Biodiesel, Ethanol Maker Signs ex-Oil Exec to Board

John Davis

A company that is producing ethanol and biodiesel from non-food cellulosic wastes has welcomed a former oil industry executive to its board of directors.

BlueFire Renewables, Inc. announced that Joe Sparano, a former President and, subsequently, Executive Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), as well as former president of Tesoro Petroleum’s West Coast Regional Business Unit, joined the California-based renewable fuels maker:

“We are excited to have Joe Sparano serve on our Board of Directors,” stated Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. “Having a well-respected petroleum industry executive, such as Joe, agree to join our board provides BlueFire with strategic guidance as we seek to embark on new projects and solidify new and existing partnerships.”

“I am very pleased to join the BlueFire Renewables board and view it as an excellent opportunity,” said Sparano. “The Company has achieved major milestones over the last twelve months and has positioned itself as aleader in the biofuels space. I look forward to assisting in the future success of BlueFire Renewables.”

Sparano is retiring from WSPA at the end of March, after completing a fifteen month term as Executive Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of theAssociation, where he advised the Chairman and supported WSPA’s President on matters related to the trade organization’s operations and advocacy in six Western states – California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

Sparano has held several positions with several different petroleum companies, including Exxon.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Kyocera Installs 2 Solar Systems at Phoenix Schools

Joanna Schroeder

Kyocera Solar has completed the installation of solar electric systems in two Phoenix, Arizona schools: Copper Ridge in Scottsdale and Cholla Elementary in Casa Grande. The solar arrays were installed in partnership with SolarCity and featured Kyocera solar modules. Combined, the two solar systems will produce 764 kilowatts (kW) of electricity.

The Copper Ridge School’s solar system is comprised of 2,387 Kyocera KD210 modules creating 500 kW of power. This is expected to produce 775,992 Kilowatt hours (kWh) each year and offset approximately 47 percent of the school’s energy usage. The school was able to add solar power in part through a solar service agreement (SSA) which helps to offset some of the initial costs of the system, while still being able to reap immediate cost savings to their electricity bills.

The Cholla Elementary School’s solar system is a 264 kW comprised of 1,260 panels. Their system is expected to generate 364,000 kWh each year offsetting 70 percent of the school’s energy use. The Casa Grande School District recently adopted an Energy and Water Conservation Plan, outlining energy-saving guidelines that included efforts for construction projects to follow LEED-certification processes. Their local utility company Arizona Public Service also provided a rebate to offset their solar installation costs.

“Solar energy provides a financially viable solution to offset rising electricity costs,” said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc. “It is most gratifying for Kyocera to participate in this growing trend among academic institutions to convert to solar power — the Copper Ridge and Cholla projects, and the recent 806kW installation at Sedona Red Rock High School, represent the opportunity to promote sustainable alternatives — and to work with partners such as SolarCity who make it a viable energy solution.”

Electricity, Energy, Solar

Propel Fuels Hosts USDA’s Judith Canales

Joanna Schroeder

Propel Fuels hosted Judith Canales, Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), yesterday at one of the fuel retailer’s stations in Oakland, California yesterday to promote the positive and economic and environmental impacts biofuels has on the US. Propel is the leading retailer in the US installing biofuel infrastructure for both ethanol and biodiesel to the 20 million renewable fuel-ready vehicles (with approximately 1 million on the roads in California) on America’s roads today. However, the majority of flex-fuel vehicle drivers don’t have access to the fuel.

Canales’ visit highlights the USDA’s plan to fund the build-out of 10,000 renewable fuel pumps across the nation in the next five years, and the industry anticipates that announcements are forthcoming within the next few weeks as to selected retailers that will receive initial funds to help them install E85 pumps and blender pumps across the country.

“Propel shares the USDA’s vision for quickly increasing consumer access to renewable fuels in order to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, boost local economies, and reduce emissions,” said Jim Iacoponi, Vice President of Operations of Propel. “Through a partnership between private investment and public funds, Propel will continue to build the critical link between California’s drivers and the next generation of fuels.”

In late 2010, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the USDA’s plan to help fund the installation of 10,000 renewable fuel pumps across the nation within the next five years. This plan, along with other departmental efforts, aim to support the further development of the domestic renewable fuels industry, creating jobs and economic growth, primarily in rural America, but to the benefit of all of America. The USDA is looking to partner with private sector infrastructure providers in order to quickly and efficiently roll out the 10,000-pump plan in coming years.

“The USDA is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America and we believe a strong renewable fuels industry, including convenient access to these fuels, is critical to this goal,” said Canales.

Propel’s stations are frequented by California’s greenest fleets including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) who showcased vehicles at today’s event. In addition to infrastructure, Propel’s education and outreach programs empower consumers and fleets to make the move to renewable fuels. Adoption of these fuels can provide immediate and significant CO2 reductions helping achieve California’s ambitious emission reduction goals.

Biodiesel, biofuels, blends, E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles

Novus Int’l Installs EV Charging Stations

Joanna Schroeder

Agri-business company Novus International has installed three electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its St. Charles, Missouri headquarters. The ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations were developed by Coulomb Technologies. Novus installed the charging stations as part of its efforts to become a Platinum LEED Certified building, a green environmental building designation. It is the fourth building in Missouri and one of only 150 in the entire United States to achieve this distinction. The ChargePoint stations will be used for workplace, customer and visitor parking. Sales and installation of the ChargePoint stations was completed by Lilypad EV and MicroGrid Energy via Coulomb’s Midwest/Chicago distributor Carbon Day Automotive.

“Novus International is an eco-conscious corporation that has invested wisely in the future of clean energy,” said Pat Romano, president and CEO at Coulomb. “Workplace charging is important for EV drivers that need a safe and available place to fuel during the day. The ChargePoint Network’s advanced solutions give Novus numerous options for their staff and future green fleet vehicles.”

Novus has installed three Coulomb Technologies Level I and II dual output ChargePoint stations. Two of these stations have been installed in the employee parking lot, covering four parking spaces, and one has been installed on the visitor parking lot, covering two parking spaces. The solar array on the roof of the headquarters facility, part of the original building design, was recently expanded to offset the electrical requirements for the charging stations.

“Novus is taking another step towards making all of our business practices more sustainable and environmentally responsible by installing charging stations for electric cars,” said Thad Simons, President and CEO of Novus. “Currently, there are numerous preferred parking spots for employees who drive low-emitting or fuel efficient vehicles, so these charging stations are a logical next step.”

Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and all manufacturers of plug-in vehicle charging stations.

Agribusiness, Electric Vehicles, Electricity

GMO Crops Not Well Understood By Public

Chuck Zimmerman

It sure looks like we have a long way to go to help educate the general public on GMO’s! In answer to the question, “How much do you think the public understands about GMO crops?” an overwhelming 70 % say Majority know nothing. Wow. Only 22% or our readers say Some think they know. Only 4 % say People totally understand and 4 % say Most are well informed. This sure seems to suggest that there’s a real disconnect between consumers and science, at least in the minds of our readers. What do you think?

Our next ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What social network do you use most?” Let us know and thanks for participating!

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

ZimmPoll

Florida Companies Ink $18 Mil Grease for Biodiesel Deal

John Davis

Two Florida companies have signed a deal potentially worth $18 million to provide yellow grease for biodiesel production.

Freedom Environmental Services and Clean Fuel of Lakeland, FL, a Florida biodiesel producer, inked the three-year deal:

President and CEO Michael Borish stated, “We are excited to build on our relationship with Mr. Maher’s Clean Fuel companies by supplying recycled yellow grease to be used for renewable energy.” CEO Borish continued, “The biodiesel produced from this contract will be used to produce renewable electricity for Clean Fuel’s sister company, Solar Blue. We understand that Solar Blue has an exclusive 20-year contract to supply electric power for Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.”

Mr. Lee Maher, Chairman and CEO of Clean Fuel companies and Solar Blue, Florida and Philadelphia-based renewable energy companies, is pleased with the sale of the yellow grease collection operation to Freedom Environmental Services and the long-term agreement reached, to purchase the collected oil for renewable energy. Mr. Maher states, “This redeployment of assets allows Clean Fuel and Solar Blue to focus on the production of renewable electricity for Central Florida and the expansion of their renewable energy opportunity with NFL stadiums, specifically the Philadelphia Eagles.” Mr. Maher’s “green companies” look forward to continued growth with the Freedom Environmental organization along the Atlantic Coast.

Biodiesel

Monsanto & Sapphire to Colloborate on Algae

Joanna Schroeder

Agribusiness company Monsanto and algae company Sapphire Energy have announced a partnership to “discover” genes that could be applied to agriculture particularly in the areas of yield and stress. As Sapphire works to bring algal fuels to commercial scale, the company is searching for traits that make a particular strain of algae better suited for fuel or other biochemicals. In this partnership, the technology that Sapphire uses with algae will be applied to to help identify genes that might positively affect other traditional crop yields.

“Sapphire’s expertise in algal research offers a novel platform that will allow us to screen and identify promising genes faster,” said Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s chief technology officer. “We face a common goal in looking for ways to improve upon an organism’s ability to achieve greater productivity under optimal and sub-optimal environmental conditions. Together with Sapphire, we can identify genes affecting such traits in algae that might also be applied to corn, cotton, soybeans and other crops.”

Fraley notes that algae is an ideal plant to research because they have a similar photosynthetic process to other plants but are simple and efficient to work with. Algae also can be grown, screened, tested, and selected with high throughput tools, which enables a relatively fast process for researchers.

“Monsanto has always been at the forefront of agricultural technology developments and innovation,” said Jason Pyle, chief executive officer for Sapphire Energy. “Through this collaborative partnership, we’ll focus our leading-edge research agenda on some of the biggest questions facing both agriculture and energy. By leveraging our algae platform and tools to improve crop yield and enhance crop performance, Sapphire will be able to accelerate our ability to produce a renewable crude oil replacement and reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil.”

Under the agreement, Monsanto will make an equity investment in Sapphire and the two companies will collaborate on algae-based research projects.

Agribusiness, algae, biofuels

Corn Ethanol Walks the Line Song

Cindy Zimmerman

Here’s another video clip from the ethanol producer group known as “Green Floyd” that played at the recent National Ethanol Conference. The Green Floyd band is made up of Frontline Bioenergy CEO Bill Lee, Neil and Tom Koehler with Pacific Ethanol and Paul Kamp with Inbicon.

This song is a parody of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” with lyrics tailored especially for corn farmers and ethanol producers. Here are some of the words:

I keep on growing, this corn of mine
I keep telling the truth about the lying
I know that ethanol is worth the fighting
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Now many say it’s just a foil
That there’s no way to get off the oil
But a farmer can’t be stopped from trying
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Enjoy!

corn, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference, RFA, Video

Researchers Develop Isobutanol From Cellulose

Joanna Schroeder

Using consolidated bioprocessing, researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center have discovered how to develop isobutanol directly from cellulose. The research was led by James Liao of the University of California at Los Angeles, and the results were published in the paper titled “Metabolic Engineering of Clostridium Cellulolyticum for Isobutanol Production from Cellulose,”online in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

“Unlike ethanol, isobutanol can be blended at any ratio with gasoline and should eliminate the need for dedicated infrastructure in tanks or vehicles,” said Liao, chancellor’s professor and vice chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Plus, it may be possible to use isobutanol directly in current engines without modification.”

According to Liao, when compared to ethanol, isobutanol is a better candidate to replace gasoline because it has an energy density, octane value and Reid vapor pressure that is closer to gasoline.

Producing fuels from cellulose is much harder than corn or sugarcane and takes several steps. So Liao and postdoctoral researcher Wendy Higashide of UCLA and Yongchao Li and Yunfeng Yang of Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a strain of Clostridium cellulolyticum, a native cellulose-degrading microbe, that could synthesize isobutanol directly from cellulose. The work was based on earlier work at UCLA where the team build a synthetic pathway for isobutanol production.

While some Clostridium species produce butanol, these organisms typically do not digest cellulose directly. Other Clostridium species digest cellulose but do not produce butanol. None produce isobutanol, an isomer of butanol – until now.

While there were many possible microbial candidates, the research team chose a genetically engineered strain of Clostridium cellulolyticum, which was originally isolated from decayed grass. The team’s strategy exploits the host’s natural cellulolytic activity and the amino acid biosynthetic pathway and diverts its intermediates to produce higher alcohol than ethanol. The team believes that this research sets the stage future studies that will likely involve genetic manipulation of other consolidated bioprocessing microorganisms.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Research

Geothermal Capacity Could Double in 10 Years

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new report from Pike Research, “Geothermal Power,” geothermal capacity could double in 10 years. The report concludes that increasing investment in geothermal power could result in a 134 percent increase in total geothermal power between 2010-2020. In other words, an increase from 10.7 gigawatts (GW) to 25.1 GW worldwide when based on a high-growth scenario. Using a more moderate growth scenario closer to the current rate of growth, the report estimates capacity would increase 34 percent to 14.3 GW by 2020. Geothermal energy offers many benefits including the ability to provide almost 24 hour per day electricity production with little to no emissions.

“Worldwide potential for geothermal energy is immense but geothermal remains an underutilized resource and represents only a small fraction of the global renewable energy portfolio,” said senior analyst Peter Asmus. “Improved access to resource data, more efficient drilling processes, increased understanding about the industry’s potential, and improving access to financing are driving expanding interest in the sector.”

According to Asmus, the current geothermal capacity is spread across 26 countries with a combined output of nearly 67 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity. The U.S. is the global leader with 3.1 GW of installed capacity while seven countries represent 88 percent of the global geothermal capacity. Although traditional geothermal resources make up the majority of installed capacity, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and co-produced wells both offer opportunities for expansion.

The high-growth scenario used in the study assumes continued and persistent volatility in the price of oil, tightening carbon regulations, improved access to capital, standardization of geothermal exploration data, contribution from EGS-enabled and co-produced resources, technological breakthroughs in exploration and drilling equipment, improved access to drills and skilled labor, and sustained policies supporting renewable energy mandates, grants, and tax subsidies.

Asmus added, “Even if progress falls short in these areas the potential for geothermal market expansion remains strong, and even our conservative business-as-usual forecast is consistent with growth rates observed in the industry since 1990.”

Energy, Geothermal, Research