Brazilian Bioenergy Innovation Awards Announced

Joanna Schroeder

During the World Biofuels Markets Brazil 2012 conference in São Paulo, SEE ALGAE Technology and Grupo JB took home the Brazilian Bioenergy Innovation of the Year award for their algae biofuel project. The Brazilian Bioenergy Deal of the Year award was given to GraalBio, Beta Renewables, DSM and Novozymes for their collaborative cellulosic ethanol production project.

Nadim Chaudhry, CEO of Green Power Conferences, said that the two projects using next generation feedstocks of microalgae and agricultural waste, will make significant economic and environmental impacts across Brazil. He added that these colloborations are just one of many demonstrating that the Brazilian bioenergy industry is making great progress.

SEE ALGAE (SAT) is developing infrastructure for the commercial production of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts. The award-winning $10 million project, currently under construction, comprises an industrial-scale microalgae production plant at the site of an existing JB sugarcane ethanol facility.

Anticipated to be operational in September 2013, the facility, being constructed in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, will utilize wast CO2 emitted at the sugarcane ethanol plant to produce bioethanol and algal biomass from both natural and genetically modified algae strains. This algae production facility will utilize SAT’s proprietary photobioreactors to grow algae using the sugarcane facility’s CO2 waste stream as its primary feedstock.

The group anticipates the plant will annually produce 1.2 million liters (317,000 gallons) of algae oil for conversion into biodiesel and 1,100 tons of protein-rich algae biomass for the local cattle industry or, if operated with genetically engineered algae strains, up to 2.2 million liters (580,000 gallons) of bioethanol.Read More

advanced biofuels, algae, Cellulosic, Waste-to-Energy

Ethanol, Biodiesel Production Remains Strong

Joanna Schroeder

August was a strong month for biofuel production. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), biodiesel production for the month of August 2012 was 100 million gallons. Year-do-date biodiesel production is 757 million gallons. There was also 3 million additional gallons of biomass-based diesel produced during the month, raising the total category production under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to 103 million gallons in August.

For the week ending September 14, 2012, ethanol production was also up with an average of 834,000 barrels per day (b/d) – or 35.03 million gallons daily. This is up 18,000 b/d from the week before, and the highest in 11 weeks. The four-week average for ethanol production is 825,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 12.64 billion gallons.

Ethanol stocks are at 19.3 million barrels, also up from the previous week and gasoline demand averaged 362.5 million gallons daily during the same week. Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 9.66%–the highest since late June. In addition, ethanol imports averaged 58,000 b/d, or 2.4 million gallons per day. The four-week average for imports was 51,000 b/d for an annualized rate of 782 million gallons.

In terms of ethanol co-products, ethanol producers were using 12.645 million bushels of corn to produce ethanol and 93,077 metric tons of livestock feed, 82,979 metric tons of which were distillers grains. The rest is comprised of corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal. Additionally, ethanol producers were providing 4.34 million pounds of corn oil daily.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, Ethanol

Kansas E15 Stations Increases to 7

Joanna Schroeder

There are now seven retail stations in Kansas that offer E15 (15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline). Several of the new stations are located in Olathe, Kansas, the first in a major metropolitan area. More stations are expected to open in the state within the next few weeks.

The new E15 stations are:

397 S. Parker St. (Intersection of K-7 & Santa Fe)
Olathe, KS

15310 S. Highway 169 (Intersection of I-35 & HWY 169)
Olathe, KS

1005 N. Pearl
Paola, KS

1415 W. 6th St.
Lawrence, KS

900 S. Iowa
Lawrence, KS

“When the last hurdle fell, the rollout of E15 picked up steam. Momentum is growing.  We are hearing from retailers in Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and other states eager to start offering consumers a new greener, more domestic choice at the pump,” said Robert White, Director of Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

Earlier this week, the first station in Iowa began selling E15 in Marion, Iowa. Those retailers interested in selling E15 should download a free copy of the E15 Retailer Handbook.

biofuels, blends, Ethanol, RFA

USDA Report Release Times to Change

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA is changing the release time of certain key statistical reports beginning in January 2013.

According to a USDA news release the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) will begin issuing several major USDA statistical reports at 12:00 p.m. EDT beginning in January 2013. The current USDA release time of 8:30 a.m. EDT will remain in effect until January 1, 2013. USDA statistical reports affected are: World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, Acreage, Crop Production, Grain Stocks, Prospective Plantings, and Small Grains Summary. The time for livestock reports currently released at 3:00 p.m. will not change.

USDA officials made the decision about the release times after considering nearly 150 comments submitted by stakeholders during a 30 day comment period between June 8 and July 9, 2012. “USDA considered all comments and thanks everyone for their thoughtful suggestions,” said USDA Chief Economist Joseph W. Glauber. “The shift to a noon release allows for the greatest liquidity in the markets, provides the greatest access to the reports during working hours in the United States, and continues equal access to data among all parties.”

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming, Soybeans, USDA

Wind Tax Credit Extension Critical

Joanna Schroeder

The Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy, an information network for local chambers of commerce, is calling for Congress to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for the wind industry. There are 240 chamber of commerce members from 47 states supporting PTC and in a letter explained that the expiration of the PTC would hurt local economies, send jobs elsewhere and risk ceding America’s clean energy leadership to our global competitors.

“As leaders of our local business communities, we’ve seen firsthand the economic development benefits of wind energy,” said Jim Heeter, President and CEO of the Greater Kansas City (MO) Chamber of Commerce. “From Iowa and Kansas to South Dakota, Indiana, Texas and Ohio, wind energy is helping us attract new clean energy companies and capital, while making our existing businesses in manufacturing, construction and other sectors viable into the future. We need Congress to support our local communities by extending this critical tax incentive.”

The PTC is seeing strong bipartisan support across the county and last week, a diverse coalition of groups from Iowa also called on Congress to extend the tax credit. The program is important as cities and regions across the country work on diversifying their local economies with the aid of renewable energy, including wind energy.

Nearly 500 facilities across 44 states now manufacture for the wind energy industry, creating new opportunities for American businesses up and down the supply chain. The Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy cite that with the support of the PTC for wind, 60 percent of a wind turbine’s value is now produced within the United States, compared to 25 percent prior to 2005.

“Local chambers know that for their local wind energy businesses and suppliers to grow, investors need certainty in the wind market,” said Diane Doucette, Executive Director of Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy. “The PTC is the key mechanism creating that certainty. We’re already seeing layoffs throughout the industry as Congress stalls on the PTC. Allowing the PTC to expire would slow wind projects, decrease orders for our manufacturers, and result in even more jobs lost around the country.”

As the chambers’ letter states, the PTC has enabled the wind industry to slash wind energy costs by 90 percent since 1980, making wind energy a viable and cost-effective source of electricity in communities across the nation. Electricity prices are set by the operating costs of power plants, including the cost of fuel inputs. So once turbines are installed in a particular location, wind energy places downward pressure on local electricity prices.

Electricity, Energy, Legislation, Wind

Scholarships Offered for Students to Attend NEC

Joanna Schroeder

The Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC) is a great place to learn the ins and outs of the ethanol industry as well as network with key industry experts. That is why RFA is offering several scholarships for current college students interested in renewable fuels to attend the 2013 event. The awards will cover the cost of registration, a $775 value, making the cost free to select students.

“Educating America’s students about America’s domestically produced biofuels is an important step in working toward an oil dependent-free future,” said Mike Jerke, General Manager of Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company and Chairman of the Renewable Fuels Foundation. “We encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity to get a foot in the door of an industry that is driving forward in production and technology, and helping to support our rural communities.”

With the scholarships covering registration, recipients will only be responsible for other costs associated with travel to/from the conference, including airfare, hotel and non-conference meals. Additional financial assistance to offset travel expenses may be available at the discretion of the RFF/RFA.

Interested students will be asked to explain in detail how this scholarship will assist them in achieving their academic and/or career goals in 500 words or less. Applicants must provide two letters of recommendation, a current resume and an official school transcript. This scholarship opportunity is open only to those students attending a U.S. institution of higher learning and enrolled in an approved ethanol-related program. All applications must be submitted by November 23, 2012. To download an application, please click here.

advanced biofuels, biofuels, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Report Shows Ethanol Industry Resilient

Joanna Schroeder

The 2011-2012 Biofuels Benchmarking report compiled by biofuels financial experts Christianson & Associates, PLLP (C&A) shows that despite the continual challenges facing the ethanol industry, it is doing well. The ethanol industry has shown resilience while implementing greener practices and production efficiencies even as margins tighten. The annual Biofuels Benchmarking report provides analysis of changes and trends for a broad cross-section of the ethanol industry over the most recent six quarters (January 2011-June 2012).

The information contained in the report is from actual production data gathered from ethanol plants throughout the U.S. and Canada who participate in the Biofuels Benchmarking program administered by C&A. During the past year some significant changes have taken place in the industry including the expiration of the “blenders credit” or VEETC.

John Christianson, principal partner at C&A, notes that although ethanol producers saw increasing challenges in 2012, the industry continues to mature and prosper. “By aggressively seeking out additional co-product revenue streams,” commented Christianson, “plants can continue to remain profitable despite leaner margins.”

The report contains an overall analysis of a variety of factors that contribute to plant efficiency and profit ability. It also highlights ethanol plant performance by geographic region and plant production capacity.

biofuels, Ethanol, Research

Ethanol Report on RFS Waiver Comments

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report PodcastThe comment period on a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requested by several governors is underway and was recently extended by the Environmental Protection Agency. So, between now and October 11 is the time for all interested parties to be getting their comments in to EPA to have their voices heard on the issue.

In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about why it is important for ethanol interests to make comments on the waiver request and why they still believe a waiver is unnecessary.

Listen to or download the Ethanol Report here: Ethanol Report on RFS Waiver Comments

Subscribe to “The Ethanol Report” with this link.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA, RFS

It’s an iPhone World

Melissa Sandfort

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Do you plan to buy an iPhone 5?”

Our poll results: 20% said yes, upgrade my old iPhone; 4% said yes, get first iPhone; 24% said no, I’m Android; 32% said no, keep old iPhone; and 21% said they don’t want a smartphone.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Have high fuel prices had an impact on your farm/business?” We’ve seen fuel prices go up quite a bit lately so we want to know – is it impacting your daily farm/business? What do you think?

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

ZimmPoll

“Ethanol’s Lost Promise” Report Disputed

Cindy Zimmerman

The ethanol industry is disputing the conclusions of a report titled “Ethanol’s Lost Promise” released this week by EPRINC, an oil industry-funded research group.

The report suggests a multi-year suspension of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) could reduce U.S. ethanol use by more than half. To offset this loss in ethanol supplies, officials with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) note that the report recommend “a variety of economically impractical and politically infeasible options could be pursued—ranging from ramping up gasoline imports to reducing diesel fuel and heating oil production in an attempt to extract more gasoline from crude oil.”

RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen pointed out that in attempting to tear down the RFS, the EPRINC report actually underscores the importance of the program and highlights the lack of sensible or economic options available to refiners if ethanol use is severely curtailed.

“If you do away with the RFS over the long term and less ethanol is available, as EPRINC is suggesting, you leave a gaping hole in the gasoline supply,” said Dinneen. “The options available to fill that hole just don’t make economic sense and would further increase fuel prices for consumers. Ironically, the EPRINC report actually underscores why the RFS is so important; it highlights the fact that cutting ethanol out of our gasoline supply would result in increased dependence on imported oil and refined products, or would force refiners to make a choice between maximizing gasoline or diesel production. Consumers lose in either case. Clearly, the best option is not to tinker with the RFS and let it continue to work as intended.”

Both Dinneen and Brent Erickson of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) point to multiple flaws in the EPRINC study. “Not least of which is the fact that EPA’s authority allows only a one-year waiver of the RFS,” said Erickson. “Moreover, the study assumes a scenario in which the petroleum refining industry circumvents the law’s intent to increase domestic production and use of renewable fuels by gaming the RFS’ system of Renewable Identification Numbers.”

Dinneen says there are internal inconsistencies regarding the report’s characterization of the flexibility of the RFS. On one hand, the report states that the RFS has “created inelastic demand for ethanol,” but then on the other hand, it acknowledges that ethanol production has plummeted by about 15% since the beginning of the year “…as high corn prices have caused many ethanol producers to idle production.”

Read the EPRINC report here.

BIO, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA