EarthFirst Building U.S.’s First Bio-refinery

John Davis

EarthFirstEarthFirst Technologies, Incorporated will be building America’s first bio-refinery, capable of producing ASTM 6751 biodiesel from palm-based methyl esters.

Similar projects have been built in Singapore and Malaysia. This story on the Power Online web site says the new bio-refinery will be in Channahon, Illinois:

The key to the Company’s Bio-refinery is the use of palm oil based feedstock. The chemical composition and stability of palm oil make it suitable for refinement into numerous products.

To secure the continuous availability of palm oil feedstock, EarthFirst has entered into a 15-year Supply Agreement with LODERS CROKLAAN USA, LLC (“Loders”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the IOI Group. IOI has an existing supply chain for palm oil products from Malaysia to Channahon, Illinois which serves Loders’ specialty fats business supplying the requirements of the US food industry. The Company also has a 15-year Agreement with Loders to lease a currently unused vegetable oil fractionation facility, located on its own self-contained site, adjacent to Loders’ other operations in Channahon.

The Illinois site was chosen because it sits in the center of seven Midwestern states that consume almost 90% of the biodiesel currently produced in the U.S. In addition, Illinois has biodiesel incentives to offer, as well as the federal subsidies already out there. Officials say there will also be a market for the other bio-refinery products.

Biodiesel

Two New on Better Biodiesel Board

John Davis

Better BiodieselTwo veterans of the energy business from Houston, Texas have been named to the board of directors of Better Biodiesel, Inc…. a Utah-based company that uses a proprietary technology that eliminates the use of some caustic chemicals for the production of biodiesel (see my post from January 26th).

Check out this story that appeared on Grainnet.com:

NordakerSteven A Nordaker was appointed as an independent member of the board.

Nordaker is presently senior vice president-finance for the Energy Capital Group in Houston, TX.

Nordaker has about 40 years experience in energy finance, including 20 years in the energy group at JP Morgan Chase.

Better Biodiesel also announced that John Robinson, Ph.D., has been appointed to the board to replace Peter Kristensen who has relinquished his board seat while remaining a company vice president.

Robinson is currently the CEO of ChemConnect, Houston, TX, an electronic marketplace for buying and selling chemical feedstocks, commodity and specialty chemicals and polymers. Previously, Robinson spent 17 years with BP (British Petroleum).

Biodiesel

Ethanol Education Bill Pending

John Davis

Cong. Bruce BraleyA bill pending in Congress would provide grants to community colleges to implement renewable energy education and training programs.

RFA logoThis press release from the Renewable Fuels Association says the New Era Act, introduced by Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, is before a congressional committee and would promote an educated and skilled workforce to meet the demands of an expanding renewable fuels industry:

In prepared testimony before the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology, Hawkeye Renewables Founder and CEO Bruce Rastetter stated on behalf of his Iowa-based ethanol company that there is no lack of demand or interest for jobs in the biofuels industry. However, he added that a large majority of interested individuals are not adequately educated in the field.

“When our Fairbank, Iowa plant was set to open, we received over 800 applications for 45 jobs. However, it was easy to sift through prospective hires based on the degree of education, training or experience that applicants had,” said Rastetter. “There are many people with an interest in gaining employment in the biofuels industry; some just may lack the necessary skill-set to obtain employment. The return on investment grants like this can provide for communities, states and our nation is immeasurable.”

“As our industry continues to grow, the demand for skilled and educated workers provides a plethora of job opportunities for individuals interested in ethanol production in the U.S.,” said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. “For the benefit of our communities’, we must respond to this demand by providing opportunities for education on renewable fuels in our community colleges.”

You can read the full text of Rastetter’s testimony at www.ethanolrfa.org.

Ethanol, News

Pioneer Revs Up for Iowa Indy

Cindy Zimmerman

Pioneer Iowa 2Team Ethanol partner Pioneer Hi-Bred International sponsored an appearance of ‘Discover Ethanol,’ complete with the Team Ethanol IndyCar simulator, at the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Des Moines this past weekend to promote the upcoming Iowa Corn Indy 250, the inaugural IndyCar Series race in Iowa.

Iowa-based Pioneer, a subsidiary of DuPont, teamed up with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) earlier this year to provide funding for ethanol promotion and education programs and as a sponsor of Team Ethanol in the IndyCar® Series for the 2007 season.

Pioneer Iowa 3
Pioneer representatives Steve Schaaf, Elizabeth Owens, Jeff Burnison, Bill Niebur, Russ Sanders, and Meredith Evans were on hand for the event in downtown Des Moines, which featured lots of fun activities for the kids and educational displays for the adults.

To see more pictures, go to Meredith’s Kodak gallery photo album.

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Racing

New PA Wind Farm to Power 6500 Homes

John Davis

Governor Ed RendellPennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell was at the dedication of a new wind farm… the seventh one in the state.

According to this press release posted on Rendell’s web site, the Locust Ridge project in Schuylkill County is part of the state’s aggressive push for wind power:

At present, the state’s wind farms generate enough electricity to serve about 45,000 homes, or less than 1% of the Pennsylvania market. But the state expects another four wind farms to begin operating within the next year, more than doubling capacity.

“This is an exciting day for Pennsylvania,” said Governor Rendell while standing atop Locust Ridge in Schuylkill County. “This project shows the kind of growth we can achieve by committing ourselves to clean and renewable energy, and by making the strategic investments necessary to attract leading companies that create quality jobs for our men and women.”

IberdrolaIberdrola, the largest owner and operator of renewable energy facilities in the world, owns the wind farm.

Wind

Thune Warns of Ethanol Fight

John Davis

Sen. John ThuneSouth Dakota Senator John Thune says Senate leaders want to pass an energy bill by the Fourth of July… but warned a group of about 100 people this week at the Ethanol Public Policy Summit in Sioux Falls that conflict looms on the horizon.

This story in the Argus (SD) Leader says some powerful opponents are against some key provisions in this year’s bill:

Some lawmakers oppose extending the tariff on foreign ethanol and allowing fuel blends with more ethanol, both of which Thune supports.

Perhaps the greatest risk is that more controversial provisions will sink the overall bill.

Thune said the auto industry is the major opponent to 20 percent ethanol and other blends, which are necessary to ensure market growth.

“They’re kind of clinging to a past in terms of energy and fuels, and the ones that are smart, in my view, are going to start looking toward the future,” he said.

Thune admits some of his fellow Republicans are also some his biggest opponents. But he says this country will have to step it up to bring our renewable energy output up to the 36-billion-gallon-a-year level by 2022.

Ethanol, Government, Legislation, News

Electronics Retailer to Make Ethanol Investment

John Davis

REX logoREX Stores, usually known for selling televisions, stereos, and appliances is buying into ethanol.

According to this story posted on BizJournals.com, REX will invest between $35 million and $62 million in ethanol-producer One Earth Energy, which plans to start to build a 100-million-gallon-a-year plant this year in Gibson City, Illinois:

This purchase will allow Rex to secure a majority ownership interest with Earth Energy. However, this percentage will be determined based upon the participation by other investors in the offering.

Additionally, Rex has entered into an agreement with One Earth to fund up to an additional $6 million in interim financing in the form of secured debt, bearing an interest rate of 9 percent annually. The interim funding is intended to allow One Earth to proceed with development and construction schedule for ethanol production facility.

Ethanol, News

Bahrain Poised for Major Alternative Energy Investment

John Davis

Something is brewing with the oil-rich nation of Bahrain and alternative fuels.

This story posted on Grainnet.com says the CEO of Chicago-based Consolidated Biofuels has been invited to a private reception at the Bahrain Embassy in Washington, DC tomorrow (June 20th). Daniel Honeycutt’s visit to the embassy comes after his late-May trip to the Middle Eastern kingdom:

This invitation follows closely after a positive visit to Bahrain during which Honeycutt, and Marty Johnson of International Bio Fuels, were asked to speak and co-present by invitation at the Global CleanTech 2007 conference that was held in Manama, Bahrain, the capital city, May 29-31.

During the conference, Honeycutt was substantially quoted in the Bahrain Tribune, after a personal interview conducted by Ms. Siriwattasit of the Tribune.

From that interview, Honeycutt was partially quoted as saying, “Bahrain possesses more than $300 billion worth of equity in the financial sector alone, over 30 per cent of which represent idle funds that could be used to capitalize on increasing opportunities to incubate its nascent alternative energy industry into a multi-billion dollar market within the next 10 years.”

Honeycutt says Bahrain’s sophistication in the energy investment sector might position it well going into the alternative fuel market.

Biodiesel, Ethanol

Doyle Calls for Biofuels Backing

John Davis

Gov. Jim DoyleWisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is calling on Republicans in his state’s legislature to back his plan to spend $30 million on renewable energy.

TV station WKBT in La Crosse posted this AP story on its web site and said Doyle made the call in front of a biodiesel plant in De Forest:

Doyle is still smarting from Republicans on the budget-writing committee removing his proposal to spend $30 million over the next two years to pay for grants and loans to further develop renewable energy resources.

He says energy policy should not be partisan. But he accuses Republicans of lacking foresight on the issue.

Republicans on the budget committee objected to Doyle’s proposal to take the money out of the state’s recycling fund to pay for it.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, Legislation, News

Biodiesel Better for Building

John Davis

Destiny USAThe smell of french fries fills the air. But this isn’t the back of some fast food restaurant… it’s a construction site where 100% biodiesel is fueling the heavy equipment.

Destiny USA, a destination resort under construction in Syracuse, New York, is dedicated to reduce the amount of fossil fuels in its construction site… and eventually at Destiny USA when it’s completed.

This press release from the National Biodiesel Board tells how construction companies and others are realizing the health, environmental, and energy security benefits of using cleaner-burning biodiesel in construction equipment:

“With the Destiny USA project, we will stop talking about our dependence on fossil fuels and instead demonstrate how we can earn our independence,” said Robert J. Congel, founder of Destiny USA. “This project will prove the viability of using 100 percent biofuel in all types of equipment, and will educate and challenge other developers in New York and around the country to adopt similar environmentally friendly approaches.”

Destiny USA will be a showcase for the world’s most advance technologies and services. Destiny began using lower blends of biodiesel, and is in the process of switching all 18 excavation and site work vehicles to B100. Through the duration of the construction, it is expected that nearly 100 different construction vehicles will run on biodiesel, consuming over 10,000 gallons of B100 per month for the next 6-8 months.

The Union of Concerned Scientists put out a report earlier this year that says construction equipment is the leading cause of diesel pollution in California (see my post from March 21st). And other construction companes and heavyequipment operators are getting the message. Earthwise Excavation of Snohomish, Washington; Turner Construction Company in Washington state; The Tennessee Department of Transportation; The Cherokee Boys Club, in Cherokee, North Carolina; Manatt’s, Inc., based in Brooklyn, Iowa; and North Bay Construction in Petaluma, California all have biodiesel success stories to tell.

NBB logoThe NBB has this link for you to read some of those stories.

Biodiesel