ACE Conference 2026

Farmworkers Install Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Cindy Zimmerman

New Mexico farmworkers are receiving green job training installing solar panels, according to the Association of Farm Worker Opportunity Programs.

HELP-New Mexico, a statewide community-based organization headquartered in Albuquerque, helped prepare a group of farmworkers to obtain certifications that will provide them with the skills, knowledge, and ability to work together with journeyman electricians to design and install solar panel systems. The 48-hour training culminated over the weekend with a hands-on solar panel installation of a system on the homes of two low-income families in Berino, New Mexico.

“The class has provided workforce participants, many of whom are currently unemployed and/or underemployed, with a way to enhance their skills in targeted industries and provide them with a “leg up” in the job market”, states Roni Spetalnick, Southwest Regional Manager, HELP-NM.

Classes began on November 15, 2011, at the El Paso Electricians Apprenticeship Training Facility where a journeyman electrician/trainer helped prepare the New Mexico trainees to take the entry level North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification exam. Last Saturday, the trainees used their new skills to install solar systems on two homes built by Tierra Del Sol Housing, a nonprofit agency that builds affordable homes for low income individuals. They worked under the guidance and direction of a local solar installation company, Border Solar.

Solar

Butamax and Gevo Continue Battle

Cindy Zimmerman

The battle between Butamax™ and Gevo over isobutanol technology continues.

Last week, Gevo received a landmark patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its GIFT(R) separation unit, a central part of the company’s fermentation technology for the production of isobutanol. The patent, “Recovery of Higher Alcohols From Dilute Aqueous Solutions,” addresses the separation technology used to produce propanols, butanols, pentanols, and hexanols, and also address how ethanol plants can be retrofitted to produce higher alcohols.

At the same time, Gevo also filed a lawsuit against Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels and DuPont charging that those companies infringe the newly issued patent. Gevo contends that Butamax and DuPont “perform the methods described” in the patent without Gevo’s authorization and should pay unspecified damages after a jury trial.

butamaxToday Butamax™ officials called the lawsuit allegations “unfounded.”

“Let us state emphatically, Butamax does not infringe the generic product separation technology claims in Gevo’s recent patent, which is already subject to a validity challenge by a Brazilian inventor,” declared Paul Beckwith, Butamax™ CEO. “While it does not surprise us that questions are being raised as to the validity of Gevo’s latest patent and whether Gevo provided sufficient disclosure in their patent application, Butamax does not use this technology.” Butamax has filed a motion to dismiss Gevo’s previous case against Butamax, and also will pursue early resolution of this latest suit.

Butamax officials claim that because vacuum flash fermentation technology was found to require high energy and water consumption to meet commercial productivity, Butamax developed fundamentally different product recovery systems. “The Butamax™ approach combines energy integration, reduced environmental impact and attractive production metrics. Butamax™ technology is covered by the 7,993,889 patent which is the subject of the Butamax™ lawsuit against Gevo for their unlawful infringement. This patent has significant priority over all of Gevo’s patent filings.”

The battle between the two companies goes back over a year ago to when Butamax was first awarded its patent in December 2010 and filed suit for infringement against Gevo in January 2011.

advanced biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, isobutanol

2011 Biodiesel Production Officially Tops 1 Billion Gallons

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. biodiesel production officially topped one billion gallons in 2011, according to final year-end numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency today.

The total volume of nearly 1.1 billion gallons is by far a record for the industry and easily exceeded the 800 million gallon target required under the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The previous record for biodiesel production was about 690 million gallons in 2008.

National Biodiesel Board (NBB) vice president of federal affairs Anne Steckel says the milestone demonstrates that the biodiesel tax incentive and the Renewable Fuel Standard are working just as Congress intended. “Now is not the time to be second-guessing the RFS or eliminating the biodiesel tax incentive,” said Steckel. “We’re proving that the policies work, that American innovation and competitiveness can pull us away from our dangerous dependence on imported fuel. Just as President Obama said in his State of the Union this week, we need to stay the course to continue creating jobs and building America’s energy capacity.”

The biodiesel industry’s success in 2011 comes after Congress reinstated the fuel’s $1-per-gallon tax credit in December 2010 and as the EPA’s RFS program for biodiesel completed its first full year of implementation. Without those policies in place in 2010, production dropped dramatically as dozens of plants shuttered and thousands of people lost jobs.

Biodiesel, NBB

Synergies of Livestock and Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

There is a lot made about tensions between the ethanol and livestock industries but the distillers grains co-product of ethanol production is providing significant benefits for animal producers even as ethanol has helped prop up corn prices.

A great discussion at the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit featured corn and cattle organizations on the same panel talking about the “Synergies of Livestock and Ethanol.”

Moderator Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey opened the discussion by noting that sales of crops and livestock have risen as ethanol production has increased from $12 billion in 2002 – 6 billion in crop and 6 billion in livestock – to $24 billion in 2010, and 2011 is expected to be about $30 billion with at least $13 billion of that for livestock. “$13 billion on the livestock side versus $6 billion nine years ago,” Northey said. “Has ethanol been good for livestock agriculture in Iowa? I think very clearly.”

Listen to a brief interview with Secretary Northey here: Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey

Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Matt Deppe says it’s easy to see the benefits that distillers grains (DDGS) have brought to especially cattle feeders. “We look at it as a corn replacement,” Deppe says about DDGS. “It means that they (feedlot operators) have another option that’s cost effective to put into their rations.”

Listen to an interview with Matt Deppe here: Matt Deppe Interview

The livestock industry has traditionally been the most important market for corn, noted Iowa Corn Growers CEO Craig Floss, although use for ethanol has increased significantly in the past decade. “But a third of every one of those bushels that goes into an ethanol plant goes into DDGS,” he said.

The panel also included Randy Ives, director of ethanol services for the commodity management firm Gavilon Group.

Listen to or download the entire panel discussion here: Ethanol and Livestock panel

Photos from 2012 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

Audio, corn, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA, livestock, livestock feed

Obama Endorses Extending Tax Credit

In the State of the Union Address and other appearances this week, President Obama is endorsing a proposal that would extend the advanced energy manufacturing tax credit.

The Security in Energy and Manufacturing (SEAM) Act, authored by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), is a job-creating clean energy tax cut, which has delivered nearly $125 million to seven Ohio manufacturers to help create clean energy jobs, provides investment tax credits of 30 percent for facilities that manufacture energy equipment. Currently, 70 percent of clean energy components are manufactured outside of the United States.

“We can’t trade a dependence on foreign oil for a dependence on foreign-made sources of energy,” Brown said. “It’s unacceptable that 70 percent of clean energy components are made outside of the U.S. Extending the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit will help more American manufacturers create jobs through the production of cutting-edge energy technologies.”

The initial tax credit, which was included in the Recovery Act, supported seven Ohio projects and dozens more eligible projects applied for funding but were denied due to a lack of funds. The Department of Energy (DOE) states that the program was more than three times oversubscribed. Nationwide, DOE deemed 418 projects eligible, which amounts to $5.8 billion in unfunded eligible applications. These manufacturers are waiting in the pipeline, and would be ready to break ground soon after they receive funding.

To be eligible for the tax credit, manufacturers must produce solar, wind, and geothermal energy equipment; fuel cells, microturbines, and batteries; electric cars; electric grids; energy conservation technologies; and equipment that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide or reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The SEAM Act is also cosponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Bob Casey (D-PA).

Energy, Legislation, politics

Advanced Biofuels Makes Farm Bill Wish List

advance biofuels

Advanced Biofuels USA has released low cost and cost-efficient policies the group feels should be included in the Farm Bill which will be under consideration in 2012.

“We have identified two specific problem areas,” said executive director, Joanne Ivancic. “First, the challenges of bringing small, non-contiguous marginal acreage to productivity via an energy crop market; and, second, funding promising conversion and production technologies wallowing the in the financing valley of death.”

Read the Advanced Biofuels USA proposed policies in their entirety.

advanced biofuels, Legislation

ACE Invites Members to Attend Capitol Hill Visits

As Congress resumes work for 2012, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is urging its grassroots members and all ethanol supporters to attend the “Biofuels Beltway March” in Washington, DC. ACE’s fly-in for Capitol Hill visits will be held Tues., March 27 and Wed., March 28, headquartered at the Washington Court Hotel.

“Historic opponents to ethanol are again ramping up their misinformation game in an attempt to discredit the significant benefits seen as a result of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and it is imperative for our industry to proactively convey to Members of Congress that the RFS is successfully displacing foreign oil imports, creating American jobs, and reducing toxic pollution from gasoline,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE.

Participants will break into teams for visits to Capitol Hill offices, meeting with Members of Congress or their staff about the RFS, ethanol infrastructure such as blender pumps and flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), and educating Congress and federal agencies about the clean-octane benefits of ethanol. Sixty ethanol advocates met with more than 160 congressional offices during last year’s fly-in, and ACE is hoping for even greater attendance this year.

“Face-to-face meetings between constituents and lawmakers are the best way to make sure our consumer fuel choice message is heard,” said Jennings. “We encourage grassroots ethanol supporters to sign up for this fly-in and help explain that the RFS is accomplishing its purpose and will be the driver to help commercialize the next-generation of biofuels.”

Register with ACE for the event or get more information.

ACE, Ethanol, Legislation

Iowa RFA President Pleased with Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

The 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit this week was another great one, according to Iowa Renewable Fuels Association president Brad Albin, who is VP of manufacturing for Renewable Energy Group (REG).

There were over 500 people at the conference on Tuesday in Des Moines and Albin says that’s a far cry from when he first started in the biodiesel industry. “I’ve personally been involved in biodiesel since 1996, helped build the first multi-feedstock biodiesel plant,” he said. “There was probably ten of us in a room at one time. And since then, we’ve seen some hard times but this year (2011) has been a strong year for us and now we need to just keep the strong going forward.”

Listen to my interview with IRFA president Brad Albin of REG here: Brad Albin interview

Photos from 2012 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

Audio, Biodiesel, Iowa RFA, REG

GRFA: FAO Director General’s Comments Misguided

As the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture draws to a close in Berlin, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) has challenged new United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Director General Jose Graziano Da Silva on his critique of biofuels and their alleged impact on commodity prices.
Global RFA
“Mr. Da Silva has failed to recognize that the rising price of energy is the primary driver in the rising cost of all commodities including corn and sugar,” said GRFA spokesperson, Bliss Baker.

Many international organizations have back tracked on their criticism of biofuels based on research which has found biofuels to have played a very minor role in the escalation of food prices globally. In fact, David Hallam, the FAO’s own Deputy Director has said that “unexpected oil price spikes could further exacerbate an already precarious situation in food markets.”

“Mr. Da Silva would do well to listen to the International Energy Agency’s dire warnings about our energy security future when commenting on biofuels,” said Baker. “The IEA concluded that biofuels could provide 27 percent of total transport fuel by 2050 and avoid around 2.1 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions per year when produced sustainably without jeopardizing food security,” said Baker.

The GRFA has repeatedly called for an increase in the use of biofuels to help reduce the world’s crippling reliance on crude oil.

“I would urge the new FAO Director General to focus on the real cause of high food prices – the rising cost of energy,” added Baker.

biofuels, food and fuel, International

USDA Accepting REAP Fund Apps for Blender Pumps

Blender pumps give consumers flexibility and choice of ethanol blends when they are fueling up. Now, the USDA is accepting applications for REAP funds that can be used by retailers who want to install more blender pumps.

This is the second year that blender pumps have been authorized as part of the REAP program. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in 2011 that USDA had plans to install 10,000 blender pumps over the next five years.

That announcement and this year’s opening of the application process is welcome news to the Blend Your Own (BYO) Ethanol campaign, a joint educational effort by the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The campaign will again offer free grant writing services to those interested in applying.
RFA

“This program provided funding for more than 250 blender pumps last year, providing many consumers with the choice and flexibility they deserve to pick the ethanol blends that work for them based on their vehicle, their beliefs, and their budget,” said RFA Director of Market Development Robert White. “Through the BYO Ethanol Campaign, we have the ability to assist retailers in applying for these funds and help USDA and the Obama Administration achieve the renewable fuel goals they have put forward. With E15 fuel registration due any day, these blender pumps will help spread this new blend across the country.”

“We can break the stranglehold oil has over our nation’s economy and energy future by giving consumers the option to choose clean American fuels that are not petroleum,” said ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty. “In just five years, growing ethanol use has helped us reduce our reliance on foreign oil by more than 10% – to a point where imports are less than half of total demand. We can continue that move toward greater energy independence by getting more ethanol in front of more consumers.”

This program is designed to help spur rural development. This program offers funding for grants, and loan guarantees, but certain restrictions will apply on the size of the local communities and the businesses applying for the funds. Applications for this program are due on March 30, 2012.

blends, Ethanol, Retailers, RFA, USDA