Brazil Aids Kenya with Sugarcane Ethanol Development

Joanna Schroeder

In past posts, I’ve written (or re-published) about how countries like Brazil are taking a leadership role in global biofuels development. I came across an article recently in the Business Daily that discusses how Brazilian biofuels experts are working with Kenya to boost their biofuels development.

While there are still global concerns about biofuels relationship to food, especially food security, Kenya is moving forward with its increased production of sugarcane for ethanol. Brazilian experts are helping the country improve sugarcane production as well as aiding them in the development of ethanol production facilities strategically located throughout the country.

Back in July, a pact was signed between the two countries that ensures cooperation in the development and promotion of both ethanol and biodiesel. The pact includes the exchange of expertise and training support.

“These joint consultations and efforts will enable Kenya to tap our 85 years of experience and expertise to discover her potential in biofuel production,” a Brazilian foreign affairs ministry official, Mr Luciano Sousa, said in Nairobi after a meeting with Kenyan experts last week.

Today, more than 100 countries have some energy policy that requires the development and use of bioenergy, and according to Brazilian biofuel expert Daniel Machado da Fonseca, Brazil’s biofuels model can be replicated in these countries.

“One of the highlights of this pact is to assist countries map out the biofuel zones to ensure that its commercial production does not pose a threat to food security,” said Machado.

Kenya is not the only country that Brazil has signed a pact with. They are also working with Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Mozambique to help them develop their biofuels programs.

biofuels, Brazil, Ethanol, News

Controversial Clean Energy Killer Added to Cali Ballot

Joanna Schroeder

There is a highly controversial provision being added to California’s ballots this November called Prop 23. The proposition, which is backed by several oil companies, is asking for the state to suspend California’s 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act that calls for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to 1990 levels by 2020. Supporters of Prop 23 want the suspension to be in place until unemployment drops to 5.5 percent in four consecutive quarters. The state is currently looking at double-digit unemployment numbers of 13.2 percent, one of the worst in the nation.

The supporters of Prop 23, led by Texas refining giants Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro, Inc., are claiming that this piece of legislation will cost businesses and consumers billions of dollars in higher energy costs over the next decade. Environmental organizations are fighting back arguing that this is an attempt to kill California’s green energy policy.

Yet those who oppose the bill are claiming that the passage of this proposition would jeopardize a half million clean tech jobs, 12,000 companies and billions of dollars of private investment in California. They also contend that the state’s global leadership in clean tech would succumb to nations such as Asia and Europe. To date, more than 250 businesses and organizations have vocally opposed Prop 23.

In a new report, “Going Backward,” released by the Clean Economy Network (CEN), Prop 23 would suspend efforts to increase electricity produced from renewable sources as well as stifle energy efficiency standards for homes and office buildings. The report says that this effort, if passed, would increase healthcare costs due to pollution as well as raise electricity bills by up to a third over the next 12 years.

“Prop 23 should be viewed for what it is: a mechanism for regulatory and investment uncertainty that only benefits its backers – big out-of-state oil companies Valero and Tesoro – while putting the economic health of the rest of California at risk,” said Jeff Anderson, Executive Director of CEN. “Sending jobs and investment overseas is a no-win proposition for all Americans and must be defeated.”

In an environment that has lost most private investors, those who oppose Prop 23 fear that what little money is left will dry up. There is also concern that if California backs off of its current climate change and alternative energy legislation, that it will signal other states to follow suit. The result, they say, would be detrimental to our country’s efforts at creating comprehensive energy and climate policy in the U.S.

biofuels, Electricity, Energy, Environment, politics

Novozymes Joins Sustainability Consortium

Joanna Schroeder

A new global organization called The Sustainability Consortium, has been formed to improve the sustainability of consumer products and Novozymes has become a member. The group membership consists of both government and non-government organizations, businesses, environmental organizations, and academics who will work together to impact future products and supply networks designed to address environmental, social and economic imperatives. Novozymes joins the ranks among several other well-known U.S. companies including Wal-Mart, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Dell, Disney, and BASF.

“Novozymes is recognized for being among the best in sustainability development and their expertise in bio-innovative products and solutions will be a tremendous value and addition to the efforts of The Sustainability Consortium,” said Dr. Jay Golden, co-director of The Sustainability Consortium.

While Novozymes is best known in the biofuels space for their break-through cellulosic ethanol enzymes, the company actually works in more than 40 industries worldwide. According to the company, they use the power of bioinnovation as a means to help increase product quality and yields while reducing consumption of natural resources including water and energy.

“Society must find new ways to meet the needs of a growing population while reducing our impact on the environment,” said Claus Stig Pedersen, head of sustainability at Novozymes. “In short, we must produce more with less. Our goal in working with The Sustainability Consortium is to help develop the tools, metrics and strategies that will create more sustainable consumer products for the future. Today Novozymes is a supplier and partner to many different consumer product value chains, and this is a unique opportunity to help make them more sustainable.”

For the past 15 years, Novozymes has been developing an expertise in the study of life cycle assessment (LCA) a tool to measure the environmental impacts of products throughout their life span. Their intent is to both share and improve this expertise through their work with The Sustainability Consortium.

Company Announcement, Environment

New Renewable Energy Power Set to Surpass Fossil Fuels

Joanna Schroeder

This month several reports have been released on the global growth of renewable energy. According to two new reports released by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), for two consecutive years, the United States and Europe added more power from renewable sources such as wind and solar than from conventional sources such as coal, gas and nuclear.

Horse Hollow Wind Farm, USA, credit: GWEC

As reported in the Renewables 2010 Global Status Report, renewables accounted by 60 percent of new installed capacity in Europe and accounted for 50 percent of new installed capacity in the U.S in 2009. Experts are predicting that within the next two years, the world as a whole will follow-suit and add more capacity to the electrical grid from renewable than non-renewable sources.

However, this week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released its International Energy Outlook 2010 which anticipates energy growth from 2007 to 2035. The report anticipates that fossil fuels are expected to continue to supply much of the used worldwide and predicts that electricity generation will grow by an average of 3.0 percent per year and the renewable share of the world electricity generation will increase from 18 percent in 2007 to 23 percent in 2035. Generation from natural gas and nuclear power increase 2.1 and 2.0 percent per year, respectively while coal-fired power is expected to increase an average of 2.3 percent. This would make coal the second-fastest growing source for electricity generation worldwide.

The result of continued growth of fossil-fuel based energy, according to the International Energy Outlook 2010 is that world-energy related CO2 emissions are expected to rise from 29.7 billion metric tons in 2007 to 33.8 billion metric tons in 2020 hitting a high of 42.4 billion metric tons on 2035. This is an estimated CO2 emission projection increase of 43 percent over the next 28 years.Read More

biofuels, Electricity, Energy, News

Tennessee’s Biomass Innovation Park Breaks Ground

Joanna Schroeder

Yesterday, Dallas Tonsager, the Under Secretary for Rural Development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony for Tennessee’s Biomass Innovation Park. The park is a unique campus that will develop technology to integrate and optimizes the entire biomass supply chain. It will also be the site for a $5 million Department of Energy-funded high-tonnage switchgrass bulk handling system.

The Biomass Innovation Park will provide harvesting, handling, storage, densification, pre-processing, and transportation for multiple feedstocks including switchgrass, and serve as a foundation for all biomass feedstock used to create biofuels, biochemicals, bioproducts, biomaterials, biopower, and bioenergy. The 21-acre park is located adjacent to the Genera/DDCD demonstration-scale biorefinery in Vonore.

“This facility will integrate biomass receiving, storage, separation, pre-processing, and compaction. It will initially process up to 50,000 tons of switchgrass but is designed to handle a wide range of energy crops and other biomass feedstocks,” said Genera President and CEO Dr. Kelly Tiller. “We will also have energy crop R&D demonstration plots onsite, as well as some demonstration scale novel conversion processes and technology.

Switchgrass studies are currently underway and more than 6,000 acres of switchgrass are being grown by local farmers within a 50 mile radius of the plant. Genera has contracted with the farmers to convert the switchgrass to cellulosic ethanol. The first phase of construction will completed by the end of 2010, in time to store and process switchgrass from the fall harvest.

“The Biomass Innovation Park will be a unique and valuable asset in answering many of the questions farmers, biorefineries, and the entire bioenergy industry are asking about sufficient, sustainable, scalable, cost effective supply chains for energy crops;” concluded Dr. Tiller.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

San Jose Opens Additional EV Charging Stations

Joanna Schroeder

San Jose, California is the latest city to install a Networked Charging Station for electric vehicles (EV). The station was installed by Coulomb Technologies and is part of a $37 million ChargePoint America program that will eventually offer hundreds of free stations for public and home charging throughout the Bay area. Coulomb has the largest established base networked charging stations worldwide with more than 700 stations shipped to 130 customers.

“Coulomb’s first customer was the City of San Jose and we’re pleased to be back, both to welcome the electric vehicle transformation to Silicon Valley and also to bring jobs to install and maintain electric vehicle infrastructure,” said Richard Lowenthal CEO of Coulomb Technologies. “Thanks to our $37 Million ChargePoint America program, San Jose will be one of the first cities in the nation to enable its residents to buy vehicles that don’t pollute and don’t depend on oil.”

Coulomb is working with Ford, Chevrolet and Smart USA, three companies that have announced that they will introduce EVs in the Bay area in upcoming months. The first two ChargePoint America stations are now installed at the McEnergy Convention Center parking center. The program goal is to install 5,000 charging stations in nine regions of the U.S. including Austin, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose/San Francisco, California; New York, New York; Orlando, Florida; Bellevue/Redmond, Washington; and Washington D.C.

“The installation of San Jose’s first ChargePoint America station is an important step forward in our efforts to make the Bay Area the Electric Vehicle capital of America,” said Mayor Chuck Reed. “Our partnership will Coulomb Technologies is the perfect example of how Silicon Valley can lead the world in clean tech innovation and create new jobs in our community.”

Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. ChargePoint Network’s unique features also include a ChargePoint iPhone App, location of unoccupied charging stations via smart phones and charging status sent to you by SMS text or email notification.

Electric Vehicles, News

Largest US FFV Fleet Now Has 85 Percent Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The biggest fleet of flexible fuel vehicles in the United States now has access to 85 percent ethanol fuel.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel joined representatives of the Norfolk Naval Base and Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia to cut the ribbon and open the new E85 pump. In addition to providing fuel for the Navy Fleet and city fleets, the station is open to the general public.

Norfolk is home to the largest fleet of vehicles using alternative fuels in United States. As the largest Naval complex in the world, the Norfolk Naval base has 2,585 flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) in their fleet. “When the largest fleet in the state of Virginia is fueling their vehicles with alternative fuels like ethanol, it shows the strong desire to rely more on domestic made fuel and less on foreign oil,” said RFA Director of Market Development, Robert White. “With the Navy taking this lead, we only hope that it will promote the use of America’s fuel throughout the rest of the U.S.”

Todd Garner, Managing Partner of Protec Fuel said they are proud to be partnered with NEXCOM and The US Navy by building and opening this new E85 station. “The Norfolk Naval E85 station, serving the largest Naval base in the world, will effectively serve the general public and the large flex-fuel fleet vehicles simultaneously,” said Garner. “Economic and environmental benefits aside, this station and E85 will help get our troops home and strengthen our national security through domestically produced fuels.”

Read more here.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

World Bank Report Takes New Look at Food and Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol production probably had less impact on global commodity prices in 2008 than many were saying at the time.

A newly released working paper, entitled “Placing the 2006/08 Commodity Price Boom into Perspective,” from the Development Prospects Group at the World Bank, concludes that “…the effect of biofuels on food prices has not been as large as originally thought.”

Authors of the report, John Baffes and Tassos Haniotis, argue that energy prices, as well as speculation, played significant roles in the non-energy commodity price spikes seen in the recent past. “We conclude that a stronger link between energy and non‐energy commodity prices is likely to have been the dominant influence on developments in commodity, and especially food, markets,” says the report. “Demand by developing countries is unlikely to have put additional pressure on the prices of food commodities, although it may have created such pressure indirectly through energy prices.”

Another point they make is that biofuels only represent 1.5 percent of worldwide grain and oilseed use. “This raises serious doubts about claims that biofuels account for a big shift in global demand. Even though widespread perceptions about such a shift played a big role during the recent commodity price boom, it is striking that maize prices hardly moved during the first period of increase in US ethanol production, and oilseed prices dropped when the EU increased impressively its use of biodiesel. On the other hand, prices spiked while ethanol use was slowing down in the US and biodiesel use was stabilizing in the EU.”

In a 2008 Policy Research Working Paper, authored by Donald Mitchell, lead economist for the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group, which claimed 70-75 percent of the increase in food prices that year was due to biofuels and the related consequences of low grain stocks, large land use shifts, speculative activity and export bans.

So, this new paper is a big about-face from the 2008 view and actually says what most biofuels advocates were saying all along, according to Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen. “In reversing course, this World Bank report reaffirms the marginal role biofuels play in world commodity and food prices,” said Dinneen. “The RFA has long noted that ethanol production has continued to increase while corn prices have now returned to normal levels. Volatile oil prices, speculation, and adverse weather conditions all played far more significant roles in driving commodity prices to record and near record prices.”

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis praised the World Bank for setting the record straight. “This study clearly shows that the notion of food-versus-fuel was simply wrong,” said Buis. “Food-versus-fuel has always been and will always be nothing more than a myth. We hope that this report will encourage others who have relentlessly perpetuated this untruth to admit their mistakes and put an end to this false debate.”

It is interesting to note that these “working papers,” although released by the World Bank, done by World Bank economists and posted on the World Bank website, come with a disclaimer that says they represent “work in progress” and that the findings “are entirely those of the authors” and do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank.

Link to July 2008 working paper.
Link to July 2010 Working Paper.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, food and fuel, Food prices, International, RFA

Renewable Energy Progress

Cindy Zimmerman

Earlier this month, the 25x’25 Alliance released a progress report on where the nation is in terms of the goal of meeting 25 percent of our energy needs with renewable resources by 2025, and they held a press conference with representatives of all the major renewable energy sectors to talk about the report and what still needs to be done.

25x'25In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we will hear from each of those representatives – Tom Buis with ethanol group Growth Energy; Bob Cleaves of the Biomass Power Association; Brad Collins with the American Solar Energy Society; Karl Gawell from the Geothermal Energy Association; and Rob Gramlich with the American Wind Energy Association – as well as 25x’25 steering committee co-chairman Reid Smith.

Listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, biomass, Domestic Fuel Cast, Electricity, Energy, Ethanol, Geothermal, Growth Energy, Solar, Wind

First Ethanol Blender Pump West of Rockies Opens

Cindy Zimmerman

Get Green LLC, Lucky Stop and Growth Energy have teamed up to offer the first blender pump offering mid and high levels of ethanol west of the Rockies.

The Lucky Stop station in Las Vegas offers ethanol blends of E30 and E85 and owner Mike Maalouf is pleased to offer his customers a choice. “Everyone is struggling with the way the economy is right now. By installing E30 and E85 this creates more choices for the consumer, but also assists with lessening our dependency on foreign oil,” he said. There are 13 other E85 stations in Nevada, but this is the first to offer an additional blend. The new blender pump opened for business on July 12 and Maalouf reports that his sales have already increased by 30 percent.

Growth Energy provided Lucky’s a grant through their 2010 E85 and Blender Pump Program. Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy noted that the recent certification of Dresser Wayne and Gilbarco blender pumps by Underwriters Laboratory will help promote the installation of blender pumps across the country to help decrease our dependence on oil.

“We are pleased to assist Lucky Stop with the opening of the first blender pump west of the Rockies,” said Buis. “Every blender pump we install will help make our country more energy independent and more secure, all while giving consumers a choice at the pump that includes domestic, renewable ethanol. Growth Energy is pleased to have been able to assist in Lucky Stop’s efforts and we remain committed to assist with additional blender pumps across the nation.”

blends, Ethanol, Growth Energy