Book Review – Green Gone Wrong

Joanna Schroeder

Everyone has an opinion about the veracity of global warming, except, maybe global governments who are pursing economic improvements on the back of climate change. The quest for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and predominately carbon dioxide (CO2) has led to a spurt of new research around the development of more sustainable practices and technologies. But at what cost to the environment? This question is asked and answered in the new book Green Gone Wrong, by Heather Rogers.

This question may on the surface sound like an oxymoron. How can you be developing technologies to reduce CO2, yet hurt the environment at the same time? According to Rogers, this is in fact happening every day, all over the world. Rogers breaks up the offenses into three categories: food, shelter and transportation.

The crux of the food section studies what organic farming really means (or doesn’t mean) and the movement to “beyond organic”. The next section discusses green building and the last section studies transportation, where I will focus. One element that is weaved throughout this section, is the discussions of the validity of carbon offset programs.

Many of the arguments she presents in the section are not new. She writes about biofuels, “As for ecological sustainability, biofuels have been widely discredited. The energy efficiency achieved with ethanol is dubious and a source of much debate. While some researchers say more energy goes into making ethanol than the alt-fuel can supply, others estimate a positive energy balance. A commonly cited figure is that for every gallon of fossil fuel used in production, only 1.3 gallons of corn-based ethanol can be refined. Either way, by now it’s apparent that biofuels pressure both ecosystems and the access to food.”Read More

book reviews, Environment

Ag Secretary Visits Ohio Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland toured the POET Biorefining plant in Marion, Ohio today and talked ethanol with industry stakeholders.

Vilsack and Strickland took part in a roundtable discussion with representatives from POET, the Ohio Corn Growers Association, Ohio Ethanol Producers Association and the Ohio Department of Agriculture as well as the federal Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

During the visit, Vilsack voiced support for increasing the ethanol blend level to 15 percent. “We are working at USDA to develop a roadmap for how to build that [ethanol] nationwide industry,” he said. “We understand it starts with allowing the capacity we have today to maximize its input. That means increasing the blend rate to 15 percent. I have been advocating for that, will continue to advocate for that, and I believe it will happen. Obviously I wish it had had happened now, but I believe it will happen sometime this fall.” Vilsack also stressed the need for increasing blender pumps and getting more flex fuel vehicles on the road.

Yesterday, Vilsack toured Quasar Energy Group in Wooster, Ohio to observe new technologies being utilized to generate larger supplies of biogas derived from cellulosic biomass. USDA, along with the State of Ohio, provided funding to support the development of the new facility.

The funding was used to install an anaerobic digester that processes 25,000 wet tons per year of organic biomass including food wastes from local food producers, crop residuals, grass and manure from livestock operations of the Ohio State University-Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI). Based on its electric generation capacity, this bio-digester can supply roughly one-third of the electricity needs of the Ohio Agricultural Research & Development Center (OARDC) campus.

biogas, biomass, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, POET

Study Finds “Modest” Impact to Ending Ethanol Tax Credit

Cindy Zimmerman

A study conducted by Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) has determined that the impact of ending the ethanol blenders tax credit and corresponding tariff would be “modest.”

The report, Costs and Benefits to Taxpayers, Consumers, and Producers from U.S. Ethanol Policies, finds that “allowing the blender credit and tariff to expire would neither have the dramatic, adverse effect U.S. ethanol producers claim nor create the export bonanza Brazil would hope for.”

According to the study, U.S. ethanol production would increase to some 14.5 billion gallons by 2014 without the tax credit and import tariff while U.S. imports of Brazilian ethanol would rise modestly to about 740 million gallons—less than 5 percent of the total U.S. ethanol market. They also found that “no more than 300 jobs” would be lost in the ethanol industry as a result of ending the VEETC and tariff, and that ethanol prices would decrease 12 cents a gallon next year and fall 34 cents per gallon by 2014.

UNICAPartial funding for the report was provided by a grant from UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association. In a post on the UNICA blog, Sweeter Alternative, North American Representative Joel Velasco says they backed the study because they “an honest assessment from an impartial expert and thought who better to engage than a world-renowned agricultural economist from the Farm Belt.” The report’s author is CARD director Dr. Bruce A. Babcock, professor of economics at Iowa State University. Velasco writes, “Our only request of Dr. Babcock was that he let the chips fall where they may,” writes Velasco. “We wanted Iowa State University to examine the range of options Congress is actually debating and provide a realistic estimate of what changing policies will mean for U.S. taxpayers, American drivers and ethanol producers in the U.S. and Brazil. We also provided the researchers with requested data on projections of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol production, domestic consumption and potential exports through 2014.”

Read the full study here.

Brazil, Ethanol

Ethanol Frequent Fuel Card Available

This week, with support of the American Lung Association and other sponsors, three fueling facilities in the state of Minnesota are offering a Frequent Fuel Card in exchange for ethanol fuel discounts. These retail sites include those in Truman, Lyle and Austin, Minnesota.

The NuMart C-Store at 302 North 5th Street in Truman began giving away the fuel cards today. The first 50 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) to fill up at the site received the card where after 4 E85 purchases, they will receive a $10 discount off their next purchase of E85.

Freeborn County Coops are also offering the frequent fuel cards to the first 100 FFV owners to fuel up at their facilities at 301 1st St. in Lyle on July 22 and at Hwys 56 and 90 in Austin, MN. A $10 discount will be given on E85, E20, E30 or E40 after a customer’s fourth fuel up.

Also, the participants at each location will be entered into a drawing for a $50 fuel card.

For more information on these events, go to www.CleanAirChoice.org.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

DOE Finds Ethanol Pipeline Feasible

Cindy Zimmerman

A pipeline for ethanol from the Midwest to the East Coast is a viable project, if certain conditions are met, according to a report by the Department of Energy (DOE).

In the report titled “Dedicated Ethanol Pipeline Feasibility Study,” which was required under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, DOE concludes that “in spite of the documented challenges and risks, a profitable, dedicated ethanol pipeline is feasible under certain scenarios. A pipeline would enhance the fuels delivery infrastructure, reduce congestion of rail, truck, and barge transportation, and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to current delivery methods. The faster product delivery cycles, more reliable delivery schedules, and increased safety will enhance the flexibility to accommodate any significant expansions in ethanol production and demand in the future.”

One of the challenges is that the pipeline, at a projected cost of $4.25 billion, would need to transport 4.1 billion gallons of ethanol each year over its 40-year lifespan to be economically feasible without “major financial incentives.” That volume exceeds projected demand in the target East Coast service area by 1.3 billion gallons.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA) suggest that the pipeline could be developed with federal support in the form of a loan guarantee. “By providing federal loan guarantees for biofuels’ pipelines, we can attract private investment in large infrastructure development projects, create good-paying jobs and further move our nation towards energy independence and security, and all with minimal taxpayer investment,” Harkin says. Boswell, who authored the Renewable Fuel Pipeline Act of 2010, says the pipeline would have significant benefits. “In addition to reducing greenhouse gases emitted during truck and rail transport of biofuels, it would also reduce the overall cost of these renewable fuels to consumers outside of the Midwest,” he said.

Ethanol producer POET and Magellan Midstream Partners, which have formed a partnership to look into building such an ethanol pipeline, were pleased with the government report. “While our project differs from the hypothetical project considered within DOE’s study, we believe the DOE’s conclusions are directionally correct: a large scale pipeline project is feasible under certain conditions and that a federal loan guarantee is necessary to move forward,” reads a joint press release from the companies. “In addition, the DOE confirms that transporting energy via pipelines has multiple benefits such as reducing congested highway and rail systems while reducing green house gas emissions when compared to other modes of transportation.”

The POET/Magellan project is based on a smaller capital cost of $3.55 billion and similar demand.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, POET

More E85 for Florida

Cindy Zimmerman

Motorists driving Flex Fuel Vehicles along Florida’s Treasure Coast now have two more places to fill up with E85 ethanol fuel.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel have announced the availability of E85 at Twin Oil Sunoco retail stations in Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie.

The Twin Oil fueling stations, each branded as Sunoco, are offering E85 at 2501 Orange Avenue in Ft. Pierce and at 2681 SW Fondura Street (Gatlin Blvd) in Port St. Lucie. The Ft. Pierce E85 site will have 1 E85 dispenser with 2 nozzles, both located under the canopy. Twin Oil will also aim to serve the Florida Department of Transportation hub near this station and the many tourists in the area. The Port St. Lucie E85 station will offer E85 at 2 dispensers (Gilbarco), both under the canopy. This station is located on a busy street offering access to I-95, FL Turnpike and will also support fleets and tourists in addition to the local FFV population. Twin Oil utilized Protec Fuel’s turnkey E85 fuel program for both stations, which included the conversion process to an E85 fueling pump, E85 supply and promotional marketing.

To help locate the two stations, the RFA has developed a fuel locator application for Garmin and TomTom GPS devices, as well as the E85 Fuel Finder iPhone app.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Indirect GHGs of Petroleum Worse Than Thought

Joanna Schroeder

Environment Magazine has published new research today that finds that the greenhouse gas emissions derived from military use of oil is worse than previously thought. University of Nebraska professors, Adam Liska and Richard Perrin write in the article, Securing Foreign Oil: A Case for Including Military Operations in the Climate Change Impact of Fuels, “we assert that military activity to protect international oil trade is a direct production component for importing foreign oil—as necessary for imports as are pipelines and supertankers—and therefore the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from that military activity are relevant to U.S. fuel policies related to climate change.”

Other areas that may be considered tied to military production of GHG emissions are the global protection of oil reserves and Middle Eastern wars.

The authors note that as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, specific GHG emission reductions must be met by biofuels including direct life cycle emissions as well as indirect emissions; however, in current legislation, only the direct GHG emissions are accounted for when calculating life cycle emissions of gasoline production. Therefore, the authors wanted to understand how military emissions affect the total amount of GHG emissions of gasoline. What they discovered is that direct spending on military activity and military acquisition of oil results in the release of nearly 289,000 tons of carbon dioxide per billion dollars spent.

To get a handle on the billions of dollars spent just on the Iraq War, the U.S. Congressional Research Service report estimated that the average annual cost of the Iraq War has been $93.5 billion.

Ultimately, the authors conclude, “In order to have a balanced assessment of the climate change impacts of substituting biofuels for gasoline, a comparison of all direct and indirect emissions from both types of fuel is required.”

Several ethanol organizations came out in support of the report today including Growth Energy who reiterated the environmental costs associated with our dependence on foreign oil and the Renewable Fuels Association who heralded the study as “groundbreaking”.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, Oil, Research, RFA

Ethanol Opponents Call for End to Tax Incentives

Cindy Zimmerman

Seizing on last week’s CBO report and a proposal by Growth Energy to phase out and redirect the blenders tax credit for ethanol (VEETC), several long-time opponents of ethanol renewed their call for an end to all tax incentives for the home-grown fuel.

In a press conference this morning, representatives from the American Meat Institute (AMI), Environmental Working Group (EWG), Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Taxpayers for Common Sense together said that the tax credit should be eliminated at the end of this year when it expires, and the corresponding tariff on imported ethanol should also be ended.

AMI president J. Patrick Boyle claims that the blenders tax credit distorts the corn market and increases the cost of feeding animals. “Thirty years of tax payer support for the corn-based ethanol industry has created a mature industry that now needs to compete fairly in the market place and allow for the next generation of renewable fuels to grow,” said Boyle.

NRDC’s Nathanael Greene called the tax credit a “bribe” for fuel blenders to comply with the Renewable Fuels Standard. “It’s sort of like paying people to obey the speed limit,” Greene said. He also called the VEETC an “environmental problem” that “drives up food prices, encourages agribusiness to pollute our water.”

The groups made it clear that they do not support Growth Energy’s proposal to redirect the tax credit and use it instead to increase blender pumps and flex fuel vehicles, but said that proposal shows the industry recognizes that the tax credit is in jeopardy. Steve Ellis with Taxpayers for Common Sense called Growth Energy’s proposal ironic. “At the same time they talk about a mandate for flex fuel vehicles and for pumps across the country, these are enormous subsidies, and yet they’re talking about a level playing and letting the free market work,” Ellis said.Read More

ACE, corn, Environment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, food and fuel, Government, Growth Energy, RFA

Export Exchange to Focus on Ethanol Co-Product

Cindy Zimmerman

usgcA partnership between the Renewable Fuels Association and the U.S. Grains Council will help bring producers of the ethanol co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) together with interested international buyers to get answers, make connections, and build business.

Export Exchange 2010 will bring together more than 150 international buyers of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains with more than 300 U.S. producers and agribusinesses. The conference will be held on Oct. 6-8, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in Chicago, Ill.

Renewable Fuels Association Logo“The opportunity to educate foreign buyers about high quality, U.S.-produced DDGS could not come at a better time,” said RFA President Bob Dinneen. “At current dietary inclusion levels, distillers grains consumption is nearing saturation in the United States. Increasing U.S. exports of distillers grains will be instrumental in helping the industry avoid running into a ‘feed wall.’ Fortunately, markets around the world are rapidly opening, creating demand for approximately 15 to 20 percent of all distillers grains produced today.”

usgc“We are excited to have the Renewable Fuels Association co-sponsor the Export Exchange 2010,” said USGC President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr. “The burgeoning world population is demanding more meat, milk and eggs. U.S. DDGS and coarse grains continue to play an important role in livestock and poultry feed rations globally. We have to educate and connect our buyers and sellers to continue to grow vital markets for the United States.”

The Council is providing sponsorship for the attendance of targeted international trade teams from more than 25 countries. These participants represent nearly 80 percent of the global export market for DDGS and coarse grains. The conference will address critical issues facing U.S. exports and seek to educate and build awareness of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains among international buyers.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, International, RFA

Novozymes to Develop Cellulosic Ethanol in Brazil

Cindy Zimmerman

Novozymes has signed an agreement with a world leader in the sugarcane ethanol market to work on cellulosic ethanol production in Brazil.

NovozymesThe agreement between Dedini and Novozymes is based on developing the commercial potential of cellulosic ethanol in Brazil due to the large availability of bagasse. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane, crushing more than 600 million tons per year, from which 27 billion liters (7.1 billion gallons) of ethanol is currently produced.

“Considering the demand for ethanol in Brazil and the amount of bagasse available, there is considerable opportunity for further growth in this market. The partnership with Dedini, the largest engineering player in the sugarcane industry in Brazil, will help us to unlock this potential,” says Novozymes CEO Steen Riisgaard.

Novozymes recently introduced the first commercially viable enzymes for production of cellulosic ethanol that have the ability to break down agricultural waste such as corn stover, wheat straw, wood chips and bagasse, enabling fermentation to ethanol. Dedini, which supplies equipment and complete plants for the sugar-ethanol market, has developed a chemical process with diluted acid and a lignin solvent.

The objective of this partnership is to develop a process using the enzymatic hydrolysis route from sugarcane residues. This would result in the implementation of a demonstration plant, integrated into sugarcane mill refineries.

Brazil, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News