began Oct. 1. They did pass a continuing resolution that funds the federal government through Jan. 11, 2003. 
 The resolution states that $500 million can be provided to the Office of Homeland Security if it is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Office of Management and Budget to be in the national interest. 
 	

 In January, members will return to Capitol Hill and face unfinished business, including budgets for federal agencies, among them, the EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Size, complexity of energy bill means it could be several months before RFS is passed in 2003

Fuels agreement will survive in 108th Congress

The Biofuels Convention in Delhi, India, co-coordinated by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and BBI International, was a very successful event. The theme, "Bio-Fuels…Driving India's Future," certainly typified the mood of the conference. The focus of the presentations was quite evenly divided between ethanol and biodiesel. But clearly, the legislation that has now been enacted requiring the use of ethanol-blended fuels was the driving force behind all the excitement.
 	
 Currently nine states and two provinces have a government mandate to use 5% ethanol blends in 100% of the gasoline sold year-round, beginning in January 2003. However, there is growing pressure to move that level to 10%, even before further legislation is officially approved. But all indications are that it will likely begin at 5% with a general understanding that 10% is the ultimate goal.
 	
 CII did an outstanding job of attracting top-level government officials as presenters. The Minister of Petroleum, the Minister of Non-Conventional Fuels and the Minister of Agriculture spoke at the conference and all were very enthusiastic about the expanded use of biofuels in India and expressed their commitment to growing the industry in India. 
 	
 In addition, the Ambassador to India from Brazil encouraged to the Indian government to push forward with their program by detailing the success and challenges that Brazil has faced over the years. Her message was direct, but sincere, "You are on the right path…but you must be willing to withstand the ups and downs and twists and turns in the biofuels industry as a result of world sugar prices, world oil price fluctuations and the ever changing winds of politics. If you do not have that level of commitment, the program will fail." 
 	
 Finally, a special thanks to these visionary companies that helped sponsor this important event: Praj Industries, Alltech, Inc., Biocon India Limited, Delta-T Corporation, Genencor International, Inc., Novozymes, and Innovative Environmental Technologies PVT. LTD.

Nine states, two provinces have government mandate to use 5 percent ethanol blends in 100 percent of the gasoline, 10 percent ethanol blends is ultimate goal

‘Bio-Fuels…Driving India's Future'

About 500 hundred people attended the Bioenergy 2002 Conference, Bioenergy for the Environment, hosted by the U.S Department of Energy, Pacific Regional Biomass Energy Program, in Boise, Idaho in September. Some of the objectives of the conference were to: 
 -Showcase existing and near-term opportunities for converting biomass into useful products. 
 ¨Provide exposure to breakthrough bioenergy technologies and near-commercial bioenergy programs. 
 ¨Highlight the common bond with agriculture where biomass meets the road … agriculture plus energy. 
 	
 John Crockett, the Idaho Energy Office co-chair of the conference, said these objectives and more were accomplished most successfully. "The conference also provided an important forum for state contact meetings and for mixing industry, utility and agricultural communities with bioenergy technology providers," said Crockett. 
 	
 A new feature of this year's conference was the well-attended Biomass Energy Town Meeting to which local citizens were invited to sessions and the exhibition one evening. Chuck Peterson, the University of Idaho co-chair said, "We wanted to reach out to a greater populous and take the opportunity to share how bioenergy can impact everyone."
 

 Awards of Recognition
 The conference also provided an opportunity to recognize people who had done outstanding work in the field of bioenergy. Three awards were specific to the ethanol industry. Dave Vander Griend, President and CEO of ICM, Inc. headquartered in Colwich, Kansas, received the Western Regional Biomass Energy Program Award for his company's leadership in technological improvements in the production of ethanol, helping the industry reduce costs and reach new heights in production efficiencies. Ralph Groschen, Marketing Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, was also awarded for his role in developing the widely recognized Minnesota Model by the Great Lakes Regional Program. Also, long time ethanol advocate, Bill Holmberg of Global Biorefinery, was applauded by the audience as he received the Conference's Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his numerous efforts over many years. Several other people were recognized for their excellence in the field of bioenergy. Those award recipients are listed on the conference website at www.uidaho.edu/bioenergy.

500 attend Bioenergy 2002 in Boise, Idaho

Genahol Inc. has begun the first phase of a new ethanol plant co-located with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO). The first phase of the Genahol Inc. run-operation will turn "out dated" or spoiled beer, wine, syrups and other products into fuel ethanol. The $3-to-$5-million plant should be up and running by mid-to late summer 2003. SWACO Executive Director Mike Long said he is excited about the prospect of keeping such items out of landfills. "This is the kind of project that should open a whole new world of recycling possibilities. We will find new markets for the cans, bottles, wooden pallets, and the liquids that would otherwise be dumped." Eventually, Genahol hopes to expand its operations with SWACO to convert paper products and yard waste into ethanol. At that point, the hope is that up to 700 tons a day can be diverted from the Franklin County landfill and recycled. The company's president believes that will result in the plant producing 10-million gallons of ethanol a year.

Brewery to recycle outdated beer

Husker Ag Processing, a new ethanol plant near Plainview, Neb., was powered up in mid-December to test equipment, train personnel and prepare for the plant's early March startup. Located on 47 acres just east of Plainview in northeast Nebraska, the plant will convert corn into ethanol and initially employ 31 people. The plant will increase the demand for corn by 7 1/2 million bushels a year and create 30 new jobs in northeast Nebraska, Husker Ag Board Chairman Kelly Hodson said. Hodson said the plant startup is evidence to state lawmakers that their incentives package for such projects is working in rural Nebraska. The $33 million plant is projected to produce 20 mmgy and about 160,000 tons of high-quality distillers grains per year.

Husker Ag powers up

Kevin Roache, President of United Wisconsin Grain Producers, told EPM this month that the group has opened offices in Friesland, Wis. and will begin an equity drive soon. Roache said the 40 mmgy plant will be located in the Randolph township. Granite Falls, Minn.-based Fagen, Inc. will build the facility. Raoche said the group will likely begin its equity drive in mid-January, after securing air permits. If all goes well, he said, the project could break ground in late spring or early summer 2003.

United Wisconsin Grain Producers ready to start equity drive

Wisconsin's first large-scale ethanol plant has been running for only six months but already plans to double its production next year through a $20 million expansion. Ace Ethanol's $30 million plant, in Stanley, Wis., which opened in mid-June, expects to produce 15 million gallons of ethanol annually and could reach 30 mmgy after the expansion, chief executive officer Alex Samardzich told reporters last month. "We always had expansion in the back of our minds," he said. "The city always knew we might expand, and they responded accordingly in the initial site work." The plant will double its corn intake to 12 million bushels annually. The company hopes to complete the expansion by December 2003 but still needs a permit from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Ace Ethanol plans to double production six months after opening

The Augusta, Wis. City Council agreed Saturday to rezone land for a $35 million ethanol plant. Stonic Energy wants to start making ethanol at the plant by mid-2004 but still needs a permit from the state Department of Natural Resources before it begins construction, according to various new reports. The plant would use 7.5 million bushels of corn to make 20 mmgy. The company had proposed building a plant in Menomonie but failed to get the needed permits. The company would build the plant's exhaust stack at least 125 feet high and would include a thermal oxidizer to reduce odors, project developer Matt Sederstrom said. The council was unanimous in approving the rezoning request.

Augusta, Wis. To rezone land for ethanol plant

Only days after a new study said ethanol production could pump millions of dollars into a sluggish state economy, a proposed $50 million plant is moving closer to reality in south-central Idaho. Magic Valley Energy Co. officials have settled on a location for the plant in Minidoka or Cassia counties. They are keeping the exact location confidential until all the paperwork is finalized. The plant could be operating within 18 months, generating about 65 new jobs, both on its payroll and in the trucking sector for delivery of commodities to feed the production process, said Brad Frazee, general manager of the alternative energy division at Intrepid Technology and Resources Inc. The Idaho Falls company joined up with the Magic Valley Energy Coalition earlier this fall to form the company that will own and operate the plant. The plant will have an estimated production capacity of 40 mmgy. Intrepid Technology's plans for a similar plant in Pocatello fell through last summer when further analysis of the proposed site showed it could not handle the increased activity. The Idaho Falls company and others are still assessing prospects for plants in Payette, Idaho Falls and McCall.

Idaho ethanol project moves nearer to reality

The 3rd Annual Harvesting Clean Energy conference, will be held this year in conjunction with the Idaho Ag Summit February 10-11, 2003 in Boise, Idaho. Its organizers say Harvesting Clean Energy is the Northwest's premiere conference bringing together the agriculture and energy industries to explore rural economic opportunities in clean energy production. The Idaho Ag Summit is the Idaho agriculture industry's "most important annual event." The conference is designed to provide a forum for farmers and agriculture leaders, tribes, rural utilities and economic development officials, lenders, and elected officials in the Northwest, as well as public agencies and renewable energy developers. The event serves as an opportunity to learn from those with direct experience in successful built projects, to network, and to make progress toward new clean energy production in the Northwest. The conference will focus on large and small-scale wind power, biogas digesters, biofuels, and solar- and wind-powered irrigation and stock watering systems. For more information visit www.harvestcleanenergy.org.

Major ag-energy conference to be held in Northwest

Golden Grain Energy, a group of farmers who want to build an ethanol production plant in north central Iowa, has announced plans to break ground this coming spring. The group has formed a cooperative and will hold an equity drive this winter to raise money for the project, by signing up fellow farmer-investors. Fagen, Inc., a firm headquartered in Granite Falls, Minn., has acquired 60 acres south of Mason City on which to build the plant. Fagen specializes in ethanol plant construction. The plant is expected to use 15 million bushels of corn per year to produce about 40 mimgy.

Plans for another Iowa ethanol plant announced

Michael Pacheco has accepted the position of director of the National Bioenergy Center (NBC). The center was formed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in November 2000 and is based in the department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. The virtual center is the focal point for technology development and information about bioenergy in the United States, giving industry a one-stop shopping place for access to world-class research and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at several federal agencies. Pacheco will join NREL on January 6. He comes to the Lab from Louisiana-Pacific Corp., where he has been manager of Oriented Strand Board Technology and Product Quality for the past two years and a Corporate Engineering Fellow for two years. Before joining Louisiana-Pacific, Pachecowas vice president of Process Development at Energy BioSystems Corp., where he led efforts to commercialize biocatalytic processes. Pacheco will provide strategic guidance, technical direction and management to continue the NBC's leadership role in bioenergy research and development. He is the bioenergy center's first full-time director. NREL's AssociateDirector for Science and Technology Stan Bull has been acting director.

Director of National Bioenergy Center named

Arco, now part of BP, has settled an environmental lawsuit, promising to pay several millions to clean up sites contaminated by the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in Orange County, California, and to cover other expenses. The Orange County District Attorney's office announced that Arco will pay for the clean up of sites, which is expected to run into millions of dollars, and contribute $3 million for monitoring of the cleanup of sites

Arco Settles MTBE Suit

A small group of agriculture leaders in Pike County, Ill. hope to build an ethanol plant in the region. 
 	

 Walker Filbert of Pittsfield has been instrumental in planning the Western Illinois Ethanol Project, an effort to build a $52 million ethanol manufacturing plant in one of three Pike County locations - Griggsville/Valley City, East Hannibal or Pleasant Hill. Others who have spearheaded the project include young farmers president Brenton Dean and Pittsfield agricultural consultant John Teuscher. 
 	
 Last month, nearly 100 people attended an ethanol informational meeting at the Pike County Farm Bureau building.
 	
 "We want to see if there is enough interest among local producers for this type of venture," Filbert said. "From the excellent turnout here, I think it's obvious that we have the interest." 
 	
 Filbert and other members of the WIEP want to build a plant that would produce 40 mmgy. This would require 16 million bushels of corn annually. 
 	
 "Pike County produces 26 million bushels of corn annually, so we have more than enough to make it work," Filbert said, adding that producers from surrounding counties would potentially contract corn to the plant. 
 	
 Jim Sneed, manager of fuel marketing from Williams Bio-Energy in Pekin, made a presentation at the meeting to share his knowledge and experience with ethanol plants. Williams Bio-Energy markets and distributes the finished product, and has contracts with 18 ethanol plants, including one in northwestern Illinois called Adkins Energy which Filbert said employs between 60 and 70 workers. He credits U.S. Representative Ray LaHood with putting WIEP officials in touch with Ron Miller, president of Williams Bio-Energy. 
 	
 Sneed said although Williams Bio-Energy is not looking to build a plant in Pike County, the company may support such a venture in the future. Sneed explained that it only markets ethanol, not plant co-products which include corn meal, corn gluten feed, distillers dried grains and brewers yeast.

Williams ethanol marketer speaks at Pike County meeting

Ethanol project moves forward in Illinois

WASHINGTON, DC -The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) this month announced that in November the U.S. ethanol industry set an all-time monthly production record of 166,000 barrels per day (b/d), according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This was the fourth all-time monthly record in a row for the industry. Production for the month was up 32 percent compared to last November when 126,000 b/d of ethanol were produced. 
 	
 With Congress poised to return to work on a national energy bill in a few weeks, the ethanol industry continues to prove that they deserve a prominent place in the discussions, said Bob Dinneen, RFA president. As part of the solution to our energy security problem.

Over 166,000 barrels per day produced in November

Ethanol industry sets all-time monthly production record

Big River Resources, LLC is reportedly beginning construction on their ethanol plant in West Burlington, Iowa. Big River's farmer-owners are approximately split between Iowa and Illinois. 
 	
 "Big River Resources is a prime example of regional cooperation designed to provide the best possible return to the farmer investors, said Bob Dinneen, RFA president. As farmers join together in value-added ventures, it's important to let sound economic research guide the way. I congratulate the farmer-owners of Big River and look forward to their entrance into the most dynamic sector of the energy business. 

 	
 Big River Resources, LLC, will process over 15 million bushels of corn into 40 million gallons of ethanol and 120,000 tons of distillers dried grains (DDG) annually. 
 	
 Many individuals and groups have worked long and hard to lead us to this point," said Raymond Defenbaugh, Big River Resources co-chair of the board. They come from both sides of the Mississippi River. We are united by the concept of value-added processing. Think of this plant like a tool. A tool that adds value to corn, helps the Federal budget, strengthens the rural economy, saves our natural resources, reduces reliance on foreign oil, and has the potential to provide a large return on investment. 
 
 Fagen/ICM project
 Fagen, Inc., the Granite Falls, Minnesota design-build contractor, is spearheading the construction and incorporating a process design provided by ICM of Colwich, Kansas. 
 	
 Raymond Defenbaugh, co-chairman of Big River Resources board of directors, said many individuals and groups have worked long and hard to make the plant a reality. 
 	
 "We are united by the concept of value-added processing," said Defenbaugh. "Think of this plant like a tool, a tool that adds value to corn, helps the federal budget, strengthens the rural economy and has the potential to provide a large return on investment." 
 
 Another Fagen project in Iowa
 Fagen said it has also closed financially on a 60-acre industrial site that will be the future home of the Golden Grain Energy LLC ethanol plant. 
 	

 The site, located on 240th Street on the southern edge of Mason City, is situated on the eastern side of the Union Pacific railroad, a critical factor in its selection. 
 	
 The land purchase was completed after the property was rezoned by the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors. 
 	
 When completed, Golden Grain Energy will represent a $ 55 million investment and create about 35-40 jobs with an annual average sale of $ 35,000. The plant will process as much as 15 million bushels of corn annually into ethanol and distillers dried grains.

Big River Resources begins construction on 'bi-state' farmer-owned ethanol plant

On November 19th, a source learned from China Jilin Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd. that the major part of China's biggest Fuel Ethanol project had finished and project had stepped into installation phase. The total investment of this project is RMB 2.9 billion with a capacity of producing 600,000 ton fuel ethanol. It will make China one of the world largest fuel ethanol producers. 
 
 Dai Baolin from Jilin Fuel Ethanol Co., Ltd. says, "This project will be officially come into production in September 2003". Dai further confirms, "This project is jointly invested by China National Petroleum Corporation, Jilin Grain Group Co., Ltd., and China Resources Corp." According to the feasibility report, the total investment of the project is RMB 2.89 billion,

China's Biggest Fuel Ethanol Project making progress

A Japenese environment ministry study group will propose a policy of blending ethanol into gasoline to create a cleaner fuel for motor vehicles in Japan.
 	
 The initial goal is to help the nation achieve its greenhouse gas reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. But the ultimate aim is to have the blended fuel, with a plant-derived ethanol content of 10 percent, completely replace regular gasoline, according to the group headed by Waseda University professor Katsuya Nagata. The group, which includes scientists and representatives of the auto industry, was set up to study technology to deal with global warming.
 	
 For its part, the ministry will promote the spread of vehicles capable of using the blended fuel. The ministry intends to begin the switch as early as 2008. 
 	
 The Kyoto Protocol obliges Japan to reduce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide by 6 percent from the 1990 level during the period from 2008 to 2012. 
 	
 The study group determined that motor vehicles belch out about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Japan. If regular gasoline is converted to the blended fuel, it would be possible to reduce emissions by 1 percent from the 1990 level, according to the study group. 
 	
 The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has already started to develop a system to promote the spread of low-concentration blended gasoline containing between 1 percent and 5 percent plant-derived ethanol. 

 	
 The Environment Ministry in fiscal 2003 will conduct safety tests to establish whether the low-concentration blended gasoline can be used in existing vehicles. The ministry also plans to set up and subsidize low-concentration blended fuel pumps at gasoline stands in some regions. 
 	
 The cost of the ethanol-gasoline mix is currently about 30 percent higher than that of regular gasoline, mainly because ethanol must be refined after being imported. 
 	
 But the price will come down to the level of regular gasoline when the government lowers the tariff on ethanol and improves the refining process.

November 2002

Featured

Hawaiian Islands eye ethanol

Rail car builder offers 6351 for DDGS transport

Fuels agreement will survive in 108th Congress

‘Bio-Fuels…Driving India's Future'

500 attend Bioenergy 2002 in Boise, Idaho

November 2002.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Featured

Hawaiian Islands eye ethanol

Rail car builder offers 6351 for DDGS transport

Fuels agreement will survive in 108th Congress

‘Bio-Fuels…Driving India's Future'

500 attend Bioenergy 2002 in Boise, Idaho

November 2002