"Nelson Heaps Praise on Ethanol Projects"

By: Martha Stoddard Lincoln Journal Star
Published in the Lincoln Journal Star on December 8, 1998 on page 2B

Gov. Ben Nelson took the wheel Monday to highlight two Nebraska research projects aimed at expanding the market for ethanol. The first involves a team of university of Nebraska-Lincoln engineering students and a black, full-size General Motors pickup, both of which Nelson took for a spin around the block. "In the long run, their work will be very beneficial to grain growers and ethanol producers in the state," Nelson said of the students. They will spend the next six months converting the gasoline-powered truck so it can run on a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Their results will then be matched against the efforts of 13 other student teams in the May 1999 National Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. All of the converted trucks will be tested for emissions, acceleration, range, handling, energy efficiency and cold-starting capability. The competition is aimed at increasing fuel efficiency and cutting emissions without sacrificing performance and consumer appeal, Nelson said. A UNL team competed last year, although it did not win. But several seniors on the team wound up with jobs in the auto industry, where they are building on their ethanol experience, he said. With trucks and sport-utility vehicles claiming an ever larger share of the market, Nelson said, it is becoming more important to expand ethanol use in those types of vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors, the state of Nebraska and seven other groups, including the Governors' Ethanol Coalition, are sponsoring the competition. Earlier, Nelson praised a second research project now under way at the High Plains ethanol plant in York. The project, partly funded by the Western Regional Biomass Energy Program, aims to cut the cost of producing ethanol by using ethanol byproducts to partially fuel the plant. High Plains' spokesman Gary Smith said the plant installed a high-efficiency anaerobic digester several months ago to treat its wastewater. The plant is now experimenting with using the methane gas created during treatment as a source of power for a stationary fuel cell. If successful, the methane-powered cell could cut the plant's use of electricity by 30 percent and natural gas by 25 percent. Smith said the project would mean cleaner water coming from the plant, reduced use of natural gas and lower costs of producing ethanol. Lower production costs can help make ethanol more competitive with gasoline and diesel fuels. "Any time the production cost of ethanol can be lowered, that's good news for Nebraska's economy and industries," Nelson said.