BioFuels Journal

by Jerry Perkins, BioFuels Journal Editor

Kansas City, MO—Anne Korin, author of “Turning Oil Into Salt,” challenged attendees at the 2010 American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference and trade show in Kansas City, MO, Aug. 3-5, to form a coalition with coal and natural gas interests to boost national legislation supporting alternative fuels and end the dominance of gasoline as a transportation fuel.

Korin, who chairs the Set America Free Coalition, said alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas, methanol made from coal, and ethanol should be included in an "Open Fuels Standard" legislation that would have wide ranging support in Congress.

"It would be hard to argue against the political clout" of the three alternative fuels in Congress, she said. "We need to focus Congress on this."

Brian Jennings, executive vice president of ACE, said Korin’s message was timely, given the number of issues facing the ethanol industry in Washington, D.C.

"We want as much market share for ethanol as we can get," Jennings said, "but, if we can build a coalition for more markets for alternative fuels, that could be a winning strategy in Congress."

Other sessions at the conference included discussions of the political and regulatory environments in Washington, D.C.; innovations to improve efficiency and profits; corporate governance and best management practices; cellulosic ethanol’s future; the blend wall; and the blenders’ tax credit.

There were several speakers who touched on the conference's theme of "Empowering Fuel Choice."

"There was a lot of discussion about blender pumps and giving consumers a choice of fuels," said Ron Lamberty, ACE director of market development.

Presentations on increasing the number of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) and the use of blender pumps that can dispense varying percentages of ethanol blends with gasoline drove home the message that if consumers have a choice, they will choose ethanol, he said.

"The idea is that any time people have been given a choice, they've chosen more ethanol," Lamberty said. "When petroleum marketers have been given a choice of using E10, they have used it and continue to do so to this day. We're all for letting the market decide and giving people a real choice of fuels." Attendance at the conference totaled 350, compared with 450 in 2009, when the conference was held in Milwaukee, WI, said Shannon Gustafson, director of strategic projects for ACE.

The number of exhibitors was 50, compared to 80 the year before.

"The numbers were smaller this year, but everyone benefited from the smaller group," Gustafson said. "There was more interaction between the speakers and the attendees. There also was a lot of networking going on."

Award winners announced at the conference were Ron Fagen and Steve Core of Fagen, Inc., Merle Anderson Award; U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D, ND), Policy and Legislative Leadership Award; Lisa Richardson and Teddi Mueller of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council and South Dakota Corn Growers Association, and Bob Scott, former ACE board member, President's Award; Ron Alverson, ACE board member, Grassroots Award; and Myke Feinman, publisher of BioFuels Journal, Media Excellence Award.

The Paul Dana Award was given to the National Corn Growers Association and corn growers’ associations of Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, Colorado, and Minnesota.

Scholarship winners were Stephanie Brennan, MacKenzie Neaton, and Nicole Welke. Next year’s conference and trade show will be Aug. 22-24 in Des Moines, IA. For more information, call ACE at 605-334-3381.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• American Coalition for Ethanol

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