Farm Foundation to Discuss Farm Policy Post-Election

John Davis

While all elections are important, this year’s promises to have some real implications for rural America. That’s why Farm Foundation is holding a forum about a week after the polls close, and we know WHO is in office to explain WHAT they might do as as far as agriculture, food and rural policy, including renewable energy, is concerned. The forum will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington D.C.

And for the first time a free live, webcast of the forum will be offered. You can see the webcast by registering here. Email julie@farmfoundation.org by Nov. 12th if you plan to attend in person.

“By their votes on Nov. 6, citizens will set the stage for the next four years of the nation’s policy development at both the state and federal level,” says Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This Forum is an opportunity to examine how those elections may specifically impact agriculture, food and rural policies in the months ahead.”

Farm Foundation, Government, politics

Rural Voters Needed at the Polls

Melissa Sandfort

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How important will rural vote be in election?”

Our poll results: Sixty-five percent say very important and thirty-five percent said not important. It appears as though the majority of folks believe farmers and ranchers need to cast their vote. So remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Less than a week away!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Should foods containing GMO crops be labeled?” A great example of this is Prop 37 in California. It is estimated that 70 percent of our food contains GMOs. And with already rising food costs, will this added labeling requirement just increase what consumers pay for food? What do you think? Would it make a difference in the food you purchase?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

DF Cast: Candidates Debate Domestic Fuels

John Davis

It’s less than a week before election day, and President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney are vying for every vote they can, including those people interested in energy issues in this country.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from Obama and Romney as they made their pitches about their domestic energy policies during the debates they held in October. A little talk about wind… a little talk about biofuels (with just one small utterance of the word ethanol)… and a LOT to say about petroleum and coal. It’s for you to hear and make your decision… and for all of us to see what talk actually becomes action once the shouting is all over.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Candidates on Energy

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Alternative energy, Audio, biofuels, Domestic Fuel Cast, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, politics, Wind

Novozymes Adds Avantec to Enzyme Portfolio

Joanna Schroeder

Novozymes has added a new enzyme product to its portfolio called Avantec. According to the company, Avantec enables corn ethanol producers to obtain an extra 2.5 percent ethanol out of the corn thereby improving effieciency and profitability of biofuel production.

“Corn is the single biggest input cost for an ethanol producer, and as prices have gone up, profits have disappeared,” said Novozymes Executive Vice President Peder Holk Nielsen. “Avantec is a vitamin shot for the industry. It allows you to save a lot of corn and still produce the same amount of ethanol. If you’re an ethanol producer in today’s market, that’s a real boost to your bottom-line.”

Nielsen says a typical ethanol plant uses around 900,000 tons of feed-grade corn per year to produce 100 million gallons of fuel ethanol, 300,000 tons of animal feed (DDGS) and 8,500 tons of corn oil. With Avantec, however, this same ethanol plant can save 22,500 tons of corn while maintaining the same ethanol output.

In the United States, corn is the most used feedstock to produce ethanol and is also the biggest cost component for an ethanol plant. Advantec improves the starch conversion to sugar (the sugar is converted to ethanol). “Most U.S. ethanol plants convert 90-95% of the available starch, so there is significant potential for plant owners to increase output and maximize profits,” added Nielsen. “In fact, if all ethanol plants in the U.S. started using Avantec, they would save 3 million tons of corn.”

Alternative energy, biofuels, corn, Ethanol, Renewable Energy

WindMade Label Awarded to BD

Joanna Schroeder

The Windmade label has been awarded to Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) a global medical technology company, for using wind power to energize its global operations. The label, which is backed by the UN Global Compact and conservation group WWF, requires participating companies to obtain at least 25 percent of their electricity from wind power. BD uses as much as 35 percent of its total electricity consumption from wind power.

“Using a clean source of electricity such as wind power is well aligned with our company purpose of helping all people live healthy lives, and helps us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Glenn Barbi, BD’s Vice President of Global Sustainability. “Receiving the WindMade label is an important achievement that helps us communicate to our customers and other stakeholders about BD’s commitment to reducing our environmental footprint.”

The WindMade label was created to allow companies to demonstrate their commitment to renewable energy. BD has supported the development of WindMade in numerous ways since joining the Pioneer Program in 2011. As part of this cooperation, Glenn Barbi joined the WindMade Board of Directors as a member in June 2012. In addition, BD’s Director of Sustainable Innovation & Stakeholder Relations, Ellen Kondracki, is a member of WindMade’s technical committee, and has been instrumental in developing a WindMade label for products that is expected to launch shortly.

Henrik Kuffner, CEO of WindMade, added, “BD has been one of WindMade’s Pioneer Companies, and its management’s vision and relentless commitment to sustainability issues have been truly inspiring. We are proud and privileged to be granting the WindMade label to a company where environmental and social values are deeply engrained in the corporate culture.”

Clean Energy, Electricity, International, Wind

SUNdy Floating Solar Field Concept Unveiled

Joanna Schroeder

DNV has developed a floating offshore solar field concept coined “SUNdy,” that was unveiled during International Energy Week in Singapore. The core feature of the concept is a hexagonal array which floats on the sea surface. A collection of these arrays, totaling 4,200 solar panels, forms a solar island the size of a large football stadium, capable of generating 2 MW of power. Multiple islands connected together make up a solar field of 50 MW or more, producing enough electricity for 30,000 people.

“The renewable energy market is rapidly changing due in main part to climate change, soaring global demand for electricity, and diminishing fossil fuels,” said Bjørn Tore Markussen, COO for DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability in Asia. “For DNV, technological innovation is a key element in our strategy to help address these concerns and SUNdy, as an example of our research work, can help illustrate future applications for solar as a truly sustainable resource.”

Sanjay Kuttan, Managing Director of the DNV Clean Technology Centre in Singapore says the SUNdy technology uses a thin-film 560 watt solar panels that are lighter and more flexible than traditional rigid glass-based modules. This allows the panels to undulate, or move with the waves on the ocean’s surface. Separating the solar arrays into prefabricated sections allows for large scale manufacturing and streamlined assembly offshore while the cable grid provides for maintenance access in the form of floating gangways. Below the surface, the shape of the island is maintained by the tensile forces from the lengthy spread mooring.

“The island has been optimized for solar capability and cabling efficiency,” added Kevin Smith, Global Segment Director for DNV KEMA’s Renewable Energy Services. “The solar arrays are divided into electrical zones feeding electricity produced into two main switches collecting the power for voltage step up at a central transformer (2MVA 480/34.5kV). From the offshore solar farm’s central island, 30kV electrical transmission lines connect, tying other islands in series to form a close loop and continue to the electrical sub-station onshore for grid connection.”

Electricity, Renewable Energy, Solar

Sancton Hill Wind Farm Fully Financed

Joanna Schroeder

The 10 megawatt Sancton Hill Wind Farm has been fully financed according to REG Windpower using a 10 year non-recourse debt facility from the Co-Op Bank. According to company statements, the wind regime was analysed on-site through a relatively novel approach, which utilized long-term reference data from short 16 metre met masts combined with a short ZephIR lidar deployment. ZephIR provides measurements up to 200 metres from installed level and importantly down to just 10 metres to provide on-site correlations with the short masts.

The ‘short mast + ZephIR’ methodology was adopted by REG Windpower in 2009 when a strategic approach to wind monitoring across the company’s portfolio of sites currently totaling some 11 operational wind farms and over 900MW in the pipeline, resulted in the purchase of three ZephIR lidars. The technology was used to created a P90 Energy Yield Analysis report that was accepted for use in refinancing the project.

REG Windpower’s Wind Assessment Manager, Simon Pipkin, said, “ZephIR was deployed on site with a low-cost, short mast for just six months and delivered the data we needed to reach financial close for Sancton Hill. This approach allowed us to start monitoring quickly without the need of a tall mast – which themselves encounter significant planning issues now – and deliver bankable, finance-grade wind data to the Co-Op Bank to take the site forward in a timely, cost effective and safe manner. The wind speed recorded by the ZephIR deployed varied from the mast by just 0.9 percent during the correlation period which is far better than often found when comparing two cup anemometers.”

An additional site, Orchard End Wind Farm in Lancashire, England will be financed using the short mast + ZephIR methodology in the near future and a further three to four wind farms are expected to follow.

Alternative energy, Clean Energy, Electricity, Wind

ZeaChem Completes Cellulosic Biorefinery

Joanna Schroeder

ZeaChem Inc. has announced the completion of its 250,000 gallons per year (GPY) cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon. According the the company, the project was completed on budget and is expected to begin production of cellulosic ethanol by the end of 2012. Earlier this year, the company’s core process was commissioned and the fermentation of sugar feedstocks has been replicated in 40,000 gallon tanks exceeding the company’s targets.

The next step in ZeaChem’s phased development and start-up approach is to begin operations of the integrated facility for cellulosic ethanol production. With the support of a $25 million investment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated Biorefinery program, ZeaChem has added process components to the core facility enabling the utilization of locally-sourced biomass, including wood and wheat straw, to be fermented and converted into intermediate chemicals and ethanol.

“With construction completed, ZeaChem looks forward to starting integrated operations and the production of cellulosic ethanol this year,” said Jim Imbler, president and chief executive officer of ZeaChem. “We are executing a phased start-up approach to limit risk, stabilize and optimize operations, and ensure safety. ZeaChem is focused on successfully demonstrating integrated operations and commercializing its highly efficient, economical and sustainable biorefining process.”

ZeaChem also announced it has closed its Series C financing totaling $25 million in new equity to advance its business strategy and commercial deployment. Imbler said of the financial support, “We are pleased to expand our investor support to new partners in Asia and Australia, which demonstrates ZeaChem’s global potential for biofuels and bio-based chemicals. ITOCHU and Macquarie have established track records in co-developing energy projects worldwide and the ZeaChem platform is uniquely qualified for this due to our feedstock flexibility and diverse product portfolios. These new international partners provide us with a foundation to expand the company’s operations globally.”

advanced biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Renewable Energy

Bunge Becomes Cobalt Investor

Joanna Schroeder

The Advanced Biofuels Markets conference is underway in San Francisco and many advanced biofuels companies have been making announcements. One of these companies is Cobalt Technologies who has announced that Bunge Global Innovation has joined its Cobalt’s Series E Preferred Stock round an a strategic investor.

The investment comes on the heels of Cobalt’s agreement with Bunge and specialty chemicals company Rhodia Poliamida e Especialidades Ltda. (“Rhodia”) to operate a pilot plant demonstrating the production of n-butanol utilizing sugarcane bagasse as feedstock at the Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol facility in Campinas, Brazil. The partners will also work together to develop a co-located, demonstration scale biorefinery at a Bunge sugarcane mill.

“We are pleased to have forged this strategic partnership with Bunge, one of the largest sugar producers in Brazil,” said Bob Mayer, CEO, Cobalt Technologies. “Bunge’s investment and supply of raw material for feedstock will allow us to begin demonstrating the value of our biobutanol technology and help unlock its potential.”

Ben Pearcy, Managing Director, Sugar & Bioenergy and Chief Development Officer of Bunge Limited, added, “Cobalt’s promising technology presents the opportunity to leverage Bunge’s sugarcane processing assets to produce new high-value products that diversify our revenue streams and enhance returns.”

advanced biofuels, Alternative energy, biochemicals, Brazil, Renewable Energy

CESA Releases Clean Energy Development Trends

Joanna Schroeder

This week Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) has released a comprehensive analysis of state clean energy trends and development. “The Rising Tide of State-Supported Renewable Energy Projects: Results from the CESA Database, 1998-2011,” reports that state clean energy funds have been key major drivers of renewable energy development in the U.S. with nearly 130,000 projects and adding around 4.8 new gigwatts of clean energy to the grid.

“Despite the economic climate, state clean energy funds have continued to demonstrate innovation, support emerging technologies, and advance clean energy markets,” said Mark Sinclair, executive eirector of CESA. “The better news is that, after 13 years of data collection, we feel confident that these industry trends are here to stay.”

The report draws from the CESA National Renewable Energy Database, an ongoing effort to collect and maintain key metrics on investment in renewable energy projects in states that are members of CESA. Data collected includes things such as installed cost and funding leverage across projects and technologies and over time.

Key findings from this year’s CESA Database report include:

  • 2011 saw the most state-funded clean energy projects installed in a single year with 32,734 clean energy projects, an 18 percent increase over 2010 and almost twice the number of projects installed in 2009.
  • Since 1998, states have invested $3.4 billion in public funds in renewable energy projects and successfully leveraged an additional $12.5 billion. Total investment over this period was $15.9 billion.

Projects supported by state clean energy funds are avoiding significant CO2 emissions, and according to the report, each year, these projects generate almost 10.7 million megawatt hours of energy and avoid 8.1 million tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking about 1.4 million cars off the road. The report also features seven clean energy programs that CESA classified as a cut above the rest.

Clean Energy, Electricity, Renewable Energy