It’s that time. Time for the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference. Time to keep an eye on our conference blog. Your biodiesel blogger will be back again this year to capture photos, interviews and videos for your viewing pleasure.
You can find lots of resources on our conference website including:
The 2011 National Biodiesel Conference has been a great one according to everyone I have spoken with. To wrap things up I spoke with Donnell Rehagen, COO, National Biodiesel Board. He says that we had approximately 1,100 in attendance and it looked like business was getting done.
Yesterday NBB held its annual membership meeting and approved projects and a plan that will begin this fall. This gives the staff a “play book” to execute initiatives from market development to governmental affairs.
So let’s look forward to next year when the conference will take place in Orlando, FL!
You can listen to my interview with Donnell here:
Don’t forget to check out our photo album. You’ll find over 400 photos taken throughout the conference. Feel free to click on them and download if you’d like to have or share one! Use the link below:
The National Biodiesel Foundation raised almost $50,000 through an auction and additional fundraising activities during the National Biodiesel Conference. Funds will support biodiesel research and education activities
Also, Leon Akerly, American Biodiesel Energy, Inc. won the Camelback Ford iPod Nano giveaway and John Forrest, Gen-X Energy Group, Inc. won an iPod Nano from SGS Alternative Fuels.
I want to say a big thanks to New Holland for their support of the Biodiesel Conference Blog and in particular Gene Hemphill, past Eye on Biodiesel Award winner. I spoke with Gene about New Holland’s support for the industry. He reminded me of a trip I took with him and NBB CEO Joe Jobe to Jay Leno’s Garage where we met Jay and learned about his support of biodiesel. It sounds like there might be some new developments with Jay and biodiesel brewing! Read more about New Holland and biodiesel on their biodiesel support website.
New Holland recognizes the importance of biodiesel as an alternative source of energy and the opportunities that it brings to our customers. We were the first agricultural equipment brand to fully embrace the potential of biodiesel. As the clean energy leader, we support our customer’s fuel choices, and that’s why we provide products with the flexibility to confidently run on everything from plain diesel to 100% biodiesel.
Manning Feraci is the Vice President for Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board. He took the stage during our last general session to talk about advancing to the next level of effectiveness in the capitol halls of America.
Some current resources regarding legislative issues are available on the NBB website:
The “Eye on Biodiesel” Awards were presented today during our last general session at the conference. I’m going to list them with their comments from the stage starting with the Inspiration Award. Accepting was Nick Portonova.
Inspiration: Deer Valley Unified School District. This Arizona school district began its biodiesel program in 1999, long before the fuel was a known quantity. Now the district uses biodiesel blends from B5 to B50 in all 236 school buses. Transportation Director Nick Portonova says he routinely takes calls from across the nation, helping answer questions that other fleets have. Portonova added the biggest benefit of using biodiesel is the healthier choice they are making for their students.
Inspiration comments here:
Our next award is the Innovation Award. Accepting was Frank Dela Vara, Director of Environmental Affairs, Disneyland Resort.
Innovation: Disneyland Resort. The resort is a national landmark whose effort to reduce emissions through biodiesel use displaces 200,000 gallons a year of petroleum diesel. Their innovative solution saved their iconic steam trains and is a shining example of biodiesel use.
Innovation comments here:
Next up was the Influence Award. Accepting was Keith Kerman, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
Influence: City of New York. New York City Department of Sanitation, and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. City of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed landmark air quality legislation that includes a provision requiring all heating oil sold within New York City to contain at least 2 percent biodiesel by October 1, 2012. By moving to environmentally-friendly Bioheat TM, the City will annually replace approximately 20 million gallons of petroleum-based heating fuel. The New York City Department of Sanitation uses biodiesel blends of B5-B20 in its 4,000 diesel vehicles, which include many large trucks and snow plows. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has operated its diverse fleet of vehicles as well as more than 130 buildings on B20-B100 blends since 2006. Because of these two departments’ commitment to cleaner fuels, New York City is the nation’s largest municipal user of biodiesel.
Influence comments here:
Our next award was the Initiative Award. Accepting were the Grassroots Team Captains and Alicia Clancy-REG.
Initiative: NBB Grassroots Team Captains. The NBB grassroots initiative empowers biodiesel industry leaders and supporters to influence public discussion. NBB’s grassroots success has been heralded by Hill staff and trade groups alike. The successful program centers on team captains who carry out targeted objectives in their states. Since July 2009 the team captains have rallied contacts in key states to support a positive legislative framework for biodiesel. In just six weeks, NBB Grassroots Team Captains generated 8,000 comments on pending federal legislation. Their volunteer efforts have also led to countless earned media placements, successful site visits, and thousands of calls and letters to elected leaders. This group was critical in establishing the policy framework that exists today.
Initiative comments here:
The Industry Partner Award was next. Accepting was Victor Bohuslavsky, Nebraska Soybean Board.
Industry Partnership: Nebraska Soybean Board. The Nebraska Soybean Board has been a leader among state soybean organizations in its support of biodiesel. Staff and farmer leaders regularly support and participate in critical biodiesel projects and events. For example, Nebraska recently hosted a delegation of oil heat leaders, a group that plans to blend 325 million gallons of biodiesel and wanted to see firsthand the source of the product. The Board also played a major role spearheading the largest proactive communications effort in industry history. They introduced new state soybean organizations to the biodiesel industry, and continue to support the industry through major investments in biodiesel projects.
Industry Partner comments here:
Our final award was the Impact Award. Accepting was Adam J. Gryglak, Chief Engineer, Powertrain Engineering for Ford. I actually interviewed him so I’ll post that interview here for you.
Impact: Ford Motor Company. As a leader in the automotive industry, Ford Motor Company has again stepped to the forefront with its support for and promotion of biodiesel. Ford undertook the task of designing, engineering and manufacturing its entire lineup of all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks with the specific goal of supporting the use of B20 biodiesel blends for all its diesel customers, starting in 2011 and beyond. Ford’s investment into the intense research, development and testing efforts that led to that support are now signified by the silver B20 emblem that is proudly displayed on the side of every new Ford Super Duty diesel truck. Ford’s continued support has made a significant impact on the marketplace, instilling even greater consumer confidence in biodiesel.
During the second general session we heard about the role of government policy in advancing biodiesel from a panel of experts.
Participating on the panel were moderator Shelby Neal – National Biodiesel Board; Eric Bowen – Renewable Energy Group Inc./California Biodiesel Alliance Chairman; Ed Hegland – Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council/NBB Past Chairman; Steven Levy – Sprague Energy; Rebecca Richardson – MARC-IV and Ben Wootton – Keystone Biofuels, Inc.
The Chairman of the National Biodiesel Board is Gary Haer, REG. Before he took the stage I spoke with him and he says that everyone is upbeat here at the conference and excited about the prospects in 2011. He says the RFS provides a demand that biodiesel will fill as the only advanced biofuel. He also says that NBB will be working on getting the tax credit back since it complements the RFS.
Educational sessions are an integral part of the National Biodiesel Conference. The sessions are broken up into different interest areas. As time allows I hope to feature a few interviews from these sessions.
Technical Track
The technical track is targeted primarily to engineers, chemists and other technical professionals. Sessions will cover subjects from a research perspective and will serve as the fundamental basis for the establishment of industry-wide priorities for biodiesel research in the future.
Regulatory Track
The policy track is focused on updating stakeholders on the latest state and federal regulatory developments, including outcomes of the energy bill, status of executive orders and other federal programs and state legislative developments. Individuals interested in gaining a better understanding of national and regional biodiesel markets, as well as policy and regulations, will benefit from the sessions in this track.
Marketing Track
The marketing track examines the various emerging market applications for biodiesel, including heating oil, marine, mines, co-product markets and more. Biodiesel producers/marketers and other service industry stakeholders, as well as those involved in those various market segments, will want to attend these sessions.
It’s that time. Time for the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference. Time to keep an eye on our conference blog. Your biodiesel blogger will be back again this year to capture photos, interviews and videos for your viewing pleasure.
