High school seniors in Minnesota are encouraged to apply for the 2012 Reuben Youngerberg Memorial Biodiesel Essay Scholarship.

The scholarship is given in memory of Reuben Youngerberg, and in honor of his son, Mike Youngerberg, senior director of field services at Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and huge supporter of biodiesel.

The scholarship is sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, with special thanks to the National Biodiesel Board, MEG Corp, and Renewable Energy Group, Inc. for their added support.

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Going over my notes from last week’s National Biodiesel Conference I am seeing some good quotes that did not appear in my editorial coverage of the event.

Speaking on the Advanced Biofuel Initiative—the National Biodiesel Board’s largest, most expensive campaign to date—Gary Haer, chairman of the NBB and vice president of sales and marketing for Renewable Energy Group, said, “It was critical we defined ourselves before others defined us.” He also leveraged the theme of the conference, “Delivering Now,” by stating, “We’re delivering now by shaping our own message. We’re differentiating ourselves to tip the scales in our favor.”

USDA Secretary Tom Vilack’s chief of staff, Krysta Harden, spoke to the general session about her early days working with the soy diesel board in the 1990s, and told the crowd of around 1,200 biodiesel stakeholders that, regarding the USDA’s position on the renewable fuel standard (RFS2), “We get it, we know how important it is.” She also said of remembering the past, “It’s fun to look back, just don’t stare.” The NBB presented Harden with its Pioneer Award.

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Last week as the National Biodiesel Conference took place in Orlando, a group of biodiesel producers and stakeholders in the Northwest U.S. came together in a joint statement to support the reinstatement of the $1 per gallon federal biodiesel blenders credit, which expired again on Dec. 31. The credit was absent for most of 2010 until Congress passed a retroactive extension later in the year. Starting in 2005, domestically produced biodiesel has benefited from a biodiesel tax credit that has reduced the cost of biodiesel and encouraged the development of the clean energy industry.

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At the national show in Orlando, however, several sources told Biodiesel Magazine that they believed the industry would move along successfully without the credit, and stressed that imbuing newfound confidence in the recently tarnished renewable identification number (RIN) credit market—the mechanism the U.S. EPA created to help enforce the renewable fuel standard (RFS2)—and defending RFS2, are paramount. Small- and medium-sized plants are having difficulty monetizing their RINs in a timely fashion, constraining their productivity. Also, the industry is desperately working to convince EPA to expand the biomass-based diesel standard beyond a billion gallons in 2013. Ann Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board, said the organization has “mobilized all its resources and tapped into its reserves” in its effort to increase next year’s biodiesel mandate from 1 billion gallons to 1.28 billion gallons, as it had originally proposed last year. Steckel said the tax credit comes into play at this particular juncture because EPA looks at the tax credit status when looking at yearly volumes.

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Fresh from their annual conference in Orlando, biodiesel producers say they’ll need help from lawmakers to open the throttle on fuel production.

The chief executive of the National Biodiesel Board, Joe Jobe, told conference goers that boosting the federally mandated minimum volume of biodiesel slated for use next year is the single biggest challenge facing their industry.

Biodiesel is produced in the US from recycled cooking oil, rendered fats and soybean oil.

Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, the Environmental Protection Agency sets a minimum volume of renewable fuel that refiners must blend into the national fuel supply.

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At the National Biodiesel Board’s annual conference which wrapped up in Orlando earlier this week, fuel producers and marketers celebrated the industry’s rapid growth.

One of the biggest consumers of biodiesel in Central Florida is based right here in Orlando.

The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Lynx, uses more than four million gallons of fuel a year to power its fleet of 278 buses.

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You can view all the posts here.

Ten Top Posts

1. Biodiesel Vehicle Showcase
2. First Ever Sustainability Symposium
3. Discussing Diesel Technology
4. Supporting National Biodiesel Foundation
5. The Washington Outlook
6. Interview with the Chairman
7. Eye on Biodiesel Awards
8. “Energy Epiphanies” Panel Discussion
9. Opening Remarks from Joe Jobe
10. Collegiate Biodiesel Producers Forum

Experts from the U.S. and Canada called for increased usage of biodiesel in North America, saying the sustainable transportation fuel protects the continent’s energy security and augments the food supply of the entire world, while providing a positive impact on climate change. The scientists, academics and economic analysts gathered in Orlando for the “Sustainability Symposium on Renewable and Transportation Fuels,” part of the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo and organized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Central to the discussions at the day-long conference was biodiesel’s ability to alleviate dependence on foreign oil, a dependence that threatens national security and is subject to the uncertainty produced by the world’s most politically unstable regions. According to the Economist Magazine, the U.S. paid approximately $125 billion more for oil imports in 2011 than it did in 2010 because of unrest in the Middle East.

The result, argued Energy Victory author Robert Zubrin, PhD., is that the United States’ foreign policy is largely driven by a thirst for oil in countries that are considered unfriendly to American interests.

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The annual National Biodiesel Conference & Expo is the only event that gathers biodiesel decision-makers from across the United States and around the world. Opportunities abound for attendees and exhibitors to network, connect, and learn.

Full coverage can be found on the official Conference & Expo Blog.

Wrapping Up the 2012 Conference

To wrap things up at the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference I spoke with NBB CEO, Joe Jobe. He says that there was about a twenty five percent increase in attendance this year. However, he says it’s not the numbers that has made this conference so positive but the mood of the attendees which is much more upbeat than last year. He was happy to see more business being conducted. I certainly echo that.

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Innovation Award

During the Sustainability Symposium luncheon another Eye on Biodiesel award was presented:

Innovation: Keith Kline and Virginia Dale- Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The environmental benefits of biodiesel are many. In this age of skepticism and competition for resources, it behooves us to quantify the environmental benefits in methodical and scientific ways. Keith Kline and Virginia Dale are leaders in scientific thought and published research on the true environmental impact of biodiesel and renewable fuels. Their published works on measurement of land use change and environmental impacts of feedstock production provide needed perspective in a political atmosphere that threatens to stymie advancement of alternative fuels due to speculation and unsupported claims against the environmental reputation of biofuels.

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Biodiesel Vehicle Showcase

The 2012 National Biodiesel Conference featured an expanded display of biodiesel vehicles. Featured Vehicles and their Notable Representatives Included:

Paul Teutul, Sr., the iconic founder of New York’s custom motorcycle shop Orange County Choppers and star of the hit Discovery Channel series American Chopper, revealed his latest custom-built chopper and one-of-a-kind biodiesel vehicle!

Motorsports enthusiast and soybean farmer Brent Hajek showed his land-speed record-setting Ford F-250, which clocked 182 mph running on a B20 biodiesel blend at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

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Sustainability Keynote

The keynote address at the Sustainability Symposium was given by Stephen Kaffa, California Biomass Collaborative.

His keynote outlined the major environmental, economic and social factors impacted by our choice of fuel.

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First Ever Sustainability Symposium

The last day of the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference featured a first ever Sustainability Symposium. A lot of attendees stayed for this event. Getting us started was Rachel Burton, Piedmont Biofuels. Rachel also introduced the keynote speaker, Stephen Kaffa, California Biomass Collaborative.

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Experts from the U.S. and Canada today called for increased usage of biodiesel in North America, saying the sustainable transportation fuel protects the continent’s energy security and augments the food supply of the entire world, while providing a positive impact on climate change. The scientists, academics and economic analysts gathered in Orlando for the “Sustainability Symposium on Renewable and Transportation Fuels,” part of the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, organized by the USDA and the U.S. DOE.

Central to the discussions at the day-long conference was biodiesel’s ability to alleviate dependence on foreign oil, a dependence that threatens national security and is subject to the uncertainty produced by the world’s most politically unstable regions. According to the Economist Magazine, the U.S. paid approximately $125 billion more for oil imports in 2011 than it did in 2010 because of unrest in the Middle East.

The result, argued Energy Victory author Robert Zubrin, is that U.S. foreign policy is largely driven by a thirst for oil in countries that are considered unfriendly to American interests.

…

Read the rest of the article.