Cobalt & Rhodia to Build Biobutanol Plant

Joanna Schroeder

Cobalt Technologies and Rhodia, a member of the Solvay Group, is partnering to develop and operate a biobutanol demonstration facility in Brazil. The plant will use Cobalt’s technology to convert bagasse (sugarcane by-product) and other local feedstock into bio n-butanol, which can be used as both a transportation fuel or industrial chemical.

“This agreement puts us on a clear path towards commercialization, which will result in the development of the first commercial-scale biorefinery using bagasse as a feedstock for the production of biobutanol,” said Bob Mayer, CEO of Cobalt Technologies. “We are very pleased to be working with Rhodia. Our corporate values and goals are aligned and Rhodia’s experience in the global chemical markets and long history of success in Latin America position us well for success.”

Work on the construction of the demonstration facility will begin in August 2012 and will be moved to a sugar mill site in early 2013 for testing. Operational testing is expected to be completed by Mid-2013.

Vincent Kamel, president of Rhodia Coatis Business Unit, added about the partnership, “We are convinced that Cobalt’s technology will provide an unmatched cost advantage over the long term, while also enhancing our sustainable development strategy related to our Augeo range of biosourced solvents. We look forward to our continued partnership, working closely with Cobalt to capitalize on the massive market opportunity for bio n-butanol in Latin American and beyond.”

advanced biofuels, biobutanol, Brazil

Farmers Look to GROWMARK for Reliable Fuel, Stable Prices

John Davis

It was originally started as a way for a group of farmers to make sure they were able to get a reliable source of fuel. Today, our friends at GROWMARK Energy are helping producers make sure they have those quality fuels at prices that remain stable throughout the seasons. Marty Wieland, GROWMARK director of energy operations and risk management, explains that since they are also putting product into the pipeline that has to match the standards already there “that allows us to buy that product from any other vendor or shipper on the pipeline and know that it’s going to meet certain specifications so we really know what we’re getting.” Plus, he says they can put in their own additives at certain terminals specific for the needs of that area.

Wieland says their analysis, advisory and broker services give GROWMARK cooperatives a chance to lock in fuel prices as much as a year in advance. “It allows them to know what their pricing will be well out in the future,” and allows them to pass along these stable prices to the end-users.

Wieland concluded they’re looking at expanding into other pipelines where they don’t currently have a presence.

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Marty here. Marty Wieland, GROWMARK

Audio, GROWMARK

Senate Finance Committee Approves Tax Package With Alt Energy Credits

Joanna Schroeder

The Senate Finance Committee has approved a bipartisan tax extenders package that includes aid for the alternative energy industry. The package includes the $1 per gallon biodiesel Blender’s Credit; an extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit; an extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for the development of offshore and community wind projects; and an extension of the producer tax credit for cellulosic biofuels. Passed 19-5, the bill now moves to the full Senate. From there, if passed, the package will head to the House.

Both the biodiesel industry and the wind industry recognized the leaders of the bill including Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT). In addition, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) was a champion for reinstating the biodiesel tax credit.

Biodiesel producer Imperium Renewables is just one of dozens of biodiesel producers who will benefit from the measure should it become law. “This credit will enable us to increase production, and continue to support family wage jobs in Washington state,” said Imperium CEO John Plaza. “With the passage of the Tax Extenders Package out of the Senate Finance Committee, a strong message of bi-partisan support from the Senate leaders highlights the importance of a healthy, domestic biodiesel industry for the nation, and hopefully sets the tone for quick and successful passage in the Senate and the House.”

One of the strongest voices in Washington, DC regarding the reinstatement of the biodiesel tax credit was the National Biodiesel Board.  Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board, said, “This is a refreshing display of bipartisan cooperation to get this economy moving again. The biodiesel tax incentive is a proven job creator. Growth in our industry has been stagnant since the incentive expired on Dec. 31. Reinstating it will get biodiesel producers across the country back to expanding their businesses and hiring new employees, as they were doing last year with the tax incentive in place.”

Executive Director of the Advanced Ethanol Council Brooke Coleman noted, “Congress is right to take a hard look at all tax incentives for all energy industries, including fossil fuels. And we look forward to the day when we can restore parity to the tax code when it comes to energy development. But until that day comes, it is critical to maintain stability in the marketplace for emerging industries.”

The passage of the wind energy production tax is expected to save nearly 37,000 jobs in wind energy and drives up to $20 billion a year of private investment into U.S. wind farms according to the American Wind Energy Association. “We applaud the committee for this act of leadership to move critical policies forward in a difficult environment,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association. “This was an extremely important step to provide critical certainty to keep people at work in wind energy manufacturing and construction.”

The next hurdle is the full Senate; fortunately there are strong wind energy supporters who are lobbying to see the wind energy tax credits extended: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Boozman (R-AR), Scott Brown (R-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Mark Udall (D-CO).

The bill is expected to go to the full Senate for deliberation as soon as tomorrow.

advanced biofuels, AEC, Biodiesel, Cellulosic, NBB, Wind

Ethanol Groups Oppose Calls for RFS Waiver

Cindy Zimmerman

A group of more than 150 members of Congress today asked the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to waive the ethanol requirements of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) ethanol to help livestock and poultry producers weather the worst drought in more than 50 years.

Led by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the group asked EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to make a “fair and meaningful nationwide adjustment” to the RFS to “help to ease short supply concerns” due to the impact of the drought on the nation’s corn crop.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says lowering the RFS requirement “will not make it rain in Indiana or meaningfully lower corn prices” and that calls to waive any or all of the RFS are “not only premature, but void of justification.”

Dinneen and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis held a joint press conference at the National Press Club today to explain why waiving the RFS is not necessary. “The RFS is clearly under attack,” said Buis. “It’s really a shame that critics are trying to take the drought and blame ethanol for it.”

Buis added that no one knows at this point how much the drought will actually reduce the corn crop. “It’s analogous to a political poll, three months out before the election,” he said. “The final crop is the one that counts, just like in a political poll, the only one that counts is on election day.”

Listen to or download Buis and Dinneen here: RFA/Growth Energy at Press Club

In a statement, Brian Jennings, American Coalition for Ethanol Executive Vice President, expressed confidence that EPA understands why waiving the RFS would do more harm than good. “The bottom line is that any Member of Congress urging EPA to reduce the RFS also supports forcing consumers to pay more at the pump. Thankfully, EPA comprehends this fact and knows that reversing the RFS would not demonstrably reduce feed or food prices,” said Jennings.

ACE, Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Growth Energy, RFA

New Heating Oil Rail Facility Opens in East

Joanna Schroeder

A new heating oil rail facility has official opened in Yaphank, Rhode Island owned and operated by Ultra Green. The terminal will receive diesel fuel produced from vegetable oils or other fats and then will blend the fuel with traditional heating oil to create Bioheat. The biodiesel will be delivered in rail cars and the facility can store up to 250,000 gallons on site. This October, New York City’s biodiesel mandate (Bioheat) will take effect.

“The new BRT Terminal will help us ensure the economic, as well as environmental, success of the NYC Bioheat mandate, and provide lower-cost Bioheat for all of Long Island,” said Michael Cooper, vice-president of Ultra Green prior to the ribbon cutting event. “A Bioheat consisting of 12% biodiesel (B12) blended with the New York state-mandated ultra-low sulfur heating oil burns cleaner than natural gas. We’re working to ensure that every fuel dealer in the region can provide clean, reliable, and renewable Bioheat to its customers.”

Ultra Green was one of the first companies to market biodiesel dating back to 1999 and has been blending Bioheat since 2001. Today the company supplies biodiesel through the self proclaimed largest network of wholesale terminals in the New York/New Jersey region.

Biodiesel, Energy

The EV Project Expands in Philly

Joanna Schroeder

The EV Project is expanding in Philadelphia. ECOtality is offering its Blink(R) smart charging stations free to residents and commercial host sites. The move serves as an effort to expand the EV charging station network that is being developed in tandem with the Department of Energy.

“Now people interested in electric vehicle transportation in the Philadelphia region can join The EV Project and help us build a nationwide network of EV charging stations,” said Don Karner, Chief Innovation Officer of ECOtality, Inc. “By signing up for a free charger, EV owners can take part in this massive research project that can help reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil. We are excited about bringing The EV Project, which is now in nine states and 21 major metropolitan areas to the greater Philadelphia region.”

Residents in Philly who own a Nissan LEAF or Chevy Volt can quality to receive a free residential Blink wall mount charger as well as a max installation credit of $400.

Craig Adams, PECO president and CEO, is the energy delivery company for the area. “PECO and ECOtality share a strong environmental commitment. Locally, more and more of our customers are exploring the use of electric vehicles and investing in this technology. In June, PECO launched Smart Driver Rebates. The program offers rebates and incentives for residential and business customers investing in new electric vehicle technology.

For those living in the Philly area, you can more about The EV Project at the Host Partners Forum on August 16th at the National Constitution Center.

Electric Vehicles

Alltech Installs Ethanol Distillation Tower

Joanna Schroeder

Alltech has installed a 60-foot ethanol distillation tower at its production facility in Springfield, Ky. The plant produces natural animal health and nutrition products. The company invested $4 million dollars in new yeast-production technology, a core of their nutrition products. The new system has the ability to process 52,000 lbs of liquid yeast each day and produce 20,000 gallons of ethanol per week.

This same system will be installed in Alltech’s Thomasville, Georgia production facility that is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

In addition the company has expanded into algae production. Alltech Algae, based in Winchester, Kentucky is one of the largest algae production sites in the world according to the company. The company continues to invest in extensive research and production as it looks to the future. The company is also expanding operations in downtown Lexington at the Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co., with a new distillery scheduled for completion in September of 2012.

Agribusiness, algae, Ethanol

Grassley Supports Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension

Joanna Schroeder

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is making a run at getting the biodiesel tax credit extended. He is attempting to mark up a tax extenders package that would include a retroactive extension of the credit for an Iowa leading industry. Biodiesel production increased during the second quarter of 2012 as compared to the first quarter. Iowa is the leading biodiesel producer and 10 plants produced more than 54.9 million gallons from April to June. First quarter the facilities produced 41.8 millon gallons.

With the federal biodiesel tax credit having expired at the end of 2011, biodiesel use is being driven my filling the mandates set by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

In 2011, the Iowa Legislature enacted a short-term, modest biodiesel production tax credit to help Iowa’s biodiesel community compete against states that provide large biodiesel incentives. The Iowa program went into effect on January 1, 2012.

“IRFA members thank Senator Grassley for leading the effort to include a retroactive two-year extension of the biodiesel tax incentive in the Senate Finance Committee’s extenders package,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Biodiesel has had no better champion than Senator Grassley and we are confident he can shepherd this important provision into the final bill. Big Oil has benefited from a century of subsidies and continues to receive billions in tax breaks each year. Reinstating the biodiesel blenders tax incentive is one small way to help level the playing field so American consumers can have a true fuel choice.”

Biodiesel, Iowa RFA

IU Biologist Receives DOE Young Faculty Award

Joanna Schroeder

Indiana University biologist James McKinlay has received the Early Career Research Program award from the Department of Energy (DOE). Along with honor, the award comes with $750,000 that will help McKinlay, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology, continue to research how microbes might work together to produce hydrogen gas biofuels.

While others are researching better biofuels with microbes, McKinley said most are focusing on engineering single species that can perform all the necessary tasks needed to produce biofuels.

“Coordinating all these tasks in a single microbe can be challenging and can lead to undesired traits like the inefficient use of the food source,” explained McKinley. “But in nature, diverse microbes often work together to use food sources like plant-derived lignin and cellulose that resist degradation. The idea here is to create a similar cooperative relationship in the lab where each microbe supplies the other with a nutrient required for survival.”

McKinlay is attempting to decipher how metabolisms of two microbes interact, evolve together to improve nutrient transfer and discover how to optimize microbes to create a tailor-made mixture. When taken together, the result would be the economical production of hydrogen gas and other biofuels from renewable resources.

“We’re taking a lesson from nature that multiple microbial species help each other to thrive on food sources such as plant residues that those same species could not use if on their own,” continued McKinlay. “We already know that mixtures of specialized microbes can sometimes outperform a single engineered strain for producing chemicals of value to society.”

With the ultimate strategy of enhancing biofuels production, McKinlay is executing the idea to develop a co-culture of a photosynthetic bacteria and a fermentative microbe that uses sugar and energy from sunlight to produce hydrogen gas.

biofuels, Hydrogen

Biodiesel Production Remains Strong

Joanna Schroeder

Biodiesel production in the U.S. remained strong in June. According to a report published by the Environmental Production Agency (EPA), 112 million gallons of biodiesel were produced in June. Total gallons for the first six months of the year is 557 million setting the pace to meet 2012 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) mandates. The EPA has set yearly production of biomass-based diesel (biodiesel is included in this category) at 1 billion gallons.

The EPA reports that 117.5 million gallons of biomass-based diesel were produced in June but this figure also includes production of renewable diesel. Biodiesel is the only EPA-designated advanced biofuel that is produced at commercial scale.

In 2011, the biodiesel industry set a production record of producing nearly 1.1 billion gallons. This achievement was accomplished through the support of more than 39,000 employees.

Biodiesel