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Start planning for San Antonio

Posted: November 17, 2008 at 09:33 AM CST

Despite being three months away, the 2009 National Ethanol Conference may be the most anticipated in the annual event’s 14 years. Held Feb. 23-25 in San Antonio, the event will bring together the ethanol industry’s movers and shakers in a pivotal year certain to bring change, challenges and opportunities.

Why will February’s conference be important to the industry? A quick look at the event’s focal points clears it up:

• Marketing higher level blends—An in-depth discussion of the pathways to the use of ethanol blends above 10 percent in today’s marketplace.

• The path to cellulosic ethanol commercialization—Companies will provide updates on their cellulosic ethanol projects underway to produce commercial-scale fuel ethanol.

• Washington insiders’ roundtable—Inside the Beltway analysts will discuss and hypothesize on the agenda and priorities of the new administration and the 111th Congress.

• The impact of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions on ethanol use—Panelists will discuss current approaches to life cycle GHG analysis of ethanol, the application of life cycle analysis in new regulations, and the importance of these issues to the future growth of the industry.

• Downstream retailing: Our customers’ perspective—Ethanol blenders will discuss the factors that lead them to blend ethanol, including its value and the challenges of brining ethanol to market.

Is there anything else? The scope of policy and industry topics covers the big issues impacting the industry in 2009 and years beyond. In my opinion, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen’s industry address is worth the price of admission. The 2007 version of the conference, the last which I was able to attend, did a terrific job of laying out the specifics of the renewable fuels standard and its renewable identification number system of tracking production and blending. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to predict we’ll get the best information on RFS2 in February.

It’s never too early to start planning to attend. Full details are available at www.nationalethanolconference.com.

-Dave Nilles