New Propane Autogas Website Launches

Joanna Schroeder

There is a new website available for fleet managers who are interested in using propane autogas. The Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program has launched www.usepropaneautogas.com. The program is funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities. The goal of the program is to work with fleet managers interested in converting to a cleaner burning fuel. Today, propane autogas is the third most used transportation fuel globally behind gasoline and diesel.

“We are excited to launch this website, which not only highlights our fleet partners and successes, but also serves as a resource for fleet owners and managers who are looking for unbiased information about propane autogas vehicles and fueling,” said Chelsea Jenkins, director of Virginia Clean Cities, whom is administering the program. “Autogas reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is domestically produced, so autogas fleets can feel good about their fuel choice while reducing their operating and fuel costs.”

Website features include:

·   Propane Autogas for Fleets

·   Fuel Savings Calculator

·   Fueling Station Information

The program, administered by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, in conjunction with Virginia Clean Cities, is hoping to convert more than 1,000 vehicles, both fleet and public, to run on propane. In addition, they plan to install 25 propane autogas fueling stations throughout the Southeast.

“With gasoline prices on a steady rise, there has never been a better time for fleets to learn the bottom-line benefits of clean fuel alternatives like autogas We encourage private businesses and government organizations with vehicle fleets to explore the new site and find out what autogas can do for their fleets,” concluded Jenkins.

Propane

Bay Area Fueler to Offer Local Biodiesel on Earth Day

John Davis

A San Francisco Bay Area biodiesel producer will offer its locally produced green fuel starting this Friday, April 22, Earth Day.

Sirona Fuels says the biodiesel will save consumers more than 25 cents a gallon compared to petroleum diesel, and local businesses that recycle their used cooking oil with Sirona Fuels, 20 percent of the sale price biodiesel goes to The Sirona Cares Foundation, which supports local education programs:

“With diesel prices at an all-time high, consumers and businesses are being crippled,” said Paul Lacourciere, CEO of Sirona Fuels and 20 year veteran of the energy industry. “Used cooking oil is considered a waste stream by many in the restaurant industry and as a local fuel producer we recognize its potential value through its conversion to ultra low-carbon fuel. We pass the saving on to consumers and businesses alike, enabling businesses to lower operating costs and create more local jobs while improving the environment.”

It is estimated that there are 10 million gallons of used cooking oil produced each year in the Bay Area, but less than 10% of that oil goes to the production of sustainable biofuels. Even those who do sell their oil for biodiesel production sell most of it to producers outside of the Bay Area or out of state. The vast majority of the cooking oil that goes into production at the Blue Sky refinery is collected in the Bay Area.

Biodiesel

33% of California Electricity to Come From Renewables

Joanna Schroeder

California has made yet another move for renewable energy. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed S.B.2X. This new law requires 33 percent of all electricity generated in the state to come from renewable resources by 2020. Apparently concerns over the growth of renewable sources in the state mobilized last year under Prop 23 was not a deterrent to increase the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) from 20 percent by 2020 to now 33 percent by 2020. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) applauded California for passage of S.B.2X.

The bill was signed into law at SunPower/Flextronics solar manufacturing plant in Milpitas, Cali. During the event, Brown indicated that he thinks 40 percent renewable energy production is a feasible goal. In his signing comments, Brown said, “This bill will bring many important benefits to California, including stimulating investment in green technologies in the state, creating tens of thousands of new jobs, improving local air quality, promoting energy independence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He continued, “Our state has enormous renewable resource potential. I would like to see us pursue even more far-reaching targets. With the amount of renewable resources coming online, and prices dropping, I think 40 percent, at reasonable cost, is well within our grasp in the near future.”

The bill had some challenges to passage until it received a malleable target in Brown. According to an article in Solar Industry Magazine, S.B.2X was a bill that evolved from S.B.14 that was approved by California’s houses, but vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who did not re-run last year due to term limits. A modified bill – S.B.722- was introduced in December 2010 with strong support, but not enough to pass before the session deadline. The current version, S.B.2X was authored by State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto).

In a press release, Simitian said of his bill, “This bill establishes California as the national leader in the use and development of renewable energy. The new law will stimulate the economy and improve the environment, while protecting ratepayers from excessive costs.”

This new RPS will apply to all electricity retailers in the state including municipal utilities, independent sellers and investor-owned. All of these entities will ramp up their required use with 20 percent of all energy produced from renewables by the end of 2013 and 25 percent by the end of 2016 with the 33 percent requirement being met by the end of 2020.

Electricity, Energy, Legislation, Solar, Wind

Wind Industry Takes Step to Protect Wildlife

Joanna Schroeder

The wind energy industry has joined forces with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to develop a wind energy habitat conservation plan for the Midwest Region. Harm to animals, especially birds, has been a concern of people opposed to wind energy. Today, the group that includes the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), has signed an agreement to develop a plan that will outline measures to conserve threatened and endangered species that may be affected by wind farm developments. In particular, the plan calls for conservation of Indiana bats as well as other protected species in eight states including Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

“I believe this positive step will help the Service proceed on a scientifically sound basis to pursue the conservation of endangered species and facilitate the development of a renewable energy source at the same time,” said Tom Melius, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director.

John Anderson, AWEA’s Director of Siting Policy said, ”It is the industry’s expectation that development of the regional HCP will streamline the permitting process, allowing effective conservation of wildlife and easing the Service’s administrative burden, while also allowing for more wind energy to be deployed nationally. This is a shining example of how industry, the Service, states and other stakeholders can work collaboratively to develop an overall conservation strategy that is in the best interest of the affected species.”

Under the HCP, wind developers will acquire an Incidental Take Permit (“Take” in this instance means harming, harassing or killing endangered or threatened species), which will exempt otherwise lawful activities (i.e., construction and operation of a wind energy facility) from the prohibition of take under the Endangered Species Act. The Service has awarded states in the Service’s Midwest Region an Endangered Species Act grant of $3,362,364 to develop a broadly constructed HCP designed to address the potential impacts of wind energy with the wind industry’s commitment to provide 10 percent of matching funds.

The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit, will lead the strategic conservation work accompanying the HCP.

Electricity, Energy, Environment, Wind

GROWMARK Terminal Provides Homegrown Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

GROWMARK is providing more homegrown fuels for members and area businesses around central Illinois.

GrowmarkThe regional agricultural supply company bought the Menard Terminal from Magellan Midstream Partners in 2008 and today it handles gasoline, diesel, ethanol and biodiesel for FS members within a 120 mile radius, in addition to non-member companies like Casey’s and Thornton’s.

Terminal Manager Pete Nance says their market for renewable fuels continues to grow. “Right now we probably sell between 60-70 percent soy (diesel) and all of the gasoline that goes out is with alcohol,” he said during a recent tour of the facility, which is one of only two that GROWMARK owns.

GrowmarkGROWMARK has expanded into other areas of business besides agriculture to help their member companies continue to have the opportunity to grow. Lincoln Land FS Energy Marketing Manager Scott Long says they provide fuel for construction sites, asphalt companies and other non-agricultural clients to use their equipment and their people as efficiently as possible. “During the farming season we’re really busy, but during the other times of the year we need other income streams to support the farmers,” said Long. “We’ve grown about 70 percent in the last five years and most of that has been on the commercial side.”

Long notes that GROWMARK is one of the largest distributors of biodiesel in the nation and B11, or 11% biodiesel, is their most popular blend, for good reason. “In the state of Illinois, if you use an 11% blend, there’s no sales tax,” he said. “So it’s cost advantageous to the customers and it’s also a pretty good product to use to support our crops industry also.”

Listen to or download back to back interviews with Pete Nance and Scott Long of GROWMARK: Pete Nance and Scott Long

Audio, Biodiesel, GROWMARK

ABO Goes to Washington

Joanna Schroeder

The Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) may be relatively young, having been formed in March of 2006, but they have made some significant strides in Washington, D.C. in lobbying for advanced biofuels such as algae, to play on the same field as cellulosic biofuels. I caught up with Mary Rosenthal, ABO’s executive director after her multi-day trip to D.C. to learn more about their efforts. While in DC, the 26 members met with 51 Congressional leaders from both houses. Compared to last year, Rosenthal said they doubled the amount of meetings and of those they met with, nearly 60 percent had a good base of knowledge about advanced biofuels and specifically algae. However, she noted that there was still some Algae 101 that needed to take place.

While on the ground, the ABO team had three main messages. Maybe the biggest issue is helping algal biofuels achieve parody with cellulosic fuels. Back in 2007, when the Renewable Fuels Standard was passed and since updated (RFS2), algae wasn’t really in the game. As a consequence, Rosenthal and her members are working hard to get algal biofuels included in the advanced biofuels category. In addition, cellulosic fuels currently receive a $1.01 per gallon tax credit but algal biofuels receive no tax credit. Therefore, the organization is lobbying hard to get the same tax credit extended to algae fuels. Bill HR 1149 was introduced in the Congress by Brian Bilbray (R-CA.) and this bill would give algal biofuels the same tax credit. Rosenthal said they expect a companion bill to be introduced in the Senate by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Bill Nelson (D-FL).

“Let’s let innovation led the way. Let’s be technology agnostic and feedstock neutral. Let’s not pick winner’s and losers. Take out the 16 billion carve out for cellulosic and open it up to any type of advanced biofuels including algae,” said Rosenthal.

In addition to these two messages, ABO also spent time reinforcing that the industry is here to create jobs. “We have more than 20,000 jobs either directly or indirectly associated with the algae industry today and we feel we can grow that more than ten-fold in 10 years,” said Rosenthal. She also said an important message was that algae is a new agricultural crop that would help rural economies.

Listen to my interview with Mary Rosenthal here: The Algal Biomass Organization Goes to Washington

I asked Rosenthal how long it would be before we see commercial scale algal biofuel production. While it’s hard to know for sure, Rosenthal is excited about the technology breakthroughs that are happening and she believes we’re about 5 years away. She has the opportunity to see what’s in the pipeline before others and she’s really excited about what’s coming next. Rosenthal participated in BioProcess Algae’s dedication of their Grower Harvester bioreactors on April 15 and she said more major technology breakthrough’s will be announced during their 5th Algae Biomass Summit October 25-27, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minn.

The next step for the group is to continue monitoring HR 1149 and its companion bill and they will also be paying close attention to the upcoming farm bill. She believes that policy makers are now aware of algae and open to its benefits and as a result, anticipates that algae will be included in energy and agricultural policy moving forward.

advanced biofuels, algae, Audio, Legislation

Ag Will Have a Role in Growing Alt Energy

Joanna Schroeder

Recently, Dr. Richard Newell from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) testified during a Senate Ag Committee Hearing to discuss high gas prices and the role agriculture may play in developing energy sources for America. Newell believes that agriculture could have a very prominent role in the country’s energy production over the next 20 years.

“Starting with a high level overview of the linkages with agriculture and energy, EIA estimates that energy use on farms accounts for about 1 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. In addition to direct farm use energy, agriculture is indirectly affected by energy requirements in the fertilizer industry. Agriculture has also current and potential future role as an energy supplier,” said Newell in his testimony. “Ethanol use in motor vehicles as grown from 1.7 billion gallons per year in 2001 to an estimated 13.2 billion gallons per year in 2010. Other important energy supply opportunities for agriculture include biodiesel, energy sources from waste, and the siting of wind farms on farms with attractive wind resources.”

Listen to Dr. Richard Newell’s testimony here: Dr. Richard Newell's Testimony to the Senate Ag Committee

Newell said that the EIA expects continued tightening in world oil markets over the next two years. particular in light of recent events in North Africa and the Middle East, the world’s largest oil producing region. The organization’s forecast, issued in March, projects retail gasoline prices at the pump will average $3.77 per gallon this summer and $3.56 per gallon for the entire year. This is about 77 cents per gallon higher than last year’s level. Highway diesel prices are expected to be nearly $1.00 per gallon higher than in 2010. This month the EIA issued an updated forecast and called for a 40 percent increase in pump prices this summer.

During his testimony, Newell cautioned that there are regional price variations as well as significant uncertainties in these forecasts. He then went on to forecast what role his agency thinks ethanol might play in the coming years.

“While ethanol production has grown nearly eight fold since 2001, EIA expects slow growth in ethanol production over the next two years with forecast production of 13.8 billion gallons in 2011 and 14 billion gallons in 2012, about 9.9 percent of the forecast volume of gasoline sales in those years,” said Newell.

Although the EPA has granted waivers for the use of E15 in vehicles model year 2011 and newer, the EIA expects both slow growth in E15 and also E85 (as explained in detail in his written testimony). In conclusion, the EIA expects biofuels to grow to 24 billion gallons of ethanol equivalent by 2022 and 39 billion gallons in 2035.

Agribusiness, Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, Wind

BioProcess Algae Dedicates Grower Harvester Bioreactors

Joanna Schroeder

On Friday April 15, BioProcess Algae, dedicated its Grower Harvester bioreactors signaling the final phase of construction for its commercial scale algae biorefinery. On hand for the event in Shenandoah, Iowa, were USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack along with Green Plains Renewable Energy (GRPE) CEO Todd Becker and Mary Rosenthal, the executive director of the Algal Biomass Association. After touring the biorefinery, Vilsack delivered the keynote address to a standing room only crowd, despite the cold and raining Iowa weather.

The BioProcess Algae technology is unique in several ways; one in that it is sited next to a first generation corn-ethanol plant owned by GPRE. The algae plant utilizes the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the ethanol process to grow the algae. The plant also utilizes the waste heat and waste water from the ethanol plant, creating in essence, one symbiotic biorefinery that will produce biofuels, feed and fiber.

Tim Burns, CEO of BioProcess Algae said during his presentation that they couldn’t have a better partnership in GPRE. He also said that in terms of co-location, he sees the modern day future in farms. “When you fly over Iowa 10 or 15 years from now, you’re going to see corn and soy but you’re going to see concentric circles of algae farms taking the

“This is going to become the big source for feed and fuel for our country and its also going to have a trajectory, in our opinion, similar to the ethanol industry.” Burns believes that the costs to produce algal biofuels will lower dramatically as more and more technologies come to market just as they have with corn-ethanol production over the past 30 plus years.

The first concentric circle of algae will be located right in Shenandoah. “The next step for us is to take our commercial scale reactors and build out an algae farm at our ethanol plant in Shenandoah, which can provide inputs needed for feed, food and next generation algae-based fuels,” said Todd Becker, CEO of GPRE. “The co-location at an ethanol plant has proven to be the right platform to rapidly commercialize the technology.”

As Vilsack and Burns “cut the ribbon,” simultaneously the Grower Harvester bioreactors lit up in the background. With Phase II officially under way, Burns believes commercial scale algae fuels production is less than 2 years away.

You can see photos from the event in my Flickr Photo Album.

algae, biofuels, corn, Ethanol, USDA

Book Review – The Biochar Solution

Joanna Schroeder

Can biochar singlehandedly save the world from all of its carbon dioxide, global warming woes? Well, the jury is still out but there may be some potential. This I learned from reading the book, “The Biochar Solution: Climate Farming and Climate Change,” by Albert Bates. First, I should explain what biochar is. Biochar is charcoal, a cellulosic material that has been pyrolyzed (to pyrolyze something you burn it a low oxygen environment, such as a kiln, burning off everything but the carbon). The resulting charcoal is black and largely devoid of any nutritional value, yet it can be burned in a high oxygen environment without producing much smoke. These attributes make it a good option for burning in cooking stoves.

But Bates believes the real value of biochar lies in that it has a unique ability to condition soil. Bates explains that if it is turned in a nutrient pile and then tilled into the ground, it immediately becomes colonized by soil microbes. These microbes attract fungi, which connect to the roots of the plants, carrying nutrients to the place they are most needed. Biochar is also a water solution – it provides a reservoir and conduit for soil moisture, soaking up water from oversaturated areas and moving it to dyer areas (it can also be used to purify water). Bates says that one gram of charcoal has the surface area of one small house, or 1,000 to 2,500 square meters, because of all its micropores. In terms of soil health, after several years, biochar helps soil return to its natural state and eliminates the need for inputs such as nitrogen or phosphorous – another major environmental benefit.

There is also a connection between biochar and biofuels. When converting biomass to biofuels, not all of the biomass is consumed. At this point, the remaining biomass can be burned and turned into biochar and then the biochar can be tilled into the biomass fields to aid in soil sustainability. In this example, biochar becomes both a biofuels and agriculture solution.

There are several views of biochar one being those who truly believe that biochar alone can reduce CO2 emissions faster and more completely than any other solution.Read More

biofuels, book reviews, Environment, water

Abengoa Secures Biomass for Cellulosic Plant

Joanna Schroeder

Build the plant and the biomass will come. Abengoa has announced that they have signed contracts with several biomass producers farming in and around Hugoton, Kansas, to provide 315,000 tons of cellulosic biomass by the end of 2011. Construction of the biorefinery is scheduled for this summer and expected to be fully operational sometime in 2013. Once in production, the plant will utilize 315,000 tons of biomass each year to produce 25 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol. The plant will also produce 25 megawatts of electricity, enough to power the ethanol conversion process. Once complete, the biorefinery will be Abengoa’s first second-generation facility and seventh bioethanol facility in the U.S., bringing the company’s total U.S. biofuel production to more than 400 million gallons.

Abengoa recognized early in the process that the company would need to ensure a steady stream of biomass in order for the plant to produce the maximum amount of biofuels each year. Therefore, they ensured the necessary amount of feedstocks would be available taking several issues into account.

First, they needed to determine that adequate amounts of biomass were available within an economical transportation distance of the projected facility site. In addition, they needed to make sure that the biomass supply would be available during normal fluctuations of weather and different growing conditions. Second, they needed to ensure that the biomass could be harvested in a sustainable manner over the projected lifetime of the project. Third, they needed to work with the local producers to ensure that the biomass harvest would meet expectations in terms of quantity, quality and cost.

Abengoa will accept the bounty of the first biomass harvest this fall and will continue to accept biomass through the summer and fall of 2012. During the past three years, the company conducted various tests to determine best practices for harvesting the biomass in a sustainable manner that meets or exceeds Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) minimum standards. These are aimed at preventing soil erosion and protecting soil health. Also during the testing phase, the company evaluated the best methods for storage, transportation and harvesting of the biomass.

biofuels, biomass, Cellulosic, Ethanol