ACE Conference 2026

Wind Energy Powers COP-16

Joanna Schroeder

It is only fitting that wind energy would supply power to an environmental conference. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-16) is in full swing in Cancun, Mexico and renewable energies are taking center stage. Cancun’s windmill will produce 1.5 megawatts on each day, enough energy to power 1,500 houses. This according to the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa.

“Mexico can generate up to 71 megawatts due to its geographic conditions. This will mean a reduction of as much as 2,000 tons of CO2,” stated Hinojosa during the inauguration of the windmill, just one day before COP16 kicked off on November 29, 2010.

Energy used for the Conference will be produced by the the windmill along with solar cells installed at the Moon Palace Hotel. This is a joint project with Italy. In addition, the country will “capture carbon” to offset the carbon produced during COP-16.

In the beginning of Hinojosa’s administration, Mexico generated only 2 megawatts of clean energy. The goal of the administration is to produce 2,160 megawatts by the end of the term. This means that 26 percent of the total energy produced in Mexico would be from renewable sources. Mexico is one of the leading countries in its reduction of CO2 emissions, right after Germany and South Africa.

conferences, Electricity, Environment, International, Solar, Wind

DF Cast: GM Rolls Out First Volts Today

John Davis

It’s a red letter day for General Motors today, as the very first Chevrolet Volts rolled off the assembly line today at the company’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant in Michigan. The Volt is the world’s first electric vehicle that also has a gasoline-powered generator, allowing it to keep on driving past the usual 40-mile battery limit.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, I speak with Britta Gross, Director of Global Energy Systems and Infrastructure at GM, about the revolutionary technology that makes the Volt a truly impressive vehicle.

“With the Chevy Volt, you don’t have to plan the way you use this vehicle. It’s great if everyone drives off the battery. It’s great if you don’t have to figure out if you can stop at the dry cleaners [or pick up a sick daughter at school]. You don’t have to plan your day around it.”

Gross says it’s practically impossible to tell when you have switched from battery to gasoline power with the transition practically seamless. Plus, she says it easily plugs into a 120 volt, three-prong plug at home for charging overnight. No special charging stations are needed for this electric car.

While she admits the Volt can look a little pricey at first …. about $40,000 before the $7,000-$8,000 in tax credits that kick in … you have to keep in mind that this is first-generation technology and will get lower with time. Remember how much VCR and DVD players were when they first came out? But she says Chevy also has a lease option for the Volt, and at about $350 per month, it’s on par with other vehicles in its class.

Gross says Chevy will produce 10,000 of the Volts in 2011 and another 45,000 in 2012. Now, these first two that rolled off the assembly line today will have special homes – the first will go into GM’s museum and the second is being auctioned off with the proceeds going to support the Detroit Public School’s math and science at www.bidonthevolt.com.

Gross says today is a proud day for her and many of her co-workers, some who have been working more than three years to make this dream a reality. And she says it’s a sign that after a couple of tumultuous years, General Motors is back.

It’s a great conversation, and you can hear more of it in the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.:

Audio, Car Makers, Domestic Fuel Cast, Electric Vehicles

Thank You EPA!

Joanna Schroeder

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is celebrating 40 years on December 2, 2010. To commemorate their anniversary, Green For All, a national organization dedicated to building a green economy, launched ThankYouEPA.com. The site lists several of EPA’s more important accomplishments and encourages Americans to share those successes through social media tools like Facebook and Twitter.

EPA’s actions have….

  • • Reduced 60% of dangerous air pollutants in the air we breathe.
  • • Prevented 205,000 premature American deaths in 1990 alone by providing cleaner air, and prevented hundreds of thousands more in subsequent years.
  • • Saved Americans more than $55 million in water and sewer bills in 2008.
  • • Cleaned more than 2,000 American rivers and lakes that were identified as impaired in 2002.
  • • Prevented 18 million American child respiratory illnesses in 1990 alone by providing cleaner air, and prevented millions more in following years.
  • • Increased recycling in American families and businesses that went from recycling about 10% of trash in 1980 to more than 33% in 2008.
  • • Increased the number of Americans receiving water that met health standards from 79% in 1993 to 92% in 2008.

Several accomplishments important to the biofuels industry include the implementation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) that set the goal of using 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022. The EPA also announced a historic ruling last month in which they approved the use of E15 in conventional vehicles manufactured after 2007.

biofuels, Environment, Ethanol

Big Ethanol NASCAR Announcement Coming This Week

Cindy Zimmerman

The famed fountains of the Bellagio in Las Vegas will be the site of a big announcement this Thursday afternoon by NASCAR and Growth Energy.

The announcement will be made by NASCAR CEO Brian France and Hall of Fame Driver Rusty Wallace, along with Growth Energy Co-Chairman (Ret.) Gen. Wesley Clark during the NASCAR Champions Week in Las Vegas. Growth Energy will hold a live simulcast of the announcement at several viewing areas around the country, including Des Moines and Sacramento.

Ethanol, Growth Energy, Racing

Giant Miscanthus Field Day Scheduled

Cindy Zimmerman

repreveREPREVE Renewables of Georgia is planning to prepare for the start of 2011 spring planting with the first annual Freedom Giant Miscanthus Field Day next month.

As holder of the exclusive license for the commercialization of Freedom giant miscanthus, the company will use the field day to educate growers and landowners about the planting and harvesting of the biomass crop, and provide live demonstrations and educational presentations by industry experts. Freedom Field Day will be held at REPREVE Renewables’ main farm in Soperton, GA on January 13, 2011.

“With spring planting season in March, it’s important for REPREVE Renewables to educate land owners and growers on the benefits of Freedom giant miscanthus,” said Phillip Jennings, COO of REPREVE Renewables. “Our goal is to provide growers with the planting stock and guidance they need to establish commercial-scale plots, as quickly and economically as possible. Hosting this event is the perfect opportunity to provide our customers and potential customers with the knowledge and facts that will help in making important crop decisions for 2011 and years to come.”

The Freedom Field Day is open to the public, but advance registration is required. More information can be found here.

bioenergy, biomass

Some Senators Urge End to Ethanol Incentives

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), together with 15 other senators, today sent a letter to the Senate leadership expressing their “lack of support for extending the current 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports and the 45-cent-per-gallon subsidy for blending ethanol into gasoline.”

Calling the incentives for domestic ethanol production “fiscally indefensible,” the senators wrote that ending them would “reduce the budget deficit, improve the environment, and lessen our reliance on imported oil.”

In response to the letter, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) officials issued a statement saying that eliminating the investment in domestic ethanol production “may seem pennywise, but is extraordinarily pound foolish. Eliminating the tax incentive could erase the $3 billion of net revenue for federal tax coffers generated by the domestic ethanol industry in 2009 and put tens of thousands of Americans out of work.”

Addressing concerns about the secondary tariff on imported ethanol, the RFA stated, “The tariff on imported ethanol is neither a burden on imports nor a factor driving America’s dependence on imported oil. The tariff simply exists to offset the value of the tax credit, preventing American taxpayers from subsidizing foreign ethanol producers. In a time of budget concerns and tax debates, propping up industries in other nations that already enjoy the largesse of their native governments seems counterintuitive.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFA

ACORE Forum to Spotlight Renewable Energy Policy

Cindy Zimmerman

energyRenewable energy policy will be in the spotlight next week at the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) forum being held December 8-9 in Washington, D.C.

According to ACORE, the Phase II Renewable Energy in America National Policy Forum will feature bi-partisan discussion of key energy issues. Each panel will begin with a topical presentation, followed by a conservative point of view and a liberal point of view, followed by a moderated give-and-take discussion to identify points of agreement and disagreement. An ACORE conference co-chair will moderate the panel, and a second co-chair will serve to summarize.

Keynote speakers for the event include Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, NREL Director Dan Arvizu, FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff and former Senator John Warner. A panel on “The State of Renewable Energy in America” will include ethanol company executive Jeff Broin, CEO of POET.

Energy, Ethanol

Soybean Growers Fly-in for Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

In an effort to convey the urgent need for Congress to extend the biodiesel tax incentive, American Soybean Association (ASA) farmer-leaders are participating in a biodiesel fly-in today to meet with members of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Participating from ASA are grower-leaders Joe Steiner of Ohio, Bob Henry of Kansas and Darryl Brinkmann of Illinois. These ASA leaders are joining with farmers from state soybean associations, biodiesel producers and others in the biodiesel industry to push for passage of legislation to extend the biodiesel tax incentive during the lame duck session.

“Extension and renewal of the biodiesel tax credit are critical to the economic viability of the industry,” Steiner said. “Expiration of the biodiesel tax incentive on Dec. 31, 2009, has resulted in lost production and jobs. This situation is likely to worsen if the credit is not reinstated.”

In 2009, the U.S. biodiesel industry produced 545 million gallons of biodiesel. Based on August and September production levels, 2010 production is expected to be approximately 345 million gallons, a decline of over 35 percent from the previous year.

Biodiesel, Government, Soybeans

Chevy to Highlight Volt During Web Event

John Davis

Chevrolet will be highlighting a promise the company made three years ago – to design, build and sell the world’s first electric vehicle with extended-range capability, the Volt – in a web event tomorrow (Tuesday) morning:

To commemorate this milestone, we’ll host an event at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly facility – the home of the Chevrolet Volt. The pre-show begins at 9:30 a.m. EST, and will be led by GM CEO Dan Akerson along with other key members of GM and Chevrolet leadership, including representatives from the Volt development team.

You can check out the webcast here, and I’ll be talking with some of the good folks from Chevy during tomorrow’s Domestic Fuel podcast.

Car Makers, Electric Vehicles, Miscellaneous

Monsanto Ups Investment in Oilseed Canola

John Davis

Seed giant Monsanto is upping the amount of money it is investing in the oilseed canola, which can be turned into biodiesel.

This Reuters article says Monsanto is raising its spending on canola research and development to between about $20 million and $30 million, about the same amount the company puts into wheat, and will open a $12 million canola breeding center in Winnipeg:

“It’s a very large crop for this company,” said Derek Penner, president of Monsanto Canada.

Spending to improve canola yields remains a high priority, along with seeking greater resistance to the fungal disease blackleg, Penner said. China has restricted imports of Canadian canola with blackleg.

With such seed research investments, Canada canola acres may soon match, but are unlikely to surpass, plantings of wheat because of the need to rotate crops, Penner said.

Canola’s expansion is more likely to happen through higher per-acre yields and additional acreage in the northern United States, Penner said.

The fact that canola is so profitable for farmers is a key reason seed companies are investing in it, said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in an interview.

“Canola is king. It is the best cash crop for producers.”

You can read more about Canadian canola biodiesel at this website: www.canolacouncil.org/biodiesel

Biodiesel, biofuels