Logo from: http://www.ybdc.org/
The Yoderville Biodiesel Collective is hosting a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day at 1 p.m. Saturday at 4630 Orville Yoder Turnpike in Kalona.
The public is invited to tour the facility and watch the equipment in action. Members of the collective will answer questions about production, economics, politics and the prospects for biodiesel from waste oil and oilseeds.
Attendees may bring in a sample of oil or grease to titrate for biodiesel potential. This workshop is for biodiesel beginners and those with advanced questions.
The Yoderville Biodiesel Collective is a group effort to share information and resources and to capture economies of scale in the production of biodiesel.
Brad Zaun speaking at the Iowa State Fair.
Congressman Leonard Boswell is accusing his Republican opponent of being a flip-flopper, while Brad Zaun – the Republican who’s challenging Boswell this November — says he did a “poor job” of answering a question about his views on farm subsidies.
Democrats point to this Zaun statement, made during a debate this spring. ”I just went up to Grundy Center here not too long ago and a farmer said to me, ‘What are you going to do for me and the biofuels industry?’” Zaun said during the debate. “And I said, ‘Nothing.’”
The questioner at the Tea Party debate didn’t mention the tax breaks for biofuels. The questioner had asked Zaun and several of his opponents in the primary whether they would cut farm subsidies and Zaun replied that he’s a “market-oriented” person willing to make “tough decisions” as an elected official.
If you can stomach it, here is a snapshot of politics in a state that generally supports biodiesel and ethanol. Iowa farmers are blessed with an unusually good soil and rainfall, man, can they grow some corn and soybeans.
Photo from: http://www.heatingoil.com/blog/mass-heating-oil-dealers-starting-to-supply-biofuel-blends-1008/
MONTPELIER – A Swanton plant once promoted as the largest biodiesel production facility in New England is shuttered and unlikely to reopen, at least in the short-term, according to state and company officials. The state’s economic development authority is now in the process of trying to recover more than a half-million dollars it provided to the facility in low-interest loans, according to officials. State tax credits were also awarded to the company that built the plant, Biocardel, a subsidiary of a Canadian company, although the credits were never used. The expiration of a federal tax credit for the production of biofuels at the end of 2009 has hammered the industry nationally and the Biocardel facility in Vermont is one casualty. The company does not have plans to reopen the facility.
How could this biodiesel plant go from the biggest in New England to shut down in such a short time? Remember that our government subsidizes petroleum oil in many ways, biodiesel just needs a tax credit, it does not need a war.
Photo from: http://brevardbiodiesel.com/?blog=2&page=1&disp=posts&paged=2
With only a patented technique to accelerate the growth of algae for its eventual use as protein and biodiesel, Melbourne-based PetroAlgae's plans to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering have been greeted with skepticism by some analysts.
They say the algae and biodiesel markets are not mature enough to allow PetroAlgae to become profitable, even with the money it could generate from the stock sale. The company has spent nearly $60 million between 2007 and 2009 without collecting on a sale.
If it proceeds with its IPO -- that's when a company makes its first attempt to raise money by selling its stock on an exchange -- PetroAlgae will use that money for continuing operations and to repay its principal stockholder, the hedge fund Laurus Capital Management LLC.