PrairieFire BioFuels Cooperative Fundraiser

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Help Keep Your Local Biofuels Co-op Open!

On March 21 at the Brink Lounge (701 East Washington Avenue), PrairieFire is holding a fund-raiser in support of its new direction.

Here's how the evening will go:
5:00pm: Doors open. Donations accepted. Grab a bite to eat and a drink.
6:00-9:00pm: be entertained by local musicians and peruse items in a silent auction

We hope you and your family can join us for music, food, beer and fun! This will be a kid-friendly event. See pfbf.org for more information on entertainment or call 242-1689.

Cancelled -- Biofuels group seeks help on steering & governing a foundation

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Due to the winter weather warning today and this evening, we are cancelling tonight's Education Foundation meeting. Stay tuned for a re-scheduling of this event soon! email to: president@pbbfef.org for more information.

From an invitation issued by the PrairieFire BioFuel Education Foundation:

We at the PrairieFire BioFuels Education Foundation would like to invite you to become active in the steering and governance of our organization. Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8th, at 6:00 p.m. at the home of Luke Matthews, at 4710 Camden Rd. Madison. . . .

Mission Statement:
To encourage environmental stewardship and empower the public with education about the availability and potential of non-petroleum-based fuels.

Brief History:
The Education Foundation grew out of the need to seek donations from the public and from grant-makers in order to provide education and outreach services to support our sister PrairieFire BioFuels Cooperative. Given that the cooperative is focused on providing biodiesel and waste vegetable oil, as well as a service shop to help those whose vehicles can support these alternative fuels, it became necessary to create a separate entity to handle the education and outreach portions of our shared missions. Also, the spirit of the Education Foundation is to move beyond biodiesel and waste vegetable oil and to expand and explore other non-petroleum fuels as well.

What We've Done So Far:• Successfully established 501(c)(3) status
• Established a logo for the Education Foundation and created business cards
• Launched PFEF Web site at www.pfbfef.org
• Held documentary film screening and silent auction fundraisers
• Staffed outreach events (local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, MREA Fair, Earth Day events this spring, Green Drive Expo / HybridFest, etc.) . . .

Please email Kurt Reinhold (current Vice President of the board) if you plan on attending, or if you would like to be considered for the board of directors (all seats are open). You can email Kurt at: Vicepresident@pfbfef.org or call 576-1024. Check us out!

Full speed ahead on biofuels

Thursday, July 10, 2008

From an editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The average gasoline price in Madison set a daily high this week, topping $4.02 a gallon on Tuesday.

On the same day a federal forecast warned that gas prices nationwide are likely to remain above $4 a gallon for the rest of the year and into 2009.

The higher cost of gas is a costly problem that underscores the importance of proceeding full speed ahead with efforts to develop biofuels as an alternative to gasoline.

That 's why Wisconsin policymakers and entrepreneurs should focus on making the state a leader in the next generation of biofuels, made from wood waste and other renewable plant material.

Introduction to Biodiesel Fuel

Monday, March 17, 2008

From Kenneth A. Walz, Ph.D., Chemistry and Engineering Instructor at Madison Area Technical College:

This hands-on course covers the fundamentals of biodiesel with an emphasis on fuel production, quality control, engine performance, and vehicle emissions. Students will produce biodiesel by the transesterfication process and perform ASTM measurements to determine chemical and physical properties of fuel. Test engines will be operated on biodiesel to evaluate performance and emission properties. This course is designed for diesel technicians, fleet managers, chemical process operators, and others with an interest in the technical aspects of biodiesel production and use.

Course: 10-468-122, 1 credit
Format: Three day short-course
When: June 3-5, 2008
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Where: Madison Area Technical College
Truax Campus
Registration #: 65099
Enrollment Info: 608-246-6210
Class Size: Limited to 20 students. Sign up early to reserve your space!
See timetable for more details.

Mill gets grant for creating biofuels

Thursday, January 31, 2008

From an article by Tom Content and Joel Dresang in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A Wisconsin Rapids paper mill received a $30 million federal grant Tuesday to produce diesel fuel from wood waste over the next four years.

The NewPage Corp. paper mill was one of four projects that received $114 million in funding over four years under a Department of Energy small-scale biorefinery program launched last year. Another Wisconsin mill, Flambeau River Papers in Park Falls, was passed over for a grant.

The award for the former Stora Enso North America mill marked the second time in a year that the federal agency has selected Wisconsin for funding biofuels that will cut dependence on oil and reduce global warming emissions from vehicle tailpipes. Last year, the University of Wisconsin-Madison was awarded $125 million to establish one of three bioenergy research centers in the nation.

The grants are designed to speed the introduction of next-generation biofuels - those that aren't made from corn kernels - in a bid to make the new fuels competitive by 2012, said Andrew Karsner, assistant secretary of energy.

The NewPage project, which would generate up to 5.5 million gallons of diesel fuel a year by 2012, was picked because it was a "very good and unique proposal," he said. One of the largest paper mills in the nation, the Wisconsin Rapids plant would process nearly 500 dry tons per day of mill residues and other waste forest products and convert that into a liquid fuel, Karsner said.

Evansville biodiesel plant put on hold

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

From a story by Marv Balousek in the Wisconsin State Journal:

High soybean oil prices have halted construction of the North Prairie Productions biodiesel plant in Evansville, making the end product too expensive compared with the pump price for regular diesel.

The going rate for soybean oil, the raw material for biodiesel, is about 45 cents a pound or $3.60 a gallon, more than double the price when the plant was proposed, said John Sheehy of Sun Prairie, board chairman of North Prairie Productions.

He said biodiesel would have to sell for $4.50 a gallon to justify the current price of soybean oil. Regular diesel fuel was selling for $3.49 a gallon Monday in the Madison area, according to MadisonGasPrices.com. A gallon of soybean oil makes a gallon of biodiesel, Sheehy said.

The $42 million plant would have been the largest in the state, producing an estimated 45 million gallons of biodiesel a year. Biodiesel is a substitute for diesel fuel used by farm tractors and some trucks and cars.

Sheehy said if soybean oil prices go down or diesel fuel prices look like they're going up for an extended period, construction could resume, possibly as early as next spring.

The fuel of the future? Say 'cheese'

Monday, November 05, 2007

From a story in the Oshkosh Northwestern:

STRATFORD — What will the fuel of the future look like and where will it come from?

Prepare for a variety of fuels from many sources, says Wisconsin entrepreneur Joe Van Groll whose start-up renewable energy company produces both ethanol and bio-diesel without a single corn kernel or soybean in sight.

The Grand Meadow Energy LLC near Stratford trucks in waste from surrounding cheese plants and raw canola oil from a nearby farm.

"There is no one silver bullet," Van Groll said in a press release. "The silver bullets are already out there — taking waste streams and turning them into profit centers."

Van Groll bought the Grand Meadow Coop cheese plant when it closed more than three years ago, converted it and with $29,000 from the state's Agricultural Development and Diversification grant program, began testing what is now a trade secret. Today, customers buy a license to use the yeast-based technology he developed with help from the grant.

As concerns about the environmental and societal impact of corn-based ethanol rise, he lists the advantages of his method.

"I don't use energy; I put it back on the grid. I don't slurp up water; I purify and recycle it. I don't push up food costs; I dispose of waste," he said.

Van Groll is a 13-year veteran of the state's cheese industry, and his process focuses on permeate, a by-product of cheese making. But Van Groll says the technology can be used on a variety of waste streams and he sees no end in sight to its application.

Mpower Campaign Launched to reduce CO2 emissions by 100,000 tons

Friday, October 19, 2007

From a press release issued by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz:

Madison - Mpower partners have set an aggressive goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Madison area. Under the cooperative private-public-not-for-profit "100K Clean Energy Challenge," the City of Madison and its initial partners - Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), University of Wisconsin, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Dane County United, Citizens Utility Board, RENEW Wisconsin, Clean Wisconsin, Sierra Club, Madison Area Clean Energy Coalition, and Sustain Dane - will seek to reduce citywide emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 100,000 tons by 2011.

The campaign was launched this week and includes a web site www.mpoweringmadison.com. Business and residents can go to this web site and sign-up and commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Global climate change affects all of us, and it is up to all of us to do our part to address this issue," said Mayor Cieslewicz. "This partnership will help make Madison a leader in showing how local communities can lead the way forward in protecting our environment for future generations."

The City of Madison component of the 100K Clean Energy Challenge calls for city government to reduce its CO2 "footprint" by 25% by 2011, to eliminate 15,000 tons of CO2, through the following strategies:

· Increase the energy efficiency of city facilities, reducing natural gas and electricity consumption. The city is actively implementing green building and energy efficiency practices, and recently created a new Facilities and Sustainability position to focus solely on this issue.

· Purchase more energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar and install renewable energy systems on city properties.

· Increase fuel efficiency and biofuels in the city's fleet of vehicles. The city is already pursuing this goal through establishing fuel-efficiency standards, the use of hybrid diesel-electric buses, as well as experimentation with biodiesel fuels.

Lung Association Praises Doyle for Energy Summit

Friday, October 12, 2007

From the Wisconsin chapter of the American Lung Association:

Milwaukee--The American Lung Association of the Wisconsin (ALA-WI) thanked Governor Jim Doyle, chair of the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA), for hosting the Midwestern Governors Association Energy Security and Climate Change Summit on November 14-15, 2007. At the Summit, Governors and citizens from across the Midwest will pursue new regional initiatives to increase production and use of renewable energy, promote energy efficiency, and ensure a reliable electrical grid.

“We thank the Governor for his efforts and leadership on renewable energy, biofuels, and cleaner air,” said Dona Wininsky, Director of Public Policy and Communications for the ALA-WI. “This summit can highlight that energy security and global warming efforts like biofuels can reduce asthma and other respiratory diseases that threaten our health.”

Biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel reduce carbon emissions, increase energy security, and reduce soot particulate matter pollution that causes asthma and heart attacks.

“We hope this conference can show us how to save lives, energy, and keep jobs here in Wisconsin and the Midwest,” said Wininsky.

The Summit will be co-hosted by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, immediate past chair of the MGA and current chair of the National Governors Association.

“Minnesota offers many programs we can learn from in Wisconsin like requiring more biofuels and investing in more clean, renewable energy,” said Wininsky. “Now is the time for the Legislature to pass measures to promote biofuels like the $30 million for the bioeconomy and money for biofuel pumps.”

Regional policy leaders from business, government, and non-profit arenas are invited to attend the Summit. To register or for more information visit the MGA website.

The Energy Security and Climate Stewardship Summit was organized by the Midwestern Governors Association. Working groups of public and private stakeholders, staffed by the Great Plains Institute, developed the agreements for the Summit.

Live Lightly Tour comes to Milwaukee, Sept. 24

Thursday, September 20, 2007

From the Web site of the Live Lightly Tour:

We love living small…we love living sustainably…and we love teaching others how to do it for themselves. So…we’re hitting the road to spread the love! On September 17, we will launch[ed] our tour and travel the U.S. in an RV powered by straight vegetable oil.

The RV will pull into Outpost Natural Foods (Capitol location, 100 E. Capitol Dr.) at 3:00 p.m. on September 24, 2007.

The RV's specs:

+Fleetwood Flair
+32′ long, 8′ wide
+Diesel “Pusher” (engine is located in the rear, under the bed)
+GMC 6.5 liter V8 Engine
+Veggie Oil Conversion: Golden Fuel Systems Custom Installation
+90 gallon veggie oil tank/18 gallon diesel tank
+Onboard gathering and filtration system
+Grease passes through a pre-filter, and three 8 micron filters before hitting the injectors
+Rated to -20 degrees F
+Roof-top solar panels provide partial solar power
+Flexsteel couch/seating
+King bed in rear/Dinette and Couch both convert to beds
+3 burner gas stove with oven (and it fits my stoneware muffin pan! hooray!)
+6 cubic sq. ft fridge/freezer (new)
+TV in front and rear for watching DVD’s…equipped with DirectTV (not activated)
+Cabin air conditioner/Roof-top air in front and rear
+Large enclosed roof-top luggage carrier

Soybean crush plant pushing ahead

Friday, September 14, 2007

From an article by Gine Duwe the Janesville Gazzette:

EVANSVILLE-A plan to build the state's first soybean crush facility in Evansville moved forward today with Landmark Services Cooperative announcing a $4 million commitment to match a possible state grant.

The project is not a 100 percent go, but the pieces are falling together, Landmark President Larry Swalheim said.

"We're pretty confident that if everything works out the way we think it will, that it will be a go," he said.

Wisconsin is the only state among the top 13 soybean producing states that does not have a crush facility, where beans are crushed to extract the oil, which is used to produce biodiesel fuel.

Landmark is working with legislators to ensure that a $4 million grant for the development of a crush plant remains in the proposed state budget, Swalheim said.

Waste Management sponsors vegetable-oil bus

Sunday, August 05, 2007

From an article on the Web site of American Recycler:

Thirteen Dartmouth College students are crossing the country in a bus powered primarily by waste vegetable oil. The bus will hit more than 45 cities between June and August, campaigning at America’s biggest concerts, conventions and rallies in its more than 10,000-mile odyssey.

Waste Management is a sponsor of the environmental bus. Waste Management was selected to become a sponsor because of the company’s commitment to alternative and renewable energy and recycling programs.

“It’s fitting with our company tag line of Think Green® that Waste Management is the gold sponsor of the Big Green Bus,” said David Aardsma, senior vice president, sales and marketing.

In its third year on the road, the Big Green Bus aims higher and reaches farther than ever before in its goal to put “green” on the mind of every citizen. The bus, recycled from a life as a school bus, has been retrofitted to run on waste vegetable oil collected from fast-food diners and Chinese restaurants. . . .

Connecting various events across the country, places where the students could stay and cities they want to visit, the students chose a route that began on the Dartmouth campus and heads southwest toward Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and over to New Orleans at the end of the month. In July, the bus travels toward Texas and then onto Colorado and Utah before spending the rest of the month in various California cities. In August, the bus travels to Washington and Oregon and the Glacier, Yellowstone and Badlands national parks. The journey then leads to Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio before final stops in Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston.

Vanguard veggie fuel station to open

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

From a story by Dan Gibbard in the Wisconsin State Journal:

BLAIR -- Even in the fringe world of alternative fuels, vegetable oil has mostly remained on the margins, the domain of a few do-it-yourselfers who have rigged their diesels to run on old fryer fat, making the rounds of local burger joints to fill their tanks.

But the veggie power movement is about to stick one greasy toe into the mainstream, as a company in this western Wisconsin town, about 150 miles northwest of Madison, prepares to open what its owners believe is the first recycling and filling station for waste vegetable oil in the Midwest, and one of just a couple in the nation.

"The problem with vegetable oil is not the technology, it 's the infrastructure, " said Coulee Region Bio-Fuels co-owner Taavi McMahon, a lawyer who also is president of PrairieFire Biofuels Cooperative in Madison. "We've been encouraging people to convert to vegetable oil, and when they've asked about fuel availability, we 've said, well, get ready to go Dumpster-diving."

Sustainable biofuels workshop, June 26, Madison Area Technical College

Monday, June 25, 2007

Madison Area Technical College
Truax Campus
3550 Anderson St.
Madison, Wisconsin
Registration - 8:30 a.m.
Seminar - 9:10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

This collaborative seminar is designed to educate grain and livestock farmers, agriculture professionals, government officials and policy makers, educators and biofuels enthusiasts about the implications and applications of biofuels in today’s changing global climate.

Attendees will also learn about the important benefits of conservation programs that help to reduce and offset carbon emissions and hear testimonials from experts in these fields.

if you have questions, call Anne Scott at 608-246-6800 or email ascott@matcmadison.edu.

Workshop: Introduction to Biodiesel Fuel

Friday, June 22, 2007

This hands-on course covers the fundamentals of biodiesel with an emphasis on fuel production, quality control, engine performance, and vehicle emissions. Students will produce biodiesel by the transesterfication process and perform ASTM measurements to determine chemical and physical properties of fuel. Test engines will be operated on biodiesel to evaluate performance and emission properties. This course is designed for diesel technicians, fleet managers, chemical process operators, and others with an interest in the technical aspects of biodiesel production and use.

Catalog Number: 10468100
Class Number: 53250
Credits: 1
Instructor: Ken Walz, CERET Project Director
Format: Three day course
Date: July 10, 11 and 12
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $175.00 (Price includes book and lunch each day)
Location: Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Sturgeon Bay Campus
To Register: Call any of the following numbers:

Green Bay: (920) 498-5444
Sturgeon Bay: (920) 746-4900
Toll free: (800) 422-NWTC, ext. 5444.
Questions? Call (920) 498-5457

This course is made available with partial support provided by the National Science Foundation DUE/ATE award 05010764.

Biofuels at the Fair

Sunday, June 17, 2007

RENEW's Michael Vickerman (right) talks with Steve Fugate of Flying F Biofuels, Tiffin, IA, about Flying F's biodiesel production system during the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair in Custer, WI.

Fair features fuel alternatives

Thursday, June 14, 2007

The Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair, June 15-17, Custer, WI, features a wide variety of vehicles running on different fuels. Vehicle exhibitors are eager to talk about their vehicles and share information.

Visit RENEW in booth #21 in Exhibit Hall C.

Ethanol & biodiesel

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

From Week in Review on the Web site of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Analysts warn against ethanol saturation
The rush to build ethanol plants could produce an investment bubble that bursts and undermines the biofuel's prospects in Wisconsin. Most industry analysts remain optimistic about ethanol, especially if the government mandates more of its use amid rising petroleum prices. But there's growing concern that too many ethanol plants are being built as investors rush to capitalize on the trend.

Port of Milwaukee vies for biodiesel refinery
The Port of Milwaukee is negotiating to get one of the state's first biodiesel refineries. If the talks are successful, construction on the $12.5 million refinery could begin this fall on Jones Island near the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's wastewater treatment plant. The refinery would take soybean oil, a renewable energy source, and refine it into fuel suitable for diesel-engine vehicles. The demand for such fuel is growing as more states mandate the use of renewable energy or at least provide incentives for it.

Greener pastures: Luther College harvests years of ecofriendly ventures

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

From an article by Joe Orso in the La Crosse Tribune:

DECORAH, Iowa — Luther College is blooming as an environmentally friendly campus, but the seeds were planted many years ago.

The 46,000 trees planted during Earth Week in 1990, the prairie grasses that have been restored and many other projects have played a part in the college’s greening.

But standing on a hill in the heart of campus — from where one could see both the woodlands and prairie grasses — Jon Jensen pointed to something new: an anemometer tower about 150-feet tall that has been measuring wind speed for about two years. One day, the data from the measurements might be used to build a wind turbine to generate energy for the college.

“We’re trying to incorporate ideas of sustainability into everything we do — into the education of our students, into the way we run our physical plant, into the way we build new buildings, into the way we run our land,” said Jensen, director of environmental studies program since 2003.

As he stood on the hill behind Dahl Centennial Union, men from facilities services arrived, loaded a barrel of waste vegetable oil from the cafeteria onto their truck and hauled it away. The next day, they’d convert it to biodiesel to run lawn equipment. . . .

The push to go green “has had a significant impact” at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said Matt Lewis, director of campus planning and facilities management.

Open house at state's first vegetable oil recycling and distribution center

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

From the Coulee Region Bio-Fuels LLC:

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 – 10:00 AM

Coulee Region Bio-Fuels Collection and Distribution Center
509 4th St., Blair, Wisconsin
(At the intersection of Highways 53 and 95)

The landmark Coulee Region Biofuels Recycling and Distribution Center in Blair, Wisconsin will hold an Open House and Product Demonstration on Wednesday, May 23, 2007. This open house will reveal a collaboration of three of the region’s leaders in biofuel technology. Taavi McMahon and David Dudley of the PrairieFire Biofuels Co-op and John Feyen of Arcade Pumping have formed an LLC named Coulee Region Biofuels. Matt Fisher, Project Manager at INOV8 International, has been instrumental in the development of the project because of INOV8’s role as a leader in alternate fuels combustion technology.

John Feyen of Coulee Region Bio-Fuels is pleased to show the Coulee Region this new facility that will have the ability to collect, recycle and distribute an environmentally friendly alternate fuel source for businesses in the Coulee Region. . . .

Get more information from:

Matthew Fisher
Matt.INOV8@centurytel.net

Amy Gehrke
Amy.gehrke@gmail.com