Green Plains Renewable Energy INC. (GPRE)

[jlglex]

END-OF-DAY CLOSE CONFIRMS UPSIDE BREAKOUT

End-of-day closing price confirms near term upside breakout.

This stock is about to blow a gasket on the upside. Wave the Flag, Pop the Bag, we are headed higher!!!

Look at today's chart. This thing just doesn't want to go down.

Fundamentals confirm this, beyond a reasonable doubt. Ethanol Crush Spreads Have widened to $0.20 - $0.30 per gallon of ethanol. GPRE produces 740 MILLION gallons per year. So, we are looking at $250 Million run rate from the ethanol production ALONE. Other businesses will add to that.

We are talking $65 - $85 MILLION bottom line for Q3 ALONE, and more to come beyond that!!!

ALL ABOARD. Next Stop $14.00 per share. This is the EXPRESS! We're not stopping at $12.50 to test that peak.

Don't miss the boat!

[jlglex]

END OF SUBSIDIES WILL BE A BIG PLUS FOR GPRE

This is a bit counter intuitive, but think about Supply/Demand 101.

When the subsidies end, the industry will come under pressure. This will probably knock out the weaker players. 10% of the industry, or so, may simply disappear.

With the industry being 10% smaller, the demand for Corn will be lower. Lower demand for corn will mean lower corn prices. And, lower corn prices will mean stronger margins for the surviving companies.

GPRE will not only be a survivor, it will be one of the leaders, because it is well financed, well managed, AND an early adopter of important, new technologies, like GERS' Corn Oil Extraction Systems!!!

The end of the ethanol subsidies will be a BIG PLUS FOR GPRE.

When it comes to ending the subsidies, I say, "BRING IT ON. I OWN GPRE!!!"

[jlglex]

ETHANOL CRUSH MARGIN HAS WIDENED DRAMATICALLY ...

in the past 4-6 weeks. We are looking at $0.25, or more, per gallon of ethanol this quarter, up from near zero last quarter.

And, they can now lock in some juicy margins in future quarters, with their hedging strategy.

Combine this with the GERS supplied COES, and a very low valuation, and this stock is really looking ripe for breakout to the upside.

I bought at $11.74 minutes ago.

Upside target? $14+ per share, maybe higher.

[bigone]

I am liking this company more and more. Someday the market will price the shares at their true net worth.

[AnimalMother]

GPRE Corn Oil Revenues Surge 143.4%!


(( POSTED BY SLASHNUTS OVER ON THE GERS MESSAGE BOARD ))


GPRE Corn Oil Revenues Surge 143.4% In 3 Months!

Corn Oil Gets It's Own Segment! Cool!

"Corn Oil Production Segment

In the second quarter of 2011, we redefined our operating segments to include corn oil production as a reportable segment. Corn oil production, which we initiated in October 2010, was previously reported as a component of our marketing and distribution segment. By June 30, 2011, we had deployed corn oil extraction technology at eight of our nine ethanol plants with plans to implement the technology at our recently-acquired Otter Tail plant by the end of third quarter of 2011. During the three months ended June 30, 2011, we produced 21.5 million pounds of corn oil which is double the amount reported for the first quarter of 2011, or 10.1 million pounds."

Pounds of oil extracted were 7.5% higher than the 20 million expected.

Corn oil revenues increased 143.4% over last quarter.

Corn oil production revenues
$10,520,000

Gallons produced from 21,500,000 pounds, 2,803,129 (Using 7.67#'s per gallon).

Price per gallon of inedible crude corn oil $3.75

Greenshift's 20% royalty per gallon $.75

Greenshift's cut for the quarter $2,104,000

Mr. Becker commented last quarter that there was some confusion about crude corn oil prices. He said the $.615 cent price is for edible food grade crude corn oil.

The oil that's extracted under GERS' license is inedible non food grade crude corn oil that trades at a discount(about 15%) to soy oil.

At only 3% extraction rates, 2.6 billion gallons @ $.75 per gallon is over $14 million per quarter not including equipment sales or services. At 4.4% extraction, that's $21.5 million per quarter, not including equipment/construction revenues.

How much debt is left to Y/A? Less than $20 million?

"We expect our profitability to improve sequentially over the next two quarters, as ethanol margins have expanded over the last 90 days. We have been able to lock away significant portions of our ethanol margins, all corn oil production will be online and the market remains strong for each of these products. Our agribusiness segment should have a solid finish in 2011 as crops around our facilities are currently in good shape," commented Becker.

Nice, Good To Hear!

Sentiment : Strong Buy

[AnimalMother]

GPRE output is up 41% over the past year.

[AnimalMother]

GPRE Q2 OUT:

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2011 Financial Results

Press Release Source: Green Plains Renewable Energy On Wednesday July 27, 2011, 5:46 pm EDT

Net income of $5.0 million
Diluted earnings per share of $0.14

OMAHA, Neb., July 27, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) announced today its financial results for the second quarter of 2011. Net income attributable to Green Plains for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 was $5.0 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $8.7 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the same period in 2010. Revenues were $861.4 million for the second quarter of 2011 compared to $453.4 million during the same period in 2010.

"Our strategy to diversify our business paid off for us in the second quarter," said Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Corn oil production, marketing and distribution, and agribusiness accounted for 42% of segment operating income, allowing us to record our ninth consecutive quarter of profitability during a period of compressed ethanol industry margins. We expect the contribution from corn oil production to increase further as eight of our nine plants are fully operational and the ninth plant is expected to have corn oil extraction technology deployed by the end of the third quarter. We also produced and sold a record 184 million gallons of ethanol, which is a 41% increase over the second quarter of 2010," Becker added.

Revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011 were $1.7 billion compared to $0.9 billion for the same period of 2010. Net income for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011 was $12.7 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to net income of $24.3 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, for the same period of 2010.

"We expect our profitability to improve sequentially over the next two quarters, as ethanol margins have expanded over the last 90 days. We have been able to lock away significant portions of our ethanol margins, all corn oil production will be online and the market remains strong for each of these products. Our agribusiness segment should have a solid finish in 2011 as crops around our facilities are currently in good shape," commented Becker.

"Our joint venture, BioProcess Algae, has made excellent progress in the past 90 days," Becker stated. "We are finishing the build out of a larger scale outdoor Grower Harvester(TM) system over the next few months, and this deployment should produce algae in sufficient quantities for sale into food, feed and fuel markets. Work is underway on the development of a larger commercial platform of our Grower Harvester systems as we continue to verify scalability of this technology."

EBITDA, which is defined as earnings before interest, income taxes, noncontrolling interests, depreciation and amortization, was $29.8 million for the second quarter of 2011 compared to $26.3 million during the same period of 2010. Green Plains had $164.2 million total cash and equivalents and $89.9 million available under committed loan agreements (subject to satisfaction of specified lending conditions and covenants) at June 30, 2011. EBITDA for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011 was $61.8 million compared to $59.5 million for the same period of 2010. For reconciliations of EBITDA to net income attributable to Green Plains, see "EBITDA" below.

Recent Business Highlights

On June 6, 2011, Green Plains announced that it had completed the acquisition of 2 million bushels of grain storage located in Hopkins, Missouri. The grain elevator is located approximately 45 miles from the Company's Shenandoah, Iowa ethanol production facility and increases our current grain storage capacity to 33 million bushels within the agribusiness segment.
BioProcess Algae LLC is currently constructing an outdoor Grower Harvester(TM) system at the Company's Shenandoah ethanol facility. This system should begin algal biomass production in the next 60 days and will enable BioProcess Algae to continue proof of concept for co-location with carbon dioxide emitters on the path to commercialization and profitability. BioProcess Algae is planning to break ground on a five acre algae farm this fall at the same location with operations expected to begin in the spring of 2012.

Conference Call

On July 28, 2011, Green Plains will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2011 financial results. Green Plains' participants will include Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Peters, Chief Financial Officer, and Jeff Briggs, Chief Operating Officer. The time of the call is 11:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. CT. To participate by telephone, the domestic dial-in number is 800-580-5053 and the international dial-in number is 913-312-0836. The conference call will be webcast and accessible at www.gpreinc.com. Listeners are advised to go to the website at least 10 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A slide presentation will be available on Green Plains' website at http://investor.gpreinc.com/events.cfm. The conference call will also be archived and available for replay through August 4, 2011.

About Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) is North America's fourth largest ethanol producer. The Company markets and distributes approximately one billion gallons of renewable motor fuel on an annual basis, including 740 million gallons of expected production from the Company's nine ethanol plants located throughout the U.S. Green Plains also owns and operates grain handling and storage assets and provides complementary agronomy services to local grain producers through its agribusiness segment. Green Plains owns Blendstar LLC, a biofuels terminal operator with locations in the southern U.S. Green Plains is a joint venture partner in BioProcess Algae LLC, which was formed to commercialize advanced photo-bioreactor technologies for the growing and harvesting of algal biomass.

[bigone]

I think that I can hear the ca-ching, ca-ching in the background of the Green Plains money machine running 24/7.......

[AnimalMother]

GPRE and corn oil extraction - On The Move!

Industry on the Move
Reviewing a year of restarts and acquisitions
By Holly Jessen | June 13, 2011

[Back Running AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc., a 55 MMgy ethanol plant in Keyes, Calif., is now operating after an $8 million retrofit.<br><small>PHOTO: AE BIOFUELS</small>]
Back Running AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc., a 55 MMgy ethanol plant in Keyes, Calif., is now operating after an $8 million retrofit.
PHOTO: AE BIOFUELS

Mergers. Acquisitions. Increasing capacities. Start ups. Layoffs. Bankruptcies. Examine the headlines about ethanol producers from May 2010 to May 2011 and these words jump off the page.

The spring 2011 ethanol plant map, distributed with the May issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine, shows the U.S. industry has 211 ethanol plants, both producing and idled, with a combined capacity of 14.31 billion gallons yearly and an average plant size of 67 MMgy. Canada has 15 plants contributing another 480 MMgy of capacity. Compare that to the spring 2005 EPM map, which listed 92 ethanol plants with a combined capacity of only 3.85 billion gallons. The average plant size back then was just 42 MMgy.

A look back to the spring 2007 map illustrates how dramatically the climate has changed in just four years. That map listed 57 plants under construction. Today, for traditional grain-to-ethanol production facilities, acquisitions and retrofits are more common than building greenfield ethanol plants. Of the three ethanol plants listed as under construction on the spring 2011 ethanol plant map, two—Hereford Renewable Energy LLC in Texas and the Aventine Renewable Energy Inc. plant in Mount Vernon, Ind.—are now producing ethanol. In May, Aventine’s plant in Aurora, Neb., had completed construction but had yet to begin commissioning while some final technical details were ironed out, says Jennifer Borgen, Aventine’s director of communications. All three of these projects saw construction put on hold during the recession, to be completed in the past year. The Aurora plant is the last on our once lengthy list of plants under construction. Moving forward, the action will be in the arena of cellulosic ethanol development. (See the accompanying sidebar for a rundown of cellulosic ethanol plants under construction or likely to break ground in 2011.)

Moving Up
Out of all the North American ethanol producers, it can be easily argued that Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. is the company that has made the most news in the past year. Indeed, the company has been quite busy since 2007, when its first green field ethanol plant came online in Shenandoah, Iowa. In 2008 and 2009, GPRE moved steadily forward while others struggled mightily, or even went bankrupt. In that two-year period, the company completed construction at three plants and acquired two former VeraSun Corp. plants and majority interest in Blendstar, a biofuel terminal operator.

That strategy continued in late 2010 and early 2011 as the company acquired three distressed ethanol plants in Lakota, Iowa; Riga, Mich.; and Fergus Falls, Minn. The most recent purchase pushed the company into new territory. GPRE now owns and operates five acquired ethanol plants, in addition to the four plants it built from the ground up. That puts GPRE at nine ethanol plants with a total capacity of 740 MMgy. Todd Becker, president and CEO, sums up the company’s history this way. “We went from zero revenue and zero profits way back in ’07 to right around $3 billion of revenues in 2011, and in 2010 we made $50 million on the bottom line,” he tells EPM. “And that was while some of the industry was going through uncertainty and turbulent times.”

It isn’t just through acquisitions that the company is increasing its capacity numbers. The company regularly provides capacity updates to EPM, which include increases of 3 MMgy to 10 MMgy at most of its plants in the past year and more than once in 2010 at several locations. In fact, debottlenecking in newly acquired ethanol plants is an important part of the company’s strategy. “We took the low-hanging fruit out of the equation, that’s what we went after first,” Becker tells EPM. “We don’t think we’re done but it’s not going to be the leaps and bounds like we have had over the last couple years.”

Besides increasing capacities, GPRE announced last summer that it would install corn oil extraction at all its plants. The eighth installation was due to be completed in June and the ninth and final corn oil installation is scheduled to be complete in the third quarter of 2011. That project will add an estimated $25 to $30 million in operating income to GPRE, based on prices in May, Becker says.

The company’s activities have resulted in some impressive capacity numbers. GPRE first broke onto the top producers list on the fall 2009 EPM plant map, at No. 5 with a total capacity of 345 MMgy. By the spring of 2010 that number had increased to 480 MMgy and put the company in the No. 4 spot, a place it occupies to this day.

Its current total capacity of 740 MMgy positions the company behind Valero Renewable Fuels, which has a capacity of 1,110 MMgy. Asked if the company hoped it could take over the No. 3 spot someday, Becker made it clear GPRE isn’t too concerned about that. “We don’t really worry about numbers,” he says. “We like to buy good assets, good location, good technology. We don’t get too concerned about whether we are third or fourth—we just want to make sure we are profitable and successful. If that means that we buy more plants and get ahead of somebody, that’s fine. If it means we continue to have what we consider one of the best platforms in the industry and move behind somebody, we’re OK with that.”

Still, the company isn’t shy about its intent to grow the business. “We are actively looking across the whole platform,” Becker says, “not just in the ethanol segment but also in our agribusiness segment and our distribution segment. We’re looking to grow all of those segments.” Its marketing and distribution segment handles more than a billion gallons of ethanol yearly. On the agribusiness side, GPRE operates grain storage facilities as well as agronomy and petroleum businesses in Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee. Earning revenue through those other businesses has been a key part of making GPRE a successful, well-balanced company, he adds. “Instead of just being a single stream of revenue and income, based on a single industry, we are growing a multi-facetted, conglomerated company. We use that platform to outperform in more cyclical downturns. That formula has been the right formula.”

Movers and Shakers
AE Biofuels Inc. spent the past year working to restart an idled 55 MMgy ethanol plant in Keyes, Calif., and in mid-May announced it had reached that goal. AE Advanced Fuels Keyes Inc. is operating the plant under a lease with Cilion Inc., the company that started up the plant in November 2008. AE Keyes spent $8 million to retrofit and restart the plant. The company is also working to build a 1 MMgy pilot plant for its cellulosic conversion technology at the same location. “We’re very pleased that the AE Keyes plant is now fully operational and delivering product to our California biofuels and animal feed customers,” says Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of AE Biofuels Inc.

In Hereford, Texas, the 105 MMgy ethanol plant purchased by Murphy Oil USA is finally producing ethanol. The former Panda Hereford Ethanol LP plant was 90 percent completed before construction was halted when that company filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Hereford Renewable Energy LLC started up in March, on schedule and on budget, Tom McKinlay, executive vice president of worldwide downstream operations, said in a May 10 shareholder presentation. The company purchased the plant for $40 million and spent another $25 million to upgrade it to equal the company’s other ethanol plant in Hankinson, N.D., McKinlay said. Every single area of the plant was improved—grain handling, mash and liquefaction, fermentation and distillation, evaporation, centrifuges and wet cake. The destination plant has the advantage of being close to the markets for ethanol and wet distillers grains (WDGs). Ethanol is railed to California and the Gulf Coast, while WDGs have found a ready market with the 3.5 million head of cattle in feedlots around the ethanol plant. The disadvantage, of course, is corn supplies are railed in. On the other hand, with 4.8 million bushels of corn storage at the plant the company may be able to develop trading opportunities with the corn it brings in from the Midwest.

Another idled plant currently in the process of being restarted is the former Cascade Grain Products plant in Clatskanie, Ore. The 108 MMgy ethanol plant operated for about six months in 2008 before shutting down. It is now owned and being restarted by JH Kelly, one of the contractors who built the plant, and a creditor when the company entered bankruptcy. Renamed Columbia Pacific Bio-Refinery, the ethanol plant is currently undergoing a retrofit with the hope of restarting the Delta-T designed plant this fall, says Mark Fisler, partner and managing director of Ocean Park Advisors, the company retained to develop strategic alternatives for the facility. One important step in the process of restarting the plant is hiring a general manager. The company recently brought on Dan Luckett, who worked previously for Delta-T, now Applied Process Technology International LLC, and also served as a project engineer at a Michigan ethanol plant, Fisler says.

Marquis Energy LLC is a nother company with big plans. Just before the end of 2010 the company acquired a 50 MMgy ethanol plant in Wisconsin. The former Castle Rock Renewable Fuels plant, now renamed Marquis Energy–Wisconsin LLC, is the company’s second ethanol plant, joining the 140 MMgy Marquis Energy plant in Hennepin, Ill. But that plant won’t remain that size much longer. This spring the company announced it would begin construction in the fall to double the capacity to 280 MMgy, bringing the production facility in line with Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s monster ethanol plants. The company has had expansion in mind since construction began on the plant, says Mark Marquis, president of Marquis Energy. It is well situated to produce large amounts of ethanol, with sufficient local corn supplies. The plant is located near the Illinois River where the company operates a barge terminal, plus it has rail access with the Norfolk Southern Railroad. Marquis complimented the plant’s staff for its work to increase the capacity in the existing plant, even before the full-scale expansion begins. “Between the production team, and the logistic advantages here, it’s really a unique site that justifies the size of plant,” he says.


Author: Holly Jessen
Associate Editor, Ethanol Producer Magazine
[phone]
[e-mail]

[bigone]

That is fantastic ! I am happy for Mr. Becker and GPRE.

[AnimalMother]

E&Y Entrepreneur or the Year: Todd Becker (GPRE)

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Central Midwest Award winners:

Clean Technology: Todd Becker, Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc., Omaha, Neb.

Read more: Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program honors several from Kansas City | Kansas City Business Journal

[bigone]

I just checked a map. It is located about 50 air miles east of the Missouri. Should be safe on this one.

[bigone]

Is this anywhere near the flooding Missouri River?

[AnimalMother]

Green Plains Acquires 2MM Bushel Storage Facility

Green Plains Expands Agribusiness Operations With Acquisition of Grain Elevator in Northwest Missouri


Press Release Source: Green Plains Renewable Energy On Monday June 6, 2011, 8:30 am EDT

OMAHA, Neb., June 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) announces today that through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Green Plains Grain Company, it has completed the acquisition of 2 million bushels of federally-licensed grain storage located in Hopkins, Missouri previously owned by Horizon Grain of Hopkins, Inc and GS Grain LLC. The grain elevator is located approximately 45 miles from the Company's Shenandoah, Iowa ethanol production facility.

"Expanding our agribusiness operations to further diversify our revenues and cash flows remains a priority for us in 2011," stated Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The close proximity to our ethanol production and grain facilities in southwest Iowa makes this elevator a solid fit within our business platform. Combining this acquisition with our existing storage capacity and the announced expansion of our Tennessee grain assets, we will have 35 million bushels of grain storage capacity within our agribusiness segment by this fall's harvest. We continue to look for additional acquisition opportunities to grow our agribusiness segment."

[bigone]

Second only to THE University of Iowa.

[alfaspider]

OK- one more for a bridge game?

ISU... good place to go to school.
Kildee Hall and all...

[bigone]

Reporting in another Hawkeye.

[alfaspider]

Seems you are here posting all by yourself just like the old Maytag repairman (another Iowan native?) ..
But a few more days like today and you may not be alone.

PEIX, BIOF and others are sinking pretty fast. What's up here?

[AnimalMother]

Rex turns $4.7M profit
Dayton Business Journal
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 10:32am EDT


REX American Resources Corp. posted a 12 percent increase in earnings for its first quarter ending April 31. Net income grew to $4.7 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, compared with $4.2 million, or 42 cents per diluted share, in first quarter 2010.

The Dayton-based alternative energy investor’s net revenue grew 13.9 percent to $81.2 million this quarter, compared with $71.3 million a year ago. The company attributes the growth to a 35.8 percent increase in ethanol pricing and higher prices for dried distiller grain.

The growth comes on the heels of the company’s fourth quarter loss of $4.6 million, or 49 cents per share, from a one-time $11.2 million impairment charge it was assessed due to its reduction in ownership of Levelland Hockley County Ethanol. Growth this quarter “more than offset” that loss, Rex (NYSE: REX) said in a statement.

Because Rex calculates results from its ethanol interests by the calendar year, it included in its first-quarter earnings numbers from Jan. 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011.

Rex repurchased about 29,000 shares of common stock in the first quarter at an average price of $16.39 per share. Rex is authorized to repurchase up to about 439,000 shares of common stock.

Rex competes against companies including Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), BioFuel Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: BIOF) and Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRE).

Rex, a former electronics retailer, has interests in seven ethanol production facilities, representing ownership of about 169 million gallons per year of annual nameplate capacity. The total capacity of these facilities is about 592 million gallons per year.

Read more: Rex turns $4.7M profit | Dayton Business Journal

[AnimalMother]

Ethanol - Key to a Greener Future

http://policyvoice.wp.trincoll.edu/2011/04/29/ethanol-the-key-to-a-greener-future/

Mary Sullivan (‘13)

*This essay is the second installment of a point-counterpoint on Ethanol

“We must face the prospect of changing our basic ways of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative, in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature.”

-President Jimmy Carter on the oil crisis, 1976

The United States’ oil crisis is old news, and yet our generation has thus far been most proactive in working to prevent the consequences President Carter spoke of decades ago.

Cheap oil has been the driving force behind much of the economic development of the past two centuries. Our excessive demand for oil stems primarily from the belief that we need it. It is the concept that as a country, we will fall behind in the economic rat race if we don’t obtain the as much oil as possible and sell it to the highest bidders. Today’s bidders include you and I, and every other American who drives a vehicle, owns a toaster, or pays taxes. Even if we want to disregard the disastrous effects that burning fossil fuels has on the environment, the economic stagnation, and the social and political upheaval that tears allies as well as citizens of one nation apart, there remains one unfixable problem with oil. We’re going to run out- and whether it happens in 2015, or 2045, the date of peak oil consumption is imminent. If we proceed down our current oil-centric path, we will soon wake up to find our lives changed permanently.

Experts estimate that the year 2045 marks the longest amount of time we can continue our current lifestyle before Americans will be consuming more oil than can be supplied. If you’re under fifty, this is within your lifetime.

With that perspective in mind, let’s consider our options. There are a number of alternatives to using fossil fuel, including biofuels. Biofuels are created from a wide range of vegetation (primarily corn) and can be used in the same way as fossil fuels, but have the great advantage of being renewable. A biofuel that has been given serious consideration as a petroleum alternative is ethanol.

In addition to being a renewable source, Ethanol has several other benefits. First, Ethanol production yields several by-products, or substances other than fuel that result from production. Unlike the by-products of nuclear energy production, the by-products of Ethanol production are environmentally friendly and can be refined or sold as-is to offset the cost of Ethanol production. Ethanol’s by-products can be used to make feed for dairy cattle or other farm animals, corn oil, corn starch, sweeteners, vitamins, citric acid, lactic acid, pharmaceuticals, films, solvents, pigments, fibers and CO2. Furthermore, Ethanol can be produced in a manner (known as “wet-grind milling”) that wastes no part of the corn kernel.

A second benefit of Ethanol production is the capital that can be derived from the construction of Ethanol production plants. As demand for Ethanol increases, more milling plants will be necessary to meet this demand. This would result in immediate, though temporary, increase in capital and employment. Once built, these facilities would also require labor to maintain plant production. Therefore, Ethanol production is both environmentally and economically friendly.

Third, Ethanol is a relatively clean burning fuel. In addition, this clean burning does not come at the cost of energy yield; Ethanol yields 25% more energy than the energy invested in its production, meaning it has a net energy gain. Relative to the fossil fuels it replaces, greenhouse gases are reduced by 12% by the production and combustion of Ethanol. This is because Ethanol is used as an oxygenate to reduce automotive emissions. It is compatible with conventional automobile engines when blended with gasoline to create E10 (gasoline with up to 10 volume percent Ethanol). In flexible fuel vehicles, Ethanol can be blended with gasoline up to 85 volume percent Ethanol (E85). Ethanol allows gasoline to burn cleanly, reducing the amount of non-methane hydrocarbons, (NMHC) as well as carbon monoxide (CO) that the vehicle produces, both of which are damaging to our atmosphere. Ethanol is also carbon neutral, meaning that when burned, it returns to the atmosphere only the amount of carbon that was absorbed through the corn as growing plants.

Like any other energy option, Ethanol has its weaknesses. For instance, opponents claim that corn is a major food source and should be used to feed people. While it is true that corn is a food source, we must not overlook the fact that many foods are used in alternative products. Corn is used in plant fungicide for weed prevention, insect repellent, varnish for wooden floors, cosmetics, and antibiotics. Corn is also used as an adhesive in many plastics, and even in different parts of automobiles. With the advances of technology we have today, we have continuously awarded developments that embrace multiple uses of a product. If we contest the “proper use” of corn, we challenge not only corn’s use in Ethanol, but also its use in a vast array of other nonfood products.

Critics also maintain that corn prices are skyrocketing, and that if used in this way, harvests face depletion. However, the worst-case scenarios depict a situation in which corn supplies will only be low until the next harvest, rather than completely exhausted. Corn is renewable, after all, which is what makes it so preferable to the limited supply of fossil fuels.

Increase the demand for Ethanol, and an increase in corn prices will be sure to follow. As with every market fluctuation, this is good for one party, and bad for another. Namely, this increase in the price of corn aids the struggling farmer rather than the consumer. As a country, we have to decide what type of market exchanges we are willing to sustain and endorse. Although this increase in demand would certainly shift a monetary burden to the consumer, we must determine whether or not the benefit in going forward with this process outweighs the cost to the consumer. With prospects of an increase in capital and employment, cleaner air and a cleaner environment, as well as safer national security resulting from a decrease in reliance on foreign oil, we must strongly consider Ethanol as a viable option to replace fossil fuels.

No one product is the sole solution to the damage that has already been done to our environment. While Ethanol undoubtedly has its flaws, we must at least consider this a transitional product lest we come to know the chaos that President Jimmy Carter predicted would result if we are unwilling to change.

[AnimalMother]

South Dakota ethanol plant is already providing to Brazil!

GO USA GDP GROWTH!!! The Foreign Ethanol market is open and moving products.


Northern SD ethanol plant is selling its product in Brazil

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d93898366bf047ddb513f2ced058ec88/SD--Brazil-Ethanol/

ABERDEEN, S.D. — An ethanol plant in northern South Dakota is selling its product in Brazil.

Glacial Lakes Energy at Mina said it has shipped about 25 million gallons to Brazil since late March.

CEO Jim Seurer (SYR) told the American News that sales opportunities have opened up in Brazil because of a poor sugar cane crop. He said sugar cane is the main ingredient in what is a very developed ethanol industry in Brazil.

The ethanol is shipped by rail to a Texas port and then loaded on a tanker ship.

[AnimalMother]

Iowa Govrnr. Branstad signs law providing biofuel incentives

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110527/BUSINESS/105270335/1001/COMM/?odyssey=nav|head

12:32 AM, May. 27, 2011

Written by: DAN PILLER

Gov. Terry Branstad signed a law Thursday that will provide retailers with tax credits to use biodiesel and 15 percent ethanol, and create production incentives for Iowa biodiesel producers.

The bill gives retailers a state income tax credit in 2012 of 2 cents per gallon for biodiesel blended at a 2 percent rate and 4.5 cents per gallon for a 5 percent blend.

In 2013, the credit for the 5 percent blend would continue but the 2 percent credit would disappear.

For Iowa's 14 biodiesel plants, the bill creates a production sales tax credit of 3 cents per gallon in 2012, 2.5 cents per gallon in 2013 and 2 cents per gallon in 2014 (for the first 25 million gallons per producer).

The bill also provides retailers with a 3-cent-per-gallon retailer state income tax credit for sales of E15.

"The job now turns to educating retailers and consumers on how this new bill will help promote more fueling freedom at the pump," said Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

Shaw and ethanol proponents must persuade retailers to install pump and tank equipment to handle E15, which was approved late last year by federal regulators. Biofuels proponents hope the higher blend will replace the 10 percent blend.

The biofuels tax incentive bill was introduced and passed by the Legislature this year after lawmakers in 2010 declined to create a state mandate for ethanol use.

The biodiesel industry was jump-started this year when Congress renewed the $1-per-gallon tax credit and also imposed a first-ever mandate of 800 million gallons of biodiesel use in 2011.

[AnimalMother]

Ethanol Saving Travelers Millions this Holiday Weekend

kansasfarmer.com

While gas prices are nearly 40% higher today than they were one year ago, the AAA auto club anticipates 31 million Americans will head for the highways this Memorial Day weekend. A survey of traveler intentions suggests the average distance traveled will be 792 miles. Thanks to ethanol , they'll spend quite a bit less on gasoline that would otherwise be the case. In fact, the Renewable Fuels Association says the average American family traveling this weekend will save more than $31 simply because ethanol is holding gasoline prices down. Aggregate gasoline savings due to ethanol this Memorial Day, based on AAA estimates of average trip length, will be $440 million.

These numbers were reached through a recent Center for Agricultural and Rural Development study by economists at Iowa State University and the University of Wisconsin, which found that the increase in ethanol use kept wholesale gasoline prices down 89 cents per gallon from what they would have been in 2010. So assuming that each gallon of gasoline purchased would cost 89 cents more per gallon, that the average trip will be 792 miles in length, and that the average fuel economy rate is 22.5 miles per gallon; the average traveling party would purchase 35.2 gallons of gasoline for the trip. That gives you a savings of around $31, actually just a little bit more.

The study further concluded that from 2000-2010 the growth in ethanol production reduced wholesale gasoline prices by 25 cents per gallon on average. Accordingly, increased blending of ethanol resulted in American drivers saving an average of some $34 billion annually during the last decade.

The aggregated savings assumes the average traveling party is 2.2 people. If 31 million people are traveling, that means there are some 14 million traveling parties, and each is saving a little more than $31 on gasoline purchases as a result of ethanol. That brings total savings to around $440 million.

[bigone]

Wonder if GPRE or GERS already are involved in trials/tests of this process?

[AnimalMother]

New Process Could Improve Economics Of Ethanol Production

http://www.oilandgasonline.com/article.mvc/New-Process-Could-Improve-Economics-Of-Ethano-0001

May 23, 2011
New Process Could Improve Economics Of Ethanol Production

Ames, IO - 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 recycled back into ethanol production, works more efficiently in batches of up to 350 gallons than on a lab bench.

"We're learning we can reliably produce good quality and good quantities," said van Leeuwen, Iowa State's Vlasta Klima Balloun Professor of Engineering in the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering.

What van Leeuwen and a team of Iowa State researchers are producing is a fungus, Rhizopus oligosporus, that makes a high-quality, high-protein animal feed from the leftovers of ethanol production. The process of growing the fungus also cleans water from ethanol production so that it can be recycled back into fuel production. And the process, called MycoMeal, could one day produce a low-cost nutritional supplement for people.

The project has two patents pending and has won several major awards, including a 2008 R&D 100 Award presented by R&D Magazine, the 2008 Grand Prize for University Research presented by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and a 2011 Honor Award in University Research from the academy. The project also contributed to R&D Magazine naming van Leeuwen its 2009 Innovator of the Year.

The research team working on the project is led by van Leeuwen and includes Nick Gabler and Mike Persia, assistant professors of animal science; Mary Rasmussen, a post-doctoral research associate in food science and human nutrition; Daniel Erickson, Christopher Koza and Debjani Mitra, graduate students; and Brandon Caldwell, a graduate of Iowa State. The project is supported by a three-year, $450,000 grant from the Iowa Energy Center and a Smithfield grant from the Office of the Iowa Attorney General. Lincolnway Energy of Nevada, Cellencor Corp. of Ames and Iowa State's Center for Crops Utilization Research and BioCentury Research Farm are also supporting the project.

Here's how their process works to improve dry-grind ethanol production:

For every gallon of ethanol produced, there are about five gallons of leftovers known as stillage. The stillage contains solids and other organic material. Most of the solids are removed by centrifugation and dried into distillers dried grains that are sold as livestock feed, primarily for cattle.

The remaining liquid, known as thin stillage, still contains some solids, a variety of organic compounds and enzymes. Because the compounds and solids can interfere with ethanol production, only about 50 percent of thin stillage can be recycled back into ethanol production. The rest is evaporated and blended with distillers dried grains to produce distillers dried grains with solubles.

The researchers add fungus to the thin stillage and it feeds and grows into a thick mass in less than a day - van Leeuwen calls it "lightning-speed farming." The fungus removes about 60 percent of the organic material and most of the solids, allowing the water and enzymes in the thin stillage to be recycled back into production.

The fungus is then harvested and dried as animal feed that's rich in protein, certain essential amino acids and other nutrients. It can also be blended with distillers dried grains to boost its value as a livestock feed and make it more suitable for feeding hogs and chickens.

Van Leeuwen said the production technology can save United States ethanol producers up to $800 million a year in energy costs. He also said the technology can produce ethanol co-products worth another $800 million or more per year, depending on how it is used and marketed.

Now that the project has moved from a campus lab to the Iowa Energy Center's BECON facility in Nevada, van Leeuwen said researchers are working to improve the process at larger scales.

"We're adding and subtracting, doing things differently and redesigning our process all the time," he said.

Even so, the process has developed enough that researchers can use simple screens to harvest pellets of the fungus from the project's 20-foot high reactor. They're feeding some of the fungus to chickens and will soon start feeding tests with hogs. A next step could be testing the fungus for human consumption. (University leaders have tried the fungi and researchers regularly eat it, van Leeuwen said.)

As the project has successfully scaled up, so has van Leeuwen's optimism that the process could help the biofuels industry.

"Implementation of this process addresses criticism of biofuels by substantially lowering energy inputs and by increasing the production of nutritious animal feed," van Leeuwen said. "The MycoMeal process could truly revolutionize the biofuels industry."

SOURCE: Iowa State University

[AnimalMother]

Brazil Turns to U.S. to Meet Ethanol Demands

http://seekingalpha.com/article/271930-brazil-turns-to-u-s-to-meet-ethanol-demands

May 26, 2011
By Tony D’Altorio

Due to escalating Latin American demand, refineries often can’t keep up with fuel consumption, so global refiners have been quietly boosting refined fuel output. According to one of the largest U.S. refiners, Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO), that’s especially true of the developing economies of both Mexico and Brazil.

Brazil’s demand for refined fuels, such as ethanol, makes sense – what with a rapidly rising middle class that is making more car purchases, many of which run on gasoline, as well as a large number of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) that run on either gasoline or an 85 percent blend of ethanol.

And as the world leader in ethanol production and exports, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Brazil needs help meeting its own demand…

Brazil’s Ethanol Production Falls Short…

Brazil’s ethanol production fell short last season, only rising three percent to 25.3 billion liters, according to Czarnikow, the London-based sugar broker. As a result, imports rose steeply.

Brazil bought up 70 million liters of ethanol last year from the United States, up from just one million in 2009. And so far in 2011, imports have been even stronger.

The Brazilian real’s rise against the dollar and a lack of local investment into sugarcane fields hasn’t helped, either. That combination has resulted in higher sugar prices which undermines the competitiveness of the country’s domestically produced ethanol.

Unlike the United States, which uses corn to create the fuel, Brazil relies on sugar. And because it had plenty of that to go around, the sweet stuff worked out well for a while.

But the last two years’ poor weather led to much higher sugar prices around the world. Producers reacted by diverting the commodity away from ethanol and to the food market.

Naturally, that caused something of a shortage, hence the reason why Brazil has turned to the United States.

Brazil’s Ethanol Industry Ramps Up As Sugar Prices Drop

The global sugar supply has improved in the last few months, driving sugar prices back down. That should boost competitiveness in Brazil’s domestic ethanol industry, despite the real remaining weighty.

In addition, the country is urging its fuel giants, such as Cosan (NYSE: CZZ) and Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), to increase ethanol production.

Under orders, Petrobras is tripling its share of ethanol production from 5% to 15% of the total national market to help alleviate the shortage. Brazil also hopes to keep the United States from becoming the world’s biggest ethanol exporter that way.

To further that attempt, Geraldine Kutas of UNICA, Brazil’s sugar cane industry association, spoke up recently. She essentially demanded that the United States eliminate its ethanol tariff, which runs at $0.15 a gallon until at least 2016.

The truth is, her country is already miffed since the United States continues to block Brazilian ethanol access to its ethanol market. And now that the United States wants to be both the main producer and exporter, UNICA has put its foot down.

Brazil may even take the heavily subsidized United States ethanol industry to the World Trade Organization in a dispute.

In the meantime, Brazil’s ethanol industry should rebound on its own, thanks to lower sugar prices and an expected weakening in the real. If these short-term trends continue, both Cosan and Petrobras are worth looking into.

Disclosure: Investment U expressly forbids its writers from having a financial interest in any security they recommend to our subscribers. All employees and agents of Investment U (and affiliated companies) must wait 24 hours after an initial trade recommendation is published on online - or 72 hours after a direct mail publication is sent - before acting on that recommendation.

[AnimalMother]

E85 ethanol sales up 27 percent

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/05/24/e85-ethanol-sales-up-27-percent/

12:46 PM, May 24, 2011 | by Dan Piller |
Categories: Green Fields: Agriculture and Alternative Energy


As the price of unleaded gasoline climbed by 90 cents per gallon during the first quarter, sales of cheaper E85 ethanol blend rose by 27 percent during the same period over the fourth quarter of 2010, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said today.

According to the Iowa Department of Revenue, sales of E85 by Iowa retailers reached 2,645,038 gallons during the first three months of this year. Compared to the first quarter of 2010, E85 sales were up 64 percent in 2011.

While the price of unleaded gasoline with the ten percent ethanol blend rose from $2.99 per gallon at the end of 2010 to $3.90 per gallon by late April, E85 remained below $3 per gallon at most Iowa outlets.

“Consumers have increasingly sought out E85 as an affordable, homegrown alternative with gasoline prices approaching $4 per gallon,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “It was especially exciting to see E85 sales increase robustly even as the Iowa E85 retailer tax credit was cut by half on the first of January.”

Since January 1, 2006, Iowa retailers have received a tax credit for each gallon of E85 sold. Under the 2006 law, the E85 tax credit was reduced from 20 cents per gallon to 10 cents per gallon on January 1, 2011.

Iowa currently has 142 retail outlets offering E85. A list of all the E85 stations can be found at: www.iowarfa.org/ethanol_e85refueling.php.

[AnimalMother]

UPS Begins Using Renewable Biodiesel at Major U.S. Hub

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ups-begins-using-renewable-biodiesel-at-major-us-hub-122459573.html

Move shows trend towards biodiesel's integration into corporate sustainability

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- What can Brown do for you? For a start, it's making your world greener by using cleaner burning biodiesel. The United Parcel Service began using biodiesel blends at its most vital hub in Louisville, Kentucky this month.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100830/DC56543LOGO-b)

"There is a finite amount of petroleum-based fuel available from our planet so it is important that UPS and other companies invest in ways to use alternative fuels and technologies, including biodiesel," said Scott Wicker, UPS Chief Sustainability officer. "This project helps us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels with the added benefit that it will also reduce air pollution and carbon emissions."

UPS recently installed a biodiesel fuel tank and fueling station at its Worldport facility. It will allow fueling operators to blend specified percentages of biodiesel "on the fly," starting with 5 percent biodiesel (B5), and working up to 20 percent biodiesel (B20).

The single most important point in all of UPS's global operation, Worldport:

Processes 416 thousand packages an hour
Is the size of 80 football fields
Turns 100 aircraft a day


The 30,000 gallon biodiesel tank and station at Worldport fuels nearly 200 vehicles and diesel equipment, most of which help load packages on and off the planes.

The National Biodiesel Board called UPS's switch to biodiesel monumental.

"For a giant like UPS to use biodiesel is not only an outstanding vote of confidence for biodiesel, but an example of how America's first advanced biofuel will fuel the drive towards genuine corporate sustainability," said Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board.

Biodiesel blends of up to 20 percent can be used in any diesel engine without modifications, making it one of the most cost-effective ways to clean up heavy duty equipment.

"Biodiesel supports green jobs and domestic energy security here and nationally, and we commend UPS for making biodiesel a part of its commitment to sustainability," said Melissa Howell, executive director of the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition.

Biodiesel is an advanced biofuel made from readily available, renewable resources. It is drop-in diesel fuel replacement that reduces greenhouse gas by 80 percent, without negatively impacting land use or the food supply.

For more on biodiesel, please visit the National Biodiesel Board website at www.biodiesel.org.

SOURCE National Biodiesel Board

[AnimalMother]

GPRE to speak at Stephens Investors conference today!

[AnimalMother]

no idea what he'll talk about, but I'm excited to listen as well!

[bigone]

Do you think Todd Becker will present any new info/results?
I really enjoy listening to him. He is very intelligent and to the point usually. It is an education to hear him speak.
The company should be racking in the profits, and the new facility in Minnesota may be getting close to being ready to go soon.

[AnimalMother]

Green Plains Renewable Energy to Present at the Stephens Spring Investment Conference

Press Release Source: Green Plains Renewable Energy On Thursday May 19, 2011, 11:23 am

OMAHA, Neb., May 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) announced today that Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the Stephens Spring Investment Conference in New York City on May 24, 2011.

Green Plains' presentation will take place at 11:30 a.m. ET and is available via webcast. Interested investors should utilize the following link to access the live broadcast of the presentation or follow a link from the Company's website at www.gpreinc.com. Please allow time to register for the event after you have navigated to the webcast link. Parties interested in listening to a replay of the presentation can use the same link as the live webcast: http://www.wsw.com/webcast/stph16/gpre/.

About Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) is North America's fourth largest ethanol producer. The company markets and distributes over 1 billion gallons of renewable motor fuel on an annual basis, including 740 million gallons of expected production from the company's nine ethanol plants located throughout the U.S. Green Plains also owns and operates grain handling and storage assets and provides complementary agronomy services to local grain producers through its agribusiness segment. Green Plains owns a majority ownership in Blendstar, LLC, a biofuels terminal operator with locations in the southern U.S. Green Plains is a joint venture partner in BioProcess Algae LLC, which was formed to commercialize advanced photo-bioreactor technologies for the growing and harvesting of algal biomass.

[AnimalMother]

India Could Replace Gasoline Imports With Ethanol by 2020, Study Shows

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-18/india-could-replace-gasoline-imports-with-ethanol-by-2020-study-shows.html

By Natalie Obiko Pearson - May 18, 2011 8:00 AM ET

India, the world’s second fastest- growing automobile market, could replace gasoline imports with ethanol by 2020 if policies and infrastructure are put in place to promote the green fuel, a report said.

India can potentially harvest enough bagasse, rice husk and sugar waste to produce as much as 50 billion liters (13 billion gallons) of ethanol without relying on food crops or disrupting agricultural land-use, according to a report today by Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah.

That would be enough to replace 86 percent of gasoline demand and remove the need for imports, according to the report, done by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for Novozymes A/S, the world’s biggest maker of industrial enzymes.

Gasoline consumption is set to surge in Asia’s third- largest energy consumer as rising incomes spur demand for vehicles. Two-thirds of the country’s gasoline demand comes from two-wheeled passenger vehicles such as motorcycles, the report said.

If India doesn’t find alternatives, it could spend about $19.4 billion on gasoline imports by 2020, said the report, which assumes a crude oil price of $100 a barrel.

In contrast, the development of an ethanol industry could generate up to $20 billion of yearly revenue plus $1.6 billion in ethanol exports, it estimated.

Barriers include the lack of infrastructure to collect and transport agricultural residue and no clear targets or penalties from the government to promote development, it said.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which provides data and research, is owned by Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News.

To contact the reporter on this story: Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai at [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at [e-mail].

[AnimalMother]

Setting the record straight: Ethanol is best solution

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20110519/OPINION03/105190314/Setting-record-straight-Ethanol-best-solution?odyssey=nav|head

May 19, 2011

If Jack Koschnick wants a long-term solution to our energy crisis, then he should embrace the lowest-cost transportation fuel available today: domestic ethanol ("Relying on ethanol creates more problems than it solves," May 10).

Like many of ethanol's critics, Mr. Koschnick has elected, for whatever his reasons, to eliminate critical facts from his equation. More egregious is his elimination of the fact that ethanol plants also produce animal feed products. Importantly, all of corn's high-value components, protein and fat, are returned to the feed supply. Ethanol production only converts the low-value component of corn, starch, into ethanol.

Koschnick's claim that ethanol is driving up food prices has been disproven over and over again. Most recently by the World Bank, which reversed its 2008 stance on ethanol's impact on world food costs. Instead, it showed that the highest impact on rising food prices rests squarely on the shoulders of higher prices for oil, used in processing, packaging and transporting food products.

Why should we invest in ethanol? Because ethanol burns 59 percent cleaner than conventional gasoline. It creates U.S. jobs and keeps American money here, instead of shipping it overseas. Ethanol also reduces our dependence on foreign oil -- often from countries that are hostile to American interests and values.

Ethanol is already available, commercially viable and the technology for producing ethanol and its co-products is rapidly advancing. I agree we need a solution for today's challenges and tomorrow's ... and that solution is ethanol.

Mark Borer

Ottawa

Editor's note: Borer is president of Ohio Ethanol Producers Association and general manager, POET Biorefining, Leipsic.

[AnimalMother]

Brazil: We will import U.S. ethanol when needed

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110519/BUSINESS01/105190348/-1/DMWEST/Brazil-We-will-import-U-S-ethanol-when-needed

12:31 AM, May. 19, 2011

The world's biggest producer of sugarcane ethanol has no problem using its corn-made cousin, the Brazilian ambassador to the U.S. said Wednesday.

"As long as we need it, we'll import it," said Ambassador Mauro Vieira, who met with editors from The Des Moines Register on Wednesday.

Brazil imported a record amount of ethanol in the first quarter of 2011, because of a poor sugarcane harvest last year, high sugar prices and higher domestic demand, said Platts, an energy information service. Most of that imported ethanol came from the United States; Iowa is the nation's largest producer.

Brazil has long protested the U.S. tariff on imported ethanol, and its officials have argued that its producers make cane ethanol in a cheaper, more environmentally friendly way without raising corn prices.

"We prefer our own because it's more efficient," Vieira said. He repeated criticism that U.S. ethanol takes corn from "the mouths of people."

But it's also in Brazil's interest to promote the use of alternative fuels.

"It is in our culture," he said. "We don't think whether it's corn or our sugar when we put it in our tanks."

The ambassador said Brazilian and U.S. officials are working together to increase worldwide ethanol demand.

Vieira met with business and state officials in Des Moines to discuss commerce between Iowa and the rapidly growing economy. Iowa's exports to Brazil, the state's seventh largest export market, have grown from $95 million in 2006 to $353 million in 2010.

[AnimalMother]

The U.S. Ethanol Story Gets Interesting

http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/The-U.S.-Ethanol-Story-Gets-Interesting-CORN-ADM-VLO0511.aspx?partner=YahooSA

Posted: May 11, 2011 11:51 AM by Aaron Levitt

Filed Under: Commodities,Stock Analysis,Stocks
Tickers in this Article: ADM, ANDE, CORN, CROP, CZZ, FUE, GPRE, MOO, PEIX, SGG, VLO

Nothing in the alternative and renewable energy space generates as much controversy and buzz as ethanol - and corn-based ethanol certainly has a number of detractors. While new solar and wind energy projects seem to be functioning okay despite European austerity measures, the U.S. corn ethanol sector continues to disappoint. That is, until now. Poor weather conditions and rising demand has caused another biofuels leader to falter. This stumble could be just what the U.S. ethanol industry needs. (In this article, we'll take a look at biofuels and examine their benefits. For more, see The Biofuels Debate Heats Up.)


Rising Currency, Poor Crops
Brazil's status as one of the world's leading biofuel producers could be in jeopardy. Brazilian sugarcane-based ethanol has traditionally been one of the cheapest sources of biofuels, producing eight-times the energy versus inputs. However, according to the U.S. commerce department, Brazil imported nearly 70 million liters of corn-based U.S. ethanol in 2010, up from just 1 million in 2009. The imports of ethanol continued into 2011. The nation imported an estimated 80-200 million liters of ethanol during the first quarter. While Brazil consumes much of its ethanol production, it typically exports nearly 10% to developed nations. This includes the United States. So the shift is certainly interesting. The country has been importing record levels of ethanol due to myriad of factors. (For more, see Investing Seasonally In The Corn Market.)

The surge in ethanol imports reflects disappointing Brazilian production and rising fuel consumption. Two years worth of poor weather conditions have drastically hindered sugarcane growth. The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, UNICA reported that last month that the sugar harvests was ending earlier than normal. Only seven plants were still crushing sugarcane in the country. Last year at this time, nearly 41 mills were still operating through April. Soaring demand in the nation is also helping the U.S. corn ethanol industry. Brazil's adoption of flex-fuel vehicles has helped the sector see tremendous increases in a short time. Currently, there are about 11 million flex-fuel automobiles in Brazil, with the nation adding 2-3 million new vehicles each year.

Finally, strong pressures have also contributed to the increase in ethanol imports. Sugar prices have soared along with other food commodities, making Brazilian ethanol more expensive. In addition, the fallen greenback has made all U.S. exports cheaper for international customers. The one-two punch could be what the U.S. ethanol industry needs. The U.S. is now the world's second-largest ethanol exporter, selling to the Middle East, Europe and Canada. (For more, see An Overview Of Commodities Trading.)

Get Free Stock Analysis By Email
Betting On U.S. Ethanol
With the dollar fallen and worldwide ethanol demand still rising, many U.S. producers believe they are approaching the point where they can compete without state or federal support. The 45 cent per gallon blenders credit (VEETC) is due to expire at the end of this year and some new legislation would provide a safety-net for producers, payable on a sliding scale linked to the price of oil. However, U.S. producers may not need it and now may be the time for investors to add ethanol to a portfolio.

For those investors looking to cash in on the United States' newfound prominence in the ethanol world can mean only one thing: corn. The Teucrium Corn Fund (Nasdaq:CORN) allows investors to bet on rising corn prices and consumption. The ETF makes an interesting play on the rise of U.S. ethanol exports. In addition, for those who want to bet on the overall growth of biofuels, the ELEMENTS MLCX Biofuels Index ETN (NYSE:FUE) can be used as well. (For more, see How To Reduce Taxes On ETF Gains.)

Both Pacific Ethanol (Nasdaq:PEIX) and Green Plains Renewable Energy (Nasdaq:GPRE) are two of the more notable pure- play producers. However, they are not the leaders in terms of volume. Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) has the size and global expertise to really gain from the expansion of U.S. ethanol exports. In addition, refiner Valero Energy's (NYSE:VLO) fire sale purchases of Verasun's assets makes it an idle play as well.

Finally, increased ethanol exports will mean more corn planting, and ultimately benefit the agriculture sector in general. The PowerShares Global Agriculture (PAGG) and IQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap ETF (NYSE:CROP) are great ways to play the boom in agriculture.

The Bottom Line
While the U.S. corn ethanol sector has had to play second fiddle to Brazil's sugarcane dominance, recent developments has made the sector desirable once again. Brazil's shift to importer from exporter will benefit U.S. producers. Investors may want to avoid sugarcane producers like Cosan (NYSE:CZZ) and go with domestic corn ethanol stocks like The Andersons (Nasdaq:ANDE). (For more, see Clean Or Green Technology Investing.)


By Aaron Levitt

Aaron Levitt is an independent investment writer and analyst living in State College, Pennsylvania. His work appears in several high profile publications in both print and on the web. Levitt is an advocate for long term investing with a global framework. You can follow his picks and pans at http://twitter.com/AaronLevitt

[AnimalMother]

Great time to buy GPRE!

[AnimalMother]

Revenues jumped to $812 million from $426.5 million the prior year.

[AnimalMother]

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. to Discuss First Quarter 2011 Financial Results

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Green-Plains-Renewable-Energy-pz-9105004.html?x=0&.v=1

*
Companies:
o Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.
*
Topics:
o Earnings

Related Quotes
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GPRE 12.55 0.00
Chart for Green Plains Renewable Energy,
{"s" : "gpre","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""}
Press Release Source: Green Plains Renewable Energy On Wednesday April 20, 2011, 8:41 am EDT

OMAHA, Neb., April 20, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2011 financial results on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Green Plains' participants will include Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Peters, Chief Financial Officer, and Jeff Briggs, Chief Operating Officer. Following their presentation, participants will be available for a brief question and answer session.

Green Plains First Quarter 2011 Financial Results Conference Call

Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. CT

Call in # (Domestic) 877-868-1833

Call in # (International) 914-495-8604

The conference call will be available via webcast and is accessible at Green Plains' website at www.gpreinc.com. Listeners are advised to go to the website at least 10 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The presentation will be archived and available for replay through May 5, 2011.

About Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE - News) is North America's fourth largest ethanol producer, operating a total of nine ethanol plants in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Tennessee with annual expected operating capacity totaling approximately 740 million gallons. Green Plains also markets and distributes ethanol for independent third-party ethanol producers with annual expected operating capacity totaling approximately 360 million gallons. Green Plains owns 51% of Blendstar, LLC, a biofuel terminal operator which operates nine blending or terminaling facilities with approximately 495 million gallons per year of total throughput capacity in seven states in the south central United States. Green Plains operates grain storage facilities and complementary agronomy and petroleum businesses in Iowa, southern Minnesota and western Tennessee.

Contact:

Company Contact:
Jim Stark, Vice President - Investor and Media Relations
Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.
[phone]
[e-mail]
Investor Contact:
John Baldissera
BPC Financial Marketing
[phone]

[AnimalMother]

USDA aims to boost sales of high-blend ethanol

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/usda-ethanol-rural-idUSN0823183820110408

Fri Apr 8, 2011 2:14pm EDT

* USDA to offer incentives to increase use of ethanol

* Goal is to add 10,000 flex-fuel pumps in next 5 years

* Cost of a new flex system can be $120,000-official (Adds comments from USDA's Vilsack, company details)

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Friday it will provide incentives to U.S. gasoline stations to install more pumps with a higher blend of ethanol in an effort to boost consumption of the renewable fuel.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the administration hoped to install 10,000 flexible fuel pumps nationwide in the next five years.

The units, also known as blender pumps, allow consumers to blend motor fuel with up to 85 percent ethanol (E-85) for cars that can run on the higher mixes.

The Environmental Protection Agency in January approved raising the amount of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent for newer cars and trucks from 10 percent, a ruling welcomed by the industry and farmers who supply the corn to make the fuel.

Most gasoline sold in the United States is a mix of 10 percent ethanol. Currently, only about 2,350 of the nation's 167,800 gas stations offer E-85.

"The question will be if that higher blend of ethanol is readily available, immediately available," Vilsack told reporters. "We still have a great deal of work to do."

The funding will come through grants and loans from the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program. Vilsack said it costs an average of $120,000 to install a flex fuel distribution system, pumping system and tank at a gas station.

The funding will help gas station owners trim their overall cost to install systems to handle the higher blends, or lower borrowing costs by reducing interest rate or easing a bank's reluctance to finance the project.

A broader distribution of blender pumps could help companies like closely held Poet, Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N), and Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc (GPRE.O) sell more ethanol.

Nearly 40 percent of this year's 12.447-billion-bushel corn crop will be used to make ethanol. Corn-based ethanol has been touted by the struggling ethanol industry and American farmers who supply corn as a way to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, create jobs and boost income for rural communities.

But critics contend the subsidies do more harm than good.

Grain farmers like high corn prices, but livestock farmers and food companies say ethanol leads to food inflation by driving up the cost of meat and poultry. (Editing by David Gregorio and Jeffrey Benkoe)

[bigone]

Last evening on Iowa Public T V's Market to Market program the guest mentioned that with potentially short supplies of corn, it may pressure ethanol producers to close down production for a month or two this summer....

[AnimalMother]

The Convergence of First & Second Gen Biofuels

http://domesticfuel.com/2011/03/29/the-convergence-of-first-second-gen-biofuels/

The Convergence of First & Second Gen Biofuels
Comment on this post Posted by Joanna Schroeder – March 29th, 2011

Often times, it appears that people pit first generation biofuel technologies against second generation biofuel technologies. This leads me to ask the question, Why can’t we all get along? Well, now we can with the convergence of conventional ethanol technologies and emerging algal biomass technologies being developed by BioProcess Algae.

BioProcess Algae is based in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and the company is designing, manufacturing and operating systems that enable controlled, economical cultivation of algal biomass using attached growth technology. According to CEO Tim Burns, the technology was developed through its water company, BioProcess H2O when they looked at the attached growth platform and how using their fixed films could be used as an effective way to grow algae. So in 2008 they formed BioProcess Algae, which is the sum of four companies: BioProcess H2O, Clarcor, Green Plains Renewable Energy, and NTR.

Fast forward to 2011. Burns said the company has developed a three-prong business strategy to commercialize the technology. In partnership with Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE), they selected Shenandoah, Iowa to be the site where they prove out their technology at commercial scale. In a very simple terms, BioProcess Algae is using the plant’s CO2 emissions (aka flue gas) as a nutrient source to grow the algae. The plants also share waste water and waste heat.

Burns explained that the first phase began in October 2009 when they first integrated their Grower Harvester bioreactors directly to the plant’s CO2 exhaust gases. During this initial phase, they developed a set of metrics that included productivity and uptime targets. They exceeded all of their targets. Next, Phase 2 began. They have completed a 4,000 square foot facility that houses all the infrastructure needed to support their bioreactors including full process control and dewatering.

So what exactly does this sharing of resources mean for both technologies in terms of efficiency and production costs?

“We’re improving the carbon footprint of the ethanol facility by utilization of their CO2,” said Burns. “And we’re getting an input for the growth of our algae through the co-location so we’re decreasing our cost structure and we’re not having to purchase the waste heat, the nutrients or the water, and the CO2 coming into our system.”

In addition to fuel, BioProcess Algae is also looking at feed products. They’re doing feed trials this spring with Iowa State and the University of Nebraska specifically for the hen market and the cattle market.

One thing that Burns stresses is that this convergence of technologies is really about valuing carbon. “Once that first commercial facility is going, everyone looks at that stack differently going forward. Everyone looks at their greenhouse gas emissions as an opportunity not as a cost or as a nuisance,” said Burns.

Burns believes that co-locating advanced biofuels plants next to first generation biofuel plans is going to be the future. “Based on demographics and where the world is going, these are the solutions in feed and fuel that this country is going to have to take the leadership role to provide. We’re excited about our platform. We’re excited about getting that first facility up running in Shenandoah.”

[AnimalMother]

@11:20 ** Obama to speak on energy policy

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Barack Obama will deliver a speech on U.S. energy security at 11:20 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday. In a speech at Georgetown University, Obama will call for reducing U.S. oil imports by a third over the next decade. In the speech he will also call for boosting domestic energy production, including biofuels and natural gas.

[AnimalMother]

Ethanol Gains as Corn Advances on Increased Export Demand

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-29/ethanol-gains-as-corn-advances-on-increased-export-demand.html

Ethanol futures gained in Chicago as corn advanced on speculation that export demand is increasing for the feed and biofuel component.

The gasoline additive shadowed corn higher a day after the Agriculture Department said corn inspected for export climbed 31 percent from a week earlier. The grain is used to make ethanol in the U.S.

Denatured ethanol for April delivery rose 0.7 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $2.492 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have gained 59 percent in the past year.

In cash market trading, ethanol in New York was unchanged at $2.61 a gallon and in Chicago the additive lost 0.5 cents to $2.51, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Ethanol in the U.S. Gulf slipped 0.5 cent to $2.64 a gallon and the fuel on the West Coast the fuel was unchanged at $2.71.

Corn for May delivery added 0.75 cent to $6.7175 a bushel in Chicago, up 9 percent from $6.165 on March 16. One bushel makes about 2.75 gallons of ethanol.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mario Parker in Chicago at [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at [e-mail].

[AnimalMother]

Greenshift Corp: Putting the Squeeze on Corn
Debra Fiakas

After a series of bankruptcies laid the U.S. ethanol industry on its back a few years ago, the survivors got the message - become economically viable or go out of business. The industry has been scrambling to adopt new processes that utilize other non-food materials or at least get more out of the corn that has been the mainstay feedstock for the U.S. ethanol industry.

Enter Greenshift Corporation (GERS: OTC/BB) with its corn oil extraction process and a new step in the corn-ethanol production process. Greenshift may change the economics of corn-ethanol production by giving producers new revenue streams.

In the U.S. corn-ethanol industry the dry mill process is most typical with the whole corn kernel going into the fermentation stage. After the fermentation process that turns the sugars in the corn kernel to ethanol, the leftovers or “corn stillage” are usually put through water extraction and drying stages. The dried by-product called distillers grain is sold as animal feed. Cattle or hog finishers are only to happy to get distillers grains since the protein content is near 30%.

However, distillers grains also has a high fat content - 12% to 15%. Greenshift’s corn oil extraction process removes corn oil from the corn stillage, providing ethanol producers another revenue producing by-product. The corn oil can then be sold as biofuel feedstock or as an alternative animal feed ingredient. What is left in the stillage goes on through the usual water extraction and drying process. Greenshift claims its process removes as much as 80% of the oil from the corn stillage.

Greenshift has managed to license its process to a half dozen or so ethanol and corn handling concerns, including most recently Marquis Energy for its Wisconsin ethanol plant. Marquis previously licensed the Greenshift technology for its plant in Illinois. Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (GPRE: Nasdaq) is also a licensee. In a recent letter to shareholders, Greenshift CEO Kevin Kreisler predicted that current license agreements would be sufficient to bring the company to break-even at the operating level.

As rosy as the story might sound, GERS is only for the most risk tolerant investor. The stock is trades more than 70 million shares per day at a price that is well under a half penny. Those of us who need to sleep at night might wait until Green Plains has implemented the Greenshift technology. Green Plains expects to complete deployment by the end of March 2011 and claims the change could enhance operating income by $15 million to $19 million per year. If Green Plains is able to make good on its claims, it could be a good reason to look more carefully at GERS.

Debra Fiakas is the Managing Director of Crystal Equity Research, an alternative research resource on small capitalization companies in selected industries.

Neither the author of the Small Cap Strategist web log, Crystal Equity Research nor its affiliates have a beneficial interest in the companies mentioned herein. GERS and GPRE are included in Crystal Equity Research’s Beach Boys Index in the Ethanol Group.

$GPRE, $GERS



Greenshift Corp: Putting the Squeeze on Corn was posted on AltEnergyStocks.com.

[AnimalMother]

Ethanol Production in U.S. Climbs 2%

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/ethanol-production-in-u-s-climbs-2-energy-department-says.html

U.S. ethanol production climbed 2 percent to 913,000 barrels a day last week, the highest level in two months, according to the Energy Department.

Output rose to the highest level since Jan. 21 and the gain was the largest since Jan. 14, the department said in a report released in Washington. Stockpiles grew 0.7 percent to a record 20 million barrels.

Production of conventional gasoline blended with ethanol gained 0.9 percent to 4.95 million barrels a day. Refiners receive a 45-cent tax credit for every gallon of ethanol blended into the motor fuel.

Denatured ethanol for March delivery slumped 0.8 cent, or 0.3 percent, to $2.48 a gallon at 10:35 a.m. New York time on the Chicago Board of Trade. Futures have climbed 59 percent in the past year.

[bigone]

Over the past few weeks I have e-mailed Jim Cramer at [e-mail] a number of times concerning good news about GPRE. He actually interviewed our CEO at least once, if not twice, last year.
As of late, Jim has been on the anti-ethanol kick about using as fuel your food stocks. Too bad he won't interview our CEO again and let him respond to such incorrect assumptions.
This story needs to be painted with more of a positive slant, and the GPRE technologies and advantages promoted to the public in general.

[bigone]

Has anyone on this board ever toured one of the GPRE facilities using GERS technologies? Does GPRE offer public tours at any of their facilities?

[AnimalMother]

Ethanol Exports Could Double In 2011 - GPRE

http://wallacesfarmer.com/story.aspx/ethanol/exports/could/double/in/2011/9/47467

Chief executive of Green Plains Energy says U.S. exports of ethanol could double this year from the 400 million gallons that were exported in 2010. He says high sugar prices have Brazil looking at importing foreign-made fuel ethanol.
Compiled by staff
Published: Mar 16, 2011

Exports of U.S. ethanol could double this year from the 400 million gallons exported in 2010. In 2010, the amount of U.S. ethanol exported was four times the amount in 2009. Todd Becker, chief executive officer of Green Plains Energy, which operates three ethanol plants in Iowa and is based in Omaha, says high sugar prices in Brazil are a factor, as are high petroleum prices worldwide. Canada is the leading importer of U.S. ethanol, followed by the Netherlands, United Kingdom, India and United Arab Emirates.

"We've seen expressions of interest from Brazil, where the sugar market is going to make it difficult for that nation to meet their domestic demand," says Becker, whose company operates plants at Shenandoah, Superior and Lakota in Iowa and other ethanol plants in Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee.

Selling U.S ethanol to Brazil could be tricky. The U.S. maintains a tariff on imported ethanol that Brazil has protested. Becker says Brazil would be a promising market for U.S. ethanol. Brazil produces its ethanol from sugarcane, whose prices have soared in the past year.

Ethanol producers will need these export markets

Ethanol producers in the U.S. are likely to need export markets in future years as U.S. producers reach the 15-billion-gallon limit for corn-fed ethanol under federal renewable fuel standard limits. "Ethanol is the low-cost fuel worldwide," says Becker, "and as the price of crude oil and gasoline rises, there will be more worldwide demand."

Ethanol in the U.S. is currently selling for about $2.50 per gallon, roughly 50 cents per gallon below wholesale unleaded gasoline prices.

Expansion of U.S. ethanol export markets might be a necessity this year because of overcapacity, says Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. "If we don't export more, plants will shut down," he says. "We're at full market capacity right now."

U.S. has reached the "blend wall" with E10 ethanol

The 13 billion gallons of ethanol produced in 2010 pushed the industry to the "blend wall" limit of 10% of the 130 billion gallons of gasoline consumed annually in the United States. Expansion of the legal blend limit of ethanol from E10 to E15 was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year, but that approval of the 15% blend is expected to have minimal impact on demand because of lack of retail pump capacity.

To get fuel retailers to switch from selling the E10, or 10%, to the E15, or 15%, blend of ethanol with gasoline, it's going to take a financial incentive to offset the cost of switching. Federal funding to provide cost-share money to get stations to install blender pumps and tanks to handle the 15% blend has been proposed. But with the budget cutting mood in Congress these days, such legislation remains stalled.

Oil prices boost ethanol, demand is strong for corn-based fuel

Crude oil prices last week rose to a 33-month high of $105 per barrel, but there's a silver lining for Iowa: The rising crude oil price is helping keep demand for corn-based ethanol strong, which is good for Iowa's ethanol industry.

Becker says, "We've seen our margins widen nicely in recent days. That's good news for an industry that's been battered and some people thought would die after corn prices doubled in the last half of 2010."

Since December, the rise in the price of crude oil has driven the wholesale price of regular gasoline to $3 per gallon. That prompted the price of ethanol to rise from $2 per gallon in December to $2.59 per gallon last Monday. The lower price of ethanol gives oil companies extra incentive (beyond the federal renewable fuels mandates) to purchase ethanol to blend with unleaded gasoline.

The economics have been keeping demand for ethanol strong

Those economics have kept the demand for ethanol strong, and helps keep Iowa's 40 ethanol plants producing at full capacity. Of the 13.2 billion gallons of ethanol produced in the U.S. last year, 3.5 billion gallons came from Iowa, the nation's leader ethanol producing state.

What worries ethanol producers is the tight supply of corn, which is in the tightest supply in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. Becker says if U.S. farmers don't produce a bumper corn crop in 2011, the ethanol industry could find itself in a serious supply crisis by fall. "Most plants will get through the second quarter of this year alright," he says. "But a lot of them are very nervous about the third quarter. We could see some plants shut down."

If corn supply problems occur later this year, it could coincide, oddly enough, with a slump in demand for ethanol. "We're already pretty much at the blend wall," says Monte Shaw of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. He's referring to the 13 billion gallons of ethanol production nationally, up 28% from 2009. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has raised the blend limit to 15% in gasoline, the lack of enough "blender" pumps at retail gas stations is thought to probably delay much use of E15 for up to two years. "We'll see a little E15 sold by the end of this year, but not enough to make a difference," says Shaw.

[AnimalMother]

E15 To Launch By Summer - Motor Trend

March 14 2011 2:00 PM

http://wot.motortrend.com/ethanol-coming-e15-launch-summer-38041.html

With the EPA finalizing its labeling and other rules governing E15 ethanol over the next few months, the official introduction of the new blend is expected by this summer.

“We are now in the process of completing a rule that will establish national labeling,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told the Senate Agriculture Committee at a hearing last Thursday. “We expect to issue a final rule in the next few months.”

After an encouraging third-party report last fall played down the potential risks of increasing the legal ethanol blend to 15 percent, the EPA announced in October it would raise the limit from the current 10-percent cap. The EPA made the change official in January. There is a catch, however. E15 can only be used in vehicles built in 2001 or later as older vehicles are less resistant to the corrosive effects of alcohol in the fuel system.

The debate over E15 ethanol has been a contentious one. Proponents say larger ethanol blends will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reduce emissions, lower gas prices and stimulate the economy. Critics argue that ethanol contains less energy than gasoline and is less efficient, that it can damage the fuel and emissions systems in older vehicles, that ethanol requires too many government subsidies to be viable, and that it stretches grain crops too thin as low-grade corn for ethanol production replaces high-grade edible corn in the fields, raising corn prices.

To straddle the debate, the EPA has declared that E15 is only safe in newer vehicles, specifically those built in 2001 or later. To prevent confusion at the pump, the EPA will require that E15 be dispense only out of special pumps that don’t also pump regular gasoline. E15 pumps will be clearly labeled as such and will have warnings on them to stop people with older vehicles from filling up with E15 instead of gasoline. E15, naturally, will have to be stored in a separate tank from gasoline and E10.

Research by the EPA and by Ricardo shows that more than 150 million vehicles on the road in the U.S. today were built after 2001 and consume some 74 percent of the gasoline. Ricardo also found that 88 percent of vehicles on the road in the U.S. were built after 1993, so a majority of cars on the road today will be able to use E15. The EPA estimates that there will be more than 187 million vehicles capable of using E15 by 2014, representing 85 percent of gasoline usage.