Hello Ron, Thank you for the informative summary and the links
> I find it interesting that a number of states such as Minnesota, > Iowa, Wisconsin, North & South Dakota, California, Nebraska to > name few around the USA have introduced alternative biofuel > such as ethanol into not only the government transportation mix > but also to the public which may have had something to do with > public opinion or was there some other reasons for it. ======================================== There is another news source from BBI which headlines each new E85 pump that opens for the public and that number grows weekly. Also the new cars for 2005 will feature many ethanol compatible models from economy models to luxury vehicles and work trucks. And you are correct; government is a major factor in helping a multimillion dollar facility become profitable. However, at the last International Fuel Ethanol Workshop, the statistics showed that if we continue to rely on corn as a mainstay for fuel ethanol, we will not satisfy the fuel additive potential much less change to a primarily biofuel/ethanol alternative. And so the government is now pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into things like hull-less barley--a few years back it was sweet potatoes. The real innovation comes with cellulosic processing. This is and will remain the way of the future. Researchers have been working toward advanced yeast propagation and now the emphasis is on enzyme variation. The point is that it is possible to use any and all cellulose-based biomass as a fuel ethanol feedstock. RIGHT NOW! We do not have to follow the previous expensive processing methods of changing a food (corn) into ethanol via a beverage quality technology. The processing can be altered to produce ethanol faster and less expensively, by smaller groups, for local fuel use and also produce an excess to network into sales cooperatives--right where you live--anywhere USA that has biomass growth potential. I think I already mentioned that a neighbor made one gallon of ethanol from five cactus leaf pads. Do you know that that means? It means that land growth potential just doubled. Our next fuel ethanol start-up will be wood-chip and waste based. We plan on over a million gallons a year. This is a small, community-based coalition. Another facility we are helping in South Texas will only produce 30,000 gallons a year in the beginning and it will be done less expensively than the major producers. When you read that the farmers own the ethanol coops, you must realize that agribusiness caters to the industrial "farmer" more than the rural farmer with several hundred acres. There are crops that can produce more ethanol per acre with multiple annual harvests, and not require the expense associated with growing corn. My associate's research on cattail rhizomes proved a capacity of over 1000 gallons per acre from the roots alone. Now our new processing technology will give an even higher yield. Without the sale of the "cake"--wet or dry and other byproducts, the profits for corn ethanol production would not be good enough to be competitive. Also, without the government subsidies, tax breaks, and other incentives, it could not compete as an alternative fuel. This must change. And it can. And it will... as soon as small, rural economic development takes hold and cooperatives process biofuels through cellulosic breakdown. When coalitions from grassroots locations form small coops to take care of their own fuel needs, it will be a start. It doesn't require a minimum of four and a half million dollars to start an ethanol production plant like industry and government want us to believe. If you would like to discuss this off list or if you are truly interested in setting up a coalition in the United States, we can help. Each individual site is different. The concept could also work in foreign countries, but I'm not familiar with the land ownership, politics, and restrictions from other places, so I can't speak about other countries. Have you seen http://www.alcohol4fuel.com/id36.html? Robert details an easy way to begin real independence with links to another thousand pages of information. Robert is one of our company founders. There is a whole lot more in innovation coming very soon--with or without government assistance. And I really appreciate government help when it is available... especially to small emerging community-focused groups. Thanks for the input. I enjoyed seeing the web sites you referred to us. Best wishes, Peggy Hello MH, Below is a link that shows maize (corn) production in tabular and graphic form (both worldwide and by state). The information shows how the states you mention, are leaders in corn production. I believe Wisconsin is a more recent entry in the push for ethanol in comparison to Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska. Eastern South Dakota is a major corn production area and a large plant was recently constructed at Aurora (100 miilion gallons per year). Railroad trainloads of ethanol are shipped eastward to the Hudson River in the state of New York and then barged downriver to the New York City area markets. Nebraska is a leader by using water irrigation. There is also a table showing the top Wisconsin County corn producers. Government involvement has helped this push. For example, Minnesota allows tax breaks (incentives, whatever) for farmer invested ethanol plants. Large corporate investors need not apply. One half of all ethanol production in the USA is from farmer owned co-ops. Here's the link: http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/FISC/Corn/Corn.htm Here is a link showing an inventory of ethanol plants in the USA: http://www.ethanol.org/productionlist.htm Here is the home page link that talks about ethanol production. They mention other crops, but with corn production as an established, mature crop (machinery, storage facilities, transportation options, etc)...it was easy to introduce corn into the cycle: http://www.ethanol.org/ Ron B. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
