Daily Biofuels Summary for October 11: US Presidential candidates, Manitoba, India love ethanol; Texas, National Research Council, Chesapeake Bay do not
Top Story: An article in USA Today covers the presidential candidate support for ethanol, tying that support to their political campaigning in the period leading up to the critical Iowa caucuses in January. “Prepare for three words,” says the article, ” I love ethanol.”
Producer News: The Alchem ethanol plant in Grafton, ND is shutting down due to low ethanol prices. Alchem produces 10.5 Mgy of corn ethanol and 33,00 tons of livestock feed, using about 3.8 million bushels of corn….In Virginia, planning commissioners recommended that the $400 million, 237 Mgy ethanol plant proposed for Chesapeake Bay area be denied. The City Council vote on the International Bio Energy Virginia plant is scheduled for November….In Idaho, Biorefinery Partners had advanced to a second round with the Department of Energy loan guarantee program for cellulosic ethanol production. The Shelley, Idaho plant would produce 18 Mgy of ethanol from straw from barley, rice, wheat, corn stover, and switchgrass….Ceres and Texas A&M have signed an agreement to develop a cellulosic process for sorghum, that would use leaves and stalks. Sorghum is drought tolerant, is harvested in the same year it is planted, and can yield up to 2,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, nearly five times the yield from ethanol….An Archer-Daniels-Midland canola-based biodiesel plant opened today outside Velva, ND. The plant is ADM’s first biodiesel facility in the US, although the company produces biodiesel in Europe.
International News: In Canada, the province of Manitoba introduced biofuels legislation that would establish biodiesel fuel quality standards and establish the framework for a biodiesel mandate. Manitoba passed a Biofuels Act in 2003, which led to the launch of Husky Energy’s 40 Mgy ethanol production plant now nearing completion….In India, Naturol Bioenergy Limited announced yesterday the imminent launch of its 35 Mgy biodiesel plant in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh….In Malaysia, Mission Biofuels will launch its biodiesel plant in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, in two weeks. The plant will produce up to 18 Mgy per year of palm-oil biodiesel which will be exported to Germany under a five-year contract….In Ethiopia, Global Energy signed a 50-year lease for 49,000 acres of land in Gamo Gofa zone for a castor oil crushing plant. Global Energy will request for 70 percent of funding through the Ethiopian Development Bank….In Australia, a $30 million biodiesel plant in Port Botany has been opposed by the Green Party for proposing the use of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil….The government of Mozambique signed with Central African Mining and Exploration Company (CAMEC) for the 30 Mgy sugar-based ethanol plant known as Procana. The plant and sugar cane will be located in 30,000 hectares in Massingir district, in the southern province of Gaza. The plant is expected to commence operation in 2010….In India, the new rule allowing ethanol to be produced directly from sugar cane, instead of molasses, is expected to ease the sugar glut which threatens the Indian industry, by reducing the Indian sugar surplus by 2 million tonnes in 2007/08. India is projected to have a surplus of 11.5 million tonnes, based on a projected 33.15 million tonnes harvest this year, which would be a world record for national sugar production….In Australia, New South Wales Regional Development Minister Tony Kelly called for the expansion of the Manildra ethanol plant at Nowra. He said that expansion would allow the state to meet its E2 mandate that came into effect on October 1st, and meet half of the demand created by the statewide E10 mandate proposed for 2011….In Germany, Volkswagen and Daimler have acquired a minority shareholding in CHOREN Industries, a biofuels producer with a goal of producing 60 Mgy of BTL (biomass-to-liquid) second generation biomass-based synthetic fuel. CHOREN is currently building a beta plant in Freiberg site that will produce 4 Mgy. The company’s target is 10-15 plants constructed by 2020 to reduce C02e emissions by 3 million metric tons.
Research News: The Associated Press ran a round-up on the source of food price increases, credited by Iowa State agricultural scientist to international demand for American livestock and feed, fueled in turn by rising Asian prosperity….A report from the National Research Council suggests that ethanol production could affect levels in the Ogallala aquifer, which runs from west Texas to South Dakota and Wyoming. A report in Reuters quoted Jerald Schnoor, a University of Iowa professor of environmental engineering, who chaired the committee that produced the report. Schnoor said that extensive parts of the aquifer are showing drops in the water table of more than 100 feet.
Policy and Policymakers: In Texas, the Dallas News ran an article on the impact of the cancellation of Texan biofuel incentives. The cancellation, a last minute budget-balancing change, has caused two Texas plants to go idle. The state became one of the top three biodiesel producing states this year as a result of the incentive program.
Consumer and Fleet News: Scania, the Swedish maker of biodiesel and ethanol-powered buses, agreed with the Clinton Global Initiative to make ethanol-powered buses available to the same price as biodiesel buses for 409 world cities. The buses has cost $16,000 more than the diesel versions. The 40 cities include Athens, Beijing, Chicago, London, Sao Paulo, and Sydney….In Pennsylvania, Sheetz in Monroeville is offering 85-cent ethanol as a promotion, as a part of the GM E85 Fuel for Thought Tour taking place across the country this fall. There are 10,000 flex-fuel cars in Western Pennsylvania. Ethanol regularly sells in the area for $2.40, as opposed to $2.76 for regular unleaded….In Canada, 189 more buses in Ottawa converted to B5 biodiesel, bringing the biodiesel fleet up to 239 buses.
Financial News: The Biofuels Digest Index, a basket of publicly traded stocks, rose 1.47% yesterday to 100.73, its highest point since September 6 and three percent below its all-time high. Strong performances by Archer-Daniels-Midland, up 1.,59 percent to $33.93, Pacific Ethanol, up 1.41% to $9.33, VeraSun (VSE), up 1.17% to $12.12, and Aventine, up 1.17% to $10.37, led the strong day for the sector. Losers and gainers were even in the day’s trading.
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