Mercedes-Benz Calls for More Hydrogen Infrastructure

John Davis

German auto maker Mercedes-Benz says governments and utility companies need to invest more in hydrogen infrastructure in order to help get use of fuel cells in cars.

The Detroit News says the company made the pitch during the North American International Auto Show and said it soon put 70 fuel-cell powered B-class vehicles on the road soon in California and is promoting an around-the-world tour by fuel-cell B Class:

Mercedes said fuel cell cars are now at the same stage of development as early internal combustion engines in the late nineteenth century, when drivers had to buy gasoline from drug stores.

If fuel cells are to succeed, they first need a ready supply of hydrogen, Mercedes said.

The fuel-cell B class has a range of 200 miles on one tank of fuel, and takes about three minutes to refill, if you could find a hydrogen filling station.

After making the pitch, the company unveiled an electric version of its gull-wing, two-seater roadster.

Car Makers, Hydrogen

Energy Innovation to Open Toronto Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

A Canadian company has plans to open a biodiesel plant in Toronto.

This article from TheProvince.com says Energy Innovation Corp. will make the fuel, as well as animal feed and human food from flax seed without creating any waste:

“The demand is actually 10 times more than we think we’ll be able to supply over the next 16 to 18 months,” said 27-year-old CEO Jon Dwyer.

A federal mandate will require two-per-cent renewable content in all diesel fuel in 2011. Dwyer’scompany plans to make up to 10 million litres of biodiesel annually at its Toronto plant.

Dwyer plans to open at least eight more plants in Ontario over the next three years.

Biodiesel, International

Best of America Tour Visits Cali Ethanol Symposium

Joanna Schroeder

Last week EcoTrek’s “Best of America Tour” kicked off at the Pier of Santa Monica. On Friday, January 14th, the EcoTrek truck made a tour stop at the California Ethanol Symposium. I had the chance to check out the EcoTrek truck and spend some time with Tom Holm the Executive Director of the EcoTrek Foundation and the creator of the Best of America Tour.

Holm said he had an idea to build an American made vehicle and accessorize it with American made parts. He explained that not only does this show patriotism, but also demonstrates the environmental impact of shipping products into America – it increases pollution and fossil fuel use while American made products reduces these issues. The truck features tires made from “clean” oil, faux leather from recycled plastics, the doors will be made from a corn product, and more. And the fuel that the truck will be powered with is E85 cellulosic ethanol produced from corn cobs and light stover provided by POET who is in the process of building the first commercial corn corn and stover cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa known as Project Liberty.

“We’re taking an American-made pickup truck, outfitting it with American-made accessories and powering it with American-made advanced cellulosic fuels in order to emphasize our ability to be gentler to the environment, while bolstering American’s economy, national security, and independence from foreign oil,” said Holm.

The tour will visit consumers, organizations, and politicians across the country during the next two months and along the way will stop and participate in preservation projects. In fact, today, the tour made a stop in Sacramento where they met with several environmental organizations to discuss renewable energy and along the way stopped at a Propel Fuels’ station for a quick consumer promotion.

“Propel, EcoTrek, and POET each represent critical pieces to reducing our dependence on petroleum; widespread consumer access, advanced vehicle technologies, and the next generation of renewable fuels,” said Matt Horton, CEO of Propel Fuels. “Today we’re getting a preview of ultra-low carbon fuels from non-food sources, representing the next level of sustainability for fuels that can run in our vehicles today.”

You can follow along the tour by visiting www.ecotrek.com. You can view photos from my flickr California Ethanol Symposium photo album here.

Cellulosic, E85, Education, Ethanol

Mastic Named CEO of National Wind

Joanna Schroeder

Last Fall, National Wind named Peter Mastic President and Chief Development Officer. Now the company has named him CEO. He is now responsible for the company’s strategic planning, operations management, wind farm development, project finance, and overseeing all company employees. Mastic is replacing Leon Steinberg who had been the CEO since 2007 and is staying on as Executive Vice President during the transition period and will remain on the Board of Directors.

“Peter joined National Wind three months ago following a national search I initiated and led earlier in the year,” said Steinberg. “Since joining us, Peter has demonstrated a masterful ability to deal with the challenges of the wind industry, and I feel comfortable transitioning out of this role knowing the company is in good hands. His proven success in developing large-scale wind projects across the country will enable National Wind to reach its full potential moving forward.”

Mastic added, “I am pleased to be taking the lead of National Wind at a pivotal point in its progress. As a utility-scale community-based wind developer, National Wind is unique in the industry and is well positioned to adapt successfully to future challenges and opportunities.”

Company Announcement, Wind

RFA Says Ethanol Tariff Meets WTO Guidelines

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association is confident that U.S. ethanol trade policy conforms with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations.

Renewable Fuels AssociationIn response to recent comments by senators about the legality of the ethanol tariff, RFA Legislative Counsel Ed Hubbard authored an explanation on the E-xchange blog. According to Hubbard, the market-based structure of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the secondary tariff designed to offset tax benefits received by foreign imports of the fuel, precludes any claim or challenge to the U.S. ethanol program under the WTO.

In any WTO dispute settlement proceeding, the central point is who receives the financial contribution or subsidy. Because the recipient of the VEETC is the downstream blender, it would be very difficult for a complaining country to establish that their domestic industry is being adversely impacted by the U.S. tax incentive. Moreover, it would be nearly impossible to show that the complaining country’s industry was being sufficiently prejudiced by policy. Such a showing is required under WTO regulations.

Hubbard further explains that the secondary tariff is not a subsidy since it goes to the U.S. treasury, not ethanol producers. He notes that the secondary tariff is necessary to ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not subsidizing foreign ethanol producers and has been properly notified and scheduled according to WTO procedures.

Read the full post here.

*POST UPDATE*
Formally responding to comments made by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) that current ethanol tax and trade policies were illegal under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today (1/18) sent a letter to each senator explaining why the tax incentive (VEETC) and the offsetting secondary tariff are WTO compliant.

“While agreeing to disagree about the efficacy of the ethanol tax incentives, I respectfully submit that your assessment of the policies’ compliance with WTO strictures is simply incorrect and not supported by any reasoned analysis or WTO precedent. We strongly disagree that this or any other part of the U.S. ethanol program is contrary to the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (“SCM Agreement”) or any other WTO regulation,” wrote RFA President Bob Dinneen.

Read more here.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, International, RFA

Georgia Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Closing

Cindy Zimmerman

Range FuelsA lack of investment capitol is taking its toll on a Georgia cellulosic ethanol plant.

According to media reports, the Range Fuels plant in Soperton will temporarily shut down after producing a small quantity of cellulosic ethanol. Range Fuels just announced in August 2010 the successful production of cellulosic methanol using non-food biomass at a Georgia biofuels plant in the first phase of an operation to ultimately produce next generation ethanol.

The Colorado-based company received the first ever loan guarantee for a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant from USDA almost exactly two years ago and a grant from the Department of Energy in 2008 with plans to produce cellulosic biofuel from wood chips. The company has received over 300 million dollars in funding since breaking ground for the plant in 2007, but have not been able to get enough money to expand the facility for commercial production. There are also reportedly some “technical problems” with the plant.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

LA Water & Power Gets 20% of Power from Alternatives

John Davis

Los Angeles, California officials have announced the city’s Department of Water and Power has generated 20 percent of its power from wind, solar and geothermal sources.

This story from the LA Daily News says it put the city well ahead of its and state renewable energy goals:

“This is a big deal,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference with environmental leaders. “When we set this goal in 2005, the DWP was the dirtiest utility in the nation. Today, it’s the cleanest and we have been able to do it at a cost lower than any other utility in California.”

In 2005, the Department of Water and Power generated roughly 5 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Last year, however, that surged to a high of 28 percent for a short time.

The key to achieving the goal, officials said, was the development of the Pine Tree Wind Farm in Mojave and the purchase of the Milford Wind Farm in Utah.

Wind power accounted for 47 percent of the renewable power, small hydro-electric was 20 percent, geothermal was 22 percent and solar was 1 percent. The mayor said the city hopes solar will provide more of the renewable energy in future years. The amount of renewable power generated by the DWP is 4,500 gigawatt hours, the level needed to power 750,000 homes. That reduces carbon dioxide by 2.5 million metric tons, the equivalent of taking 490,000 cars off the road.

The city was able to hit this goal ahead of other utilities in the area.

Government, Solar, Wind

American Idol Kicks Off 10th Season with Biodiesel Bus

John Davis

The wildly popular American Idol TV show will kick off its 10th season on FOX-TV by launching a month-long, 16-city tour dubbed the “Idol Across America Mobile Experience,” powered by a bus running on biodiesel.

The Diesel Technology Forum says the tour will feature Idol memorabilia, including framed platinum records, a Ryan Seacrest suit, Carrie Underwood’s finale dress and David Cook’s guitar, and will begin on January 19th, the same day the show premieres its new season on FOX:

“By choosing a clean diesel bus fueled with biodiesel fuel, American Idol made an excellent choice toward being environmentally-friendly while still having the power and fuel-efficiency needed to complete this grueling, four-week, 16-city national tour that ranges across the entire United States,” said Allen Schaeffer, the Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum.

“Diesel has long been the power of choice behind America’s motor coach industry. Unlike other alternative fuels, advanced clean diesel engines using home-grown quality biodiesel fuels can serve every community throughout the country. Diesel power is the American Idol of clean energy.”

Now you’ll have reason to tune in past the bad auditions (let’s be honest … that’s really our favorite part, right?).

Biodiesel

Biodiesel Processor in 50th School

John Davis

The maker of a biodiesel processor intended to turn waste grease and other feedstocks into the green fuel has announced one of its processor is now in its 50th school.

This press release from California-based Springboard Biodiesel says that Arkansas State University is the latest college and school system in the U.S. that has installed one of their systems … in this case, the BioPro 190, a fully-automated machine that converts 50 gallons of vegetable or animal oil into ASTM-grade biodiesel for less than $1 a gallon:

Announcing this milestone, Springboard Biodiesel’s CEO Mark Roberts explained, “Now, more than ever, universities, colleges and high school systems across the US are looking for ways to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. Making biodiesel out of cooking oil collected from a school’s cafeterias and restaurants gives any college, university or high school system the opportunity to make ASTM-grade biodiesel in a fully-automated machine, for only $0.95 cents a gallon.” Roberts added: “From a budget perspective, that’s compelling. But many of these same institutions are striving to reduce their campus greenhouse gas emissions and by converting waste cooking oil into a fuel that burns up to 90% cleaner than regular diesel, BioPro™ biodiesel production is an immediate and effective way to help institutions meet their goals.”

“Safety was a very important consideration when we chose to purchase a BioPro™,” said Dr. Kevin Humphrey, The Director for Agricultural Education at Arkansas State University. “After all, students are the ones who will be working with this equipment, so we are obviously very safety conscious.” He added, “When you take into account the automation and the rugged construction of the BioPro™, then you know that safety was an important factor in its design.”

The school plans to use oils from soybeans, canola and camelina grown on the university’s research farm, as well as waste cooking oils from the college’s cafeterias, to make biodiesel to be used in the university’s tractors, trucks and diesel irrigation motors.

Biodiesel

Branstad to Address Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

John Davis

He’s soon-to-be the new leader of the state that is certainly a leader in biodiesel and ethanol, so it only makes sense that incoming Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will address the 5th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on January 25th.

“This will not be the first Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit that Gov. Branstad has attended,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Before, he attended as an investor in Iowa renewable fuels refineries. Now as Governor, we’re excited to hear his vision for enhancing Iowa’s status as a leader in renewable fuels production and public policy.”

Governor-Elect Branstad is scheduled to address the Summit at 10:00 a.m. Other speakers include NASCAR Champion Rusty Wallace and Renewable Fuels Association’s Bob Dinneen. Program highlights for this year’s Summit include, “E15: Bringing More Fuel Choices to Iowa,” “Iowa Biodiesel Resurgence,” and “Advanced Biofuels – A Turing Point for Renewable Energy.”

The IRFA points out that Iowa has 41 ethanol refineries able to produce nearly 3.7 billion gallons annually and 12 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 315 million gallons each year.

The free summit and trade show will be held at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines. Pre-register online at www.IowaRFA.org.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, News