By Dave Nilles
May 01, 2006
As the industry matures, the lifespan of today's dry-grind ethanol facilities is becoming increasingly important. Producing more ethanol now is the order of the day. But as the renewable fuel becomes a mainstay of the United States' transportation fuel infrastructure, can ethanol plants—the physical structures themselves and the equipment within them—last as long as consumer demand for the product?
On first thought, a great place to locate an ethanol plant seems to be where others have labored to lay the groundwork before—on a brownfield site. But the fact is most U.S. ethanol plants, both operating and under construction, choose the greenfield route to project development, effectively discounting the benefits of building brown.
By Dave Nilles
May 01, 2006
Once the void left by the MTBE phase out is filled and the RFS is met, what's next for the ethanol industry? Is a construction slowdown—or abrupt halt to the build-out—on the horizon? No one claims the sky is falling, but potential investors need to be aware that projecting domestic market growth is, even for the industry's top experts, somewhat of a guessing game.
By Nicholas Zeman
May 01, 2006
Right now, meeting the growing demand for ethanol at home is priority No. 1 for U.S. producers, and knowing if and when domestic consumption will level out is a guessing game. But when production does eventually outpace demand—yes, history says that will happen—there will be producers and marketers jumping on market opportunities abroad. The question today, then, is not whether ethanol export markets will arise, but whether American suppliers will have a significant part in them.
By Ron Kotrba
May 01, 2006
In today's pro-ethanol climate, the drive to produce this renewable fuel for the unquenchable domestic markets is strong, without a doubt. This environment has helped spawn what some have called a "new generation" of giant dry mills under construction in the United States to meet these market demands. Here, EPM takes a look at how this shift in philosophy could influence a project's bottom line, for better or worse.
By Anduin Kirkbride McElroy, Holly Jessen, Nicholas Z
May 01, 2006
It's time once again for EPM's annual, and highly anticipated, list of proposed ethanol plants in the United States and Canada. All we have to say is, it's getting bigger!
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