New Study Breaks Link Between Land Use, Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

In a new study released today by Michigan State University (MSU), biofuel production in the United States through 2007, “probably has not induced any indirect land use change.” The report was conducted by Seungdo Kim and Bruce Dale, both MSU scientists, and the results will be published in the next issue of the Journal of Biomass and Bioenergy. ILUC is the theory that any acre used in the production of feedstocks for biofuels in the U.S. results in a new acre coming into food or feed production somewhere else in the world.

Dale and Kim empirically tested whether indirect land use change (ILUC) occurred through 2007 as a result of the expansion of the U.S. biofuels industry, spurred in part by the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) that calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended in fuel supplies by 2022. The researcher’s derived their conclusion after studying historical data on U.S. croplands, commodity grain exports to specific regions and land use trends in these geographical regions.

The authors write, “Biofuel production in the United States up through the end of 2007 in all probability has not induced indirect land use change. There are two feasible dependent conclusions that might be drawn from this interpretation: 1) crop intensification may have absorbed the effects of expanding US biofuel production or 2) the effects of US biofuel production expansion may be simply negligible, and not resolvable within the accuracy of the data.”

In response to the study, Renewable Fuels President and CEO Bob Dinneen stated, “Solving America’s energy crisis must rely on the best available science. Since its inception, the notion indirect land use change has been deeply flawed and repeatedly disputed. It is refreshing to see academia using real-world data and actual market behaviors to challenge the hypothetical results and ‘what if’ scenarios that have so far dominated the ILUC discussion.”

“Biofuels like ethanol offered unparalleled environmental benefits as a renewable alternative to gasoline. Hiding behind the faux science of ILUC, some have attempted to stall and thwart the sustainable growth of biofuels across the globe and especially in the U.S. This work from MSU, coming on the heels of other recent scientific analyses, has demonstrated that ILUC as a matter of science and fact is wrong,” continued Dinneen.

This report comes on the heels of report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that concluded ILUC resulting from corn ethanol expansion over the past decade has likely been “minimal to zero.”

Kim and Dale noted in the report that “prior ILUC studies have failed to compare their predictions to past global historical data.” Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board have used highly controversial ILUC modeling tools. The report concludes, “No arable land increases from the 1990s are observed in the United States. Furthermore, no declines in natural ecosystem lands in the United States have been observed since 1998.” In addition, the analysis suggests cropland expansion in foreign countries is not well correlated to U.S. biofuels demand for certain feedstocks.

biofuels, corn, Ethanol, Indirect Land Use, Research, RFA

Company Studies Tobacco for Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

A start-up company, Tyton BioSciences, is looking for a new outlet for tobacco – biodiesel and ethanol. The company is developing genetically modified tobacco that will, according to their website, “produce both ethanol and biodiesel at yields that far surpass the traditional crops of corn and soy.” The company’s tobacco will also be easier to grow than those grown for smoking-grade tobacco and although still in a test phase, the company has successfully extracted sugars for ethanol and oil for biodiesel.

Founder and Managing Director, “Peter Majeranowski, said in an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, that another benefit of using tobacco is that it is not a “food” crop and can “alleviate the complaints that food prices are rising because of demand for crops as fuel.”

According to Majeranowski, farmers will be able to plant 80,000 to 100,000 plants per acre rather than the average 6,000 plants per acre of smoking-grade tobacco. This modified crop can also be mechanically harvested and will be more “green” because it doesn’t need to be dried. In addition, he believes that the tobacco fields for biofuels can be planted and harvested two to three times per year.

“We can chop it close to the ground, and it grows back,” Majeranowski said. “We don’t have to worry about flavor, just how many green leaves and stems we can get per acre.”

The company will hear soon whether it will get a $2.2 million grant from the Tobacco Commission. Company executives have also invested $3 million of their own money and believe combined with the grant, will get their seeds closer to the production stage.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, feedstocks

Solar to Power Volt Assembly Plant

Joanna Schroeder

General Motors (GM) is in full production on the Chevrolet Volt, a flex-fuel electric car (FFV-EV). Since the Volt is more “sustainable” the company is also looking at ways to produce the vehicle in more sustainable ways as well. GM is currently in the process of installing the largest photovoltaic solar (PV) array in Southeast Michigan at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. The project is a partnership between GM and DTE Energy and will total 516-kilowatts – enough electricity to charge 150 EVs with extended-range capability each day for one year- for a total of 54,750 Volts.

The 264,000 square-foot project is expected to be completed at the end of the summer and will save an estimated $15,000 per year over the 20-year agreement. DTE Energy and GM will build the array on a six-acre tract of land located on the south side of the plant to maximize output.

“This array will significantly decrease energy consumption by combining solar power with ongoing efficiency tactics such as lighting and equipment upgrades and automating equipment shut-down,” said Bob Ferguson, vice president of GM Public Policy. “Making sustainable choices is good for both the environment and our bottom line. Obviously cost savings is critical for GM, and the ability to save $15,000 per year while being environmental serves us well.”

The Detroit-Hamtramck installation is part of DTE Energy’s SolarCurrents pilot. The goal of the program is to install 15 megawatts of electricity from solar over the next five years and as of May 5, 2011, already achieved its goal. DTE is investing $3 million in the array at the Volt assembly plant.

“Our partnership with GM is another example of how our companies work to build a more energy-efficient and sustainable future,” said Trevor Lauer, Detroit Edison vice president, Marketing & Renewables. “Our SolarCurrents program was designed to increase the demand for renewable technologies in Michigan, and it is our hope that installations like this one do exactly that.”

GM is one of the leading users of renewable energy in the manufacturing sector and uses solar, hydro and landfill gas resources to generate electricity at various plants. In the U.S. 1.4 percent of GM’s energy consumption comes from renewable energy.

E85, Electric Vehicles, Electricity, Energy, Solar

Ag Secretary Highlights Renewable Energy Efforts

Cindy Zimmerman

During a visit to a Massachusetts renewable energy company on Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted USDA’s continuing efforts to invest in research and development projects that will help reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.

Vilsack toured Agrivida, a company that is developing technologies to reduce the cost of converting biofuel feedstocks into sugar, focusing on sorghum, corn stover, and switchgrass. The Department of Energy and USDA have helped fund research in this effort through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative.

Meeting with reporters after the tour, Vilsack said biofuels hold great promise for the country if research and innovation is allowed to continue. “As we get to the point where we can make it cost-effective and cost-competitive with oil, you’re going to see an opportunity for this country to innovate itself away from fossil fuels,” he said. “We can provide farmers and opportunity to take what has been in the past, waste product and convert it into a tangible asset that can be sold to a company that would convert it into energy and fuel, creates new income opportunities for farmers.”

Vilsack said while federal spending needs to be cut, investments in this kind of research will lead to more jobs and greater energy independence. Earlier this month, Secretary Vilsack announced a total of $41 million in grants through the program to fund an additional seven research and development projects throughout the country that will help increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products.

biofuels, biomass, Ethanol, USDA

Bill Encourages Domestic Fuel Use for Military

Cindy Zimmerman

The “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act” has been re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who introduced the bill at the end of the last Congress, once again put forth the bipartisan bill which will allow Civilian Agencies and Military Agencies to extend multi-year contracts from the current limit of 5 years to up to 15 years for the purchase of advanced biofuels.

“No one knows better than the Department of Defense that energy supplies are critical to combat troops and our national security,” Inslee said during the bill’s introduction on Wednesday. “To ultimately realize these goals, we must dramatically scale-up advanced biofuel production in the United States. With added Congressional authority to purchase longer-term contracts, our defense sector could adopt domestically produced sustainable fuels for the security of our troops.”

Brent Erickson with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) says the bill would help scale up advanced biofuel production in the United States. “Expanding the Defense Department’s ability to engage in long-term contracts would provide potential investors and advanced biofuel companies market stability when they commit capital to building new biorefineries,” said Erickson. “The Defense Department recognizes that domestically produced advanced biofuels are vital to our energy security, by for instance shielding the military from volatile energy supplies and prices.”

BIO, biojet fuel, Government

Bullish on Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

Biodiesel is back, but it needs the tax credit to keep it going.

Joe JobeAt the 4th International Biomass Conference and Expo, Joe Jobe with the National Biodiesel Board, said they are very optimistic about the state of the industry right now.

“Our plants are coming back on line and we’re very bullish,” Jobe said. “We believe that we’re going to have the best year in our industry’s history this year.” Jobe says their top priority is implementation of the RFS2 and a major component of that is seeing the biodiesel tax credit extended at least another year. “Last year the tax credit lapsed for 11 months and that had a significant negative impact on the industry,”

Jobe says the debate over land use continues to have an impact on the industry. “Land use and indirect impacts have really only been applied to biofuels, no other fuels, not even the fuel that it’s been compared to, baseline petroleum fuel,” he said.

Listen to or download my interview with Joe Jobe here: Joe Jobe NBB

NBB will be holding a webinar on the topic of biodiesel’s impact on the food supply and land use May 24. “Vantage Point: Views on Food, Fuel and Land Use” will feature insights from two national land use experts Dr. Stephen Kaffka with the U.C. Davis Department of Plant Sciences and Director of the California Biomass Collaborative and Keith Kline of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The 60-minute webinar starts at 12:00 noon Central time, on Tuesday, May 24 and is open to anyone with an interest in learning the reality behind food, fuel and land use. Register here.

Audio, Biodiesel, biomass, NBB

First Mercedes Benz EV Delivered to Iceland

Joanna Schroeder

The first AMP electric Mercedes Benz, manufactured in Cincinnati, OH, has been delivered to Gisli Gislason, Chairman and CEO of Ireland-based Northern Lights Energy (NLE). This is the first in a contract worth $100 million to bring EV to Iceland. The car was “electrified” by AMP Electric Vehicles, a subsidiary of AMP Holding. This is the first EV delivered as part of a contract signed on April 14, 2011 with a larger volume of electric sport utility vehicles to be produced beginning in September.

“The demand for SUVs is very high in Iceland at approximately 35% of new vehicle sales,” said James Taylor, CEO AMP. “Our AMP Electric Mercedes ML SUV fits NLE and Iceland’s needs perfectly. The vehicle comfortably fits five people, and offers the efficient performance of 100 miles per charge. We are very pleased to have presented the first vehicle, and look forward to supplying the rest of this 1,000 vehicle agreement.”

NLE believes Iceland is a very suitable venue for EVs because most of the country’s electricity is derived from a combination of hydro power and geothermal resources, making the electric supply extremely economical versus expensive imported gasoline.

Gisli Gislason, Chairman and CEO of Northern Lights Energy, added, “We were very excited to receive and drive the AMP Mercedes ML EV today. The vehicle drove extremely well, and I feel will fit perfectly in our Iceland program. We have fifty Icelandic companies and government offices, including the Ministry of the Environment, signed up to host electric vehicle charging and to convert their fleets to 100% electric vehicles and their expectations are high. In my opinion, this AMP EV will meet and exceed all expectations.”

Although the first 1,000 EVs will all be earmarked for Iceland, there are plans to expand the sales territory throughout the Nordic region to include Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Faroe Islands.

Electric Vehicles

Canada Fears Rising Gas Prices

Joanna Schroeder

I just returned from Toronto, Canada after attending the 2011 BIO World Congress (great stuff and check back as I post a series of audio interviews from the conference) and the country is feeling the impacts of rising gas prices. Consumers in Central Canada have seen gas prices rise nearly 30 cents almost overnight despite the drop in oil prices and many consumers are asking the question of who to blame. The front page article in The Globe and Mail on Wednesday, “The gas price puzzle,” stated that gas prices are higher now than in 2008 when a barrel of oil hit a record high of over $150 a barrel.

According to the article a “confluence of events” has caused the prices to skyrocket. “They include an unusual price discrepancy between European and North American oil and below average gasoline supplies in the U.S., which drives up whole-sale prices that also affect Canada.” Other factors include geography and bad weather south of the border.

Don’t let out sigh of relief that biofuels escaped blame. They didn’t and today a coalition of Canadian on-road diesel fuel associations are raising concerns that the biodiesel mandate set to go into effect in Canada on July 1st will actually cause gas prices to go even higher.

According to the coalition, which includes the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), Motor Coach Canada (MCC) and the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada (OBAC), the Canadian government’s own regulatory impact analysis statement predicts the biodiesel mandate will cost taxpayers $2.5 billion over the next 25 years and increase pump prices for diesel fuel. The report also believes fuel economy will decrease and any greenhouse gas emission reductions will be negligible.

To support their point, the coalition pointed the finger at Massachusetts and New Mexico’s biofuel mandates that allow for the suspension of the regulation should the price of diesel fuel be more than conventional diesel fuel. In addition, the coalition says that U.S. state biodiesel mandates have raised diesel prices anywhere from 1-8 cents per gallon, even with subsidies.

The coalition also cited other fears. Read More

Biodiesel, biofuels, food and fuel, International, Opinion

Air Force Tests Independence Bio-Products’ Algae Jet Fuel

Joanna Schroeder

The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base is testing jet fuel derived from algae produced by Dublin, Ohio based Independence Bio-Products (IBP). The algae was grown in open ponds in Ohio and harvested with the company’s patent pending harvest system. The tests are part of federally funded project to examine Algae to Fuel (ATF) processing technologies. According to IBP founder and President Ron Erd, the testing of the jet fuel sample has confirmed that the composition of the fuel is similar to fuels derived from other feedstocks including sobyeans, jatropha or camelina. This feedstocks are also being tested as jet fuel replacements.

Ohio is in the process of expanding the states “algaculture” industry. Three organizations are jointly working together on the project including the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) of Brook Park, the Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC) of Dayton, and the Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT) of Toledo along with several other industry and university collaborators, including IBP. Three main areas are being researched:

1) selection of algae suitable for optimizing oil production based on climate factors
2) development of cultivation systems (growing locations, harvesting, dewatering, and separation techniques)
3) cultivation strategy (algae harvesting, processing into value-added products, etc.)

IBP has a proprietary technology where algae is cultivated in raceway ponds in Belmont County. Some of the ponds were heated using IBP’s patent pending system demonstrating operations throughout the winter. The algae was subsequently separated from water and dried followed by extraction and purification of the algae oil. The algae oil was upgraded to fuel by Applied Research Associates (ARA) of Panama City, FL using a catalytic hydrothermolysis (CH) process to convert the plant triglycerides to pure hydrocarbons very similar to their petroleum counterparts.

“The IBP development adds to the growing evidence that aviation fuel may be derived from domestically grown crops independent of foreign petroleum sources,” said Dr. Joseph Hager, Director Technology Transfer Programs. He continued by saying oil derived from Ohio-grown algae cultivated in open ponds demonstrates that this future fuel-producing crop may be sited in the harsher winter climates of the Midwest.

algae, biofuels, biojet fuel

Waste Management Invests in Agnion

Joanna Schroeder

Waste Management (WM) has announced they have invested in Agnion Energy, a company developing gasification technology. WM joins other company investors including Kleiner Perkins, Caufield Byers, Munich Venture Partners, and Wellington Partners. Agnion’s allothermal gasification technology converts solid biomass feedstock into a hydrogen and carbon monoxide synthetic gas (syngas) with high heating value. The syngas can then be converted into liquids, hydrogen and methanol di-methyl-ether and or as a natural gas substitute using combined heat and power applications.

“Waste Management wants to maximize the value of the materials it manages,” said Tim Cesarek, managing director of Organic Growth at Waste Management. “Agnion’s technology complements Waste Management’s advancement of thermo-chemical conversion technology platforms and could enhance our suite of waste processing options.”

According to Agnion, their Heatpipe-Reformer design provides a flexible, small-scale on-site gasification technology solution with a relatively low upfront capital cost. The technology is ideal for schools/universities, warehouses/distribution centers, shopping malls, hotels, and hospitals.

“We view the fact that North America’s largest residential recycler and leading waste and environmental solutions provider has decided to invest in Agnion and our Heatpipe-Reformer technology as a tremendous honor and a vote of confidence,” said Agnion CEO, Dr. Stephan Mey. “Our first commercial biomass gasification plant is currently under construction in the Bavarian town of Grassau and we plan to build other plants in Europe and North America.”

biomass, Waste-to-Energy