Indiana Solar Project Opens

John Davis

Indiana’s first privately-owned building with an integrated commercial solar tile project will soon open, helped by a grant from the state’s energy program.

According to this story posted on Sys-con.com, the building is in Connersville:

Green EnergyThe project, a state of the art dental center located in the city of Connersville, Indiana — The Christie Family Dentistry — featuring some of the most technologically advanced dental equipment, will now be the first in the state to be powered by solar energy with this newly installed 20-kilowatt solar roof. This 20-kilowatt system will be one of the largest photovoltaic projects in Indiana and will provide up to one-half of the facility’s power requirements. This will be the first solar installation in Indiana to utilize solar roof tiles instead of standard panels.

A group called Life Quality Systems, LLC, a member of the Green Energy Collaborative, built the photovoltaic system. You can check out more about them by clicking here.

Miscellaneous

Doggett Moving to Stop Biodiesel Tax Credit Abuse

John Davis

Cong. Lloyd DoggettCongressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) is expected to introduce soon, possibly on Thursday, a bill that will keep Big Oil from cashing in on the tax credit intended to help biodiesel producers.

This story posted on TheHill.com says the representative wants to reverse an IRS ruling that allows oil companies to claim a $1-a-gallon renewable diesel tax credit by adding animal fat to the traditional refining process.

The National Biodiesel Board, whose members produce biodiesel from soybean and canola oils, opposed the IRS ruling, fearing oil companies would siphon off their own federal support for renewable-fuels production.

Doggett’s news release said the credit was designed to encourage production of “clean-burning, biodegradable diesel fuel
that is fully independent of petroleum products.”

Biodiesel, Government

Biodiesel Plant Coming to Sacramento

John Davis

Primafuel Inc. has gotten the green light from the Port of Sacramento, California to build a 60-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant. Check out this story in the Sacramento Bee:

Planned for 14 acres of port land along Industrial Boulevard in West Sacramento, the $60 million to $90 million facility would have nearly 10 times the production capacity of the largest existing biodiesel plant in California.

The plan still must pass through state and local environmental reviews, which have frequently delayed biofuel projects elsewhere in the state. Permitting is expected to take at least six months, followed by up to 18 months for construction. The plant is expected to eventually employ 70 workers.

The biorefinery’s opening could come at the right time. It would put it just upstream from a burgeoning market in the San Francisco Bay area. Check out my previous posts “Biodiesel for Frisco Buses” and “Greening the Gas Pumps.”

Biodiesel

Unique Wind Power Plant Planned for Iowa

John Davis

ISEPA $200 million wind power plant is slated to be built near Dallas Center in Central Iowa. While that might not be that unique, the fact that much of the operation will be underground sure is. A unique underground rock formation in the area makes the Iowa Stored Energy Plant Agency idea possible. Gotta love that wind captured in a jar logo! Click here to see a demo of the project.

This article in the Des Moines Register explains how it will work:

The process uses wind energy to force air into the underground shale formation as far as 3,000 feet below ground. The compression is usually done through the night when electrical use is not at its peak. Then, during the day, the compressed air is brought back up and used to run turbines that create electricity.

The majority of power used to compress the air would come through the existing power grid from wind generators in the northern areas of Iowa.

As the air moves through the rock, water that is currently in the rock is displaced to the surrounding area.

Officials say the water forced from the rock is not water that is used by the area population and is not drinkable.

The project is years from even a groundbreaking ceremony… probably not until 2011 or 2012. Area residents are invited to a public meeting about the project tonight (Thursday, May 16th), at 7 at the Dallas Center Memorial Hall, 1502 Walnut Street.

If anyone who reads this blog goes to the meeting, let us know how it goes.

Wind

NBB Expands DC Presence

John Davis

The National Biodiesel Board is expanding its presence in the nation’s capital. According to a press release on the NBB web site, the board is making its Washington, D.C. a full-service bureau with the addition of some key staff to work on legislative and regulatory issues:

US Capitol/NBB logoManning Feraci has accepted the position of Vice President of Federal Affairs and will direct the NBB’s Washington office. Feraci most recently served as the Chief of Staff to Congressman Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), who has been one of the primary champions of biodiesel in the U.S. House of Representatives. Feraci has more than 14 years of experience working for members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax and trade matters.

The NBB is also pleased to welcome Larry Schafer of Diamond Group, LLC, to its legislative and regulatory team as Senior Adviser. Schafer previously served as Vice President for both the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and performed various legal and legislative counsel roles for Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND). He has significant expertise and background on policy matters relating to renewable fuels, and was instrumental in crafting and implementing both the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC).

Tom Hance, Janet Kopenhaver, and John Gordley of Gordley Associates will round out the legislative team working on biodiesel provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill. Tim Urban and Tara Bradshaw of Washington Council Ernst and Young, will specialize in tax and trade issues. Karen Edwards of KCE Public Affairs will provides public affairs and media relations support in Washington. Andrew Brandt will serves as a policy support analyst.

Meanwhile, NBB Director of Governmental Affairs Scott Hughes will move out of the DC office to the board’s headquarters in Missouri, where he will provide a greater focus on the organization’s state regulatory issues.

Biodiesel

Motown Opens 1st Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

Biodiesel Industries Inc.Detroit might have built its business on the gasoline engine, but biodiesel has gained an important foothold there.

This story in the Detroit News says Biodiesel Industries, Inc broke ground on a 20,000 square foot research, development, and production plant… the sixth one the California-based company’s has built in the country and its first one in Michigan:

The Detroit facility is scheduled to open by the end of fall and will employ 40 workers, from delivery truck drivers to sales people to researchers and engineers. Ten million gallons of biodiesel will be produced at the plant each year.

If that’s not green enough for you, Biodiesel Industries is working with NextEnergy, Chrysler and Michigan State University to acquire some Brownfield sites (areas contaminated with toxins) in the Metro Detroit area to put in crops that will eventually be turned into biodiesel. A site in Oakland County is already being tested.

Biodiesel

Race to Go Green Sweepstakes

Cindy Zimmerman

Race ContestThe Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is teaming up with the IndyCar® Series, Sinden Racing Service, and Rahal Letterman Racing for a national sweepstakes. The “Race to Go Green” Sweepstakes offers a chance to win lots of instant prizes and have their name entered in a grand prize drawing.

Instant winners will be drawn online and notified throughout the season. The grand prize winner will be announced on August 5, and will be flown with a guest to Chicago for the season ending race at Chicagoland Speedway. During the race weekend, winners will receive the ultimate IndyCar experience including: a two seater ride, a pace car ride, a garage tour and much, much more.

Fans can enter to win on the EPIC website.

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Promotion, Racing

35 MPG SUV

John Davis

Challenge X logoLooking to beat the three-and-half bucks a gallon gasoline sweeping the country… but don’t want to give up the size and security of your SUV? Students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology have built a sport utility vehicle able to get up to 35 miles a gallon.

They’ve put together a biodiesel hybrid electric Chevy Equinox in General Motors’ Challenge X engineering competition.

Check out this story posted on PlanetSave.com:

The sport utility vehicle will be tested alongside vehicles produced by 16 other North American colleges and universities at the end of the third year of the international challenge. The competition will be conducted at the General Motors Corporation’s Proving Grounds in Milford, Mich., on May 30 to June 7.

About 45 students worked throughout this past school year to replace the stock gasoline engine with the biodiesel power plant. Not only did they kick up the fuel economy, but they also improved acceleration:

“We have completely stripped down a brand new vehicle (Equinox) and put it back together again, with several new features, in less than two years,” stated senior mechanical engineering major Clint Hammes, the team’s mechanical integration team leader. “We have a vehicle that’s filled with cutting-edge technology and innovative features.”

GM originally intended to wrap up the Challenge X program this year, but due to popularity, officials are extending it to next year.

Biodiesel, Car Makers

Coffee Growers Brew Biodiesel

John Davis

Known for their beans that start the world’s day, Brazilian coffee growers might soon be known for brewing the fuel that starts your car.

According to this story in the Wall Street Journal’s on-line version, tests are being done to see if the beans not suitable for your cup will be good for your tank:

The studies, which are being conducted at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, suggest that making both biodiesel and ethanol via coffee residues is technically and economically viable, at least for small-scale use within the country’s coffee cooperatives, said Leandro Soares de Oliveira, a professor of chemical engineering at the university, in an interview.

“We began working with the idea of extracting oils from coffee beans that weren’t of good quality,” he said. “We were looking at alternative uses for these beans for producers, instead of just having them thrown into the domestic coffee supplies and depressing its quality.”

Officials believe not only does this provide another source for biodiesel, it takes bad beans out of the system… raising the overall quality level of the coffee.

They’re also looking at using the coffee bean husks to make ethanol.

Biodiesel, International

Ethanol Event at CBOT

Cindy Zimmerman

Officials from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) joined with government officials and representatives from the IndyCar Series and the ethanol industry on Monday in a tribute to the “Greening of Racing.”

CBOT Event

Pictured from left to right are Terry Angstadt, IndyCar Series president; CBOT Executive Vice-President for Marketing and Business Development Chris Malo; USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr; CBOT Chairman Charlie Carey, Team Ethanol car driver Jeff Simmons; Illinois Director of Agriculture Chuck Hartke; EPIC Executive Director Tom Slunecka; and Doug Scott, Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Prior to the opening bell, CBOT Executive Vice-President for Marketing and Business Development Chris Malo talked about how the commodity exchange created ethanol contracts two years ago as a price discovery tool for the industry.

“When we launched our ethanol futures contract in March 2005 we knew we were early to the market place,” said Malo. “However, we recognized the increasingly important role that ethanol can play in meeting the nation’s energy needs before ethanol became a daily news story.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr played a part in the tribute, detailing the enormous growth of the ethanol industry.

“Ethanol production in 2000 was 1.6 billion gallons, today its six billion gallons and new capacity under construction will add another 6.4 billion gallons,” said Dorr. “Cellulosic ethanol will give us the potential to supply a third or more of our liquid fuels.”

Tom Slunecka, Executive Director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) said that ethanol has become more than just a product. “Ethanol is a movement,” he said. Besides being proud to partner with the Indy Racing League, Slunecka says EPIC is “proud to partner with the American consumer to help change our future.”

Terry Angstadt, IndyCar Series president, says the partnership with ethanol fits in perfectly with their mission.

“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 literally as a test track to support the auto industry in technology and innovation,” he said. “That’s why the association with the ethanol industry, EPIC, the Rahal Letterman race team, Jeff Simmons is a perfect association for a business and series that is so aligned with technology and innovation as our cornerstone.”

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News