National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition - FYI Newsletter, Volume 7, Issue 9, April 30, 2002
E85 included in Senate Energy Bill
Republican Senator Campaigns in his FFV Taurus
After six weeks of debate, the U.S. Senate recently approved its version of the Energy Bill, S.517. Included in the legislation were several very important issues for ethanol advocates such as the Renewable Fuel Standard and the Small Ethanol Producer Tax Credit Modifications.
While not as visible as the RFS, there are provisions of the Senate Energy Bill that would advance the use of E85. These include:
Additionally, there are several tax incentives that advance the sale of "dedicated alternative fuel vehicles." These additional incentives may well provide the needed financial resources to make a dedicated E85 vehicle a reality.
The Senate version of the Energy Bill is much different from the House version. The House Bill, H.R. 4 does not include the Renewable Fuel Standard and does not include the alternative fuel incentives. We will be working closely with the members of the Conference Committee as these issues are resolved.
- by Linda Vanderwerf, Staff Writer April 10, 2002 of West Central Tribune 2002
Dan Stevens knows he's got a lot of work ahead, but he believes he can run a strong campaign against a strong incumbent in the new 7th Congressional District.
A Republican state senator from Mora, Stevens plans to move into the 7th District and challenge Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson in November.
The new 7th District stretches along the western side of Minnesota from the Canadian border nearly to Iowa. It's the most rural of the state's congressional districts, a good fit for him, since he was raised on a dairy farm, he said.
"I learned a lot growing up and farming with my dad," he said.
Value-added agricultural products are important to the success of Minnesota's farmers, he said.
When he's not flying around the district, he said, he'll be driving his Ford Taurus which uses E85 fuel, a high-percentage ethanol and gasoline blend.
He'll be working to point out differences with Peterson in those areas and in national security issues, too, Stevens said.
The Broin Companies of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, along with farmers and investors of Great Plains Ethanol, LLC of Chancellor, South Dakota, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 11:00 A.M. This 40 million gallon per year dry mill corn ethanol plant will be located one mile east of Chancellor, South Dakota on Highway 44.
Speakers at this event included Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), Congressman John Thune (R-SD) and Governor William Janklow (R-SD), along with Jeff Broin of The Broin Companies, Trevor Guthmiller of American Coalition for Ethanol, Lisa Richardson of SD Corn Growers Association and Gary Duffy of SD Corn Utilization Council.
This state-of-the art ethanol plant will begin construction in mid-April 2002. Jeff Broin of The Broin Companies stated, “Great Plains Ethanol, LLC will be one of the most energy efficient and technologically advanced corn dry mill ethanol plants that exists to date in the industry.” Bob Dinneen, President of Renewable Fuels Association, extended his “congratulations on the groundbreaking of Great Plains Ethanol, LLC and the continuation in building and strengthening the ethanol industry.”
The Broin families began setting the standard in the ethanol industry in the 1980s by constructing a family farm ethanol production facility. Today, The Broin Companies not only design, engineer and construct ethanol plants, but also manage plants and market ethanol and ethanol co-products nationwide for their capital partners. Their firm has designed and constructed 11 major U.S. ethanol facilities. The plants, managed by their Companies, produce more than 200 million gallons of ethanol per year. The Broin Companies have become the leader in the ethanol industry by innovating profitable turn-key business strategies, conducting cutting edge research in the ethanol manufacturing process and leveraging their industry presence to provide profitability to their capital partners.
The following letter was written to NEVC Executive Director Phil Lampert on April 18, 2002:
Dear Mr. Lampert,
I was looking at my Dodge mini-van owners manual this past weekend to find out how the locks operate and found out that this vehicle burns E-85 fuel. I didn't know anything about ethanol fuel a week ago, and now from your website and several others I found much out about it. More importantly I bought my first tankful of E85 at a service station about 5 miles from my home! I love the idea of burning fuel that is a renewable resource, not being dependent on foreign oil, and helping our farmers and our economy.
I can’t believe I owned a vehicle for six months and found out about this ethanol capability by accident in the owners manual. I hope that more info is made public about this alternative fuel and that many more service stations start selling it. I am fortunate in that one of two stations here in Ohio that sell it are close to home.
God's blessings to you and your organization,
Dave Barry
The NEVC thanks Mr. Barry for his positive comments about E85 and hope more like him see how beneficial this clean burning fuel is to their community.
Sweden is the first country in Europe that has implemented a major project introducing E85 fuel and vehicles. Approximately 300 Ford Taurus’ have been running in Sweden from the mid 1990s until now and 40 E85 fueling stations have been established from Malmo in the south to Lulea in the north. In 1999, a Consortium comprised of the Swedish Government, many municipal administrations, companies and also private individuals, contacted over 80 different car factories inquiring about the production of an ethanol-vehicle for use in Sweden that wasn’t too much more expensive than a gasoline-powered vehicle. Ford Motor Company responded to the inquiry and ultimately built the Ford Focus 1.6 Liter Ambiente.
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Mr. Goran Nordin lives in a small village named Tarendo, in the rural-district of Pajala, Sweden. Tarendo is located about 50 miles above the Artic Circle. Nordin ordered a Ford Focus FFV Wagon for himself and took delivery in late December 2001. As far as can be determined, Mr. Nordin’s E85 flex-fuel vehicle is not only the first E85 vehicle, but also the first alternative fuel vehicle permanently located above the Artic Circle.
The closest refueling station for Nordin is a 100 kilometer drive south to Overtornea. He says he makes the long haul to refuel to make people more aware of the cleaner fuel vehicles.
Nordin also stated that he had no problem with the fuel in the cold weather. “The engine started immediately even when the temperature was -20 Celsius.”
Acorn Petroleum and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition held a celebration event for the unveiling of the first E85 pump in Colorado Springs. The event was held at Acorn Petroleum at 305 South 8th Street in Colorado Springs, Colorado at 10:30 a.m. on April 24, 2002.
The speakers at the event included: Chairman of National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition Hal Smedley; Councilman Jim Null; County Commissioner Chuck Brown; Acorn Petroleum Co-owner Harlan Ochs, Ernie Oakes from the U.S. Department of Energy Regional Office; and Denise Sulski and Tyler Stevens from the Colorado Springs Clean Cities Coalition. Media from NBC’s KOAA and Fox’s KXRM were also present and recorded spots for their evening news.
E85 vehicles were on display from Daniel Chevrolet, Penkhus Motor Company, Perkins Dodge and Phil Long Ford. Harlan Ochs mentioned the distribution of E85 coupons to the dealerships. The ten-cent off per gallon coupons will be redeemable for three fill-ups up to 90 days after the purchase of a new FFV vehicle at the above automobile dealerships.
The NEVC is very excited about the broadening of E85 fuel into southern Colorado! The NEVC would like to thank Acorn Petroleum and Harlan Ochs for the support of the alternative fuel.
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| The Acorn Petroleum E85 pump
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A large crowd attended the event.
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| Tyler Stevens and Denise Sulski from Colorado Springs
Clean Cities let all know that the opening of the E85 pump is beneficial to
the community.
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| NEVC Board President Hal Smedley began the celebration with a few words | Acorn Co-owner Harlan Ochs said a few words. |
May 6-7, 2002
Power Crops in the Americas Conference at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Miami, Florida. For more information, visit www.ne-ethanol.org.
May 12-15, 2002
8th National Clean Cities Conference and Expo at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For more information, visit http://www.ccities.doe.gov/okconference.shtml.
June 3-5, 2002
Future Car Congress at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. For more information, visit www.futurecarcongress.org.
June 4-5, 2002
First Annual Pacific Ethanol Conference & Expo: Developing Renewable Energy Through Ethanol at the Hilton Brisbane in Brisbane, Australia. For more information, visit http://www.pacificethanol.com
June 9-11
12th Annual EPAC sponsored Ethanol Conference in Whitefish, MT. A Golf Tournament will take place June 9 and the conference will be held June 10-11. Visit www.ethanolmt.org for more information.
June 25-28, 2002
18th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Trade Show at the Crowne Plaza Springfield in Springfield, Illinois. For more information and to register, go to http://www.bbiethanol.com/few.
July 23-25
FedFleet 2002 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. For more information, visit http://www.fedfleet.org.
Please feel free to e-mail your story suggestions to us at info@e85fuel.com or call us anytime.
Phillip J. Lampert, Executive Director info@e85.com
Michelle Saab, Director of Communications info@e85.com
Randa Barker, Director of Administration info@e85.com