The keynote speaker at the opening general session this morning was Michael Shermer, Skeptic Magazine. It was important to hear how pseudo science can so easily affect public opinion. It was also entertaining to hear and see some of his examples. After the session I spoke with Michael and asked him to summarize a key point he made in his … Read More
Petroleum Industry Experts Panel
At this year’s conference we got a repeat of last year’s petroleum industry experts panel. Included are Ron Marr – Minnesota Soybean Processors; David Blatnik – Marathon Petroleum Company; John Cusick – Morgan Stanley Capital Group.; Bruce Heine – Magellan Midstream Partners; Jim Lelio – Kinder Morgan Pipeline Group and C. Mike Reed – NIC Holding Corp. They discuss the … Read More
Opening General Session With Joe Jobe
Our opening general session is now taking place and NBB CEO Joe Jobe just left the stage. Joe gave us a rousing opening speech and I’ve recorded it for you so that you can listen or download below. Joe says the conference will rock and he hopes that all the attendees will have opportunities to conduct some real business as … Read More
Photos From Conference
After the opening Super Bowl Party we had music on stage from Emily Richards and Jason Brock, long time attendees and performers. Joining them were several members of the Biodiesel Jam Band. Here’s Emily with Scottie Nisula on guitar. We had a number of other folks join in on stage including NBB CEO Joe Jobe. Here’s the group playing one … Read More
Support The National Biodiesel Foundation
During the Super Bowl party you could support the National Biodiesel Foundation in several ways that included buying raffle tickets for a post-half time raffle. Also in progress is a silent auction for some very incredible items like an autographed album by the Beatles. If you’re at the conference the silent auction runs through Tuesday. Hint, hint. I spoke about … Read More
Conference Outlook
The 2011 National Biodiesel Conference is underway and the party has started. The Super Bowl Party that is. Before the game the CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, Joe Jobe, played meet the press in the media room. He’s seen here being interviewed. I spoke with him to get an “advance” look at this year’s conference. Joe starts out by … Read More
It’s Time For 2011 Conference
Hello biodiesel fans. It’s time for the 2011 National Biodiesel Conference to kick off and we’ll be doing that with a Super Bowl party once again. Over the coming days I’ll be posting photos and interviews so check the blog often to see if you see yourself! We’ve got a number of resource links for you that include: Schedule at … Read More
Conference invests in ‘next generation’ scientists
The National Biodiesel Conference & Expo hosts some of the most prestigious biofuels scientists in the world. This year, the biodiesel industry is also investing in tomorrow’s scientists, helping to bring about 10 college students to the event, Feb. 6 – 9 in Phoenix. Evan Le, a senior studying mechanical engineering at the University of Nevada – Reno, was chosen … Read More
Biodiesel Music Available
I’m going to close out our online coverage of this year’s National Biodiesel Conference with one more post on Emily Richards and Jason Brock. The photo is from one of the screens that was displaying them during their time on stage at the conference. Emily announced that she and Jason have been working on a music project since last year’s … Read More
More On RFS-2
With RFS-2 being such an important topic to anyone in the industry right now I conducted another interview on the subject with Larry Schafer, The Diamond Group. Larry moderated one of the panel discussions on the subject at the conference. He says that the EPA has published the regulatory rules on line and there are a number of forms that … Read More
Eye On Biodiesel Awards
The NBB’s 2010 “Eye on Biodiesel Award” categories and their winners are: Impact: Terry Taylor, Sysco Corporation. Sysco, North America’s leading foodservice marketer and distributor, has led the way in implementing biodiesel in private industry. The company first began using biodiesel in 2005 as part of its comprehensive sustainability program. Terry Taylor, Sr., Director ˆ National Purchasing, says he saw … Read More
Biodiesel Family
It’s about time to fly home from the National Biodiesel Conference so I thought I’d leave you with some more music from Emily Richards and Jason Brock. This is from their new Brown album which is available via ccMixter. I’ll get a link from them to post for you later. I have a number of items that I’ll post after … Read More
Closing Comments From Joe Jobe
Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board took the stage to lead the final general session today. I spoke to him afterward to get his comments on the conference and the industry in light of what the speakers have said during the last several days. Joe says “it’s really been good” referring to the conference. There was an expectation … Read More
Notes On RFS-2
We have had three panels discussions on the new RFS-2 and they had to be moved to larger than scheduled rooms to handle all the people who want to hear about the new rules. You are encouraged to look to the National Biodiesel Board as a significant source of information on this very important subject. They will be compiling more … Read More
Looking Into Biodiesel Feedstock Future
Besides our panel discussion this morning addressing feedstock realities we also heard from Anne Frick, Prudential, who also addressed the topic. To start her comments Anne says the industry depends on an ample supply of reasonably priced feedstocks. She talks about the international market since soybean oil is currently the major feedstock and it is impacted so much by what … Read More
NBB Governing Board Takes Stage
I’m really glad I brought along a wide angle lens to get a group photo of the Governing Board of the National Biodiesel Board. These folks were recognized on stage during our final session today for their work in leading the organization. Remember that you can find larger sized versions of all the photos I’m posting, including this one in … Read More
Feedstock Realities
The final general session of the conference featured a panel session titled, “Feeding the Biodiesel Machine: Understanding Feedstock Realities of Today and Tomorrow.” Captivating new feedstocks for biodiesel have grabbed headlines around the world. But which hold the most promise for expanding the biodiesel industry’s immediate and long-term feedstock needs? What’s the secret behind playing the commodities market… and winning? … Read More
It’s Time For A Fuel Change
Okay biodiesel fans. I’ve got a lot of content to post here and hope to have it all up by tomorrow afternoon. It’s a travel day home after the end of this year’s conference. If you’ve ever attended a National Biodiesel Conference then you know Emily Richards and Jason Brock. These music stars are passionate about their belief in renewable … Read More
Member Reception
After all the sessions were completed today members of the National Biodiesel Board got to relax with a nice reception. If you’re not a member of the NBB then you should become one! We’re going to have another great day of sessions tomorrow with a morning general session on Understanding Feedstock Realities of Today and Tomorrow. I’ll be posting information … Read More
Enterprise Plans Fleet Conversion To Biodiesel
Enterprise Holdings made a major announcement this morning at the Conference. Enterprise Holdings today announced plans for its entire fleet of more than 600 Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental airport shuttle buses across more than 50 North American markets to begin using at least 5 percent biodiesel (B5). Pictured at the press conference are (l-r) … Read More