Protec Fuel Opens Three E85 Sites in Atlanta

Cindy Zimmerman

Protec Fuel along with Indore Oil Company announce the opening of three new E85 sites in the Atlanta, Georgia vicinity. The three facilities will assist in fueling the nearly 25,000 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the area.

Indore Oil partnered with Protec Fuel to offer E85 through the group’s turnkey E85 infrastructure program. “Over the past three years we at Indore Oil Company have been working in concert with Protec Fuel to give customers in the Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas the option of having E85 as a renewable fuel source for their flexible fuel vehicles,” said Mihir Patel, General Manager of Indore Oil Company. “The relationship with Protec and the people that make everything possible within the company such as Steve Walk are wonderful and a joy to work with. It is a pleasure and fulfilling to think we are working together to provide a renewable source of fuel that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oils and help the environment at the same time.”

“Protec Fuel has been working with Indore Oil for several years starting with the opening of the very first public E85 station in the metro Atlanta area,” said Executive Director of Protec Fuel, Steve Walk. “I am excited to see how our relationship has grown to having over a dozen successful E85 outlets throughout the city allowing customers the option to fuel their respective vehicles with clean, alternative fuel, at a discounted price to gasoline. It has been Protec’s unique teaming network with Indore Oil, Testing LLC, GM and many others, that make all these stations a long term success.”

The new E85 Chevron stations are located in Sandy Springs, Lithia Springs and Newnan, Georgia.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Happy New Year Survey Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

The new year is starting off a little greener for the latest winner in our ZimmComm publication survey drawing.

The winner for December is Michelle Stahlhut, an Agwired reader and crop farmer from Indiana. Michelle actually filled out her survey in November and since we put all the entries back in the pot for the next month, she was the lucky pick today and will be receiving a check for $250 from us.

Here are a few interesting notes about our Domestic Fuel readers that we have learned so far from the survey:

Occupation –
14% Existing Biofuels Producer
10% Consultant
14% Advertising/Marketing/PR
7% Consumer/General Public

Topics of most interest –
84% Ethanol
60% Biodiesel
34% Wind
34% Natural Gas
33% Solar

What you would like to see more coverage about?
Mostly policy issues, also next generation biofuels and feedstocks, E85 and blender pumps.

The survey continues through January, so please fill it out before the end of the month, if you haven’t done so yet. All entries received so far will be entered to win in the last drawing for $250, which will be held on February 1.

Domestic Fuel Survey

Company Announcement

CAFOs Could Commercialize Algae Biofuels

John Davis

Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) could be the key for algae-to-biofuel operations becoming commercial-scale… that according to Thomas Byrne, president and CEO of Byrne & Company LLP, a renewable energy project developer.

This article from Biorefining Magazine says the potential is greatest in northern climates, where anaerobic digesters that use microbes to break down the organic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous into inorganic forms… usable by algae:

“The methane produced by the anaerobic microbes is burned in a generator to produce an export of electricity and also waste heat that can be utilized to raise algae year-round,” Byrne says. “Bioreactors to grow algal species are well suited to take both the inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous from the digester, as well as the waste heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the generator, to produce ideal inputs for algal growth.”

While the idea of co-locating an algal biomass growing facility with an established CAFO is a very real possibility, Byrne notes that the amount of algae grown for commercialization on a CAFO is limited by the availability of the CO2, nitrogen and phosphorus. “The limitations are both from what the CAFO produces, and what is needed from other operations of the CAFO.” Some bioreactor technology, like that of Algaedyne’s, which uses a process that controls photosynthesis by injecting only Photosynthetic Active Radiation into the depth of algae vessels, would make the process more feasible.

Byrne will be talking about the feasibility of a CAFO and algal biomass operation at the 2011 Pacific West Biomass Conference & Trade Show, Jan. 10-12 in Seattle.

algae, biofuels, conferences

Gene Opens Up More Potential Biomass for Biofuels

John Davis

Researchers in Oklahoma have discovered the gene responsible for how dense of material a plant grows, and that discovery could open the door to more biomass for biofuels grown in the same amount of land.

This press release from the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation says making denser plants allows farmers to increase the amount of biomass without increasing their agricultural footprint:

“This is a significant breakthrough for those developing improved plants to address pressing societal needs,” said Richard Dixon, D. Phil., director of the Noble Foundation’s Plant Biology Division. “This discovery opens up new possibilities for harnessing and increasing the potential of crops by expanding their ranges of use. These plants will be part of the next generation of agriculture which not only impacts food, but many other vital industries as well.”

Huanzhong Wang, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Dixon’s lab, found a gene that controls the production of lignin in the central portions of the stems of Arabidopsis and Medicago truncatula, species commonly used as models for the study of plant genetic processes. Lignin is a compound that helps provide strength to plant cell walls, basically giving the plant the ability to stand upright. When the newly discovered gene is removed, there is a dramatic increase in the production of biomass, including lignin, throughout the stem.

Research targeting plants that are grazed by animals has historically focused on reducing lignin production within the plant. However, increasing lignin in non-food crops, such as switchgrass, may be desirable for increasing the density of the biomass and producing more feedstock per plant and, therefore, more per acre.

“In switchgrass, as the plant matures, the stem becomes hollow like bamboo,” Dixon said. “Imagine if you use this discovery to fill that hollow portion with lignin. The potential increase in biomass in these new plants could be dramatic. This technology could make plants better suited to serve as renewable energy sources or as renewable feedstocks to produce advanced composite materials that consumers depend on every day.”

Research with the University of Georgia has also shown that removing that gene can increase the cellulosic ethanol and butanol potentials of a plant. Officials say the overall discovery is a significant breakthrough that will help redefine the research.

biofuels, biomass, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Joanna’s Best Books of 2010

Joanna Schroeder

There are a few things I have learned over the last two years of reviewing books. First, no matter how much you “dislike”, or disagree with an author, you always learn something from him or her  – always. Second, there are always two sides to every story and we all need to do a better job of learning more about both sides.

With those thoughts, now onto the real purpose of this blog: my top books of 2010.

Best Economic Book: The Economics of Food by Patrick Westhoff

Best Environmental Book: Green Gone Wrong by Heather Rogers

Best Energy Book: The End of Energy Obesity by Peter Tertzakian

Best Global Warming Conspiracy Book: Energy & Climate Wars by Peter C. Glover and Michael Economides

Most Fun to Read: No Impact Man by Colin Beavan

Best Book of 2010: The Boy who Harnessed the Wind: by William Kamkwanba

If you have an idea for a book that you would like me to review in 2011, please send me an email at altenergyblogger@hotmail.com. Happy Holidays, thanks for reading DomesticFuel and may 2011 bring you much health and happiness.

biofuels, book reviews, Energy, Environment, Opinion

Best of 2010 on Domestic Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

2010 was a year of ups and downs for the domestic renewable energy industry, which kept your Domestic Fuel reporters busy.

One of the ups was traffic here on Domestic Fuel. We had a total of more than 315,000 unique visitors in 2010, up 17 percent from 2009. Your reporters did 1537 posts this year, including 160 with audio interviews, podcasts and recorded press conferences. The most listened to Domestic Fuel podcast was the reaction of the various biofuels groups to the release of the RFS2 in February.

Among the top YouTube videos posted here on Domestic Fuel were the General Motors Executive speech at the National Ethanol Conference, President Obama visiting a Missouri POET plant and Green Floyd at NEC.

According to page views, the most popular stories of the year on Domestic Fuel were:

New Fuel Economy Standards may Benefit Ethanol
Sea Green Projects Accelerates Algae for Aviation
USDA Experts Say Ethanol Blend Wall is Close
Petra Solar Mounts Panels on NJ Utility Poles
Cellulosic Breakthrough Announced at Ethanol Conference
Camelina to Produce 1 billion gallons of Biodiesel by 2025
EPA Says Sugarcane Ethanol is Advanced Biofuel

Thanks to our readers, our sponsors and clients, our freelancers and other friends for making 2010 great! Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

Company Announcement

East Coast Blizzard Slams Biodiesel, Too

John Davis

Two feet of snow in New York City (By the way, see the New Era Pinstripe Bowl from a frozen Yankee stadium? Imagine what might happen in the 2014 Super Bowl in the Big Apple. But I digress…) has not only made it tough on the folks in that city, but it’s also giving biodiesel makers and distributors in the area fits.

Biodiesel Magazine reports that the snow has caused travel issues for rail transport, the main method of getting biodiesel into the city:

According to Daniel Falcone, northeast wholesale manager for Ultra Green Energy Services LLC, most biodiesel entering the New York metro market is currently transported via rail.

The New York biodiesel market is still maturing, Falcone said, which means there is not a lot of product storage available locally. To keep the supply of biodiesel moving to customers, it is important to ensure that the supply is reliably entering the market. “With snowstorms like this, it affects the rail by freezing switches and burying lines so that you’re railcars can’t come in,” Falcone continued. “We were fortunate,” he said, “because we had just received a shipment of biodiesel, which meant that we were able to store more product prior to the storm. We were just lucky enough where the rail made the switch so that we had additional bio stored for at least a week or two worth of sales,” Falcone said.

He said the biodiesel market in New York City will continue to mature as the city works to implement its pending B2 mandate for home heating oil. This means that more biodiesel will be entering the market, and significantly more storage and blending capacity will be brought online. This should translate into a more extensive supply chain that is less susceptible to weather-related incidents.

Further south, North Carolina got a lot less snow, but the article says it hit the biodiesel industry even harder. Piedmont Biofuels faced real challenges in collecting waste grease that it turns into the green fuel.

But my friends at METRO Energy in New York did post this Facebook message at the height of the storm: “METRO wants you to know that even though you would expect to see polar bears and snowmen outside, you can also depending on seeing METRO trucks out on the road.” Maybe some just persevered a little bit more in the face of adversity. Typical of those biodiesel makers, isn’t it?

Biodiesel

Start the New Year with Extra Green

Cindy Zimmerman

Today is the last day of 2010 and the last chance to enter and win $250 in the ZimmComm web publication survey contest this month.

Filling out the survey allows you to have a voice in what we cover here on Domestic Fuel in 2011, and the chance to start the new year with a little extra green in your pocket. After we ring in the new year, we will be taking the names of everyone who has filled out an on-line survey in the past two months and putting them all in the hat to draw one winner for the month of December. Everyone, that is, except our lucky winner from last month Jamie Wilson with the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan. She already got her $250.

Right now you have about a 1-500 chance of winning – not bad odds at all! Start out the new year right – with an extra $250 in your pocket – or at least the satisfaction of helping to make Domestic Fuel the best renewable energy news source it can be!

Domestic Fuel survey link

Company Announcement

REG Biodiesel Named “Commercial-Scale Technology of the Year”

John Davis

Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group (REG) has been named the biofuels industry’s “Commercial-Scale Technology of the Year” by Biofuels Digest.

REG’s ability to acquire refineries and feedstocks helped the company garner the award:

According to the announcement, “Renewable Energy Group was honored for its novel continuous-flow, multi-feedstock processing technology that has allowed the company to pioneer the acquisition of a wide variety of hard-to-process, low-cost feedstocks such as tallows and yellow grease.”

“Renewable Energy Group’s fully-integrated procurement, production, technology, service and marketing platform allowed us to incorporate new facilities to more efficiently produce large volumes of ASTM-specification exceeding biodiesel,” explained Brad Albin, Vice President, Manufacturing for Ames, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group. “Our commitment to redefining quality is key in our commercial-scale biodiesel operations.”

This past year was a particularly good one for REG, as it picked six businesses including three production-stage, commercial-scale biodiesel plants and one facility under construction.

“We continue to explore additional opportunities for mergers, acquisitions, consolidations and partnerships in order to actively expand our technology and patent portfolio and meet customer demand,” said Keith Olson, Executive Director, Corporate Finance and Investment Banking for Renewable Energy Group.

Among the many other winners in the annual Biofuels Digest awards was algae-to-biofuel developer Solazyme.

Biodiesel

Ethanol Report on 2010

Cindy Zimmerman

As the champagne corks pop this New Year’s Eve, the ethanol industry will be celebrating more than they were a year ago.

Ethanol Report PodcastIn this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about the year that 2010 was for the ethanol industry. “In many ways, 2010 was a record setting year,” Dinneen says. It was record setting for production, at about 13 billion gallons, and for exports. It also was the year that ethanol ran into the blend wall, and that EPA approved at least limited use of up to 15 percent ethanol in regular gasoline. But, the high note was the extension of the blenders tax credit for ethanol during the lame duck session of Congress, a priority for the industry that now provides for a year’s worth of breathing room to move on to the next level.

Listen to the Ethanol Report here: Ethanol Report on 2010

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA