Biodiesel – A Great Success Story

Joanna Schroeder

“Biodiesel is a great fuel. It’s a great success story,” said Rob Joslin, the President of the American Soybean Association when I asked him during an interview (see below for audio) why biodiesel is so important to our country. While the biodiesel has had great success, it is currently facing a challenge – the $1 per gallon tax credit expired at the end of 2009 and has yet to be extended, although it is close.

Joslin explained to me that biodiesel is not just important for farmers and the industry itself, but also for consumers. A recent Department of Energy study showed that the biodiesel tax incentive saves consumers 35 cents per gallon at the pump. The biodiesel industry contributes $4 billion dollars to the country’s gross domestic product and generated over $866 million in direct tax revenue back into the tax coffers. In addition the industry provides 29,000 direct jobs and the number exceeds 50,000 when you factor in the indirect jobs associated with the production of biodiesel.

However, with the tax credit off the table, more than 23,000 workers have been idled. “The majority of the industry is idled because you can’t run a business on the hope that Congress will pass a bill in a future point in time,” said Joslin. “So the economies didn’t work the plant managers had to put those people in unemployment.”

Anther conundrum the industry is facing is the lack of synergies between current pieces of legislation. The RFS mandates biodiesel use and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard recognizes its low-carbon benefit; yet, our government hasn’t put into place the mechanisms for the industry to produce competitively priced fuel while it matures.Read More

Audio, Biodiesel, Commodity Classic, Legislation

Growth Energy Member Comments on Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth EnergyThe first annual leadership conference for Growth Energy, the ethanol industry organization that was formed just 16 months ago, was held this week in Phoenix to focus on the future.

The conference included roundtable discussions on a number of topics, including navigating policy in Congress during an election year. A bipartisan panel moderated by Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis featured former Republican Congressman Jim Nussle; Melissa Shannon who served as a legislative advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Josh Gottheimer, former advisor to President Bill Clinton; and Karen Hughes, a former advisor to President George W. Bush.

“We had the opportunity to bring our membership together, sit down and have a very open and honest conversation about where we are in the policy making arena today, what our goals are moving forward, and how we envision the pathway to get there,” said Growth Energy board member Steve McNinch, CEO of Western Plains Energy in Kansas, during an interview after the conference concluded on Tuesday.

McNinch says there are two primary policy issues that the organization will be focused on this year – the joint lawsuit that filed in California with the Renewable Fuels Association and expiration of the VEETC and the Brazilian tariff issue coming up at the end of the year. “These are not easy issues to get through,” said McNinch, and when it comes to Congress this year, “until health care debate gets out of the way, you’re not really going to see much movement on anything.”

Listen to or download my interview with Steve McNinch here:

Audio, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Site Picked for Idaho’s Largest Wind Farm

John Davis

The site for the largest wind farm in Idaho has been picked by the two companies that will construct the project.

KIFI-TV in Idaho Falls says Ridgeline Energy, LLC, and BP Wind Energy will soon start building the Goshen North wind farm, a facility that is expected to generate 124.5 megawatts:

“We are excited about commencing Goshen North construction and furthering our commitment to wind energy development in Idaho,” said Steve Voorhess, Ridgeline Energy CEO. “Goshen North and our other Idaho wind energy projects will help diversify the region’s energy supply while continuing Idaho’s tradition of clean energy generation.”

The site will sit on 11,000 acres 10 miles east of Idaho Falls. It will have 83 GE wind turbine generators. When it is in operation, the farm has the potential to deliver 380 million kilowatt hours of electricity.

The companies said the project will employ about 250 people during the peak of construction.

“The investment that BP and Ridgeline Energy are making will create new jobs during construction, deliver an additional revenue stream to rural communities without impacting traditional farming and ranching, and provide clean, affordable power,” said John Graham, BP Wind Energy President.

The Goshen North wind farm will power about 37,000 homes.

Wind

Biodiesel Plays Well in Peoria

John Davis

Biodiesel is making it where the old saying goes, “Will it play in Peoria?” That certainly is the case for the Illinois town’s transit system, CityLink.

This story from the Peoria Journal Star says the city has been so pleased with the past performance of lower biodiesel blends, they decided to become the first fleet in the state to go to B20 to help extend the life of their aging buses:

“Biodiesel has been good for us. The engine makes more power (using biodiesel) and there’s less smoke out of the exhaust,” said CityLink maintenance director John Anderson of a B-20 program that involves 58 buses and 21 paratransit vehicles.

Peoria’s transit district ran buses on B-11, an 11 percent biodiesel blend, in 2007 and 2008 but decided last year to increase the amount of vegetable oil in their fuel as part of “a green mandate,” said Anderson.

“(Assistant manager) Rick Tieken and I sat down last year to see what we could do. We’ve gone green as a facility on just about everything,” he said, referring to environmentally friendly products such as degreasers and soaps now used by CityLink.

Peoria is even buying the soybean-based biodiesel from a local supplier to help keep the money close to home.

Biodiesel

Thermex HeatProbe Keeps Biodiesel Flowing at -40

John Davis

Forty degrees below zero can be pretty common across the northern tier of states in the U.S. and Canada, especially this past winter. Those extremes can wreak havoc on biodiesel, and, for that matter, any diesel product.

But this article from Biodiesel Magazine says Thermex Engineered Systems Inc. has come up with a way to heat biodiesel during transit that can be retrofitted to upgrade existing uninsulated fuel tankers:

The biodiesel is heated by multiple HeatProbes, a patent-pending immersion heater that takes advantage of waste heat from the truck engine’s coolant, which is installed through a two-inch tank port. The supply and return lines are joined to the vehicle’s coolant lines, allowing the heat from the running engine to be transferred to the biodiesel in the tanker—negating the use of steam hook-ups or other limited-use heating alternatives.

A HeatProbe system can be installed on any tanker truck or trailer, according to Thermex Engineered Systems, and multiple probes and tanks can be plumbed up in parallel sequence. Trailers can also be equipped with a stand-alone heating package that includes an onboard coolant heater mounted on the tanker service rail. This is useful for extended layovers and will also accommodate towing by any tractor with or without quick-coupler connections.

Thermex says the system is good for any equipment or vehicle powered by biodiesel that runs in cold weather can use the HeatProbe system, because the fuel is heated “in-tank” to overcome any cold filter plug point issues and to prevent product clouding.

Biodiesel

Renault Introduces FFV in France

Renault has introduced an FFV in France. Renault has focused on electric powered vehicles to lessen gasoline use in the past, but now the Romania based Dacia Logan MCV, now offers a vehicle that can use 100 percent gasoline up to 85 percent ethanol fuel.

The moderately priced 1.6-liter four cylinder FFV Renault replaces the former 1.6 MPI 90 version and, in France, purchase of the vehicle will be tax free. Renault reports that the CO2 emissions are much less so it will qualify for the badging for a low emissions vehicle.

The Logan MCV is available with either a five- or seven-seat configuration. The vehicle is manufactured by the brand’s ISO 14001-certified plant in Pitesti, Romania. It is available now in France.

Car Makers, E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Book Review – Climate of Extremes

Joanna Schroeder

I have a question for you. Is the debate over global warming over? The next logical question is: Should it be over?

According to authors Patrick J. Michaels and Robert C. Balling Jr., human-induced climate change is indeed real, but this will not necessarily lead to an environmental apocalypse. This is the premise of their book, A Climate of Extremes. They write, “The data lead us to conclude that anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is indeed real, but relatively modest. We’re not arguing against AGW, but rather against DAGW (dangerous anthropogenic global warming).”

A Climate of Extremes is about data – the data that proves (or disproves) the existence of global warming and the potential effects that it could have. The authors spend the majority of the book debunking the science that leads us to believe that the polar bears will go extinct, the icebergs are melting and those on the coasts will endure catastrophic damage, and that hurricanes, floods and fires are somehow tied to climate change. Well folks, there is no data to back up these far-fetched claims argue the authors.

The entire time I was reading the book, this famous quote kept running through my mind, lies, damned lies and statistics, a sentiment used to describe the power of numbers. The authors featured a lot of content that has been used by famous global warming advocates, such as Al Gore to prove the danger we face if we don’t curb greenhouse gas emissions, is taken out of context. In other words, the data is fiddled and faddled with to meet a person’s particular needs.

We all know this happens and it is good that people continue to “out” the bad science. However, the biggest irony I found in the book was when they discussed the pervasive bias inherent in global warming research. Shortly thereafter, they offer up why corn-ethanol will cause, rather than curb global warming, and they point to Timothy Searchinger’s original paper  – a paper which has not only been criticized by the scientific community but also new research has been presented. My point: maybe the authors should take some of their own advice.

While I am a proponent of offering up various scientific viewpoints, it should never be taken at face value and neither should the data presented in A Climate of Extremes. It is in everyone’s best interest to delve into the issue, farther than what is presented in a few books.

book reviews, global warming

Growth Energy Holds Leadership Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy held a series of roundtable discussions on the ethanol industry during an Executive Leadership Conference this week in Phoenix.

Growth EnergyThe conference kicked off on Monday with a discussion on the national security implications of continuing America’s dependence on foreign oil. The panel featured Gen. Wesley Clark, Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, and Dr. Gal Luft, Executive Director for the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.

“Today, oil is the most strategic commodity in the world and it controls the world’s economy,” said Dr. Luft. “If we want to preserve the future of this country we need to give consumers a choice at the filling station. Giving consumers a choice means that oil can no longer control prices and we will begin to grow a competitive market for ethanol.”

The final discussion on Tuesday included a detailed presentation about the future market outlook for grain, ethanol and distillers from industry experts, including Randy Ives, Senior Vice President of Distillers Grains, Hawkeye Gold, LLC; Tom Dorr, President and CEO of U.S. Grains Council; and Bob Casper, President of POET Ethanol Products.

Dorr noted the important role that international trade plays in the ethanol industry. “As producers build out their industry they have to expand their focus to incorporate international trade policies,” Dorr said. “These policies are not easy but there are huge opportunities just waiting to be tapped.”

Ives said the industry needs to continue promoting and educating the public about the value of DDGs. “Distillers grains are not just a byproduct, they are a co-product and we need to start running our businesses under that assumption,” he said.

The goal of Growth Energy’s Executive Leadership Conference was to bring members together to assess the organization and the state of the ethanol industry.

Ethanol, Growth Energy

Sorghum Poised for Bigger Role in Ethanol Production

Joanna Schroeder

Today, about 1/3 of the sorghum crop goes into ethanol production. An interesting little piece of information I picked up when I spoke with Gerald Simonsen, the Chairman of the National Sorghum Producers during Commodity Classic. Sorghum is a good feedstock for ethanol production for several reasons. First, it uses half the amount of water used in corn production and second, the sugar-based sorghums, like sweet sorghum and energy sorghums produce more ethanol per acre than other starch-based feedstocks.

Simonsen told me that his organization is very focused on the ethanol industry not only from a research, development and marketing standpoint, but also policy. The RFS2 rules were recently announced and Simonsen said that while they were happy to be included, they do have a few issues with some of the things said about sorghum. Therefore, his organization is working with the USDA and EPA to “iron out some of the rough edges and make sure sorghum has a viable future in ethanol.”

Currently, you can produce the same amount of ethanol from a bushel of corn or ethanol. However, Simonsen noted, you can also make sugar-based ethanol out of sweet sorghum and in terms of cellulosic ethanol, energy sorghum and forage sorghum are feedstocks that the US Department of Energy is excited about. These types of feedstocks produce more ethanol from a bushel of sorghum than what we’re seeing today.

“We have a three-way punch. We’ve got the whole ethanol thing surrounded. We just have to bring it together and move forward,” concluded Simonsen.

You can listen to my interview with Gerald below.

Audio, Commodity Classic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks, sorghum

“Baby Girl” Wins Cutest Kid Photo Contest

Joanna Schroeder

The winner for the Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) E85 Flex-Fuel Challenge Cutest Kid Photo Contest is in – Latisha Martinex of Virgina Beach. Ms. Martinex will receive free ethanol for one year and her photo was selected by the judges based on creativity and quality.

More than 1,000 photos were submitted and of those, “Amira and her Snow Love,” submitted by Megan Pomeroy of Le Mars, Iowa, is the winner of a $500 ethanol fuel card after receiving the Most Voted award from daily votes on the E85 Challenge website.

“The Cutest Kid contest is the E85 Flex Fuel Challenge’s most successful marketing effort to date, reaching more than 1,000 families nationwide, said RFA Market Development Director, Robert White. “Contests such as this allow us to reach out to non traditional groups, like mothers, to introduce ourselves and better educate them on the value of renewable fuels. Congratulations to all the winners.”

The first 1,000 entrants for the Cutest Kid Photo Contest received a free eco-friendly reusable shopping bag filled with consumer information about Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), ethanol facts and a reusable bag fact sheet. The Cutest Kid Photo Contest was the 4th E85 Flex-Fuel Challenge Contest.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA