Ag Secretary to Make “Major” Biofuels Speech

Cindy Zimmerman

Later this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will give a “major speech on domestic biofuel production.”

According to USDA, Vilsack will discuss the progress USDA and other federal agencies are making toward achieving the 36 billion gallon biofuel production goal mandated by the Renewable Fuels Standard and new efforts by the Obama administration to bolster the industry and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Other topics of the address will include ensuring that infrastructure is in place to ease the production and use of domestically produced renewable transportation fuel, as well as the administration’s strategy to foster renewable energy nationwide.

The address will be made October 21, 9:30 am Eastern, at the National Press Club.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, USDA

Study: More Fleets Using Ethanol & Biodiesel

John Davis

A study from a group that represents fleet managers of sedans, public safety vehicles, trucks, and buses of all types and sizes, and a wide range of military and off-road equipment shows that more fleets are using alternative fuels, and ethanol and biodiesel are high on the list of the fuels of choice.

The survey from the NAFA Fleet Management Association found that the number of corporate fleets with sustainability initiatives soared from 64.5 percent to 76.6 percent within the past year:

The survey shows public service fleets are far more aggressive in their approach to sustainability, using a larger variety of methods and alternative fuels than their corporate counterparts. Three-quarters of all public service fleets use a mix of hybrid and other fuel efficient vehicles as well as the use of alternative fuel vehicles…

While 91 percent of the corporate fleets who use alternative fuel vehicles report the use of E85, no other alternative fuel topped the 10 percent mark. Public service fleets, however, were evenly split between those who used E85 vehicles (64.4 percent) and those using vehicles run on biodiesel (63.5 percent). In addition, public service fleets used vehicles run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at 33.7 percent, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at 16.3 percent, and electricity. Within the next year, a number of public service fleets plan to procure light-duty hybrids (66.4 percent), E85 (57.9 percent), bio-diesel (52.3 percent), battery electrics (44.9 percent), plug-in hybrids (32.7 percent), and heavy-duty hybrids (29 percent). In addition a significant amount plan on procuring CNG (15 percent) and LPG (13.1 percent) and nearly 3 percent are looking to procure hydrogen. Meanwhile, corporate fleets are mostly interested in procuring light-duty hybrids (63.8 percent) and E85 (53.2 percent) in the upcoming year; the numbers for CNG, bio-diesel, heavy-duty hybrids, and plug-in hybrids are all less than 11 percent, although close to 20 percent are interested in battery electrics.

The survey also showed that sustainability programs have been hurt by the poor economy, but nearly three-quarters of fleet managers believe sustainability will become more important again in the next few years.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Iowa State Develops, Tests Biomass-based Asphalt

John Davis

Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a biomass-based asphalt that will be tested this fall on a bicycle trail in Des Moines.

This school press release says the bio-oil replacement for non-renewable petroleum is added to the mixture known as Bioasphalt:

If the demonstration and other tests go well, “This would be great stuff for the state of Iowa,” said [Iowa State University’s Christopher Williams], an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering.

He said that’s for a lot of reasons: Asphalt mixtures derived from plants and trees could replace petroleum-based mixes. That could create a new market for Iowa crop residues. It could be a business opportunity for Iowans. And it saves energy and money because Bioasphalt can be mixed and paved at lower temperatures than conventional asphalt.

Bio-oil is created by a thermochemical process called fast pyrolysis. Corn stalks, wood wastes or other types of biomass are quickly heated without oxygen. The process produces a liquid bio-oil that can be used to manufacture fuels, chemicals and asphalt plus a solid product called biochar that can be used to enrich soils and remove greenhouses gases from the atmosphere.

Officials hope that if this test of 5 percent Bioasphalt is successful, they’ll be able to use higher blends later.

biomass

Wasted Food, Wasted Energy

Joanna Schroeder

Looking to save some coin on your energy bills? Then stop wasting food. According to a new report published this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, “Wasted Food, Wasted Energy: The Embedded Energy in Food Waste in the United States,” consumers could immediately save the energy equivalent of around 350 million barrels of oil a year though the curbing of food waste. Why? In part because the study estimated that it takes the equivalent of about 1.4 billion barrels of oil to produce, package, prepare, preserve, and distribute a year’s worth of food in the U.S.

Authors Michael Webber and Amanda Cuéllar note that food contains energy and requires energy to produce, process and transport. As a matter of fact, rising energy costs are the largest contributor to rising food costs. The authors’ estimates indicate that between 8 and 16 percent of energy consumption in the United States went toward food production in 2007. However, it appears that consumers don’t take energy costs into account when eating as the USDA estimates that people in the U.S. waste nearly 27 percent of their food.

The report also estimated that when accounting for wasted food and the energy needed to ready it for consumption, U.S. consumers wasted about 2030 trillion BTU of energy in 2007, or the equivalent of about 350 million barrels of oil. That represents about 2 percent of annual energy consumption in the U.S. “Consequently, the energy embedded in wasted food represents a substantial target for decreasing energy consumption in the U.S.,” the article states. But the authors note the problem is probably worse because the numbers used were incomplete, outdated and conservative.

The authors concluded that the energy discarded in wasted food is greater than the energy available from many popular efficiency and energy procurement strategies, such as the annual production of ethanol from grains and annual petroleum available from drilling in the outer continental shelf. “A decrease in food waste must be accompanied with a retooling of the food supply chain to ensure that the energy consumed during food production does in fact decrease with a decrease in food waste.”

Energy, Ethanol, Oil

RFA President: DDGS and Ethanol Markets Inextricably Linked

Chuck Zimmerman

The President/CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association addressed the Export Exchange 2010 today and highlighted the importance of U.S. ethanol policy and expansion into foreign markets which is critical for the DDGS industry. You can read his full remarks here as well as listen to them below.

In his remarks, Dinneen said, “As a nation, failure to continue the growth of our domestic ethanol industry will not only limit our ability to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but constrain our ability to provide a high quality livestock feed to our domestic livestock industry and world trade partners. Make no mistake, the success of the distillers grains market is directly tied the fate of American ethanol production.”

Dinneen drew parallels between the markets for fuel ethanol and for distillers grains underscoring the need for expanded trading relationships. “You have heard talk of the ethanol blend wall that limits the amount of ethanol that can be used. In much of the same manner, we are rapidly approaching a feed wall in the U.S. Due to current limits in dietary rations, the livestock feed market will likely be saturated with distillers grains when the industry is producing between 35 and 45 million metric tons. As we spoke about before, we are rapidly approaching the lower end of the “feed wall” estimates.”

You can listen to Bob’s speech here: Bob Dinneen Speech

Export Exchange 2010 Photo Album

Audio, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, International, RFA, USGC

NCGA President Says DDGS Sales Conference Critical

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the attendees I spoke with this morning at the Export Exchange 2010 conference is the President/CEO of the National Corn Growers Association, Rick Tolman.

I asked Rick what he thought about the conference and its importance to the industry. Rick says it’s critically important and that the DDGS export market is one of the bright spots in the industry. He also says that like with any new product there has been a lot of wait and see from potential buyers and users.

You can listen to the interview with Rick here: Rick Tolman Interview

Export Exchange 2010 Photo Album

Audio, corn, Distillers Grains, NCGA, RFA, USGC

Smart Energy Forum Launches

Joanna Schroeder

The NGN Forum has launched a new Smart Energy Forum to focus on IP services to power the smart grid, home grids and alternative energy sources such as wind and solar. The Smart Energy Forum will focus on two main areas, next generation communications and NGN energy applications, and will develop guideline documents to help guide the industry in its adoption of this technology as well as enhancing NGN/IMS Interoperability and its Plugfests to include Smart Energy apps requirements.

One of the biggest challenges facing the utility industry as the country ramps up its alternative energy mandates is adding solar and wind power to an overstressed, and often outdated grid. Another problem is overcoming storage issues, and yet another issue facing consumers who have installed solar panels to their homes is how to develop metering systems that will enable consumers to better capitalize on their energy savings.

“Utility companies have traditionally developed their own networks and communications systems,” said Michael Khalilian, Chairman & President, NGN Forum. “However, they are now looking toward the telecommunications industry for apps, technology development, and OSS/BSS/Security to help them manage consumer demand. A number of major telecom operators and vendors are driving the initiative to expand into the highly lucrative energy management and applications field.”

According to Smart Grid News, the U.S. smart grid industry is valued at about $21.4 billion. By 2014, it is projected to exceed $42.8 billion. The world market is expected to grow at a faster rate, surging from $69.3 billion to $171.4 billion by 2014. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates billions of dollars for energy projects including $4.5 billion to modernize the electric grid. Other major government initiatives that will increase telecom-related funding include $7.2 billion in broadband deployment grants administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utility Service (RUS).

“By ensuring that the Smart Grid is effectively managed, protected and secured, we will help speed its overall adoption by increasing confidence in the reality of these visionary solutions,” concluded Doug Havas, vice president of communication industries at Symantec, a company focused on smart grid technologies.

Electricity, Smart Grid

Export Exchange Trade Show

Chuck Zimmerman

There is a trade show element to the Export Exchange 2010 here in Chicago. Here’s out sponsor, Renewable Fuels Association, doing some business on a break in sessions. RFA is our sponsor for coverage of this event.

We really do have a very large and diverse crowd attending the conference this year. There are at least 7 translators working to provide international guests with simultaneous audio of the general session presentations. Registered attendees will have a chance to go online and access the presentations afterward too.

Export Exchange 2010 Photo Album

Distillers Grains, RFA, USGC

Challenges and Opportunities For DDGS Trade Growth

Chuck Zimmerman

Our keynote speaker at the Export Exchange 2010 is Dr. Robert L. Thompson, Professor Emeritus from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he held the Gardner Endowed Chair in Agricultural Policy. He is a Senior Fellow of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and serves on the USDA-USTR Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade and the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council.

Dr. Thompson started off his presentation talking about demand dynamics looking to the future. He presented some amazing numbers when it comes to population growth. Between now and 2050 there will be 2.6 billion more people. That’s twice the population of China and most of that growth will come in low income countries. There are a lot of statistics in his presentation that you will find very interesting.

You can listen to Dr. Thompson’s presentation here: Dr. Robert Thompson Presentation

Export Exchange 2010 Photo Album

Audio, Distillers Grains, Exports, International, RFA, USGC

Alt Transportation Fuels Research Center Opens

Joanna Schroeder

UC Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) is launching its new Transportation Fuels Research Center of Excellence. The Center was created with a $1.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission and the goal of the research and education facility will be to work on characterizing the emissions and performance of new alternative fuels. In addition, the center will ensure that new fuels will not have adverse environmental or health impacts.

“We are leaders in characterizing vehicle emissions and the consequences of those emissions,” said Tom Durbin, a research engineer at CE-CERT. “The establishment of this center and this grant allow us to continue and expand that work.”

The grant will allow the center to expand its studies on butanol, butanol/ethanol combination, and other mixed fuel combinations. They also want to learn how these fuels impact vehicle performance and emissions and understand their compatibility with different engine technologies.

To celebrate the center’s opening, UC Riverside is hosting a series of free community events on Oct. 14, 2010. The day will kick off with a National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day mini-workshop to help attendees develop a basic understanding of alternative fuels and new technologies. This workshop is one of nearly 125 nationwide that are being coordinated by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium at West Virginia University. Following the workshop attendees will be able to view a collection of alternative fuels vehicles in the CE-CERT parking lot.

At 2 p.m., the USDA’s Draft Biofuels Strategic Production Report, which outlines how the biofuels industry can serve as a strong economic regional strategy to help recharge the rural American economy, will be outlined for public comment. Topics to be discussed include potential sources of feedstock, the current local infrastructure to support biofuels, and the estimated land use needed in California for biofuels.

During the session, comments will also be sought on how state and/or federal agencies can more effectively partner with the private sector and will also address developing nationwide infrastructure for alternative fuels.

biobutanol, biofuels, Education, Ethanol