If you’re wanting to know where biodiesel will sit at the oil company table then you’re in luck because we had a morning panel discussion that included experts in the field to talk about it. The RFS-2 will likely mean that these companies will be adding biofuels to their product lines which has the potential to double biodiesel production in … Read More
Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Addresses Conference
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack couldn’t be with us in person but he was via pre-recorded video. He says the the President has made revitalizing rural America a priority at USDA and that renewable energy production, including biodiesel must be a part of it. He says that he knows how important the extension of the biodiesel tax credit is … Read More
NBB Chairman On Stage To Fuel Change
Today’s general session featured National Biodiesel Board Chairman Ed Hegland. He’s completing his final term as Chairman. He started his comments by reminding everyone that today is the anniversary of daylight savings time which was created to conserve on our energy supply during World War I. It was an innovative idea then, and when it comes to the innovative work … Read More
Texas State Representative Honored
During the opening session of the Conference a special award was presented on stage. Texas Representative Rick Hardcastle received the “Texas House Member of the Year Award.” He’s from Vernon, TX. The award is presented annual by the the Biodiesel Coalition of Texas. Making the presentation on stage was Jess Hewitt, Gulf Hydrocarbon, Inc. National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album
Conference Trade Show
The National Biodiesel Conference trade show is in full swing. This evening we had a networking reception in the Expo Hall sponsored by SGS North America. Here are our sponsor all in smiles at their booth. The trade show provides a great opportunity to visit with companies and service providers for the industry. There is a central “networking” area set … Read More
NBB Chairman Ed Hegland
The Chairman of the National Biodiesel Board is Ed Hegland, seen here as a guest on today’s AgriTalk show. Ed says that attendance was something they were very concerned about here at the Conference due to the state of the industry and the weather but they had to bring in 100 extra chairs to the opening general session so he … Read More
AgriTalking With New Holland
Our sponsor for the National Biodiesel Conference Blog is New Holland. Unfortunately, Gene Hemphill, New Holland, was not able to join us here due to the weather problems on the east coast. However, he did participate in today’s AgriTalk program which was conducted live in the media room here at the Conference. Pictured is AgriTalk host Mike Adams who spoke … Read More
Economist Don Reynolds Optimistic For Future
Economist Don Reynolds was the keynote speaker at the opening general session. He appeared on stage two years ago and predicted the problems in our economy. Today he started out on a very optimistic note in part due to his belief that we’ll continue to see a growing recovery of the economy. His comments were meant to help participants define … Read More
High Stakes In The Biodiesel Business
At the opening session of the Conference we had a Texas Hold ‘Em session. The session was moderated by Jess Hewitt, Gulf Hydrocarbon. Other participants included Martin Beirne, Green Earth Fuels of Houston, Mark Farrer, Direct Fuels, Michael Nasi, Jackson Walker L.L.P. and Jonathon Phillips, RBF. They had a very informal discussion about the “high stakes in the biodiesel business.” … Read More
GM B20 Vehicle Compliance Announced on Stage
We heard again this morning about GM’s announcement to have all their heavy duty trucks and cargo vans B20 compliant in 2011. On hand to make the announcement was Coleman Jones, Biofuel Implementation Manager, GM. He says the new vehicles will be in the marketplace later this year. They’ll be on display at the upcoming auto show in Chicago but … Read More
Joe Jobe Looks To Positive Future
The CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, Joe Jobe, was on stage to welcome a standing room only crowd at the opening general session to the Conference. He opened up with a political theme to his remarks. As the folks in the opening video stated very clearly, this last year has been a huge struggle for our industry. With the … Read More
Clean Cities In Texas
The Clean Cities Coordinator for Dallas-Ft. Worth is Mindy Mize. She was on hand to greet the media yesterday. Mindy says they’re responsible for planning for 16 counties. She says biodiesel is one of their tools that helps them improve air quality. There were several other Clean Cities Coordinators with us as well. You can download (mp3 file) or listen … Read More
Super Start To National Biodiesel Conference
The opening day of the National Biodiesel Conference ended with the traditional Super Bowl party. Here are attendees standing for the National Anthem before the game. No matter which team you rooted for they were all on team biodiesel! This reception is a great networking opportunity and I can tell you everyone was having fun. Now it’s on to education … Read More
Greening The Irvine Municipal Fleet
If you want to talk to a cheerleader for biodiesel then you need to meet Ramiro Lopez, Direct of Intergovernmental Services, Irvine, TX. He’s in charge of fleets and fuels and he was our guide today when we went to the media ride and drive and biodiesel plant tour. Ramiro says that in Irvine he’s implemented a program to utilize … Read More
Touring Direct Fuels Biodiesel
The media was treated to a biodiesel plant tour today at Direct Fuels Biodiesel in Euless, TX. It was a very comprehensive tour that included the facilities and learning about their process and even how they test for quality. Jacob McClernon, Quality Assurance Specialist is pictured showing us their cold soak filtration test. We also heard from Mark Farrer, Director … Read More
Media Ride and Drive
During today’s media ride and drive event I got to ride in a new Chevy truck that was fueled with B20 from Classic Clean Fuels. My driver was National Biodiesel Board Vice Chairman Gary Haer, Renewable Energy Group. Also along for the ride was Senior Communications Adviser for NBB, Jenna Higgins Rose. So ride along with us and hear about … Read More
Ford Shows B20 Commitment On Truck
Another vehicle manufacturer was on hand this morning at our Classic Clean Fuels media event. Ford was represented by Brien Fulton. He was showing off the new badge they’re putting on 2011 model Super Duty pickups. This is what it looks like. Very classy, eh? Brien says the engines in these trucks will be fully capable of running on B20. … Read More
GM Announces B20 Compliant Vehicles for 2011
The media got to hear from Craig Eppling, Regional Communications Manager for GM this morning. Craig announced that 2011 models of their heavy duty trucks and cargo vans will be B20 compliant. They’ll be displayed first at an upcoming auto show. You can download (mp3 file) or listen to Craig’s announcement here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nbb/nbc-10-gm-announce.mp3] You can also download (mp3 file) or … Read More
Conference Photo Album Started
One of the first activities here at the National Biodiesel Conference was a media ride and drive event at which we heard from representatives of GM and Ford. I’ll have their announcements coming up. We held the event at Classic Clean Fuels which has biodiesel pumps in operation with B20 as you can see from the photo. Our test drive … Read More
Welcome to the 2010 National Biodiesel Conference
Hello from Grapevine, TX as we start opening day of the 2010 Conference. This morning members of the media (including yours truly) will partake in a ride and drive to see this year’s line-up of new 2010 and 2011 clean diesel vehicles powered by biodiesel blends. We’ll be doing that at Classic Clean Fuels, a nearby fueling station selling alternative … Read More