Bioheat Focus of National Biodiesel Board Webinar

John Davis

The success of New York City’s 2 percent biodiesel requirement in heating oil … a mix known as bioheat … was recently touted during a webinar hosted by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB).

City Councilman James F. Gennaro, who spearheaded the Big Apple’s bioheat mandate, explained that New York started with using biodiesel in its heavy duty truck fleets. That success led to including biodiesel in the city’s one billion gallon a year heating oil plans.

“I saw this as a great way to move in a very good direction and help us clean the air in New York City.”

After a couple of years of work on the city legislation, the council was able to agree on a 2 percent mandate that puts 20 million gallons a year of the cleaner-burning, renewable fuel into the heating systems. Gennaro tips his hat to several local New York City businesses that have worked to grow the local biodiesel industry, including Metro, Tri-State Biodiesel and Sprague Energy, among others. New York City Councilman James F. Gennaro

NBB’s Director of Sustainability Don Scott applauded the city’s efforts to clean the air, create jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

“[The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)] found that biodiesel made from animal fat, recycled greases and waste products reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent (compared to conventional petroleum).” And biodiesel made for soybean oil reduced those greenhouse gas emissions by 86 percent … even 57 percent if you use the controversial indirect land use change formula, well above the EPA’s advanced biofuel standard. Plus, Scott points out that the biodiesel industry employs 23,000 Americans with the potential of those jobs climbing to 78,000 workers. Finally, he says it stems the country’s billion-dollar-a-day foreign oil habit.

Gennaro says he’d like to see New York’s model repeated elsewhere across the country.

“This is the direction that we should be moving in.”

Audio, Biodiesel, Government, NBB, Webinar

BlueFire Finalizes Contract for Cellulosic Plant

Joanna Schroeder

BlueFire Renewables (formerly BlueFire Ethanol) has announced that it has finalized and signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build a cellulosic ethanol facility in Fulton, MS. The $296 million biorefinery, which includes a $100 million biomass power plant as part of the facility, will be constructed by Wanzek Construction, a subsidiary of MasTec, Inc. This was an important last step for the company to receive both its DOE and USDA Loan Guarantee Program funding.

“Having recently announced off-take and feedstock agreements for our Fulton, Mississippi plant, BlueFire Renewables has now satisfied all stated requirements to move forward on an agreement with either the DOE or USDA for a loan guarantee to complete financing of the project,” stated Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. “BlueFire now stands poised to finalize the government negotiations and affect the financing and construction of this commercial-sized cellulosic ethanol plant.”

This is the company’s first plant that has successfully achieved all the elements needed to begin construction of a commercial scale cellulosic facility sourcing non-food cellulosic waste as its primary feedstock. Once operational, the plant, which will specifically use local wood and green waste, will produce approximately 19 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year.

“We are excited about our involvement in the project with BlueFire Renewables and look forward to a long-term relationship. BlueFire’s proprietary technologies, which convert non-food cellulosic waste into fuel, should bring environmentally friendly facilities and increased long-term employment to the State of Mississippi. We are glad to be a part of the initial roll-out and we look forward to working with BlueFire on a number of other opportunities,” noted Jose Mas, MasTec, Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer.

Cellulosic, Ethanol

New Algae Incubator Program Launches

Joanna Schroeder

The National Algae Association is launching a new Algae Production Incubator Program for qualified algaepreneurs. The program begins on October 1, 2010 and is considered the first Algae Production Incubator starting in the U.S. More specifically, it will be a new algae farming cooperative.

For people and companies who are interested in developing algae for various markets including jet fuel, green diesel, biodiesel, biogasoline, bioplastics, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, organic fertilizer, and livestock, poultry and fish feed, then this program may be for you. It is aimed for entrepreneurs that have not been able to achieve funding through traditional means.

Coincidentally, I am in San Diego this week participating in an algae tour. The city has successfully built an algal research hub, and today, has more than 30 algae companies in various stages based in the region. I’ll will be bringing you stories throughout the week about the companies we visit.

Hopefully, the success of the Algae Production Incubator Program will lead to similar community biofuels programs throughout the country. To learn more about the program, contact the National Algae Association.

algae, Biodiesel, bioenergy

Ethanol Summit on Health, Environment & Safety

Joanna Schroeder

The Nebraska Ethanol Board is hosting a summit on October 7, 2010 called the 2010 Ethanol Summit on Health, Safety and Environment. The Summit is being held in Grand Island, Nebraska and is targeted to ethanol producers and related industries and will focus on environment and safety regulatory issues within the biofuels industry.

Sessions topics include: Recent Risk Management Plan & Process Safety Management Audit/Inspection Findings at Ethanol Facilities; Strategic Permitting & Compliance Considerations Related to Air Quality Regulations; What’s my Carbon Number and How Do I Get It?; Biofuel Training Programs; and Labor Job Training Programs.

There is no registration fee for the Summit, but attendees are encouraged to register to save their spot. You can get more information about the program and register online by clicking here.

conferences, Education, Ethanol

Book Review – Off The Grid

Joanna Schroeder

“Where is the debate about the smart grid? Are we just going to believe what GE and EEI tell us? Who can actually prove that the smart grid is going to be all that smart, or that it is even going to work?”And who has thought through all the implications?” These are a few of the questions that author Nick Rosen asks in “Off The Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America.”

This is definitely a set of questions that aren’t often asked in context with the smart grid. More often, there is a disagreement of who is going to pay for the smart grid or whether the smart grid will save consumers money or cost consumers money. However, Rosen has a definite opinion of the smart grid. He writes that privacy will be at risk (utilities will literally be able to ‘see’ into your house with the new technologies) but he also writes that utilities will make billions more in profits with this move.

Rosen explains that based on the track record of utilities, “…the smart grid is not in the country’s best interest nor are they concerned with Secretary Chu’s carbon-reduction targest when they enthuse about rolling out the smart grid. They are concerned with market dominance and profits.”

He continues by anticipating that smart technologies will eliminate the need for meter readers and many call centers, thus reducing the number of jobs in the space while making even more profits (most people estimate that utilities will pass along the costs of developing the smart grid to consumers in the form of higher energy costs).

I must say that while I do not disagree with Rosen as a whole, he does fall into a growing number of Americans who want less government and more individual control. Many of these people who are “anti-government” already live off the grid; however, it is unfair to say that all people who live off the grid are those who are hiding for some reason or other. Many people are looking for ways to become “energy independent” to save money, to have a back-up in case of a major electricity shortage or outage, or to just get-away from technology in general for a while.

For those people who are curious about what living off the grid would be like, or learning how to go “Off The Grid,” this is a very interesting book to read. It is also educational for those who are not convinced that the smart grid is all that smart.

book reviews, Electricity, Smart Grid

Ethanol Report With New RFA Chairman

Cindy Zimmerman

Kaapa EthanolThe board for directors for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) last week elected Chuck Woodside, General Manager of farmer-owned KAAPA Ethanol in Minden, Nebraska as the new chairman for the organization. The election was held at RFA’s Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC. Woodside succeeds Chris Standlee, Executive Vice President of Abengoa Bioenergy, who served for three one-year terms.

Ethanol Report PodcastChuck Zimmerman interviewed Woodside for this edition of “The Ethanol Report” to find out what his goals are for the coming year and key issues facing the ethanol industry. He said that RFA will be most involved in the coming year in efforts to extend current tax incentives for ethanol use, expanding ethanol markets through higher ethanol blend such as E15 and above, modifying fuel regulations to allow greater ethanol blending, challenging regulation of biogenic emissions by EPA, addressing incomplete science with respect to low carbon fuel regulations, developing next generation ethanol technologies, and expanding the market for distillers grains and other ethanol coproducts.

“This is an exciting time for American ethanol production,” Woodside said. “If acted upon correctly, all of the challenges and opportunities before the industry will usher in a golden era of American ethanol production and help turn the corner toward true energy security in this country. The RFA and its members stand ready, as they always have, to help this industry build bridges and move ever forward.”

Listen to or download the Ethanol Report here: New RFA Chairman

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

Green Plains To Aquire Global Ethanol

Joanna Schroeder

Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Global Ethanol’s two operating ethanol plants located in Lakota, Iowa and Riga, Michigan. The two plants have a combined operating capacity of 157 million gallons per year (mmgy). The acquisition will increase GPRE’s annual production capacity by 31 percent bringing them to an annual ethanol production of 657 mmgy. Once the transaction is closed, Green Plains will market and distribute more than one billion gallons of ethanol production on an annual basis.

The total value of the transaction is estimated to be $169.2 million, including $147.6 million for the ethanol production facilities and the balance in working capital, according to GPRE. In a company statement, the definitive agreement provides that the proposed acquisition will be accomplished through a merger of a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary of Green Plains with Global. The transaction is expected to close during the 4th Quarter of 2010.

“This transaction demonstrates our ability to make acquisitions at attractive valuations utilizing a combination of our strong balance sheet and our stock, allowing us to meet the differing objectives of ethanol plant owners,” stated Todd Becker, President and CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy. “The addition of the Global plants enables us to lower our average cost of ethanol production assets and to achieve greater economies of scale in our marketing, risk management and back office operations. We believe this acquisition will be accretive to 2011 earnings. Consistent with our strategy to expand our operations throughout the ethanol value chain, we continue to seek out consolidation opportunities within each of our business segments,” Becker concluded.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Production Drops Slightly

Joanna Schroeder

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, daily ethanol production for the week ending 9/24/2010 averaged 825,000 barrels per day (b/d) or 34.65 million gallon per day. These production numbers are slightly down from the previous week when the ethanol industry produced an average of 850,000 b/d and the four week average of 856,000 b/d.

In addition, stocks of ethanol also fell with current stocks standing at 17.2 million barrels.

While ethanol production was down, gasoline demand was up averaging just over 394 million gallons per day. Average daily ethanol production stood at 8.79 percent when expressed as a percentage of average daily gasoline demand.

The amount of corn used to produce last week’s ethanol was an average of 12.509 million bushels per day and 93,107 metric tons of livestock feed per day. Distillers grains (DDGs) represented 82,210 metric tons of the total feed production. In addition, ethanol producers also supplied 3.57 million pounds of corn oil.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

DOE Reconfirms Support for Renewable Fuels

Joanna Schroeder

On Wednesday, the Department of Energy sent a letter to the State Energy Program and EECBG program grantees reiterating their support for the deployment of renewable fuels through funds awarded as part of the 2009 Recovery Act. There has been widespread frustration throughout the ethanol industry on the length of time it has taken for these funds to be dispersed to those companies that have been awarded monies.

In the letter, DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan wrote, “With over 7 million flex-fuel vehicles already on the road and millions more being produced every year, the market for renewable fuels will continue to grow. Therefore, there is a need to increase the number of compatible fueling dispensers in order to meet our nation’s energy goals, particularly in renewable fuel producing regions of the nation in the near term.”

Hogan continued, “With this is mind, DOE is encouraging grantees to consider allocating or increasing funding to renewable fuel infrastructure programs in those regions of the country most conducive to and in need of increased infrastructure investments.”

The DOE has prepared a program that it feels properly identifies industry characteristics and partners that will be critical to the successful national deployment of renewable fuels infrastructure.

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis responded to DOE’s letter by saying, “We commend the Department of Energy for their efforts to help address some of the infrastructure barriers that prevent our industry from reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs here in America that can’t be outsourced, and improving our environment. If we are truly going to realize our nation’s energy independence goals, we need to ensure that our entire vehicle fleet and fuel infrastructure are ready to use expanded U.S. ethanol production. Each additional flex fuel vehicle and blender pump gives consumers the option of filling up with clean, renewable ethanol to create a more secure energy future for this country.”

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol

New Regs Needed for Cellulosic Fuels to See Fruition

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new study published today in the October issue of BioScience, “Far-reaching Deleterious Impacts of Regulations on Research and Environmental Studies of Recombinant DNA-modified Perennial Biofuel Crops in the United States,” researchers argue that the current regulatory system will need a monumental overhaul in order for cellulosic bioenergy to reach its true potential. The authors write that cellulosic biofuels are hampered by a “deep and thorny regulatory thicket” that has made it near impossible to use advanced gene modification methods to advance cellulosic biofuels production.

“It’s extraordinary that gene modification technology, which has been adapted more rapidly than any other technology in the history of agriculture, and had some profound environmental and economic benefits, has been regulated virtually out of existence for perennial cellulosic biofuels crops,” said Steve Strauss, a distinguished professor of forest biotechnology at Oregon State University, and lead author of the paper.

In the paper, the authors note that exotic plant species pose a serious risk of spread and ecosystem impacts, yet face significantly less stringent regulation or obstacles than genetically engineered crops, which are carefully designed to solve problems, not cause them. As a result, the authors write, many research projects have had to stay away from gene modification methods and this has slowed down the entry of cellulosic biofuels to market. In addition, researchers who pursue gene trait modification are open to regulation nightmares and legal albatrosses.

The authors cite several traits that could be improved with gene modification including enhanced stress tolerance, reduced costs of conversion to liquid fuels, reduced use of water and fertilizer in cultivation, avoiding dispersal into the environment, and synthesis of new, renewable products such as industrial enzymes.

The authors conclude that the end result of a gene modification project should be regulated based on whether it is safe and beneficial, not the process used to produce it.

“It is essential that we create an intelligent regulatory system that does not indiscriminately penalize the gene modification process and obstruct essential field research,” Strauss said. “The one-size-fits-all style system of today treats the process of genetic modification as inherently dangerous, although many high-level science panels have concluded that the process is at least as safe as conventional breeding methods.”

Ultimately, the scientists concluded that solving these problems will require new ways of thinking, strong scientific and political leadership, and regulatory system that awards safe and beneficial new plants that could help solve the globe’s energy and environmental issues.

biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Research