Today in Biofuels: Writers, scientists cross swords over biofuels; Boeing completes hydrogen-powered test flight; US ethanol production up 37 percent

Top Story:

A new section debuts in Biofuels Digest today – World Opinion, in recognition of the growing debate over biofuels. Biofuels producers, financiers, policymakers, friends and foes alike should pay increasing attention to the editorial page chatter about biofuels.
Today, Michigan State materials professor Bruce Dale addresses what he terms “recycled canards” of biofuels critics. “Cornell University entomologist David Pimentel—the fountainhead of quasi-scholarship for the anti-ethanol movement—makes the bizarre claim that it takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce a gallon of ethanol (if you count rainfall absorbed by corn plants as a bad thing). The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page gleefully repeats it. Walter Williams repeats it again. And so it goes, ad infinitum.”

Bill Becker tracks the “folly of corn ethanol” but says that there is good news with a post at Grist. “The rapid increase in ethanol production has demonstrated how quickly the nation can mobilize to produce new energy resources. With the right policies — such as a stable production tax credit — we might mobilize the economy just as quickly to create and sustain a boom in wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, low-impact hydro, and bioenergy from feedstocks that have positive net carbon and energy benefits.”

Finally, New Jersey columnist Paul Mulshine wishes we would wise up to “demon ethanol”  and says that the “American people are a bunch of babies” and “environmentalists were sucked into the ethanol scam” on nj.com

Complete coverage of these posts is at www.biofuelsdigest.com, and as of Monday, April 7th will appear under the “World Opinion” banner in the Daily Biofuels News Digest.

Producer News:

In New Jersey, a 10 Mgy corn and fruit waste ethanol plant has been proposed by New Jersey Ethanol. A $6 million facility would be constructed near Bridgeton with an initial capacity of 3 Mgy, and the company said they hgave completed permitting and will now proceed with construction.

In Georgia, a 110 Mgy corn ethanol plant under development by East Coast Ethanol is still on track for groundbreaking in October, according to Wayne County Administrator Mike Deal. The plant is developed on the model of bringing corn from the Midwest to the plant, rather than bringing fuel. The company contends it is more cost effective to transport corn than fuel.

International News:

In Brazil, Petrobras, Mitsui and Camargo Correa have established a joint venture to finance and construct the ethanol pipeline between Senador Canedo and Paulínia, and the section that connects the Tietê-Paraná Waterway to the Paulínia Terminal.

In the Philippines, the executive director of the Philippines Sugar Millers Association said that the country would import 86 percent of its needs, or 45 Mgy of ethanol in 2009. He added that the 10 percent ethanol mandate that takes effect in February 2009 will require 52 Mgy of ethanol blending, but that the country at this time has only one 7 Mgy plant in operation.

In Canada, Englehart Biodiesel has proposed a 14 Mgy plant that will utilize fats and oils as feedstock. The proposed facility will cost $8 million to construct and would be located in Englehart, Ontario. Company management said that they expect to commence production in fall 2008.

The leaders of the Inter-American Bank have gathered in Miami this week, with Latin American financing of energy projects in the spotlight. The IDB set sustainable production of biofuel as a priority last year, but refinanced only one $120 million Brazilian ethanol plant last year, while commissioning $1.5 million in studies of biofuels commercialization potential in El Salvador, Guatemala and other countries. IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno said that lack of information was a barrier to development.

Research News:

Bentek Energy has projected US ethanol production at 1.9 billion gallons in the first quarter of 2008, up 37 percent from 1.4 billion gallons produced in the first quarter of 2007.

Policy and Policymakers:

In Germany, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel Berlin cancelled a planned introduction of a 10 percent ethanol blend mandate, saying that the impact on engines would be too difficult. The Minister blamed auto companies for the switch, saying that the government had not been informed that 3 million vehicles would suffer gasket and hose damage because of the move.

Consumer and Fleet News:

General Motors VP Larry Burns, addressing the National Hydrogen Association, said that the auto industry had developed hydrogen vehicles, and government and energy companies must develop the infrastructure for fuel distribution. “It’s no longer a question of ‘can it be done?’ or ‘should it be done?’” said Burns. “We not only should do it. We must do it. It’s now a question of collective will. Do we have the collective resolve to work together to solve the challenges we face rather than handing them off to future generations?”

Boeing flew a small propeller aircraft yesterday for 20 minutes under hydrogen power, the company’s PhantonWorks research unit said. John Tracy, Boeing’s chief technology officer, told timesonline: “For the first time in the history of aviation, we have flown a manned airplane that was powered by a hydrogen battery. Boeing recognizes that pollution represents a serious environmental challenge.” Hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity using oyxgen as a catalyst, with water as an emission.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Index™ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, fell 1.18 percent to close at 114.64 on weakness in agribusiness stocks.  Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) fell 1.27 percent to close at $41.24 while The Andersons (ANDE) dropped 3.16 percent to close at $43.53. Among ethanol stocks, Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR)  gained 5.14 percent to $5.52. Among small caps, Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) rose 4.07 percent to $9.20 after completing its merger with Great Lakes Cooperative.  Overall, advances led declines 7 to 6.

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