CUERP Biodiesel Program Licensed to Sell Biodiesel

Joanna Schroeder

No school in the U.S. has ever been given approval to sell its biodiesel, until now. Loyola University Chicago Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy’s (CUERP) Biodiesel Program has become the first school program to be licensed by state and federal authorities to produce and sell its biodiesel fuel. The program has received the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, Illinois Department of Revenue, and the National Biodiesel Board.

“The growth and success of our biodiesel lab has been amazing and we will continue to expand not only our production and sales, but also our outreach to schools, small businesses, and individuals interested in biodiesel,” said Zach Waickman, lab manager for the biodiesel program. “It is like running a small business that will be financially sustainable by finding unique ways to benefit the environment.”

The program already has a customer base with The Free Enterprise System, Inc., that runs the school’s shuttle service between campuses. The six buses will begin running on biodiesel and eliminate the use of nearly 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year. In addition to selling biodiesel fuel, the University will also sell the lab’s “BioSoap” at its campus stores and select retailers across Chicago. The BioSoap is made from the byproduct of the biodiesel fuel production, which is known as glycerin.

According to a University press release, the Biodiesel Program began in 2007 when CUERP was awarded a $10,000 grant from the EPA to implement a new program known as “Solutions to Environmental Problems” or STEP. The program’s first project was to focus on the problem of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas emissions on Loyola’s campuses. From there, the students identified, designed, and implemented an array of projects to contribute to the solution, including fuel-production research, the drafting of a biofuels legislative bill, the development of a documentary film, the establishment of the biodiesel lab, and outreach to local high schools that allowed teachers to deliver the STEP curriculum to their students. Today, the Biodiesel Program stands alone.

“Our work has just begun, as our Biodiesel Program plans to collaborate with other universities in the Chicagoland area to collect waste vegetable oil, convert it into biodiesel fuel, and then sell it to other community circulator buses and universities,” says Nancy Tuchman, vice provost and former director of CUERP. “I’m so proud of what our students have accomplished thus far, along with their passion for finding solutions that protect the environment and ultimately will make the Loyola community a greener place to live, work, and study.”

Biodiesel, Education

National Solar Job Census 2010 Released

Joanna Schroeder

The first National Solar Jobs Census 2010 report was released this week and the report shows that top state for solar energy companies is California followed by Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, and Arizona. The Solar Foundation, along with Green LMI Consulting undertook the project aimed at examining the size and scope of the solar industry.

The census found that in general, U.S. solar companies expect to add jobs at a pace greater than the general economy. They also anticipate their revenue will grow in the next few years. As of August 2010, the industry employs around 93,000 solar workers as defined as spending at least 50 percent of their time supporting solar-related activities. Job growth numbers are optimistic with more than 50 percent of solar firms expecting to add jobs in the next year, while only 2 percent expect to eliminate jobs.

In response to the report, Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords noted that while the state is leading the way in solar development with an estimated 230 solar companies located in the state, they still have a tremendous potential to expand.

“Arizona is the sunniest state in the country,” said Giffords. “There is no reason that states more famous for cars, cheese and peaches should have more solar energy jobs than we do.”

Giffords continued, “The growth potential of the solar industry in Arizona is – like the sunshine that beats down on our state – virtually limitless. When we harness the power of the sun and put it to work for us, we not only tap into a clean, renewable source of energy, we also strengthen our economy and lay the foundation for future prosperity.”

Other key findings from the report include that solar jobs are available in all 50 states, and solar job growth over the next 12 months is anticipated to be 26 percent, representing nearly 24,000 net new jobs. This expected growth rate is significantly higher than the U.S. economy-wide expectation of 2 percent growth over the same period.

Electricity, Solar

Shell & MIT Partner to Pursue Energy Technology

Joanna Schroeder

In a $25 million research opportunity, Shell has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to support the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) that will focus on research and development of sustainable technologies designed to drive innovation in energy delivery. Beginning this year, MIT will receive $5 million per year for five years from Shell. The projects that the MITEI will engage in will focus on advanced modeling, earth science, biofuels, nanotechnology, and carbon management. MITEI was founded in 2006.

“Both Shell and MIT are globally recognized innovation leaders. This collaboration accents Shell’s commitment to develop new technologies and drive innovative solutions to address the global energy challenge,” said Gerald Schotman, chief technology officer, Royal Dutch Shell. “Our collaboration with MIT will form another important building block in strengthening Shell’s global technology leadership.”

One of the longer term goals of the collaboration is to develop future and emerging technologies that demonstrate game-changing potential for the energy industry. The collaboration will focus on a broad array of existing and new oil and gas technologies including but not limited to next-generation applications in nanotechnology, biochemistry, electronics, and computer modeling (Let’s also hope they develop technology to help prevent and/or clean up oil spills).

“The lack of access to affordable energy poses a significant barrier to economic advancement around the globe. Together with the rapidly accelerating demand for energy, the need to develop environmentally sensitive and sustainable energy resources becomes increasingly acute. Our collaboration with Shell will drive energy innovations with the potential for significant, real-world impact,” said Susan Hockfield, president, MIT.

Other ares of focus are research into water treatment improvements, greater fuel efficiency, new solar energy applications and enhanced catalytic technology for advanced fuel cells, and smart grids.

Professor Ernest J. Moniz, director of MIT Energy Initiative concluded, “Shell has earned a reputation for advancing a broad portfolio of important energy technologies and for a long-term view of how the global energy system will and should evolve. We are excited about this opportunity to significantly expand our research and education collaboration.”

biofuels, Electricity, Energy, Oil, Research, Solar

Governor’s Conference on Energy In Full Swing

Joanna Schroeder

The first Governor’s Conference on Energy is underway this week in Richmond Virginia with nearly 500 people on hand to learn how America can develop its domestic energy sources. During the conference Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is touting his state’s mission of becoming the “Energy Capital of the East Coast.”

McDonnell said of the conference, “In this era of global competition, it is critical that we fully develop our domestic energy resources in order to provide reliable, low-cost power while helping to reduce our dependence on foreign sources. This means developing all of our energy resources, traditional, alternative and renewable, and making the most of conservation and efficiency…. (N)ew and expanding energy businesses will be an important part of our economic recovery and growth in the years ahead. Working together, we will make Virginia the “Energy Capital of the East Coast.”

One fuel under discussion during the conference is propane, and Roy Willis, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) was on hand as well as Stuart Weidie the president of Alliance AutoGas to discuss ongoing research, development and commercialization of propane vehicles.

“It is appropriate that propane participate in this important, forward-thinking conference,” said Roy Willis. “In Virginia and around the country, propane vehicles can play a vital role in providing a cost effective solution for transportation, with economic and environmental benefits that can be recognized immediately.

“Propane already is used by millions of Americans for transportation, commercial, industrial, and agricultural applications,” continued Willis. “With 55,000 miles of pipeline, more than 6,000 retailer dealer locations, and thousands of propane fueling stations, propane is readily accessible and ready to do more.”

conferences, Propane

Proposed Pennsylvania Tax Threatens Biodiesel

John Davis

A bill pending before the Pennsylvania State Legislature could hurt the biodiesel industry in that state.

Biodiesel Magazine reports an amendment to SB 901 would slap some new fuel taxes on places that sell biodiesel and could affect selling and blending biodiesel in surrounding states:

The amended legislation establishes a total of four of these registration fees:

– $5,000 for each biodiesel manufacturing facility within the state
– $5,000 for each location within the state where biodiesel is blended
– $100 for a person, other than a person that operates at a biodiesel production or blending facility, that sells, offers sale or otherwise transfers biodiesel or a biodiesel blend within the state, whether or not the that person operates a location within Pennsylvania where such activities are conducted
– $100 for each location, in excess of one, within Pennsylvania where a registered person sells, offers for sale or otherwise transfers title of biodiesel or a biodiesel blend

“This tax, which is imposed on distributors and retailers who are required by the state to sell this kind of fuel, adds more costs to handling the fuel,” [John Kulik, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association] said. “While some might argue that $100 does not seem like much, for businesses that have multiple locations, the tax can accumulate to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. It’s a tax that they and their customers will be forced to pay.”

Ironically, the money raised is to be used to support Pennsylvania’s enforcement of the state’s biodiesel mandate, which started with a B2 blend last May and could be stepped up eventually to B20.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Book Review – In Deep Water

Joanna Schroeder

Five months after the Deep Horizon oil spill, the first book detailing the BP Oil Disaster has been released by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Executive Director, Peter Lehner.  “In Deep Water,” chronicles the events leading up to the disaster, the mistakes made during the catastrophe and offers solutions for moving forward in a manner that will limit future offshore oil spills.

On April 20, 2010, BP’s Macondo well blew in the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 workers. By the time the well was capped, 87 days later, the well spewed hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic oil into the Gulf making this the worst oil spill the globe has ever known. Lehner writes, “The Macondo blowout is another national wake-up call, a sobering plea for action on the greatest environmental challenge of our time: finding a way out of the economic and social model we’ve built around fossil fuels, and forging a future built instead around the clean energy technologies of tomorrow.”

The quest for oil has encouraged oil companies to drill deeper and deeper into the ocean. According to the latest government and industry estimates, nearly 40 billion barrels of oil lie in American waters in the Gulf, much of it buried miles and miles deep in the Earth.  At $75 a barrel, the oil is worth $3 trillion.Read More

book reviews, Oil

Critics of E15 Waiver Approval Cry Foul

Joanna Schroeder

While the ethanol industry is busy applauding the EPA for its ‘step in the right direction’ in approving E15 for use in 2007 or newer cars or light duty trucks, other groups are crying out in dismay and criticizing the EPA for its decision. One group that is outraged by EPA’s move is the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NRPA) and Executive Vice President Gregory M. Scott wasted no time in announcing his organization’s displeasure.

“The Environmental Protection Agency today abdicated its responsibility to safeguard our nation’s public health and environment and became the Ethanol Promotion Agency. EPA’s unwise and premature decision to allow the sale of gasoline with higher levels of ethanol may be good politics in Corn Belt states on the eve of the midterm elections, but it is bad news for every American who owns a car, truck, motorcycle, boat, snowmobile, lawnmower, chainsaw or anything else powered by gasoline,” said Scott.

What Scott failed to mention in his tirade is that the EPA did not approve E15 for other model years or other types of vehicles including small engines, marine equipment and motorcycles.

“The ethanol industry has won a victory today by convincing the federal agency charged with protecting our nation’s public health and environment to disregard public safety and environmental issues and instead base a major policy decision on inadequate engine test data that has not been made public or reviewed independently. The American people are the losers today because EPA has violated President Obama’s 2009 commitment to them to put science ahead of politics.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson communicated, through EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy, that the decision was made after review of the Department of Energy’s extensive testing and other available data on E15’s impact on engine durability as well as emissions as the Clean Air Act requires them to do. The result, said EPA, is that E15 is find for use in conventional vehicles or light duty trucks manufactured in 2007 or later.

A coalition of farm and food industry trade associations that are members of the same choir group as NRPA wasted no time in creating a false panic among American consumers that there will be a competition between food and fuel, an argument that has been squished by dozens of global research organizations, and even went so far as to question whether the EPA had legal authority to make the decision.

“E15 – which would be a 50 percent increase from the currently permitted level of 10 percent ethanol in gasoline – will result in dramatic increases in the portion of the U.S. corn crop used to make fuel rather than food and, when fully implemented, could result in more than 40 percent of the nation’s corn crop being diverted to ethanol production. The corn ethanol industry has received over $30 billion in federal subsidies over the last three decades,” said the coalition in a prepared statement.

The coalition continued by stating that, “The EPA’s decision will have an impact on American farmers, food manufacturers and, most importantly, American consumers, who will face price increases at the grocery store and when they go out to eat in a restaurant. EPA took this step without sufficient regard for the inevitable effect on the price of food and feed.”

blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News

EPA Must Move Quickly to Approve E15 in Older Cars

Joanna Schroeder

The ethanol industry all agrees that today’s decision by the EPA to grant an E15 Waiver for 2007 or newer model cars and light duty trucks is a step in the right direction. However, most groups feel that the decision didn’t go far enough in moving the US to its renewable fuels goals of 36 billion gallons for biofuels by 2022.

Shortly following the EPA press conference, Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement commending the EPA for its decision. “Today’s announcement from EPA is an important step toward making America more energy independent and creating much-needed jobs in rural America. The announcement will help get existing ethanol capacity into the market.”

Vilsack continued, “Today’s action by Administrator Jackson and the EPA provides assurance to farmers, ranchers and the renewable fuels industry that the government backs the use of home grown energy in our cars and trucks. At the same time, more work is needed and we hope EPA and the Department of Energy complete an evaluation of 2001-2006 models soon.”

However, not all groups agreed with Vilsack’s enthusiasm. POET CEO Jeff Broin, whose company spearheaded the E15 Waiver, reacted by saying, “Approval of E15 in 2007 and newer vehicles is a positive first step toward opening the market for more ethanol to compete with gasoline. However, the EPA must move quickly to take the next step: approval of E15 for use in older vehicles.”

Broin continued, “The arguments being made right now against E15 are the same as those made about E10 back in the late 1980s, when I entered the ethanol industry. Seventy billion gallons later, we have proven those arguments false, just as research on E15 is proving critics wrong today. Greater market access will help give investors the needed confidence to commit to bringing cellulosic ethanol to commercial scale. Many projects, POET’s Project LIBERTY among them, are ready for commercialization but hindered by unnecessary limits on ethanol content in fuel.”

Ethanol enzyme company Genencor, a Division of Danisco echoed others’ sentiments. “We applaud the action taken today by the EPA and hope that they will quickly move to approve E15 for all vehicles. The adoption of sound, tested policies for cleaner fuels is critical to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, supporting our agricultural sector and cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” said Glenn Nedwin, Executive Vice President of Genencor.

blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, POET, USDA

ACE, NCGA, UNICA React to EPA’s E15 Decision

Joanna Schroeder

In an EPA press conference this morning, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy announced that an E15 Waiver, originally requested by POET and championed by Growth Energy along with other industry allies, was now approved for model year 2007 and newer vehicles and light duty trucks. E15 is not, however, approved for use by other types of vehicles nor small engines or marine equipment, said McCarthy, as they are still waiting for additional DOE test results. The EPA expects to receive the next phase of results on cars and light duty trucks for model years 2001-2006 this November.

“While the EPA has no authority to mandate the use of E15, there is no question that today’s decision has the potential to increase the use of renewable fuels in the future,” said McCarthy.

Ethanol groups were quick to react to the announcement and Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) said in a press statement, “While some will portray this partial E15 waiver as a major victory and others will suggest it is completely unworkable, the truth lies somewhere in between. ACE views it as a very small first step and we will work to try and make the best of it. While we are pleased EPA finally made a decision, restricting the use of E15 to 2007 model year and newer vehicles is inadequate and will not sufficiently move the demand needle for ethanol.”

The National Corn Growers Association also responded to the news with a statement. “We’re disappointed in the very limited scope of this approval, but pleased the EPA has finally taken action to partially approve the waiver request to allow higher blends of ethanol in some motor vehicles,” said NCGA President Bart Schott, a grower in Kulm, N.D. “We believe this bifurcation of the approval process, and the labels that are expected to be placed on higher-blend fuel pumps, can lead to general consumer confusion and therefore act counter to the original intent.”

UNICAThe Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has been watching the move to E15 very closely and North American Chief Representative Joel Velasco commented, “Many U.S. ethanol groups have argued recently that after 30 years of tax credits and trade protection they are ready to compete without subsidies provided the government grants them greater access to America’s fuel pumps. With the EPA’s decision to increase ethanol limits by 50% for newer vehicles, that day has arrived.”

With today’s decision, nearly 18 percent of the 239 million cars on the road now have the option to use E15. Should model years 2001-2006 be approved later this year, then the amount of vehicles eligible to use E15 will increase to 54 percent.

ACE, blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Growth Energy Calls EPA Decision First Step

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy today embraced as an “important first step” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to raise the blend wall from E10 to E15 for 2007 and newer vehicles, in response to Growth Energy’s Green Jobs petition. However, the coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters said much more must be done to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, create jobs here in the United States and improve our environment.

“Today’s approval of E15 for newer vehicles is the first crack in the blend wall in more than 30 years, and proves what was laid out in Growth Energy’s Green Jobs Waiver – that E15 is a good fuel for American motorists. And while this is an important first step, there are many more steps we can take toward strengthening our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs here in the United States and improving our environment,” Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, said.

Growth Energy held a telephone press conference with comments from Buis, POET president Jeff Broin; Co-chairman Gen. Wesley K. Clark, Co-Chair of Growth Energy; ethanol producers Todd Becker of Green Plains Renewable Energy; and former Congressman Jim Nussle.

Listen to those comments here: Growth Energy Comments on E15 Decision

Audio, Ethanol, Growth Energy