“an eight-fold increase in US ethanol consumption since 2000.”

This affects the monopoly of oil and their prices will probably not go up, due to this up and coming new market of energy.  This is a first in a long time and is exciting to watch.

There are some that worry about the world food supply diminishing, due to usage of corn, soybean, and sugar cane for fuel.  And there are others that are excited about a supplementary resource to curve our appetite for oil.  Either way, it can’t be denied that bio-fuels are here to stay.

Here in the United States, the Midwest sells more biodiesel than anywhere else in the country because of the large quantity of soybean farms in the area.  In fact, Minnesota has a law that states all diesel must be blended with biodiesel to be sold in the state.

What this means to trucking, is huge!  Even Willie Nelson is getting involved.  He has a biodiesel he calls BioWillie.  And BioWillie is only one brand of biofuel.  According to the article “Willie Nelson brings biofuel to the red states”, there are hundreds of biodiesel companies out there.   Bio Willie is sold at 22 truck stops and is created out of soybean.

It will be interesting to watch this next couple of years, don’t you think?

http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org/news/ethanol_set_bite_crude_sales

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3500954.ece

http://www.truckdriversnews.com/willie-nelson-brings-biofuel-to-the-red-states/

The first is the fact that the European Union has enacted a ban on imported biodiesel. The European union made up roughly 80% of the sales from US diesel manufacturers.

The other significant reason is the cost. US manufacturers have used soybeans in the manufacturing process. Now, soybeans can cost upwards of 30% more than they did just a few years ago.

The article also discussed the issue of political uncertainty. The industry is stuck waiting to see what the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will yield. If the EPA goes with a 650 million to 800 million requirements the surplus should disappear rather quickly.

This issue of a surplus will also be affected as the economy recovers. As more trucking jobs are created and more trucks are on the road surpluses will be drawn down.

The full and complete checkbiotech article can be found at: http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org/news/us_biodiesel_industry_drowning_surplus

This is just a little more news on the Bio diesel issue. It seems like now its just a matter of time before bio diesel blends become more readily available. Here is a list of the Counties in Oregon that now require the 2% blend:

Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk

In Oregon these counties are just a tip of the iceberg. On October 1 2009 Oregon will be requiring the 2% blend in the entire state. According to the article, Oregon state representatives have conducted price check research and found that the blended diesel is costing consumers on average 1 cent or less per gallon.

The article did also discuss the economic benefits in Oregon. Those interviewed in the artice said that little economic benefit may be derived so far from the B2 blend initiative. The article seem to point out economies of scale and the ability for very large producers to keep prices down have hampered economic growth from the initiative.

The bio diesel intital in Oregon should be accepted easily. Portland, has apparently been at a 5% blend since 2007. For jobs that truck drivers do, the article says the low 2% blend is unlikely to have any effect on freezing when it comes to cold weather.

For students in truck driving school, the blend inititives that are taking place nation wide should create only small differences in the training that students get today versues the traing they get when the entire nation is using Bio Diesel blends. The siginficant issues may arrive if freezing becomes a common problem.

The original article can be found at: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/08/biodiesel_blend_in_diesel_star.html

http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/index.jsp

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Exxon invests in algae for biodieselJuly 16, 2009 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)PMG – Isman (300).jpgBarb Isman, chief operating officer for Canadian Bioenergy Corporation, spoke at PMG’s AgProgress Conference in Kananaskis, Alta., in July. (For my complete coverage of the conference, click here.) Isman presented an update on biodiesel production in Canada, noting that her company is working with ADM to built a 265-million-litre biodiesel production facility on site at ADM’s canola crush plant in Lloydminster, Alta. With mandates coming on stream in B.C. and Alberta in 2010 and Canada as a whole in 2011, Canada will need 700 million litres of biodiesel just to meet these mandates, she said. Current capacity, spread over a number of smaller plants, is 220 million litres or so.In her talk, Isman talked about second and third generation source materials for biodiesel. Canola is a first generation material. Algae, which contains 46 per cent oil and doesn’t tie up farmland, is a second or third generation source, she says. She also noted that large petroleum companies are getting involved in these later generation products, and they’re also working on more efficient methods to convert the oil into useable energy.As if on queue, that day Exxon Mobil announced it will invest US$600 million in a project to develop production and harvest techniques for high-oil algae. The research partner is Synthetic Genomics. In a Dow Jones Newswire article, which appeared in The Globe and Mail, Emil Jacobs, VP of research and development for Exxon Research, is quoted saying the company looked “at all fuel options” and algae made the cut.The article says, “Commercially-viable algae biofuel is definitely in the realm of the future. Algae is rich in fat, which can be processed into fuel, and can reproduce much faster than corn and other land-hungry agricultural crops, all while living in brackish water.”It will be many years, if ever, before algae goes commercial — so canola biodiesel will remain a strong market outlook for Canadian canola growers for a good while yet.

Exxon invests in algae for biodiesel – Editor Whetter’s blog