GoodFuels

US and Brazil Ethanol Updates

The International Fuel Ethanol Workshop is equal opportunity for all producers.

Tuesday’s general session featured updates from both Brazil and the United States, with Joel Velasco of the Brazilian Sugar Cane Industry Association and Bob Dinneen of the Renewable Fuels Association. Rather than being competitors, these two guys are friends, as you can see by the photo. As they say, a rising tide carries all boats and that is certainly true as the ethanol tide continues to rise globally.

Dinneen gave the industry a rousing pep talk, urging them to persevere against the negative media campaign being waged by Big Oil and Big Food. “This is going to be a difficult summer, but we’re going to get through it, and we are going to come out of this a stronger industry.”

“You are the strength of this industry, you are the reason we will get through it, but we have to come together, we have to use our strength, we have to write op-eds, we have to comment to EPA, we have to let our members of Congress know that vilifying America’s farmers and America’s only domestic renewable fuel doesn’t make sense,” Dinneen said passionately.

Dinneen urged the industry to file comment with the EPA on the request by Texas to waive half of the Renewable Fuels Standard. The comment period ends on Monday and information about how to make comments can be found on the RFA website, ethanolrfa.org.

Following Bob, Joel talked about the victory over oil that has been achieved in Brazil.

“In the beginning of February of this year, ethanol consumption surpassed that of gasoline,” Joel said. “My friends, that is a big victory. The oil company now is in a corner.”

Velasco says Brazilian consumers are choosing to put 100 percent ethanol in their tanks and “saying forget about gasoline.”

Listen to Bob’s address here:

Listen to Joel here:

See a photo album with pictures from this week’s Fuel Ethanol Workshop here:

2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

Check DomesticFuel.com for full coverage of the Fuel Ethanol Workshop, sponsored by RFA.