GAO: Difference Between Policy & Practice on Alt. Fuels

John Davis

A new report from the Government Accountability Office shows there seems to be a disconnect between what the U.S. government’s policy is regarding using alternatively fueled vehicles and what the actual practices are.

This article from the Pittsburgh Business Times
says the GAO has found that decision makers are faced with “confusing and, at times, contradicting mandates” that end up prompting fleet managers to pick vehicles that work for the largest number of guidelines, instead of those that actually cut down on petroleum use and greenhouse gases:

Three federal laws and two executive orders set goals for buying alternative fuel and electric vehicles, and reducing oil consumption. More than 20 federal agencies play some role in implementing these goals.

The federal fleet has more than 600,000 vehicles, guzzles more than 963,000 gallons of oil daily and, during fiscal year 2009, spent about $1.9 billion on new vehicles.

The GAO focused on four specific conflicts:

Conflict 1: Increase the use of alternative fuels vs. the unavailability of alternative fuels.
“Agencies are required to increase alternative fuel use, although most alternative fuels are not yet widely available. Thus, agencies have been purchasing primarily flex-fueled AFVs, those that can operate on E85—a blend of up to 85 percent ethanol and petroleum—or petroleum. However, since E85 was only available at 1 percent of U.S. fueling stations in 2009, agencies are requesting waivers from the requirement to use alternative fuels. According to DOE, in 2010, approximately 55 percent of flex-fueled AFVs received a waiver. Further, some fleet operators indicated they use petroleum without a waiver when alternative fuels are available because it is either more convenient, less expensive, or both.”

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Government

Volvo Unveils 3-Mode Hybrid

Joanna Schroeder

Volvo has introduce the first three-mode hybrid in the world during the 81st Geneva International Motor Show this week. During a media preview, the hybrid diesel V60 sedan was unveiled. It’s a plug-in electric vehicle concept car that the company hopes to have on European roads by 2012. The driver chooses the preferred driving mode via three buttons on the instrument panel: Pure, Hybrid and Power. The interaction between diesel and electric power is handled via a control system.

According to Volvo, the car boasts 150 miles per gallon (mpg) in the hybrid mode when using its 2.4 liter diesel engine and 70 horsepower electric motor coupled to the rear drive. The diesel hybrid has two separate drivetrains that can operate on their own or together. In the front is a 2.4-liter five cylinder turbodiesel with a 215 horsepower and a 324 pound-feet of tourque. In the back, a 70-horsepower electric motor with a 12-kWh lithium-ion battery pack controls the Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD).

By simply pressing a button, you can tell the car how you want to drive:

  • * An electric car with a range of up to 32 miles.
  • * A high-efficiency hybrid with carbon dioxide emissions averaging just 49 g/km.
  • * A dynamic and engaging car with a combined output of 215 + 70 horsepower, 440 + 200 Nm of torque and acceleration from 0 to 62 mph of just 6.9 seconds.

“The second-generation hybrid is the perfect choice for the uncompromising buyer who wants a superbly carbon dioxide-lean car packed with driving pleasure. To get drivers to think green, we have offered both, in one traditional genuine sports wagon” says Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.

Jacoby added, “The technology is still undergoing development and testing, however, the car already points very clearly to what our customers can expect when the plug-in hybrid enters showrooms next year. What we’ve done is to spice it up with spearhead technology that allows the driver to choose: zero emissions, high-efficiency hybrid or full-on performance. Just select the mode that suits best.”

Volvo did not indicate if the car could run using a biodiesel blend but did indicate that the car was still undergoing development.

Biodiesel, Car Makers, Electric Vehicles

Ron Miller Wins RFA 2011 Membership Award

Joanna Schroeder

“To many of you, Ron Miller requires no introduction. He has been ethanol long before ethanol was cool,” began Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Chairman Chuck Woodside during his introduction of Ron Miller who won the 2011 RFA Membership Award during the National Ethanol Conference that recently took place in Phoenix, Arizona.

Miller has been the Chairman of RFA three times and helped establish and served on the Technical Committee for 10 years. He is only the second person to receive the Membership Award.

Ron Miller began his ethanol career in 1981, fresh out of the oil industry. One of his first steps, along with two other companies, was to form RFA. Today, he owns a consulting firm called Prisma Advisors and specializes in working with advanced biofuels companies.

Miller notes that while the industry has gone from producing a 100 million gallons per year or so back in the early ’80s to now 10 percent of the total U.S. gasoline gallons, the same problems the country had then, are still the same problems the country has today: energy, economy and environment.

“We’ve grown a lot but the problems are still the same. It might be a little different in the way they’re looked at, but the challenges of trying to grow the industry are still there,” said Miller.

While Miller said the past 30 years have been a wild ride, he’s loved every minute of it and he’s looking forward to the years ahead which he believes will be the best yet.

Listen to or download the interview with Ron Miller here: Ron Miller Interview

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Jeff Lautt Named President of POET

Joanna Schroeder

Jeff Lautt has been named President of POET. He has been with the company since 2005 and prior to this promotion, served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations. Jeff Broin, the founder of POET, will remain as CEO and Chairman of the Board.

“Over his six-year career at POET, Jeff Lautt has continually taken on more and more of the daily operations of the company,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. “I have full confidence that he will excel in this new role and help take POET to new heights.”

The change in leadership will allow Broin to focus his time and energy on long-term strategy for the company and well as the industry. “With more of the day-to-day operations in Jeff Lautt’s hands, I can invest more of my time in planning the future of POET and work on issues critical to the ethanol industry,” Broin said. “Many of the challenges POET faces are shared by the entire ethanol industry. As co-chairman of Growth Energy, I also look forward to working with others in the industry to face those challenges head-on.”

In his prior role, Lautt was responsible for all operational business units within POET. Of his new role, Lautt commented, “Under the leadership of Jeff Broin, POET has grown into a very successful company. Working with Jeff and the dedicated team at POET, I look forward to playing an even bigger role in future accomplishments.”

Company Announcement, Ethanol, POET

Agricultural Marketing Considered A Profession

Chuck Zimmerman

I thought we’d have a little fun with our latest ZimmPoll just to see what people really think about the nature of what many of our readers do – agrimarketing. I got a lot of comments like “I’ve never considered that it isn’t.” However, I was curious if we’d have any no votes and we did!

So the question was, “Is agricultural marketing and communications a profession?” 89% say yes and 11% say no. If you voted no I’d love to know why. Feel free to post a comment here.

Our next ZimmPoll is now live and we’d love your thoughts on a topic that is generating a lot of interest again lately. “How much do you think the public understands about GMO crops?” I would prefer to call it biotech or GM crops but most media seem to like the GMO designation. For example, look at a poll going on over at MSNBC Health that’s asking the question: “Do you believe genetically modified foods should be labeled?” What’s interesting is not the question and answers but the over 1,000 comments so far. Some are extremely vicious. Let’s know what you think and thanks for participating.

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

ZimmPoll

“Say No to OPEC” Campaign Launches

Joanna Schroeder

Just in time for Congressional lawmakers to return to work, Growth Energy launched a DC advertising blitz, “Say No to OPEC, Say Yes to America.” According to the organization, the campaign includes a display ad in Roll Call and online ads – including home-page takeovers – on TheHill.com and on the daily E&E Newsletter.

Chris Thorne, Public Affairs Director for Growth Energy, said they are launching the advertising campaign to increase awareness among Members of Congress and their staff of the dangers of increasing our nation’s reliance on Middle East oil – which he said is precisely what would happen if two House amendments, proposed by Reps. John Sullivan (R-OK) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) make their way into the final version of the Continuing Resolution currently being debated by Congress.

“As the Senate returns to the Capitol and starts work on the Continuing Resolution, they must understand the destructive consequences of legislation that would impose new regulatory hurdles and artificial barriers to the market for ethanol,” Thorne said. “Any legislation that imposes new regulations and erects new barriers to ethanol is legislation in favor of sending more American money to OPEC. Last time I looked, it was political unrest in the Middle East that was costing American consumers tens of millions more in gas prices every single day. Ethanol is the only viable alternative we have to foreign oil.”

Last week, Growth Energy, along with other ethanol industry organizations and agricultural organizations condemned the House passage of the anti-ethanol amendments that would prohibit the EPA from rolling out E15 and the USDA from offering retailers incentives to install blender pumps.

“These provisions won’t save any money for the federal government. If they are going to fill the deficit hole, Members of Congress should consider cutting the tens of billions of dollars that go in subsidies, tax credits and giveaway for the oil companies,” added Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy.

Ethanol, Growth Energy, Legislation

NextCAT to Commercially Produce Biodiesel Catalyst

John Davis

A Detroit-based biodiesel technology developer will commercially produce a new catalyst designed to help produce biodiesel more cheaply.

Biodiesel Magazine reports NextCAT Inc. will produce the catalyst developed at the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State University and integrate it into existing biodiesel plants:

According to NextCAT President Charles Salley, NextCAT intends to leverage $800,000 in total funding that came in the form of Michigan-supported pre-seed capital funds in recent months, including grants from the National Science Foundation, to bring its novel catalyst technology to market.

“We made the decision based on major funding milestones and by securing strategic partnerships over past several months,” Salley told Biodiesel Magazine.

NextCAT’s technology involves the use of a clean heterogeneous solid metal oxide catalyst capable of performing esterification and transesterification steps in a single pass without consuming the catalyst in the reaction, according to Salley.

“The thing that’s magic about the catalyst that we have licensed is that it’s duel-acting, meaning that it does transesterification and esterification steps simultaneously, which makes it particularly well-suited for moderate to high FFA feedstocks like yellow grease or residual corn oil from the ethanol production process,” Salley said. “Those feedstocks aren’t well-handled by first-generation homogenous catalysts as they tend to create soaps and other waste byproducts that can make the process challenging.”

NextCAT officials say they will be doing a pilot-scale test during this quarter.

Biodiesel

Solar Cell Developer Moving Toward Mass Production

John Davis

The developer of a three-dimensional solar cell says it will be using the same low-cost processes for semiconductors to help them produce their energy cell on a mass scale.

California-based Solar3D, who I profiled back in November, has announced it will use the semiconductor processes to build its unique solar cell design that traps sunlight inside micro-photovoltaic structures where photons bounce around until they are converted into electrons:

Jim Nelson, CEO of Solar3D, commented, “In the solar industry, it is not enough to have high efficiency, you must also be low cost. We started our company with the mantra of Breakthrough Product, Common Manufacturing, and I am pleased to report that we are right on track.”

Nelson continued, “The key to the successful low cost fabrication of our 3D solar cell is that we can use existing semiconductor manufacturing facilities and machines. This is important for two reasons:

1. The semiconductor manufacturing technology we are designing for was perfected in the 1990s. So, there will be no significant operational bugs in the machines or the processes, and the technology has only gotten better over time.

2. Because of our ability to use existing machines and facilities, there will be little or no new need to invent new machines or construct new facilities just to make our 3D solar cell.

Solar3D officials compare the photovoltaic solar cell to a diode, the most basic building block of modern day microprocessors and electronics. And that means the cells could be made in those same high-speed semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

Solar

2010 – Another Banner Year for Ethanol

Joanna Schroeder

According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2010 was another record breaking year for American ethanol producers. Average daily ethanol production averaged nearly 863,000 barrels per day ( b/d). That represents 36.24 million gallons of daily production and nearly 13.23 billion gallons of production for calendar year 2010. 2009 ethanol production was 10.75 billion gallons. Imports for 2010 were down from 2009 with 9.7 million gallons in ’10 and 193 million gallons in ’09.

Yet while imports were down, exports of U.S. ethanol reached an all-time high. According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), using government data, total ethanol exports ended the year at 397 million gallons, marking a nearly four-fold increase over 2009. Of the 2010 total, 270 million gallons (68%) were classified as denatured ethanol, while the remaining 127 million gallons (32%) were undenatured or non-beverage. These exports are not eligible for the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), also called the blender’s credit. Dried distillers grains (DDGs) were also exported in record numbers in 2010 with 9 million metric tons exported.

“In today’s volatile oil market, ethanol production is helping to reduce costs for consumers at the pump and is the only measure currently moving America away from imported oil,” said RFA President Bob Dinneen. “At nearly 10 percent of the U.S. gasoline market, American ethanol production is supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs while reducing our need to import 445 million barrels of oil to refine into gasoline. That is more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia each year. At a time of increased energy uncertainty and volatility, domestic ethanol production from a growing array of feedstocks is helping create the kind of economic and energy opportunities this country will need to regain control over our future.”

The yearly data was compiled via the final monthly ethanol production report for 2010 released by EIA. According to that data, December 2010 was a bigger than expected month for ethanol production. The industry produced nearly 918,000 b/d, down slightly from 924,000 b/d in November 2010. December daily production on an annualized basis was 14 billion gallons. Demand for ethanol, according to RFA calculations rose to 918,000 b/d, up from 900,000 b/d in November 2010. RFA calculations for 2010 ethanol demand stand at just shy of 860,000 b/d. December stocks for ethanol fell slightly to 17.94 million barrels, or 19.5 days of supply based on demand calculations.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

EV Charging Stations Arrive in Kansas City

Joanna Schroeder

Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have arrived in Kansas City, Missouri. Posty Cards has installed the first publicly available ChargePoint networked charging station in the KC metro area. The ChargePoint stations are the creation of Coulomb Technologies and were installed by Posty Cards as they attempt to have their new headquarters become Platinum LEED Certified. In addition to the new ChargePoint station, the building also features the largest solar panel installation in the KC area, solar heated water, high-efficiency variable volume HVAC, natural lighting with active artificial lighting controls, rain water reclamation for irrigation and flushing toilets, and native plant landscaping. The project, led by Turner Construction Company and McHenry Shaffer Mitchell Architects, is expected to be the first LEED Platinum manufacturing facility in the United States.

“The ChargePoint station is a further example of our commitment to sustainability, and we hope this installation will support and raise awareness that electric vehicles will soon be available throughout Missouri,” said Erick Jessee, President of Posty Cards. “Even better, we are encouraging our employees and the public at large to consider owning electric vehicles as a cleaner, more efficient mode of transportation.”

Although a ChargePoint station is open to the public, you must be a ChargePoint member to actually charge your vehicle. Members are able to track electricity consumption, greenhouse gas emission reductions, locate ChargePoint stations throughout the country as well as receive navigational assistance to these locations. In addition, a user can check station availability from any smart phone or web browser among other features.

Coulomb’s CT2100 ChargePoint charging stations have dual outputs that deliver charge simultaneously. Stations supply both a 7.2 kW Level II output delivering 208 – 240 VAC @ 30 Amps via a standard SAE J1772 connector attached by a fixed 18-foot cable, and a 2 kW Level 1 output delivering 120 VAC @ 16 Amps via a standard NEMA 5-20 receptacle protected behind a locking door.

Electric Vehicles, Electricity, Environment, Solar