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Algae Technology May Clean Up Dirty Water

Joanna Schroeder

OriginOil has announced that a breakthrough chemical-free process developed for algae harvesting may also aid in the clean up of dirty water that is a byproduct of oil well water flooding and hydraulic fracturing. According to the company, using a lab prototype of the technology, its researchers have successfully clarified samples of flowback water from a Texas oil well carrying frac flowback. In essence, the technology separates the organics from the water, which then float to the surface and from there can be easily removed.

Hydro fracturing is becoming more popular with petroleum companies and in states like North Dakota operations using this technology are gearing up. Large amounts of water are used to release the oil and gas, lodged deep in rock formations, oil that until this technology was developed, couldn’t be harvested. The market grew 63 percent, from $19 billion in 2010 to $31 billion in 2011 and is expected to rise another 19 percent in 2012 according to Platts.

“Our research team has learned that extracting petroleum and contaminants from water is very much like extracting algae,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO. “They are both very hard to remove without using chemicals and heavy machinery. Our innovative chemical-free, high flow and low-energy process holds promise for the billions of gallons of water used daily in the oil and gas industry worldwide.”

Oil production uses a lot of water and the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that for every barrel of oil produced globally, an average of three barrels of contaminated water is produced. In worse case scenarios, the water to oil ration can be as alarming as 50 to 1. As a result, the market for cleaning the water is growing, and Greentech Media reports it costs between $3 to $12 to dispose of each barrel of water. Therefore, the market for water cleaning technologies could be between $300 billion to $1 trillion per year.

Eckelberry added, “It seems that in addition to helping create the renewable energy market of the future, we may add value to a massive existing energy market. We will continue to investigate and report on this promising new application of our technology.”

algae, biofuels, Oil, water

Carbon Prices Must Go Up

Joanna Schroeder

According to EU environment ministers, the carbon price must be urgently boosted to fix the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and fight climate change. This message was delivered today during in an informal discussion in Horsens, Denmark. The focus of the meeting was whether or not to raise the carbon price in the ETS.

In a statement by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) who held its annual international wind conference earlier this week, the carbon market is overflowing with spare emission allowances due to the economic crisis.  The result has been the lowering of carbon prices.  EWEA says the most effective way to push the price back up is by avoiding too many allowances coming into the market in the next few years.

“The EU ministers need to ensure no more emissions allowances are put on the market,” said Rémi Gruet, Senior Regulatory Affairs Advisor for EWEA. “This must be included in the Energy Efficiency Directive, currently being negotiated between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, where decisions can be taken by a majority of Member States. This directive is the only upcoming legislative opportunity to push such a measure.”

EWEA says the European Parliament supports such as move and voted by a large margin in favor of withholding carbon allowances in the ETS and voiced it’s decision in the low carbon roadmap 2050 that was released this past February. In addition, there is major support from energy companies and the wind energy industry for such a move to take place.

Carbon, Electricity, Energy, Wind

RFA Forms Renewable Fuels PAC

Joanna Schroeder

A Political Action Committee (PAC) has been formed by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Referred to as the Renewable Fuels PAC, it will be used by RFA members to support federal office candidates that are believed to be pro-biofuels and support domestically produced renewable energy, such as ethanol. RFA submitted its statement of organization on April 5, 2012 to the Federal Election Commission.

“Domestic renewable fuels offer America a real opportunity to put an end to our addiction to imported oil while creating jobs and putting American ingenuity to work creating fuel technologies for the future,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen.

“In order to ensure the full potential of American renewable fuels is realized, consistent and forward-looking public policy is essential. The Renewable Fuels PAC will allow RFA members to contribute to candidates for federal office that share our view that ethanol and all renewable fuels are an essential element in our nation’s energy, economic, and environmental strategy,” concluded Dinneen.

Matt Hartwig will serve as the Renewable Fuels PAC Treasurer.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFA

Movie Review – Carbon Nation

Joanna Schroeder

I took a brief break from my 2012 La Nina Reading list to watch a documentary on climate change.  Carbon Nation touts itself as a “climate change solutions movie that doesn’t even care if you believe in climate change.” Yet this movie does care about climate change.  The narrator says, “We thought we had time to figure things out. Trouble is there is no more time. Climate change is happening now.”

The movie features many of the same players and same technologies as other films – Lester Brown, Van Jones (who just released Rebuild the Dream, which I will be reviewing soon), Amory Lovins, and Thomas Friedman.  In terms of technologies, it covers wind, solar, geothermal, biofuels, and it also has sections that discuss land use, deforestation, transportation, and energy efficiency.

The movie was well done, interesting and had great graphics. In addition, I really liked some of the people who were interviewed – real down to earth people who are taking clean technologies into their own hands. The other thing I liked about the movie was the way it broke down how each technology or action will or can affect carbon.

What do I mean?

For example, globally, the world uses 16 terawatts (TWh) of energy each year. Of those, it is estimated that when fully developed, solar could produce 86,000 TWh, geothermal 32 THw, and wind 870 THw. In other words, these three technologies alone could replace all fossil fuel based energy and leave room for growth. This doesn’t even include the amount of energy saved and carbon reduced when you factor in gains from energy efficiency and land use strategies.

Read More

book reviews, Carbon, Environment, global warming, Video

Nevada Opens New Gas-to-Energy Plant

Joanna Schroeder

Waste Management has opened another gas-to-energy power plant in northern Nevada at its Lockwood Landfill.  The landfill gas will be captured and converted to electricity – enough to power more than 1,800 homes.  Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval was on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the first of its kind of project in the state.

When organic materials break down, they create a gas comprised of nearly 55 percent methane gas (a gas more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change).  The gas is captured via collection wells strategically placed around the landfill and then pipe the gas to the power plant. Once the gas arrives, it is used to fuel two generators.  It is estimated that the electricity produced will offset around 700 railcars of coal.

“The Gas-To-Energy Facility at the Lockwood Landfill ensures that not even garbage will go to waste,” said Justin Caporusso, Waste Management spokesperson. “By investing in landfill gas-to-energy, we are powering homes using the same waste that is left at the curb.”

Waste Management (WM) cites some benefits of the project including the plant is not dependent on other sources of energy like wind or solar; it’s reliable during peak energy hours; it’s an economical alternative to other fuel sources such as natural gas; and it’s endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency.  In total, WM operates 131 landfill gas-to-energy facilities across North America equating to more than 9 million mW hours of electricity per year.

Paul Pabor, vice president of renewable energy for WM added, “Waste Management has been developing landfill gas-to-energy technology for over two decades, and we operate more of these facilities than any other company in the United States. As a leader in this industry, we understand how landfills operate and how to use technology to extract the most value from the waste stream.”

biomethane, Electricity, Waste-to-Energy

Lots of Ag Job Opportunities & Energy Near Top of List

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Where are best job opportunities in agribusiness?” Some people have become doubtful of the opportunities in the industry for some reason. They shouldn’t have those doubts though. Here’s what our poll results showed. Most picked Biotech at 28% with Energy coming in second at 21%. They were followed by Agronomy at 17%, Sales/Marketing/Communications at 15%, Dairy at 7% and both Crop Protection and Equipment at 6% each.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Would you be willing to donate the proceeds from one acre of your farm to help your local food bank?” Let us know what you think and thanks to everyone who participates in our weekly poll!

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

ZimmPoll

Book Review – Roosters of The Apocalypse

Joanna Schroeder

The second book in my  2012 La Nina Reading List was “Roosters of The Apocalypse,” by Rael Jean Isaac. This book could be a dictionary definition of “opposite” as compared to Climate Wars. Where Climate Wars is on the far right side of hysteria of the evils of climate change, Roosters of The Apocalypse is on the far left side of hysteria that it is a major, orchestrated hoax upon the world that is costing us billions upon billions of dollars.

So what is a rooster anyway? Isaac quotes Richard Landes who describes “those who initiate and build support for these movements as roosters (aka Al Gore) for they crow an exciting new message, and their opponents as owls, gloomsters counseling caution and skepticism (Real Issac).” Issac weaves the message of the Xhosa throughout the book, a parable about an orphan girl’s vision of truth. I can’t tell you her truth because I was unable to follow the thread. Rather than explain it in one section, she drops little nuggets of the story throughout the book and not in a clear, concise way.  I could have looked up the story on Google, but quite frankly, I’m far to lazy to go to the trouble.

Anyway, the key to building momentum is getting “elites” to join the cause. Al Gore, or U.S. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid would be considered rooster elites.  Once that happens, ordinary people will join in.  Isaac tells the story of how the prophecy of global climate change caught fire and spread around the world in breathtaking speed.  While doing this, she deconstructs all the “deceptive techniques” and fakery” used by organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). I won’t rehash the scandal involved in their report but the bottom line was accusers claim they fudged the numbers to support climate change.

It is no doubt that those on the “right side of green” will make millions on global climate change.  Read More

book reviews, Environment, Opinion

Incentives and Fuel Demand Boost Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new report from GlobalData, government incentives and fuel demand are helping to boost biofuels markets. “Biofuels (Biodiesel and Bioethanol) Market – Global Production, Regulations, Export-Import Analysis and Key Country Analysis to 2020,” found that countries in Europe, Asia and North America (U.S.) are heavily involved in biofuel production – both ethanol and biodiesel.

Ethanol production globally began in ernst in 2003 and has grown significantly with the help of government subsidies. Canada and China both have blending targets, as well as the U.S. who passed a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) to drive the use of biofuels. In 2003, production numbers were 33,514 million liters and grew to 105,608 million liters by 2011. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) was 15.4 percent during this time period and the report expects production to grow another 4.4 percent between 2011-2020.

Biodiesel production picked up speed on a global level in 2005, and has also seen various government subsidies and incentives spurring growth. Key biodiesel exporters in 2010 were Germany, China, the Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium and the U.S. In 2005, global production of biodiesel was 4,854 million liters, and grew to 23,579 million liters by 2011. Biodiesel boasted a CAGR rate of 30.1 percent and is expected to grow an additional 3.5 percent between 2011-2020 for an annual production level of 4,205 million liters.

The report says the the growth demonstrates the importance of government and environmental policy for the current growth of the industry. It also concludes that future production increases will be dependent on similar support from global governments.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Research

Ethanol Report on Support for Renewable Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report PodcastA new poll showing strong support for renewable fuels validates some of the most important ethanol industry legislative priorities – including maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), commercializing E15, providing incentives for the development of cellulosic ethanol, limiting tax incentives for the oil industry, and requiring automobile manufacturers to build cars that will run on fuel sources other than oil.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about the poll results and what they mean in this edition of “The Ethanol Report.”

Listen to or download the Ethanol Report here: Ethanol Report on Poll Results

Subscribe to the Ethanol Report here.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

New Poll Shows Support for Renewable Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

A new poll from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) indicates overwhelming support by Americans for renewable fuels.

The poll, conducted by American Viewpoint, shows American voters are supportive of the key federal policy driving renewable fuel innovation in America today – the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with a full 61% percent of adults polled saying they supported it.

RFA“Poll after poll consistently demonstrates that Americans of all stripes believe we must be pursuing the production and use of renewable fuels to reduce our dependence on imported oil,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFS is a critical component to the continued growth and innovation of this industry. The RFS ensures that ample supplies of renewable fuels like ethanol are available today and that new and promising renewable fuel technologies will have a market in the future. The RFS has proven effective in addressing America’s goals by helping reduce volumes of imported oil, create jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuel.”

Americans also showed a strong desire to increase their use of domestic ethanol. When asked how likely they would be to purchase a fuel with more domestic ethanol when available (specifically E15), 58% of respondents said they were very likely or somewhat likely.

Participants in the poll responded very favorably to the continued efforts to bring cellulosic ethanol production to commercial scale through the use of targeted tax policies. Sixty-five percent said they supported such incentives to help expand cellulosic ethanol production. By comparison, 69% said they opposed tax subsidies and other incentives for petroleum companies. Finally, respondents expressed strong support for greater choice when pulling up to the pump. Seventy-five percent of those polled said they would support requiring automakers to build cars to run on fuel sources other than oil. The RFA has been a strong and early champion of the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) that would accomplish this exact goal.

The poll results come on the eve of the RFA’s inaugural Washington Legislative Forum being held tomorrow, April 18th, at the Newseum in Washington , DC where Attendees will hear from congressional and administration officials about legislative priorities outlined in the poll and the chances for any legislative action regarding these priorities in 2012. Following the meeting, RFA members will take to Capitol Hill to meet with dozens of lawmakers on issues important to America’s renewable fuel industry.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Research, RFA