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The Flagship publication of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition and the Ethanol Across America program for nearly 15 years has been the Ethanol Fact Book. This unique document provides hundreds of sourced facts relating to ethanol and addresses issues regarding the ethanol tax incentive, energy security and oil import reductions, economic impacts and benefits to the U.S. Treasury, greenhouse gas reduction and environmental benefits, and advancements in cellulose conversion technologies. In addition, developments in flexible fuel vehicle production and high level blends are addressed.
U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Co-Chair of the Ethanol Across America campaign said, "As Congress continues its work on an energy bill it is essential that it will continue to support and enhance our nation’s use of renewable fuels. Ethanol supports our efforts to create jobs, stimulate the economy, reduce the use of oil, and improve the environment. Through the Ethanol Across America education program, we are getting the facts out and believe when people understand the wide range of benefits ethanol provides they will continue to support it. The Clean Fuels Development Coalition has done a tremendous job in educating the public about this issue through this fact book.”
U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), co-chair of the Ethanol Across America campaign, said, "Energy is a vitally strategic national security issue for our country. The real cost of petroleum includes the use of our military to defend shipping lanes and maintain geopolitical stability in oil producing regions. Increasing the development and production of renewable fuels such as ethanol will help ensure national and economic security. As the Ethanol Fact Book illustrates, with high oil prices ethanol production becomes even more important and farmers growing corn, and other energy crops, will add to our nation’s energy security while helping our communities prosper."
You can download the Ethanol Fact Book or contact us at cfdcinc@aol.com to receive a copy.
CFDC, the Ethanol Across America education campaign, and the FlexFuel Vehicle (FFV) Club once again teamed with the Volunteers of Underage Military Service (VUMS) to form a procession of ethanol and hybrid vehicles in the national Memorial Day parade. “The projected highlighted the role ethanol can play in supporting the nation’s energy and national security and was part of our ongoing National FFV Awareness Campaign,” said Executive Director Douglas A. Durante.
Click here to view PDF…
In a wide ranging interview at the recent Ethanol Emerging Issues Forum in Omaha, Nebraska, CFDC Executive Director Doug Durante spoke with the Brownfield Network in a radio broadcast covering a number of current issues facing the ethanol industry. Durante stressed the imprtance of continuing to develop strong markets to maintain ethanol demand and investment.
For an excerpt of that interview click here…
CFDC teamed with member organization the Nebraska Ethanol Board and submitted joint comments to the National Research Council’s (NRC) Committee on Economic and Environmental Impacts of Increasing Biofuels Production. The NRC is conducting an ongoing study which is the result of various requirements established by Congress in the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007 and the Farm Bill of 2008.
In the prepared comments filed with the NRC, input was provided on several questions posed by the Council. Many of them dealt with costs and impacts on the economy and the environment of meeting the RFS mandate by 2022.
Among other things, the CFDC/NEB comments focused on the need to accelerate the first-of-a kind advanced cellulosic biofuels technologies and supplement the technology demonstrations with loan guarantees. In identifying barriers, they discussed the options to transform VEETC into a more flexible incentive and to utilize the purchasing power of the government to use more biofuels in the civilian and defense fleets. It was also suggested that Congress and DOE consider the possibility of establishing a strategic biofuels reserve and indicated it would be much more efficient than the current strategic petroleum reserve that purchases foreign oil with no domestic benefits, either in green jobs or avoided costs.
Click here to view all comments…
The Clean Fuels Development Coalition sponsored a webinar with EPA on what the new RFS 2 rules released February 3rd will mean to the biofuels stakeholder community. The presentation was by Paul Argyropoulos, the senior policy advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation & Air Quality. Paul chaired the EPA's intra agency work group for the national renewable fuels standard.
To view the webinar click here.
According to a new report issued by the Ethanol Across America education campaign, there are more than two dozen different companies engaged in nearly 100 projects to produce cellulosic biofuels, with encouraging signs that federal requirements for these fuels can be met.
Converting Cellulose Into Ethanol and Other Biofuels is the latest in the highly successful Issue Brief series produced by the Ethanol Across America campaign and was released recently at the Infocast Cellulosic Biofuels Summit 2009. In this brief the different paths to commercialization of cellulose are examined as well as the companies employing them. The brief also looks at realistic feedstock availability based on studies from the Federal Biomass Technical Advisory Committee and the Sandia National Lab which both conclude that there are no insurmountable barriers to producing significant volumes of biofuels from cellulose.
In a welcome to readers, Ethanol Across America Advisory Committee members U.S. Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE), Richard Lugar (R-IN), and Tim Johnson (D-SD) said, ”The commercialization of cellulosic ethanol conversion technologies is a very important component of the policies we are crafting in Congress as we develop programs to reduce our use of petroleum. As we have seen with the corn ethanol and biodiesel industries, these domestic "energy factories" are in themselves stimulus packages, creating jobs and keeping dollars at home. The path to commercialization of cellulosic technologies will not be easy, cheap, or immediate. We still need to create and manage policies to attract private funding and encouragethe end use markets for these strategically important biofuels." (see full story, download report)
Washington, DC, November 12, 2009: In a presentation to the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference held in Washington, D.C., CFDC Executive Director Douglas Durante told attendees that the value of biofuels and bio products is the sum of its parts and that policy needs to reflect the balance of all the objectives of energy and climate. The Mid Atlantic Bio Conference is an annual gathering of more than 1,000 professionals in the energy, bioscience, and technology industries as well as government and academia.
Durante said, “The current Renewable Fuel Standard, lower tax rates for biofuels, and aggressive research and development programs have produced significant benefits, including the displacement of imported oil, job creation, and reduction of a wide range of pollutants. He cautioned, however, that what could be classified as the current “bio or green mania” has resulted in disproportionate requirements on biofuels to the point where these programs are under serious attack.
“Balancing the needs of agriculture, energy, climate change, job creation, and other factors is a challenge,” said Durante. “Biofuels and bio technology can be a key part of this effort if we do not let the perfect become the enemy of the good.”
Click here for more…
CFDC's Executive Director Douglas A. Durante will be presenting at the 4th Annual edition of the Summit. The Summit once again brings together the major players from across the entire biofuels value chain to report on their activities, determine the next steps forward and share their perspectives on the progress in reaching the commercial production of cellulosic biofuels. The Summit will be held in Washington, D.C. Nov. 16-19, 2009.
For more information or to register click here…
The need for constant consumer education is critical to hurdling the E10 wall. In spite of a law suit, a Federal Trade Commission investigation that uncovered 1,200 anti-ethanol internal oil company documents, and a resulting federal Anti-Gasohol Competition Act – the "No-Alcohol" signs are back in Tulsa, OK. Is this the 12th Anti-Ethanol Crusade?
Click to see pictures…
Washington, D.C. August 10, 2009: Longtime member of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) Dr. Raphael Katzen will be Honored in the new company website of KATZEN, International and also on the CFDC website, it was announced here today. Dr. Katzen passed away in July after a remarkable fifty year career in biofuel and ethanol process design and plant building around the world.
“As one of the founding members of CFDC more than 20 years ago, Ray was a visionary in the ethanol industry. We are very pleased to be able to help in some small way to share the story of his remarkable career by linking his story on our website,” said Douglas A. Durante, executive Director of the Coalition. “ People like Ray stepped forward in the late 1980s recognizing that we needed to keep the ethanol industry moving forward. He supported our efforts to develop the clean fuel programs that ultimately led to the Renewable Fuel Standard,” said Durante.
The new Katzen Company website, launched this week, contains sections devoted to the memory of Dr. Katzen who began his current company as Raphael Katzen Associates but now is KATZEN, International. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company has completed nearly 140 ethanol and biofuel projects in 40 countries. For more information go tohttp://www.katzen.com/katzenmemorial.html
Click here for announcement.
CFDC member David Hallberg, President of Prime BioSolutions, responded to a recent Time Magazine article dealing with food prices by chastising the magazine for neglecting to admit their error of a year ago when they blamed ethanol and biofuels for price increases. With grain prices plummeting while ethanol production increases, Hallberg notes the high energy costs and speculators that were really to blame. Click here for more…
Nebraska Ethanol Board Release: E85 Could Have Saved Nebraska Consumers $2.6 billion.
Washington, D.C. May 5, 2009: In a far reaching and pointed memorandum to the Secretary of Agriculture, President Obama today reaffirmed the Administration's support for the continued development of biofuels by outlining a number of specific initiatives to be taken immediately. Full Copy of The Press Release.
According to a new Net Energy Balance of Ethanol Production study released today by the Ethanol Across America (EAA) education campaign, the energy efficiency of ethanol plants is steadily improving, with modern ethanol plants using 20% less energy than just four years ago. "The facts speak for themselves in that today's ethanol plants are producing more energy in the form of domestic transportation fuels and using considerably less energy to do so. Energy audits, independent studies, and government research all confirm that ethanol is a net energy producer and that we are constantly improving technology." said EAA Advisory Board Member Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD).
Click here for copies of the Press Release & Net Energy Balance of Ethanol Production Study
Click here for announcement…
Click here for press release…
Click here for the press release…
Five expert members of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition were featured panelists at the Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America 2009, held in Las Vegas on March 9-11, 2009. CFDC members focused on a combination of technology, state and federal policy, regulatory programs and the fundamental need for energy that is driving ethanol’s development, the CFDC session discussed development opportunities for ethanol as well as some of the political and technical challenges to the fuel’s continued growth. Douglas Durante, CFDC’s Executive Director, Philip Madson of KATZEN International, Todd Sneller of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, Keith Cole of General Motors, and David Peebles of Odebrecht International addressed this range of issues.
The conference is annually one of the most widely attended events in the industry. For more information visit www.pennwell.com.
Click here to download a PDF…
CFDC supported the very successful launch of the Flexible Fuel
Vehicle Club of America at the Sustainable Energy Expo in Washington
DC on July 31, 2008. The mission of the “FlexFuel Vehicle
Club” is to locate and educate existing and prospective
FFV owners, then motivate them to use higher blends of ethanol.
Are you tired of just complaining about gasoline prices and oil
imports?
Join
The Club!
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Meeting Our Mission
THE CLEAN FUELS DEVELOPMENT COALITION
(CFDC) is a non-profit organization that actively supports the increased
production and use of fuels that can improve air quality, reduce oil
imports, and provide economic benefits to the U.S. Through four administrations and eight different Congressional delegations, CFDC has been building bi-partisan support in industry and government to foster a healthy
national energy policy. CFDC works with all interested parties to support
clean fuel regulations and new technologies that will help our country
meet the ever changing and complex demands of our society. Our goal
is to drive the demand for clean low-carbon fuels, like ethanol, through
a combination of efforts that include collaborating with industry, educating
and communicating with the media and other strategic influencers, and supporting
new legislative initiatives that will help us achieve our mission.
Seeing Our Vision
For over 20 years, CFDC has been coordinating and guiding a coalition of like-minded leaders committed to developing cleaner-burning domestic fuels. We help leverage our member’s time, resources and talent to take a leadership role in the development of new national energy strategies to improve clean fuel legislation and regulations. These efforts have already fostered new fuel technologies, improved manufacturing processes, created new jobs, reduced oil imports and improved air quality through reduced emissions. The results are a cleaner, safer, healthier, and prosperous United States.
About the Coalition
CFDC is not your typical narrow-mission trade association. Individually
our member’s missions are very diverse. Collectively, CFDC provides
its members with a common ground to support their over arching desire
to improve the “national interest,” and work together outside
the bounds of “special interest.” CFDC and its members
are always finding new and innovative ways to expand the market
for cleaner-burning domestic fuels. We achieve our goals by educating
the media, industry and government leaders, and the public about the
dangers of dependence on oil and the benefits of developing renewable
fuels like ethanol. If you have an idea to help our mission we would
like to hear about it.
Our Coalition Continues to Broaden and Grow
Having a true broad-based coalition is not easy – but it keeps
the mission focused and the debate honest. As a result, CFDC continues
to draw a broad range of members that share a common goal. Our
members include alternative fuel technology developers, ethanol producers,
project developers, state affiliated organizations, automakers, and financial/legal/accounting
organizations. We have provided examples of our membership base
and links to their websites to provide you with additional information
about their goals, special projects and current events and news within
their organizations.
CFDC members include 1st generation feedgrain producers as well as cellulosic and advanced biofuel technology development firms. CFDC member Fuel
Frontiers, Inc. is commercializing a gasification technology to produce ethanol from a wide range of cellulose materials, including used tires, beginning with a project in Toms River, New Jersey. Other creative ethanol conversion technologies include member company Earthanol, Inc. and their efforts to produce ethanol from cheese whey. Virent
Energy is developing a technology that will allow them to make a bio-crude and then a slate of renewable gasoline and diesel products. Mascoma
Corporation is developing a number of cellulose-to-ethanol technologies. California
Ethanol & Power is building a 50 MGPY plant in southern California utilizing sugar cane. KL
Process Design is reporting very successful runs from their cellulosic ethanol plant in Wyoming that uses wood as a feedstock. BlueFire Renewables recently started construction for their waste-to-ethanol plant in California after receiving an award from the U.S. Department of Energy. CFDC members Novozymes
North America and Genencor
International, Inc. are on the cutting edge of developing new enzymes to accelerate the deployment of cellulosic ethanol technologies.
CFDC members Delta-T,
Burns & McDonnell,
Fagen, Inc., ICM,
KATZEN International,
and Vogelbusch
U.S.A., Inc. are leading the way in the design and construction
of the ethanol industry in the United States and around the globe. NEDAK
Ethanol, LLC recently
broke ground on a 44-MM gpy facility in Atkinson, Nebraska while Reeve
Agri-Energy has been making ethanol and supporting
CFDC for 21 years. US
Bioenergy Corporation, US
Bio Platte Valley, LLC, Renova
Energy ID, Inc., ETH
BioEnergy Inc., ESE
Alcohol, Inc., E3
Biofuels are
all forward thinking and innovative ethanol producers and other members
like Empire State Ethanol & Energy,
LLC and Clear
Fuels Hawaii are
in the process of developing new ethanol projects.
CFDC member companies and Chrysler,
General
Motors, and Ford have
been working with CFDC for 17 years to develop cleaner fuels and expand
the biofuels/ethanol market and refueling infrastructure. They have also
pledged that by 2012 50% of their vehicles be Flexible Fuel Vehicles
(FFVs), capable of operating on ethanol blends of up to 85%.
CFDC also supports the broader vision and mission of a diverse
base of companies and organizations such as The
Clean Fuels Foundation, The
Nebraska Ethanol Board, Avalon
Capital Group, Klamath
County Economic Development Association, Nebraska
Public Power District, Ethanol
Market, LLC, ED&F
Man Biofuels, and Andrews
Kurth.
The link below is an example of how one CFDC member company
(KL Process Design) helps with the education and outreach process by
educating their employees, vendors and the general public.
Ethanol:
Fact • Fiction • Valid Debate
The Nebraska Ethanol Board, one of the founding members of the Clean Fuels
Development Coalition, is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this month.
CFDC's first Chairman and a fellow founding Member James Glancey of Renova
Energy, hailed the NEB as one of the driving forces behind the modern U.S.
Ethanol industry. "The NEB has led this industry with its vision, leadership, and insight," said Glancey. "Their
Board members and staff have shaped not just the state program but had
a direct impact on programs at the national level that have created opportunities
for all of us." (click here for full story)
Clean Fuels: Everyone is a Winner!
Find your state and get a free poster! Show
your support for Ethanol Across all of America by displaying the Award Winning
poster of vanity tags from all 50 states supporting ethanol. CFDC's design
firm David & Associates of Hastings, Nebraska recently received an award
from the National Agri-Marketing Association for this unique promotional
item.
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