Sapphire Energy & ISB Further Develop Algal Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

Sapphire Energy and Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), have formed a strategic partnership to further the development of algae biofuels. The two companies will focus on applying systems biology solutions to algae with the goal of significantly increasing oil yield and improving resistance to crop predators and environmental factors.

Nitin Baliga, director of Integrative Biology at ISB, said of the partnership, “Sapphire is dealing with one of the most complicated problems known to humans: how to make fuel from a renewable resource. Together, we have complementary expertise that will allow us to understand, reverse engineer and rationally alter the gene networks for fuel production in algae.”

According to Alex Aravanis, Sapphire Energy’s chief science officer, said that the company has developed “the premier biotechnology platform” for producing and harvesting algae.  “By working with ISB to apply their systems biology approach, we’re able to more rapidly identify genes and regulatory pathways that can increase yield and move us toward our goal of making Green Crude a market viable, crude oil alternative.”

The companies hope to reverse engineer the gene networks in algae and create strategies that will significantly improve the yield of green oil and crop protection. They also hope to significantly reduce the time to market.

Most recently, Sapphire began operating the first phase of its 300-acre commercial demonstration Green Crude Farm, also known as an Integrated Algal Bio-Refinery, in Columbus, New Mexico, in partnership with the US Department of Energy. Once in full production, The Green Crude Farm is expected to produce approximately 100 barrels of Green Crude per day, and be completed the end of 2014.

advanced biofuels, algae, Alternative energy, Renewable Energy

Ferrellgas Acquires Flores Gas

Joanna Schroeder

Ferrellgas Partners has acquired Flores Gas of El Paso, Texas. The deal will increase Ferrellgas’s propane network across the state. This is the company’s second acquisition since August 1, 2012.

“Flores Gas is a family-owned business that has a nearly 20-year history of providing the best propane service in and around El Paso,” said President and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Wambold. “It has grown during that time to become one of the largest and most respected propane retailers in the area. We’re thrilled to welcome this outstanding business, its employees, and its customers to the Ferrellgas family.”

Ferrellgas serves approximately one million customers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Propane

Federal Tax Credit Success

Joanna Schroeder

Former Governor Mitt Romney would like to see the estate tax eliminated and he would also like to end the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy production. Speaking on ag issues in this Presidential election on the nationally syndicated radio program AgriTalk, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that he appreciates Romney saying he’s for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), “but he’s not for the wind tax credit which is unfortunate because that’s going to cost a lot of jobs in rural America. We need to not only continue focusing on biofuels, but renewable energy as well.

Both President Obama and Romney have advocated for an expansion of domestic energy production in order to boost the economy and create jobs. They also agree that increasing energy independence is critical to national security. It’s how to get there that they disagree on – the role government should play in subsidizing energy production and regulating its environmental impact.

Farmers for Romney Co-Chair Bill Northey, and Iowa Ag Secretary, says Romney’s position comes from a desire to simplify the tax system. “Looking at a lot of different tax credits and trying to make it easier for folks to be able to reduce rates, and therefore he has opposed the wind energy tax credit,” said Northey. “Many of us in Iowa are still very supportive of the wind energy tax credit. We’ll have lots of discussion with him as we look at the overall picture.”

Northey also said it’s day and night between those two candidates in the opportunities to become self sufficient in energy production.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, record growth in the wind power industry can be attributed to the success of the Production Tax Credit (PTC). In August, the U.S. wind industry surpassed 50 thousand megawatts of installed electrical generation capacity for the first time. This is enough energy to power 13 million averaged sized homes each year. So far in 2012, the country has added 4,728 megawatts of wind power, and AWEA says there are several factors driving this growth including the expansion of U.S. manufacturing, technological advances and the Production Tax Credit.

AWEA CEO Denise Bode says this is what a successful policy looks like when it’s working. But will wind continue to be a bright spot in the U.S. economy? Bode says that depends on Congress. The PTC is set to expire on December 31st and Bode says it has incentivized more than $15 billion dollars a year in private investment in U.S. wind farms.

Extending the PTC is part of an overall tax extenders package that Congress is set to debate during the lame duck session following the November 6, 2012 election. Bode says without the extension, 37,000 industry jobs will be lost within the first quarter of 2013.

Clean Energy, Electricity, Renewable Energy, Wind

Valero Idles Two Midwest Ethanol Plants

Joanna Schroeder

Valero Corporation has idled its ethanol plants in Linden, Indiana and Albion, Nebraska due to low margins. In addition, three of its other plants are operating at reduced capacity. Back in June, the ethanol plant in Albion was idled due to the high cost of corn, restarted the plant in mid-September after corn prices fell and now has idled the plant again since margins did not improve.

According to an article in the Lincoln Star Journal, additional issues that may be affecting ethanol profit margins is the falling demand and cost for gasoline. In the past month, the nationwide average drop in a gallon of gasoline is 26 cents per gallon.

According to the most recent Energy Department data, ethanol production has fallen 17 percent this year but despite the reduction, inventories remain higher today than this time last year.

Valero also announced during an earning calls that its ethanol business segment lost $73 million in the third quarter compared to a profit of $107 million during the same timeframe in 2011.

biofuels, Ethanol

Calculator Gives Growers Energy Crop ROI

Joanna Schroeder

University of Illinois agricultural economists have been calculating the costs for farmers to produce biomass energy crops, and as a result have created a feedstock cost and profitability calculator for farmers to make their own assessments using their individual agribusiness parameters.

Illinois Ag Economist Madhu Khanna says farmers can customize the costs based on their current farming operation, current returns on the land they are considering converting and determine what it would cost to put the land in production to grow an energy crop. Using these calculations, a grower can then determine the minimum price they would need to be paid in order to make a profit.

Khanna recommends farmers gather information about their current operating expenditures before using the calculator, such as the discount rate. She says if farmers are thinking of growing energy crops purely as an investment decision, then they should be interested in getting the same return from their investment in an energy crop over time as they would get if they put the money in the bank. That is the discount rate they should use, she says, so if the bank would give them four percent then they should at least get a four percent return on growing an energy crop instead.

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, Alternative energy, Cellulosic, feedstocks, Renewable Energy

INEOS BioEnergy Plant Begins Production

Joanna Schroeder

The INEOS New Planet BioEnergy (INPB) biorefinery is now producing renewable power using its bioenergy technology. The electricity produced is being used to power the facility and the excess power is being added to the grid. At full production, the Center is expected to produce 8 million gallons of advanced cellulosic bioethanol and six megawatts (gross) of renewable power using renewable biomass.

Here is how the process works. Biomass feedstock, including yard, vegetative and agricultural, waste goes through a gasification process, and syngas is created. Heat is then recovered from the hot syngas and fed into a steam turbine and used to generate electricity. The electricity then powers the Center and the excess does onto the grid to help power homes in the local Vero Beach, Florida community.

“The production of renewable power is a significant benefit of our technology. The power generated improves the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas savings of the facility while contributing to the base load of renewable electricity for the local community,” said Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Bio and Chairman of INPB. “We look forward to rapidly rolling out this technology globally to provide the benefits of bioethanol and renewable power from waste to local communities.”

INPB’s facility was the first large-scale project in the U.S. to receive registration from the EPA using vegetative waste materials as the primary feedstock.

advanced biofuels, Alternative energy, bioenergy, Cellulosic, Electricity, Ethanol, Renewable Energy

REG Acquires Texas Biorefinery

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Energy Group (REG) has announced the acquisition of a biorefinery in Texas to expand its biodiesel production output.

With the acquisition of a 15 million gallon per year biorefinery located in New Boston, Texas, REG’s nameplate biodiesel production capacity is expected to increase to more than 225 million gallons annually. REG paid $300,000 in cash and issued 900,000 shares of its common stock to North Texas Bio Energy for the multi-feedstock biorefinery located about 22 miles west of Texarkana. It is REG’s second Texas biodiesel production facility, following its 2008 acquisition of its Houston-area plant.

“Bringing New Boston into the REG family grows our solid, proven business model of using lower cost feedstock and providing cleaner energy solutions for American consumers,” said REG President and CEO, Daniel J. Oh. “Our customers across the southern U.S. demand more REG-9000® biodiesel, and this is a long-term plan to respond to our customers’ needs. We remain focused on strategic growth by increasing the availability of biodiesel in high distillate demand regions throughout North America,” Oh added.

The New Boston facility began production in June 2008 and has been idled for approximately four years. Brad Albin, REG Vice President of Manufacturing, said the plant will undergo some construction and minor upgrades prior to the facility’s start-up, which is expected in the first quarter of 2013. REG plans to utilize animal fats and other high free fatty acid feedstocks to produce biodiesel at the refinery. The company has initiated RFS2 registration through the EPA.

“The REG technology team will soon be on-site in New Boston to re-start the biodiesel process with a plan to have high quality, REG-9000® biodiesel available in the market upon the completion of the EPA registration process,” said Albin. The company expects to hire nearly 20 full-time, green-collar employees at the REG New Boston site.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, REG

Iowa RFA Asks Car Makers to Endorse E15

Cindy Zimmerman

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is asking all auto makers to recommend the use of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) for use in new model vehicles.

IRFA has sent letters to the heads of 12 auto manufacturers asking them to follow the trend set by Ford Motor Company and General Motors and endorse the use of E15 as approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as an option for owners of cars and light duty trucks newer than 2001.

The letters stated, “It’s now been just over two years since the U.S. EPA authorized the use of E15 in new cars and light duty trucks sold in the U.S. Recent announcements by General Motors and Ford Motor Company that E15 is recommended for use in their new vehicles clearly demonstrates that ample time has passed for automakers to react to the EPA’s announcement and offer vehicles for sale in the U.S. that give consumers the fueling choice they deserve.”

The letters continued by asking if E15 is a recommended fuel for the company’s model year 2013 cars and light duty trucks sold in the U.S. If E15 is not a recommended for use in the company’s model year 2013 cars and light duty trucks, the IRFA also asked, “Given the two years to research and prepare for the transition to E15, please explain why your company chose not to align its products with all of the legal fuel options sold in the U.S.?”

The letters were sent to the heads of BMW of North America, Chrysler Group, American Honda Motor Company, Hyundai Motors America, Kia Motors America, Mazda Motors of America, Mercedes-Benz USA, Nissan North America, Saab Cars North America, Toyota North America, Volkswagen Group of America, and Volvo Group North America.

blends, Car Makers, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Algae Producers Look to Market By-Product of Biodiesel

John Davis

Just as ethanol producers have been able to market the co-product dried distillers grains (DDGs) as livestock feed, those folks producing algae for biodiesel want to find more uses for what’s leftover once you get the fuel out.

“The Departments of Energy and Defense have been interested in producing biofuels, both jet fuels and transportation fuels from algae,” Texas A&M’s Tyron Wickersham told USDA reporter Rod Bain. “We began looking into [by-product of algae] to figure out a way to market or place the co-product into some useful market that could make use of those nutrients, and they naturally turned to livestock with an emphasis on beef cattle.”

Wickersham’s colleague at Texas A&M, Merritt Drewery, explained they are experimenting with feeding the algae by-product directly or mixing it with DDGs or cotton seed. “And this project actually told us that algae was palatable, because they ate it here.”

The researchers are already noting in their study that the algae co-product has a high-protein content.

Listen to Rod Bain’s report here: USDA Report on Algae Biodiesel By-Product as Livestock Feed

algae, Audio, Biodiesel, feedstocks, livestock feed, USDA

Soybean Association Asks Candidates About Biodiesel

John Davis

As I noted in the most recent Domestic Fuel Cast, neither President Barack Obama or former Governor Mitt Romney get too specific when talking about renewable energy (ethanol was mentioned just once by name during their three debates in October, and biodiesel seemed to be just about as absent). But that doesn’t mean they won’t mention these things when directly asked. So, the American Soybean Association decided to pose the question directly to them about the renewable energy source most near and dear to its heart, biodiesel.

Pointing out the rising cost of foreign oil, monetarily and national security-wise, and the fact that biodiesel, made from soybeans reduces the need for oil while also producing animal feedstock and putting more Americans back to work in biodiesel refineries, the ASA asked each candidate: How would your administration protect the ability of the biodiesel industry to remain viable?

President Obama: We must invest in a clean energy economy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I recently announced a new goal of cutting oil imports in half by the end of the decade. Developing the next generation of biofuels will help us achieve this goal, and reducing our dependence on foreign oil will help create millions of new jobs that can’t be outsourced. We are already making progress. U.S. biofuel production is at its highest level in history. Last year, rural America produced enough renewable fuels to meet roughly 8 percent of our needs, helping us increase our energy independence to its highest level in 20 years. And a higher renewable fuel standard is boosting an industry that supports 39,000 jobs and ensuring its continued growth.

Governor Romney: I have a plan to achieve North American energy independence by 2020, and biofuels will play a role in enabling us to achieve that goal. I believe that all of our energy resources are and should continue to be a source of long-term competitive advantage for ournation. My policies broadly aim to ensure that all of our energy industries can sustainably become competitive, innovative and efficient. I support biofuels, as well as the RFS and would seek to eliminate the regulatory barriers to a diversification of our fuel system.

Read the rest of their responses to other questions ASA posed here.

Biodiesel, Government, politics, Soybeans