First Load of Illinois Plant’s REG Biodiesel Rolls Out

John Davis

Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group (REG) has held a grand re-opening of its Seneca, Illinois biodiesel plant after taking over the 60 million-gallon-a-year biodiesel and glycerin facility from Nova Biosource Fuels.

REG celebrated the occasion with a ribbon cutting ceremony and by selling the first load of REG-9000 biodiesel from the refinery to Meier Oil of Ashkum Illinois last Thursday.

The REG Seneca facility has three side-by-side 20 mgy biodiesel process units, a technical grade glycerin refining facility, raw material and finished product storage as well as rail car and truck unloading and loading with the potential for barge transportation that had been idled for more than a year. This re-opening put 38 plant workers back on the job.

REG now wholly-owns five biodiesel production businesses and markets biodiesel in 49 states.

Biodiesel

Oil Imports In July Highest in 18 Months

Joanna Schroeder

Foreign oil imports are up for the first time in 18 months according to the latest figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The U.S. imported 65 percent of its oil, or 388 million barrels in July 2010, sending nearly $29.6 billion or $663,231 per minute to foreign countries. This is the highest number of barrels of oil imported in one month since January 2009.

T. Boone Pickens responded to the increase in oil imports in his monthly update and stated,” President Obama has pledged to eliminate Middle East oil dependence in 10 years, but the latest oil imports statistics show we’re not making much progress.  In July we imported 388 million barrels of oil, which is the highest total since President Obama took office in January 2009.”

He continued, It’s not hard to see that spending approximately $30 billion on oil month after month is hurting the economy. In fact, oil imports continue to make up more than half of the United States’ growing trade deficit.”

Pickens has repeatedly called for a comprehensive energy plan where natural gas plays a starring role, and is urging Congress to put energy back on the front burner when they return to D.C. in September.

Pickens is just one of dozens of organizations that have called for more effective energy policy but he is only one of few that focuses so heavily on natural gas as a replacement for liquid transportation fuels. Depending on what energy expert you believe, the country has either enough to last for hundreds of years, or for less than 20 years, if it is used as a primary fuel in the transportation sector.

Natural Gas, Oil

Cali Takes Step to Support Corn Ethanol Producers

Joanna Schroeder

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced that it has approved three ethanol producers and four ethanol plants under its Ethanol Producers Incentive Program (CEPIP). If and when the program actually begins, it will pay an incentive to corn ethanol producers who are producing more than 10 million gallons per year and operating in the state; yet today, only one plant is actually in production: Calgren Renewable Fuels LLC.

The purpose of the CEPIP is twofold; to increase the amount of biofuels produced in the state, and to move corn ethanol plants in the direction of reducing their environmental footprint as part of the Biorefinery Operational Enhancement Goal or BOEG obligations. To achieve these goals, the CEPIP was designed to provide economic assistance to ethanol facilities producing ethanol in California during difficult economic operating conditions. The life of the program is currently set at five years.

There are other states that have incentive programs but according to CEC spokesman Rob Schlichting in an article published in Ethanol Producer Magazine, California’s program is the only one that bases payments strictly on market conditions.

The payments are based on the crush spread CEC established would be 55 cents per gallon of ethanol. If the crush spread averages less than 55 cents per month than ethanol producers receive a payment of up to 25 cents per gallon with the total payment amount capped at $3 million. During months that the crush spread is greater than $1 per gallon, then producers will be required to pay back incentives at the rate of up to 20 cents per gallon of ethanol produced.

There are several ethanol plants currently idle in California due to financial difficulties and Schlichting noted that the program won’t be effective if you don’t have operational plants. He hopes that by getting the word out that producers have been accepted into the program investors will look more favorably on these plants.

Yet in true California ironic fashion, the program is indefinitely delayed due to the state’s financial mess. The program will not move forward until the state has a signed budget and other contractual issues are finalized, which could take months.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Dyadic Reports Second Quarter Loss

Joanna Schroeder

Dyadic International, Inc. reported a loss in second quarter revenues as compared to the same time period in 2009. Total revenue for the second quarter ending on June 30, 2010 decreased to $2.2 million compared to a reported $11.9 million the previous year. Total revenue for the first six months of the year was also down compared to 2009, with a reported $4.2 million so far in 2010 and $16.9 million in the first half of 2009.

The company attributes the second quarter decline in revenue to a decrease in licensing revenue and also reported that the lower revenue for the first six months was due to a decrease in licensing revenue as well as a decrease in research and development revenue.

“During the second quarter, we made significant progress in positioning Dyadic for future long-term growth by continuing to enhance our C1 technology and hiring key personnel and advisors to unlock the value of that technology primarily in the areas of biofuels and chemicals,” stated Dyadic’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Emalfarb.

“We also laid the foundation to apply our C1 technology to the development and commercialization of biopharmaceuticals. All of this is now being pursued without the overhanging risk, cost and distraction of protracted stockholder litigation which we have put behind us,” Emalfarb concluded.

biofuels, News

Gevo Prepares for IPO

Joanna Schroeder

Isobutanol company Gevo, Inc. has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to its proposed initial public offering (IPO). The company has not disclosed how many shares it plans to offer nor when it will file for the IPO, but early estimates put the total worth of the IPO as high as $150 million.

During the past few years, Gevo has purchased several corn-based ethanol plants and converted them to produce isobutanol which can be used as a specialty chemical or blended with fuel. The company plans to use the money raised from the IPO to purchase more biorefineries.

UBS Investment Bank and Goldman, Sachs & Co. will be acting as joint bookrunning managers, with Piper Jaffray acting as a co-manager for the offering. The company plans to list its shares on Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol “GEVO.”

biobutanol, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Seaweed Could be Another Ethanol Feedstock

Cindy Zimmerman

The pursuit of new feedstocks for next generation ethanol has gone underwater.

Seaweed has been getting quite a bit of attention for its potential in ethanol production, especially in Asia. Most recently, scientists from Tohoku University and Tohoku Electric Power announced they have developed a technology to efficiently generate ethanol from seaweed such as sea tangle and sea grape, according to reports from Japan over the weekend. The technology reportedly uses a natural yeast and a new fermentation process that mixes finely cut seaweed with enzymes and blends it into a pulp. The scientists say they succeeded in producing 200 milliliters of ethanol from 1 kg of seaweed.

The idea of using seaweed for ethanol is also being researched in Korea and the Philippines, as well as in Chile. One of the benefits to using seaweed as an ethanol feedstock are that it grows quickly and allows for as much as six harvests per year. Also, since seaweeds do not have lignin, pretreatment is not necessary before converting them to fuels, making it potentially less expensive than other cellulosic sources.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research

Book Review – The Great Global Warming Blunder

Joanna Schroeder

“I am under no illusion that this book will settle the scientific debate over the roles of mankind versus nature in global warming and climate change. Quite the opposite. I am hoping that the scientific debate will finally begin.” These are the final words of author and climatologist, Dr. Roy Spencer in his new book, The Great Global Blunder.

While the mainstream media continues to report that global climate change is real and caused by man, Spencer argues that it is in fact real, but not manmade. He says that global warming is just part of a natural cycle. In fact, he said that cloud cover is one of the “feedbacks” (i.e. causes) of warming and cooling trends.

Spencer is not the first scientist to speak out against the theory that global climate change is manmade. Climate physicist Henrik Svensmark and award winning science writer Nigel Calder also believe that clouds are a cause of global warming. They lay out their theory in “The Chilling Stars A New Theory of Climate Change.”

Spencer argues that scientists who take a risk and offer other ideas for the cause of climate change, are not often published in scientific journals nor are their theories covered by the mainstream media who likes stories that bring the message of doom and gloom.

“Why am I willing to stick my neck out on an issue where there is so much momentum running in the opposite direction? Because the United States is making decisions on energy policy that will literally lead to death and suffering. The environmental lobby, activist news media, opportunistic politicians–and even a few Big Oil interests–have led the public to believe that we can “go green” in generating energy,” writes Spencer.Read More

book reviews, Environment

USDA Predicts Record Corn Crop

Joanna Schroeder

In the latest forecast issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), corn farmers are on track for a record corn crop and yield per acre for this year. The numbers are estimated to surpass the records set in 2009. USDA expects farmers to harvest 13.37 billion bushels, 2 percent larger than in 2009. They are also projecting 165 bushels per acre, up from 164.7 bushels per acre last year, also a new high.

Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper notes that the record yields effectively demonstrate that U.S. farmers can meeting increasing demands without needing to expand acreage as well as meet the growing demands for food, feed and fuel.

“This will be the third 13 billion bushel crop on record and it’s worth noting that this year’s crop will be produced on nearly 6 million fewer acres than the first 13 billion bushel crop just three years ago. Once again, today’s report further undermines the theory that U.S. farmers will need to convert non-agricultural land to cropland to keep up with increasing demand. The rapid adoption of new technologies and practices is allowing the nation’s farmers to continue to produce more grain on fewer acres.”

To put the significance of the increase in perspective, this year’s estimated crop will be twice as large and the corn crop produced 30 years ago in 1980 but it will be achieved using only 4.6 percent more acres than in 1980. Also of note, the USDA projects that 4.7 billion bushels of corn will be processed into ethanol for the 2010/11 marketing year, producing approximately 13 billion gallons of ethanol.

Agribusiness, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Novozymes Acquires Brazilian Ag Company Turfal

Joanna Schroeder

Novozymes has announced that is has acquired Brazilian microorganism company Turfal in order to obtain direct access to the Brazilian bioagriculture market. Turfal develops and manufacturers microbes that stimulate the growth of crops, such as soybeans, by fixating nitrogen. These microbes allow growers to use less fertilizer and save money.

Turfal’s operations are located 25 miles from Novozymes’ Latin American headquarters in Curitiba and will become the platform for all of Novozymes’ sustainable agriculture business in Brazil.

“The main reason for the acquisition is that we want to expand Novozymes’ position within the market for sustainable agriculture,” said Thomas Videbæk, Executive Vice President, BioBusiness, Novozymes. “We see exciting growth opportunities on the Brazilian bioagriculture market, and Turfal will give Novozymes direct access to this market.”

Novozymes is stepping up its game as the company continues to position itself as a worldwide player to help meet the challenges of feeding a growing global population. Experts estimate that global agricultural production will need to increase by 73 percent in order to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050. One sustainable agricultural challenge is to increase yields without increasing the number of acres of cropland.

“The nitrogen-fixating inoculants from Turfal and Novozymes can help farmers reduce their need for nitrogen fertilizers by up to 80 percent on leguminous crops. This is a unique value proposition in a world where farmers are under pressure to increase yields in a sustainable manner,” said Videbæk.

Agribusiness, biofuels, Brazil

Long Island Gets Four New E85 Pumps

Cindy Zimmerman

Gulf Oil has opened four new E85 pumps in Long Island. The new dispensers were installed with funding from Growth Energy’s 2010 E85 and blender pump program.

“We are proud to be among the first to offer E85 in Long Island and we look forward to the day when many more fuel choices form the foundation of a new energy future,” said Laura Scott, Senior Vice President Finance and Strategy for Gulf Oil. “We would like to thank Growth Energy, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Department of Energy for making this project financially feasible.”

Gulf’s new Long Island E85 pumps are located in Brentwood, Hauppauge, Rockville Centre, and Ronkonkoma. This brings the total number of E85 sites in the state of New York to 58.

E85, Ethanol, Growth Energy