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18 02 09 - 16:11
Acreage and Biofuels
By Darrel Good
Springfield, IL - Corn and soybean prices over the next several months will be influenced by several factors. Important among those factors will be the 2009 acreage decisions of U.S. producers and the strength of the biofuels markets.
Expectations about planted acreage of corn and soybeans in the U.S. are in a wide range and actual planting decisions may remain uncertain for some time. Uncertainty centers around at least three factors. First, the prices of 2009 crop corn and soybeans continue to fluctuate, giving mixed signals to producers about the likely relative profitability of corn and soybeans in the 2009-10 marketing year. Second, there is considerable uncertainty about the relative cost of producing corn and soybeans in 2009. Fertilizer prices were very high in the fall of the year, but have recently declined, at least for some ingredients in some markets. The cost of producing corn in 2009 could vary substantially among producers.
The distribution of producers who have paid high input prices and those who may pay lower prices could influence planted acreage, but that distribution is not known. Third, the sharp decline in winter wheat seedings and expected decline in cotton acreage in 2009 will result in additional acreage for other spring planted crops. The magnitude of that acreage is not known with certainty because some acreage could return to non-row crop production or be idled due to expectations of tighter margins for row crop production. In addition, the large decline in seedings of soft red winter wheat may result in fewer acres double cropped to soybeans.
On the issue of how many acres of corn and soybeans are needed in 2009, the size of the biofuels market will be one of the more important factors, particularly for corn. The majority of biofuels production continues to be corn-based ethanol production. That will continue to be the case for the next few years. However, the USDA acknowledged in the February 10 report of domestic supply and consumption prospects that sorghum is increasing in use as a feedstock in some ethanol plants in the Southern and Central Plains.
Under current conditions of relatively low energy prices and tight margins for ethanol producers, it is believed that the Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS) will determine the level of biofuels production and, therefore, the demand for corn for ethanol. Those standards call for 10.5 billion gallons of renewable biofuels use in 2009 and 12.0 billion gallons in 2010. The standards increase to 15 billion gallons by 2015. Assuming those standards remain in place, how much corn will be used for ethanol production in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 marketing years? The answer is not straightforward. First, mandated use is for calendar years, which do not match corn marketing years. Second, there is some uncertainty about the mix of feed stocks that will be used to meet the mandated level of use. Third, within certain rules, blenders can use surplus biofuels (in excess of the RFS) in 2008 to meet the 2009 requirements and can borrow some of next year's requirements to meet this year's standards.
In spite of the uncertainty surrounding biofuels production, it is clear that if the Renewable Fuels Standards are maintained, there will be large increases in the use of corn for ethanol production over the next two years and beyond. The USDA projects use during the current marketing year at 3.6 billion bushels. We would expect use to exceed four billion bushels in 2009-10 and to exceed five billion bushels by 2015-16.
The likely increase in corn use for ethanol, along with a rebound in U.S. corn exports, during the 2009-10 marketing year, suggest that planted acreage of corn in the U.S. in 2009 needs to be maintained at least at the level of 2008. For soybeans, an increase n planted acreage is not needed in 2009 if the U.S. average yield is near trend value of 42.5 bushels and use during the 2009-10 marketing year increases by less than 250 million bushels (8.4 percent).
The USDA will release the results of the Prospective Plantings survey on March 31. With the large decline in winter wheat seedings, it is possible that this report will reveal intentions to plant too much of one or more crops in 2009. Based on anecdotal evidence, intentions for a surplus of soybean acreage may be revealed in that report.
Used tags: alternative_energy, alternative_fuels, biodiesel, biofuel, biofuels, corn, corn_prices, ethanol, ethanol_forecast, ethanol_production, ethanol_producton, renewable_biofuels, renewable_fuels_standards, soybeans
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Monday 28 January 2019 at 03:31 am
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Saturday 16 July 2011 at 06:07 am
Raging wildfires: Climate changes to blame for record season?
By Pete Spotts
The images are stark: soot-grimed firefighters steering bulldozers or wielding shovels to clear underbrush; curtains of orange flame tracing the contours of summits; aircraft dumping chemicals to slow a fire's progress.
Between Jan. 1 and early July of 2011, slightly more than 38,000 wildfires charred the landscape in the United States at a record pace. So far this year, wildfires have consumed just under 4.9 million acres of forest and grassland, a cumulative expanse the size of New Jersey.
That's 1 million more acres than fires consumed during the same period in 2006, which saw a record 9.9 million acres burned for the entire year.
Beyond the numbers, this year's fires may provide the first large-scale tests of the effectiveness of projects undertaken over the past decade to help forests survive wildfires, several specialists say.
The West's forests are adapted to deal with certain types of wildfires, researchers note. But since the mid-1980s, they add, some of these forests have experienced an increasing number of fires to which they are not well adapted.
Many researchers trace this shift in part to climate change.
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Sunday 22 May 2011 at 01:14 am
Hybrid Moves Into Housing
By Brenda Krueger Huffman
(Chicago) – Recycling - Check. Conserving energy - Check. Hybrid car - Next car, check. Hybrid home system - What? Yes, it’s here. Hybrid has seamlessly, successfully moved into housing.
Safety Power, Inc. was initially started to provide homes with back up power. The company quickly grew to include renewable energy options and advising commercial and industrial clients with electrical conservation. Recently the company has come full circle and began marketing a new more capable type of renewable energy system for homes.
The award winning firm was voted one of the “Top 5 Sustainable Product Companies in Illinois” and continues to grow its residential client base in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Safety Power also serves larger firms on the national level.
Robert Brazzale, President of Safety Power, a master electrician turned entrepreneur, began Safety Power in 2007. An avid member of Local First Chicago, Rob believes in assisting sustaining local economies with green collar jobs and belongs to many green orientated groups in Chicago and around the country.
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Tuesday 29 March 2011 at 11:12 am
Are electric car makers missing the trick?
by Martin Ott
I believe that electric car makers may be driving us all down the road that may result in the same sort of technology failures that we have seen in the past.
I'm not referring to the Sinclair scooter here but cast your mind back to the débâcle of Betamax v VHS home recording systems. The eventual winner was the technically inferior VHS but the battle was not resolved until innumerable consumers had paid out for worthless Betamax systems. Back in the 70's a similar conflict occurred over audio systems when America fell in love with the 8 track tape system that moved magnetic tape in a loop over the player head at a high speed resulting in a better sound. The world market finally dictated that the audio cassette was the way to go but not until millions of consumers had been lumbered with home and in-car systems that went down the technological cul de sac.
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Tuesday 29 March 2011 at 10:57 am
by Suresh Varma
The Theni Wind Farm project was developed by CLP India Pvt. Ltd., one of the major wind farm project developers in India. Located in the south western part of Tamilnadu, a southern state of the country, the facility consists of 60 Vestas V82 geared wind turbines. As recognition of its contribution towards the successful execution of this wind power project SGS received Vestas award.
Each turbine at the wind farm has a capacity of 1.65 MW IEC Class IIB machine with a blade diameter of 82 m. After a six-month long completion period, the Theni Wind Farm was officially opened in May, 2010.
Acting as contract engineer during project execution, SGS was responsible for ensuring that all activities were carried out at the site by the contractor in line with the final agreement. In doing so, SGS supervised the quality of construction works, the fulfillment of the technical parameters and kept the project within the scheduled time and contracted price.
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Tuesday 29 March 2011 at 10:37 am
E.ON uses PPC's Broadband Powerline technology in smart grid project
by Power Plus Communications
Mannheim - Power Plus Communications AG (PPC), the leading provider of Broadband Powerline Communication systems (BPL) for smart grids has taken on a key role within an E.ON smart grid project to facilitate an extension of Cisco's Connected Grid Solution.
E.ON Westfalen Weser AG is currently trialing smart grid technology within its network of 1.3 million inhabitants and PPC's proven medium voltage BPL solution has connected substations in the project using the existing power grid.
Using BPL technology, standard compliant and IP-based data transfer rates of 5-30 Mbit/s can easily be achieved via the medium voltage cable itself. Within E.ON’s smart grid project, PPC's medium voltage technology facilitated the extension of Cisco's Connected Grid Solution. The Cisco smart grid Router and Switches used in the project are highly compatible with BPL networks, providing a real cost advantage over fiber optic networks – which can be much more expensive where cables are not pre-existing.
By combining their technology at Westfalen Weser, PPC and Cisco have ensured the evolution of fast and efficient smart grids which are controlled on an IP basis. This increases the reliability of the power grid, fulfills regulations and drives down costs. At the same time this modern smart grids communications technology makes it possible to effectively integrate renewable energy into the grid.
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Saturday 19 February 2011 at 09:02 am
By Brenda Krueger Huffman
Chicago – Perhaps moving to the center is where we all need to be politically on the environment and effective spending compatibility. Not all green technology is crazy, and not all business profit or government expenditure is evil.
Even if you do not believe in man caused climate change, we can all agree leaving a cleaner planet and a more fiscally responsible government for the next generation is preferable to not doing so.
Perhaps green technology can be cost effective, and government fiscal responsibility may realistically include affordable green initiatives. Honest “life cycle analysis” and “life cycle cost analysis” study considerations should be a political compromise starting point both the left and the right can embrace.
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Thursday 27 January 2011 at 11:05 am
Global warming: Impact of receding snow and ice surprises scientists
By Pete Spotts
Washington - A long-term retreat in snow and ice cover in the Northern Hemisphere is weakening the ability of these seasonal cloaks of white to reflect sunlight back into space and cool global climate, according to a study published this week.
Indeed, over the past 30 years, the cooling effect from this so-called cryosphere – essentially areas covered by snow and ice at least part of the year – appears to have weakened at more than twice the pace projected by global climate models, the research team conducting the work estimates.
The study, which appeared online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience, represents a first cut at trying to calculate from direct measurements the impact of climate change on the Northern Hemisphere's cryosphere. The study was conducted by a team of federal and university scientists who examined data gathered between 1979 and 2008.
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Wednesday 05 January 2011 at 10:38 pm
By Mark Clayton
Washington - Setting the stage for a New Year battle royal between Congress and the White House over greenhouse gas emissions, the US Environmental Protection Agency Thursday laid out a timetable for the nation's largest carbon emitters – power plants and refineries – to begin curbing those pollutants.
Republicans have said all year that they plan to pull out all the stops to keep the EPA from phasing in greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations beginning in 2011, saying they would damage the energy industry, raise prices, and cost jobs.
Rep. Fred Upton (R) of Michigan, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has said he opposes the regulations on greenhouse gases and indicated he would lead efforts to revoke EPA regulations in the next Congress. The new regulations, he says, will likely lead to the shut down of coal-fired power plants.
"To protect jobs and fortify our energy security, we should be working to bring more power online, not shutting plants down," Mr. Upton said in a statement. "We are woefully unprepared to meet our nation's growing energy demands, yet this administration's 'none of the above' energy policy will do nothing but cost jobs, make energy more expensive, and increase our dependence on foreign sources of energy."
Environmentalists lauded the EPA's move.
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Monday 13 December 2010 at 03:21 am
By Warren Richey,
Washington - The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a major environmental lawsuit that seeks to force six electric power companies to cap and reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions to fight global warming.
The lawsuit - filed in 2004 by eight states, the City of New York, and three land trusts - targets what it claims are the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the United States and among the largest in the world.
It seeks a judicial order declaring that the fossil-fueled power plants are a "public nuisance." It also seeks a judicial order capping the plants' greenhouse gas emissions and requiring the plants to adopt a schedule of reduced emissions in future years.
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