NEVC Members Work to Add E85 in Baton Rouge

Sullivan Oil, Greater Baton Rouge Clean Cities Coalition, and CleanFUEL Distribution (CFD), all members of the NEVC, recently partnered in opening the first E85 station in Baton Rouge, La. The facility is located at 4637 Florida Blvd.

“Sullivan Oil decided to take the lead and bring E85 to our community,” said Willie Wells, general manager at Sullivan Oil. “This was the right thing for us to do and it will pave the way for economic development when our E85 will come from Louisiana ethanol plants."

Another integral part of the partnership was the Greater Baton Rouge Clean Cities Coalition.  The Coalition worked with Sullivan Oil to develop fleet interest for the fuel and was able to facilitate the partnership between CleanFUEL and Sullivan Oil.  “This is only the beginning for cleaner fuel choices in Baton Rouge”, said Tammy Morgan, Coordinator of the Greater Baton Rouge Clean Cities Coalition.  “Sullivan Oil already had experience with providing alternative fuels to Baton Rouge so it was a natural fit when this opportunity presented itself.  They have demonstrated their commitment to providing quality fuel choices to the metro area and we look forward to working with them to expand their alternative fuel infrastructure.”  

CFD is supplying E85 for the facility. The new Sullivan Oil station will accept Visa, MasterCard, Wright Express, Fuelman and Fleet One cards.

For a complete listing of all E85 stations throughout Louisiana and the U.S., go to www.E85Refueling.com.

Georgia Funds 21 E85 Stations

- Source: Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

As part of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s vision for sustainable economic development, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) Executive Director Chris Clark announced that $282,968 in E85 Retail Infrastructure Grants have been awarded to 21 fuel stations throughout the state.

“The E85 grant program will help expand the availability of E85 fuel across the state of Georgia, said Chris Clark. “When these projects are complete, E85 will be available to thousands of Georgians with flex fuel vehicles who didn’t previously have a station offering E85 near where they live and work.”

Clark expressed appreciation to Governor Perdue and the Georgia General Assembly for their support. He noted Governor Perdue’s commitment to helping Georgia’s cities and counties finance the development of environmental infrastructure. The legislation creating the E85 grant program (SB157) was sponsored by State Senator Ross Tolleson and it was signed by Governor Perdue in May 2007.

“With the rising number of flex fuel vehicles on the road, we need a network of gas stations which provide E85 to meet the increased demand for this cleaner-burning fuel,” said State Senator Ross Tolleson. “In addition to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, the ethanol in E85 can be produced right here in Georgia, providing an economic stimulus to rural areas of our state.”

The ethanol in E85 can be produced in Georgia from renewable resources such as forestry and agricultural products. Flex fuel vehicles are capable of operating on E85, standard gasoline, or any mixture of both. There are approximately six million flex fuel vehicles in the United States today, and most flex fuel vehicles are offered to consumers at the same price as traditional gasoline-only models.

GEFA helps communities prepare for economic growth and development by providing low interest loans and grants for environmental infrastructure projects. The E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant program is a competitive grant opportunity to assist retail gasoline stations in Georgia with installing, replacing, and/or converting motor fuel storage equipment to facilitate storing and dispensing E85 for retail sale.

A total of $400,000 was available for the E85 grant program. GEFA will use the remaining $117,032 in grant funds for future projects. The application process will be reopened later this spring on a rolling basis, with a particular focus on areas of the state which are currently underserved and were not represented in the first round of applications. These areas of interest include the Interstate-75 corridor north of Marietta, Interstate-95 corridor, Northeast Georgia (including the Athens-Clarke and Augusta-Richmond regions) and other areas of the state with little or no existing E85 retail infrastructure.

Cities and counties interested in more information regarding the E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program should visit http://www.gefa.org or call (404) 584-1000.

Ethanol Advocates, Ag Groups Getting Pushback Over 'Clean Car' Opposition

- Source: MinnPost.com

As "California Clean Cars" bills languish on in the 2008 Legislature, more and more are waving a blaming finger at Minnesota's agricultural groups and the upstart ethanol industry for making exaggerated claims at the behest of the auto industry—the same industry that not so long ago opposed legislative attempts to promote ethanol, which has become a cash cow in corn country.

And now some legislators are publicly warning ethanol advocates to cool it lest their industry get caught up in the same black-hat stigma which plagues American automakers.

"Never in a million years did I think this bill would be seen as anti-ethanol—because it is not," said a frustrated Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, who is working to save her House bill. A companion Senate measure by Roseville DFLer John Marty is bottled up in committee and is officially dead for the session that ends May 19.

"I'm still holding out hope, but it doesn't look good," said Marty, who was also caught off-guard by the opposition to his bill by farm groups and ethanol producers.

Climate committee sought change
The legislation would link Minnesota to California's nation-leading emissions standards for new passenger vehicles, something recommended by Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 55-member Climate Change Advisory Committee as a way to meet mandates by the 2007 Next Generation Energy Act to reduce greenhouse gases.

Hortman expected the auto industry to oppose her bill, as it has in the 12 other states which have already adopted California's regulations and the half dozen others considering it. She also expected the United Auto Workers and machinists' unions to oppose the bills, just as they've teamed with automakers for two decades to successfully derail federal fuel-efficiency improvements.

But the opposition from ethanol advocates—and, through them, the farm groups—was unexpected. The alliance with the auto industry has effectively stalled the Clean Cars bills, and that has cast a darkening shadow over an industry which once enjoyed broad support.

Political support for ethanol is still strong in Minnesota, but stress fractures have opened as a skeptical public wonders why ethanol receives so much taxpayer largesse.

Constituents question subsidies
"I'm a supporter of biofuels," Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, said at a packed hearing the other day. "But I have to tell you, every time I attend a meeting in my district I'm asked why we continue to subsidize ethanol. Some are demanding that we just stop it."

Sen. Satveer Chaudhary of Fridley went further. With ethanol advocates in the audience and among legislators at the hearing table, Chaudhary warned that concern over ethanol is growing in the Twin Cities and suburbs. "We're going to have another redistricting in two years, and that will mean fewer rural seats" at the Legislature, Chaudhary said, pointedly cautioning that a developing backlash against ethanol could grow.

One of those nodding in agreement was Rep. Aaron Peterson, DFL-Appleton, whose district has a lot of corn.

"We'd better pay attention to this," Peterson said later. "We don't want any unintended consequences."

Minnesota's 17 corn-ethanol plants are expected to double over the next few years. Sometime this year the combined annual capacity of the plants will surpass a billion gallons.

High water consumption
Recently, critics have pointed to the high water consumption by ethanol plants (four to seven gallons are needed for every gallon of ethanol, and most plants are located in drier parts of the state), the broad environmental effects of fertilizers and pesticides to grow corn and surging grocery prices caused in key part by corn grown for fuel instead of food.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported recently that 6.8 million acres of conservation-reserve grassland will be plowed up over the next five years to grow more crops, including corn. Last month the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for the first time ordered a full-scale environmental review of an ethanol plant planned near Erskine, Minn.

At a recent late-night House debate, DFL Rep. Ken Tschumper, a La Crescent, Minn., dairy farmer, forced a floor vote on whether to end Minnesota's 20-cent per gallon ethanol blending credit which, along with a 10 percent ethanol fuel mandate, was enacted to create a market for the biofuel. Tschumper got 37 votes, something which Peterson said was noticed by rural legislators.

Nationally, there is growing pressure to cut the 54-cent tariff on ethanol imports which protects U.S. producers from less expensive South American cane-ethanol.

A desire to expand E85 fuel
Vallerie Jerich, a lobbyist with the Minnesota Corn Growers, bristled at the suggestion that her group's opposition to the Clean Cars legislation had anything to do with the auto industry, which, she said, isn't trusted by the ethanol industry. Rather, she said, there is concern that the California regulations would impede Minnesota's efforts to expand E85 and push the auto industry to manufacture flex-fuel vehicles which can burn a range of ethanol blends.

While Jerich insisted independence from the automakers, the Corn Growers' name appears on a joint letter to legislators in opposition to the Clean Cars bills. Others include the Minnesota Farm Bureau, the Minnesota Farmers Union, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Minnesota Auto Dealers' Association, and local chapters of the United Auto Workers and Association of Machinists. A principal organizer of the opposition is the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, made up of ethanol producers and the auto manufacturers.

However, one ethanol lobbyist said privately that he advised his group to stay off the letter, because he said he fears the very backlash against ethanol which some legislators say has already started. 

NEVC Comments: Phil Lampert, executive director of the NEVC, recently traveled to Minnesota to testify in opposition to the proposed legislation. In his statement Lampert noted that in mid-2007, 1.04 percent of all registered light-duty vehicles in CA were FFVs while at the same time, 2.77 percent of all vehicles in MN were FFVs. This disparity is a direct result of the extremely complicated and onerous regulations that CA has adopted in regard to FFVs. Not all models of FFVs that have been sold in Minnesota are lawfully able to be sold in CA. Lampert went on to note that approximately 340 E85 fueling stations were in operation in Minnesota and only 4 public E85 stations existing throughout the entire state of California. Lampert cautioned the Legislative Committee to be prudent in considering the potential negative impact of the CA standards.

- Source: Automotive News, April 17, 2008

General Motors announced the 2009 Buick Lucerne to its lineup of flexible-fuel vehicles.

The Lucerne, which reaches showrooms in the fall, will be one of more than 15 GM models with flex-fuel capabilities available in the coming year, the company said in a statement.

GM, a member of the NEVC, says it now has 3 million vehicles on the road that can run on regular gasoline, E85 fuel or a combination of both. In the past, the system was available primarily on full-sized trucks and passenger vans.

When the automaker started offering flex-fuel engines, “we wanted to go where the impact would be greatest,” said GM spokesman Alan Adler. “Now, we want to make sure we’re getting it across the lineups.”

The typical cost for GM to add flex-fuel capability as standard equipment is $70 to $100 per vehicle, depending on the size of the engine, said Adler. GM said it will not pass that cost on to consumers in the sticker price.

The 2009 Lucerne will be limited to the standard flex-fuel 3.9-liter V-6 engine.

Grant Applications Available for Alternative Fuels in PA

- Source: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Press Release, Apr 22, 2008

Applications are now available for programs which are helping Pennsylvania to grow its economy, achieve energy independence and make it easier for consumers and businesses to develop and use advanced, clean energy resources.

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said the funds available through these programs will expand the use of renewable energy technologies in the commonwealth and help citizens and businesses manage increasing energy costs by using alternatives which also boost the state's economy.

"We are investing in the future of Pennsylvania's families and businesses by using our resources to build a new energy economy in the commonwealth—one which encourages clean and renewable resources that are indigenous to our state and are, increasingly, more cost competitive with conventional fuels," said McGinty.

"The ongoing run-up in energy prices is putting a pinch on the pocketbooks and budgets of consumers and companies. The investments we are making through these three programs will help spur the development of energy from things such as solar, wind and biomass—all of which Pennsylvania has in abundance. By supporting these technologies and opening new markets to their use, we are not only working to create new jobs, but also making these alternatives more cost effective for consumers, which will save them money on their energy bills."

Details on the alternative fuels portion of this grant program are as follows:

- Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants (AFIG)

AFIG grants help support energy security by investing in companies which produce and market homegrown biofuels and consumers who purchase hybrid vehicles. This year, more funding is available for fleet vehicles, providing incentives for businesses to incorporate the latest fuel and engine technologies.

Approximately $10 million is available this year. AFIG will continue funding to cover the added cost to purchase biofuel blends, as well as continuing the 5 cents per gallon production incentive for biofuels.

Since Governor Rendell expanded the AFIG three years ago, it has provided more than $17.8 million to 54 projects and leveraged $164 million in investments by public and private fleet operators, fuel providers and the federal government. AFIG funding awarded since 2004 has supported the use of more than 6 million gallons of biodiesel-blended fuel, as well as the production of 37 million gall ons of biodiesel through 2009.

For more information and to download applications and guidelines, visit http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/,

Keywords: PEDA, Energy Harvest or Alternative Fuels.

CONTACT:
Neil Weaver
(717) 787-1323
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Jobbers Plead: Stop Majors Taking Over Ethanol Biz

- Source: Opis, April 10, 2008

Jobbers in South Carolina are begging state lawmakers to stop major oil companies from shutting them out of ethanol-blending.

The problem: Some refiners have announced they will no longer sell conventional gasoline at state terminals and, without it, jobbers will not be able to blend E10 or other ethanol fuels. Some majors have also moved to stop jobbers from splash-blending.

"Big Oil is rushing to take over the ethanol market in South Carolina so they can pad their profit sheets at the expense of small businesses and consumers in the state," says Sam Bell, president of the South Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association (SCPMA). Sales of ethanol-blended fuel qualify for a 5.1 cents per gallon federal tax break which will go straight into the pockets of majors unless the state takes action, says Michael Fields, SCPMA's vice president.

"If Big Oil takes over ethanol in our state, where's the alternative in this alternative fuel?"

Jobbers have taken their concerns directly to legislators and Gov. Mark Sanford (R). At a meeting in mid-March, they asked Sanford to issue an executive order which would keep ethanol markets open to all. They are also pushing an amendment in the state Senate which would require every terminal to offer a gasoline grade that isn’t pre-blended.

Among majors who will no longer sell conventional gasoline for blending is BP. The major will offer only pre-blended grades at the Hess and Colonial Pipeline's terminals in Charleston, as of May 1.

BP is now "the largest purchaser of ethanol in the United States," said Liza Clechenko, BP's East and Gulf Coast sales vice president, in an April 1 letter to jobbers. In the letter, she revoked jobbers' temporary splash-blending waivers which permitted them to blend and sell ethanol fuels at BP sites.

Almost 90 percent of the branded fuel sold at BP racks in the Midwest now contains ethanol, and moving to an all-ethanol slate in the Southeast "is the logical next step," says BP spokeswoman Valerie Corr. Dropping conventional gasoline streamlines the product offering at the terminal and "improves our supply reliability," she says.

The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandates that refiners blend increasing amounts of renewable fuel components until they hit the 36 billion gallons per year level in 2022. Selling only ethanol blends will help BP meet the RFS mandate. BP only granted jobbers waivers to splash-blend until it could add inline blending at terminals, Corr said. BP "is not being unfair to jobbers," she says. As for the South Carolina bill: "We'll respond to it through the legislative process, not the media."

The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) does not buy BP's claims." Refiners are obligated to blend 9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2009 and some believe they must put 10 percent ethanol into every gallon to meet the mandate," says PMAA Vice President Dan Gilligan.

"Of course, they could just as easily buy RINs (special credits) from marketers to help them meet the standard, but they obviously don't want to. Refiners should be reaching out to their marketers, trying to work something out," Gilligan said.

Some South Carolina jobbers have invested huge amounts in bulk plants and other equipment to make ethanol fuel. Some have blended ethanol for several years, using the 5.1 cents per gallon tax break to help pay for the construction of new retail sites and stay competitive on prices.

"Some of these guys have signed contracts going into the next year to purchase ethanol," Fields says. "If Big Oil has their way, there will be no gasoline available for our marketers to blend."

NEVC Note: The above article describes problems being faced by independent marketers on the East Coast. The report references the fact that independent petroleum marketers are being shut out of ethanol blending by major oil companies, specifically BP. While it pinpoints this occurring in South Carolina, in particular, several NEVC members also have indicated this is now happening in Florida and elsewhere along the Atlantic coast.

The concern we have is twofold. First, it was the independent sector which provided the initial leadership and entrepreneurial skills to consider entering into the ethanol market. Now that they are not allowed to splash blend, a major oil company is essentially removing their ability to continue selling ethanol altogether. These actions appear to be predatory and ultimately harmful to our early adopters.

Secondly, as major oil companies were the last to embrace E10, their actions regarding E85 are no more progressive. We have some concern that, unless BP and others also begin to offer E85 at their terminals, there will not be a supply of regular unleaded available with which to blend the ethanol to offer E85.

We will continue to monitor these developments and report to our valued members as additional information becomes available.

State Vehicle Fleet Irks Senators

- Source: Mercury News Sacramento Bureau, April 24, 2008

A Senate committee confirmed the appointment Wednesday of the director of the California Department of General Services after an hour-long grilling over stalled efforts to "green" the state vehicle fleet.

Will Bush, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year to run the department, admitted that the state's flex-fuel vehicles still largely run on standard gasoline and that the state continues to buy them even though the alternative fuel they are designed to use is still scarce.

Senators expressed frustration that one year after the problem was exposed in a Mercury News investigation - which in turn triggered a series of Senate hearings - there still was no definitive plan in place to get the vehicles on the high-grade ethanol fuel they were designed to use.

"We can't help but scratch our heads when we hear about things like the flex-fuel vehicles," said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Van Nuys. "I still don't hear a plan. Do we have a plan or do we not have a plan?"

Bush said there are various state committees working on the problem and that some progress has been made.

When the department bought $17 million in flex-fuel vehicles in 2006 and 2007, there was just one ethanol station, in San Diego, which had never been used by state employees. Since then, the department has directed state workers to that station, and five additional stations have opened up.

Bush could not give members of the Senate Rules Committee a specific timeline for when more stations will open, nor could he say what share of fuel used in the vehicles is now high-grade ethanol, called E85.

State funds have been set aside to open additional E85 stations, but Bush said much of the effort will need to come from the private sector since the goal is to make the fuel available in the 9,000 private gasoline stations across the state.

"If you don't make the fuel as seamless to use as gasoline, it isn't going to work,” Bush told the Senate committee.

Senators asked Bush to return with a progress report and asked him to pursue efforts which might allow hybrid cars to be purchased instead of the flex-fuel vehicles, at least until more E85 stations are in place.

Saudi Oil Minister Blasts Biofuels

- Source: Domestic Fuels by Cindy Zimmerman

Saudi Arabia ’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources last week denounced ethanol as an alternative to petroleum-based motor fuels.

In a speech to the International Oil Summit in Paris, Minister Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi said, “Let’s be realistic, ethanol and biofuels will not contribute to the protection of the global environment by reducing (carbon dioxide) emissions, they will not increase energy security, nor will they reduce dependency on fossil fuels to any appreciable degree.

"Their cultivation eats into the human food supply, reduces the absorption of carbon dioxide as forests are cut down, has not improved the security of energy supply and has not reduced petrol prices,” he added.

Nebraska Ethanol Board to Hold E85 Workshops

The Nebraska Ethanol Board, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and the Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) are holding a series of E85 Direct Marketing Workshops. The aim of the workshops is to promote direct marketing relationships between ethanol producers and fuel retailers and reduce costs for all parties involved. Ethanol plants, petroleum equipment suppliers, petroleum marketers and auto dealers are encouraged to attend these free workshops.

Expert presentations will address E85 handling and storage, regulations and safety procedures, applying for the ethanol blender tax credit and direct marketing of E85 from ethanol plant to retailer. Nationally-recognized E85 expert and NEVC Executive Director Phil Lampert, CFDC Deputy Director Burl Haigwood and Nebraska Ethanol Board Administrator Todd Sneller will lead the workshops. For more information and to register for free, visit the “Events” page at www.ne-ethanol.org.

The workshops will take place on May 6 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Norfolk at Northeast Community College, Utility Line Building; May 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Kearney at the UNK Student Center Cedar Room; and May 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Omaha at the Steamfitters and Plumbers Union No. 464. Three days, three workshops.

The project will be funded in part by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission.

Finding E85

- Source: Fuel Advantage, April 21, 2008

Two weeks ago I rented a car to drive from Wisconsin to Indianapolis for a meeting and, when I got to the rental office, I was given the choice of two minivans: a Toyota Sienna and a Chevy Uplander. I wasn’t very thrilled with my choices, but then I noticed the Chevy was a FlexFuel vehicle and my attitude changed.

Here in the Midwest, E85 is cheap and plentiful. It normally sells for about 60 cents a gallon less than a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. What could be better? I could go to Indianapolis and back, use a fraction of the gasoline and spend a fraction of the money I would have spent driving a regular vehicle!

There was no way of knowing what was already in the Uplander’s tank, of course; but I was hopeful the previous renter had the wisdom to fill up with E85. So I set out for Indianapolis, confident I would be making at least a small difference.

I only used three-quarters of a tank on the drive to Indy, so when I set out for home the next day I knew the moment of truth would come, oh… about midway through Illinois. And Illinois, like Wisconsin and Indiana, is corn country. I knew there would be E85 stations along the interstate every few miles, offering cheap, clean, domestically-produced ethanol at bargain prices. I even started seeing Burma-shave–style, rhyming roadsigns in cornfields! Oh yes, this was ethanol heaven, for sure.

But as my gas gauge sank closer and closer to ‘E,’ I started to worry. I hadn’t seen any sign that the filling stations along the highway were selling E85 and, when I started pulling off into the small towns of eastern Illinois, I found station after station selling straight gasoline and nothing more. I even asked a clerk at one filling station if she knew of any stations in the area which sold E85. She looked at me blankly and said, “E-what?”

Discouraged, I put $20 of regular gas in the tank and kept looking, but I came up empty. No E85 in sight. What could have gone wrong? Well, I could have done the smart thing and checked the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition website (www.e85fuel.com) and found the addresses to 170 stations in Illinois which sell E85–you read that right: 170! But I was not smart. I wanted to see if I could find the magic fuel unaided and, in that, I failed. I drove home on expensive, dirty, imported gasoline, but filled up with E85 in my hometown before returning the van.

Lesson learned: the good stuff is out there, but for now, doing the right thing involves a little legwork. Next time I’ll know better. And maybe next time those E85 pumps will be a little more visible to the unaided eye.

Response from NEVC’s Northeast Coordinator, Rhea Courtney Bozic:

Well, my friend, you answered your own question! Sorry there weren’t more stations to just happen upon, but we do put a lot of work into mapping the addresses of all the stations on the NEVC website. Like Fireman Jim said to me yesterday when I was a little lost going down to a fuel expo in New Jersey, “You do have a map, don’t you?” Sure enough, once I pulled out my information source, I was all set and going properly in the right direction.

New NEVC Members

NEVC welcomes these newest corporate members to the coalition:

Alabama State Motor Pool
Bergmann Associates
Core States Engineering
Coyne Oil Corporation
Delta Fuel Company
DiPrima’s Mobil
Evergreen Fuels, LLC
GasAmerica Services, Inc.
RC & LC, LLC
Valley Petroleum Services, LLC
Wallis Company

NEVC Member Spotlight – Village Mobile, Inc.

The Village Mobile E85 station at 88 Wolf Road in Albany, NY, is one of the most recently added companies to the NEVC membership family.

Jim Clemmer of Village Mobile stated the reason he joined the NEVC is because they sell ethanol and would like to know more about what the industry is doing. He also noted the state taxation is the biggest obstacle he sees in selling the fuel.

“So far [the NEVC] has supplied enough. It’s up to us to pass the knowledge on,” said Clemmer.

The 4,000 square foot convenience store also offers a post office and Subway Sub Shop.

To see a complete listing of E85 stations, go to www.E85refueling.com.

Below is a list of fueling facilities which have installed E85 since the issuance of our last NEVC newsletter.

The following 27 facilities are or will soon be carrying the clean-burning, alternative—E85:

There are currently 1,558 E85 stations available across the United States. For a complete listing, go to www.E85Refueling.com.

To inform us of changes to our E85 site, please email info@e85fuel.com.

April 14-17, 2008
SAE 2008 World Congress at the Cobo Center in Detroit, MI. For more information, visit www.sae.org/congress.

May 6 – 8, 2008
E85 Direct Marketing Workshops in NE: May 6, 12-4 p.m.,
at Northeast Community College, 801 East Benjamin Ave., Norfolk; May 7, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at University of NE at Kearney at
905 W 25th St., Kearney; and May 8, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Steamfitters & Plumbers Local 464 at 13505 B St., Omaha. Download a registration form here.

May 18-19, 2008
2008 Renewable Fuels Action Summit at the Bismarck State College Student Union in Bismarck, ND. Co-hosted by U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Governor John Hoeven, Kadrmas Lee & Jackson and Bismarck State College. For more information, go to http://www.bismarckstate.edu/energysummit/ .

June 2, 2008
2008 New Frontiers Conference: Propelling Montana Research Forward at the GranTree Hotel, Bozeman, MT. For more information, call Jamie Jutila at 406-586-6104.

July 20–22, 2008
18 th Annual EPAC Conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell, MT. For more information, go to http://www.ethanolmt.org/conferencelist.html.

NEVC  promotes the use of 85 percent ethanol as a renewable form of alternative transportation fuel while enhancing agricultural profitability, advancing environmental stewardship and promoting national energy independence.