Another Exciting Year for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report Podcast2010 promises to be another exciting year for ethanol, according to Matt Hartwig with the Renewable Fuels Association.

“Like the last two, three, four years in the industry, 2010 promises to fulfill on excitement,” he says in this edition of “The Ethanol Report” podcast. That includes work on extending the blenders tax credit, increasing the ethanol blend level, implementing the RFS2 and watching state action on low carbon fuel standards.

Matt also previews the upcoming 15th annual National Ethanol Conference in Orlando, February 15-17. Register before Friday for the early bird discount on registration and room rates at the Gaylord Palms Resort.

You can subscribe to this twice monthly podcast by following this link.

Listen to or download the podcast here:

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

Kinder Morgan Energy Buys Three Ethanol Terminals

Joanna Schroeder

KinderMorgan-LogoIt an effort to turn-around its struggling renewable fuels operations, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has agreed to purchase three ethanol terminals for nearly $195 million in a joint venture with U.S. Development Group as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Kinder Morgan Energy has more than 28,000 miles of pipelines and 170 terminals and estimates that with this new deal, will handle around 218,000 barrels of ethanol per day in 2010.

USDevGroupLogoU.S. Development Group, a storage and distribution company, in partnership with Kinder Morgan Energy, will create a nationwide network of ethanol-handling facilities that are connected via various modes of transportation including rail and pipelines. Ultimately, this network will provide easier access for major markets. Despite the current Obama administration’s support of alternative energy, such as second and third generation biofuels, most pipeline companies are sitting by the sidelines waiting for the ethanol play to be executed.

In addition to this new deal, the Journal reports that Kinder Morgan Energy, the division that oversees their renewable fuels strategies, has spent now spent approximately $500 million to build its ethanol and biodiesel business through facility acquisitions, upgrades and expansion projects. While biofuels are still considered a small part of their business “the company said that higher revenue from biofuels for its Central Florida Pipeline and West Coast facilities had “positively impacted” earnings in the third quarter.”

In another effort to improve the distribution of ethanol, Poet LLC and Magellan Midstream Partners announced that they would be building a 1,800 mile ethanol pipeline from South Dakota to Linden, New Jersey. The project is expected to cost $4 billion and be completed in 2014.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, News

Blue Star Gas Partners With Alliance AutoGas

Joanna Schroeder

BlueStarGasLogoBlue Star Gas has announced that it has joined Alliance AutoGas to to work with public and private fleets on the West Coast to covert vehicles to run on propane. According to Alliance AutoGas, there are more than 14.6 million propane-powered vehicles globally making it the most widely used alternative fuel in the world.

Stuart Weidie, President of Alliance AutoGas said, “We are excited to add Blue Star Gas to our growing, nationwide network of partners, all of whom share our core values and passion for revolutionizing the accessibility of alternative fuels.”

AllianceAutoGaslogoBlue Star Gas is a propane distributor in Oregon and California and will work with Alliance AutoGas to provide an integrated chain of vehicle conversions, clean fueling stations at fleet home bases, year-round fuel supply and safety & technical support.

“We have always dedicated ourselves to growth driven by customer needs, and as the demand for alternative fuels accelerates daily, the Alliance AutoGas turn-key solution helps us honor that commitment,” said Jeff Stewart, President of Blue Star Gas. “In partnering with Alliance AutoGas, we are offering the next generation of ‘full service’ by equipping fleets throughout the Northwest to cut fuel costs and emissions, all while using a fuel that’s 90% produced in the U.S.”

According to the two companies, ideal candidates for propane conversion are taxis, law enforcement and municipal vehicles, limousines, utility company vehicles and more.

Company Announcement, Propane

Ethanol Group Schedules Biofuels Beltway March

Cindy Zimmerman

ACEThe American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has scheduled the organization’s second annual DC fly-in. The “Biofuels Beltway March” will take place March 22-23 on Capitol Hill.

“There has never been a more urgent time to bring grassroots voices to Capitol Hill in support of ethanol,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of ACE. “We want our ACE members to speak directly to these key decision-makers and show the grassroots strength of the ethanol industry.”

Last March, thirty ACE members traveled to Washington, DC and met with more than 70 Members of Congress and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to personally deliver messages of support for ethanol and answer questions about the real-world impacts of ethanol and ethanol policies.

This year, ethanol supporters will discuss several important issues with members of Congress, including: the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC, the ethanol tax credit) which expires in 2010 and needs to be extended, EPA’s decision on whether to approve E15 for all vehicles, the “Choice Act” which will provide more Flexible Fuel Vehicles and blender pumps, and the continued misinformation campaigns by ethanol’s opponents.

Find out more about the event here on the ACE website.

ACE, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government

Wildlife Report Picks and Chooses Data

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has analyzed a new report out from the National Wildlife Federation on “Corn Ethanol and Wildlife” and found it lacking in accuracy.

The University of Michigan study released last week claims to show “how government incentives for corn ethanol are driving farmers to shift land into corn production, resulting in significant decreases in grassland bird populations throughout the fragile Prairie Pothole Region.” The region studied includes Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota.

The RFA analysis concludes that “selective and questionable use of data, unclear research methods, and emotional arguments cast doubt on the reliability of the conclusions and recommendations.”

The authors deliberately pick and choose certain data from certain years to support their conclusions. In many cases, the authors selected agricultural data points that are obvious outliers when viewed in the context of both mid- and long-term historical trends. As one example, the paper uses 2004 and 2007 data for comparisons of planted corn acres, but uses 2007 and 2009 data for a comparison of acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

RFA also notes that USDA data clearly show that recent expansion of corn acres nationally and in the four-state region examined in the NWF report came through crop switching, not through the conversion of native grassland, since total crop acres in the four states actually declined slightly from 2004 to 2007. On top of that, the NWF report uses “grossly outdated assumptions about growth in average corn yield per acre and the amount of ethanol yielded per bushel of corn” to suggest the biofuel requirements of the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard will demand an additional 10.69 million acres of corn by 2015 over 2009 levels.

Read the RFA analysis here.

corn, Environment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Biomass to Provide Power for Algae Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

EnergyQuestAn algae-biodiesel plant in Alabama will be powered by biomass.

This press release posted on CNNMoney.com says Nevada-based Energy Quest, Inc. will build a turn key biomass (wood waste) to power/algae energy plant producing 26.8 megawatt (24 net) of power in Piedmont, Alabama:

The attached Algae biodiesel plant will produce a clean and efficient fuel that can be used in any device that utilizes diesel fuel.

The plant at full capacity will require 33.5 tons per hour of wood waste feedstock provided from the surrounding area. The plant will produce approximately 24 MW of electrical power at $0.06 per KW and 20 million gallon annually of bio-diesel at $2.00 per gallon. The plant will operate 24 hours a day and when completed provide 60 jobs. EQI would be an owner and operate this facility.

Energy Quest’s advanced modular gasification design will result in lower set up costs and increased efficiencies. The gasifiers will provide clean syngas fuel for the power generators. The Algae CO2 capture system will be provided by others and completely built in Piedmont.

The stack gases containing CO2 are captured and ducted to Algae growing pod clusters as feed for the growth of Oil (lipid) producing Algae. Algae grows in water. The lipid laden Algae is harvested from the pod growing clusters several times per day. The Algae is then dewatered to a sufficient level to feed into the lipid extraction process. Once the lipids have been extracted from the Algae it is fed into the lipid oil to diesel conversion process. Using this process will yield 200 litres of bio-diesel from every ton of CO2 produced from the biomass combustion process.

The project is estimated to cost nearly $81 million.

algae, Biodiesel, biomass

Stimulus Bucks to Fund Algae Biofuels Research

John Davis

PNNL1Money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act … aka the Stimulus Bill … will go to fund research on algae-based biofuels.

This press release from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory says the lab will get about $14.2 million for its role in two biofuels research consortia:

[Energy Secretary Steven] Chu funded the consortia with nearly $80 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds with the goal of bringing new biofuels to the market and developing a cleaner and more sustainable transportation sector, as well as reducing dependence on foreign oil sources …

PNNL will co-lead one consortium with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and then play a large role in a second consortium led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

For more than 10 years, PNNL has advanced the science and technology for converting biomass into liquid transportation fuels, bioproducts and bioenergy. Its key focuses have been catalysis, environmental biotechnology and analysis. Biomass is biological material that comes from plants, wood, waste and other materials and can be converted into fuels and other products.

“We’ll be calling upon our entire suite of disciplines and capabilities in our support to these consortia,” said John Holladay, PNNL biomass manager. “We are positioned to address the entire spectrum of scientific challenges associated with developing a sustainable biofuels transportation sector – from fundamental research to applied processes.”

The press release goes on to say that the lab has several capabilities … proteomics, gasification and catalysis research… critical to biomass fuel conversion.

algae, biofuels, Government

Brazil Opens First Ethanol Powered Power Plant

brazilAccording to Reuters, Brazil has opened the world’s first ethanol powered power plant. Petrobas and General Electric (GE) designed the project in hopes that this will help with demand for ethanol. The plant switches between between running on natural gas or ethanol instantaneously.

“We have great expectations to show the viability and economy of generating electricity from…an alternative feedstock to fossil fuels,” Maria das Gracas Foster, head of Petrobras’ natural gas division, said.

John Ingham, Latin America products director for GE, said tests showed switching the plant to ethanol reduced carbon dioxide emissions without lowering energy output. “A plant like that consumes a lot of ethanol, so it has to be in a place that makes sense (such as) places that have no access to gas, like Japan, some islands, or places that depend heavily on diesel like the Amazon region,” he said. GE is looking to do the same thing in Japan.

Brazil is expected to produce a record 27.8 billion liters of ethanol in the 2009-2010 season. It began its biofuels program 30 years ago and now mandates a minimum 20 percent of ethanol in gasoline.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Midwest Ethanol Pipeline Plans Unveiled

poetAs first reported on Indystar.com, plans were unveiled for an 1,800-mile long ethanol pipeline that will run across the midwest to carry the fuel in the east. The project of POET Ethanol Products and Magellan Midstream Partners estimate that 3.6 million gallons of ethanol a year will be carried by the pipeline from South Dakota to New Jersey.

Bruce Heine, director of government and media affairs for Magellan said, “When we get the loan guarantee, we expect land acquisition and other steps to take about two years, and then construction about two more years.” The project is estimated at $4 billion and will take at least four years to complete.

The part of the pipeline that would cross Indiana would require the acquisition of some property but would largely use the existing route of the Buckeye petroleum pipeline. It would loop around the north side of the Indianapolis metro area. It would angle northeast across Hendricks County, touch the northwest corner of Marion County, angle northeast through Carmel and Hamilton County and then northeast to Jay County into Ohio.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Miscanthus Rhizome Root Harvester & Planter Unveiled

Joanna Schroeder

While researchers continue work on miscanthus’s viability to produce cellulosic ethanol, and growers now have a way to plant and harvest the feedstock more efficiently. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium held at the University of Illinois (U of I). Typically, miscanthus is a labor-intensive crop requiring multiple machines, and costly manual selection and grading – but not any longer.

itcsjs10_609xThe new machine is the result of a three-year collaboration between U of I, Tomax Ltd and Bermuda King USA. According to a news release from U of I, this machinery can lower the cost of miscanthus rhizome production by up to 40 percent and create opportunities for miscanthus to be used more widely as a high-yield bioenergy crop.

Gavin Maxwell, Tomax Ltd Senior Bioenergy Consultant, said, “Bioenergy feedstock processors require security for supply and unless we dealt with regeneration and planting issues for miscanthus, we simply couldn’t make progress. The collaboration team had a very clear objective when beginning the design process of the harvester and planter. Our goal was to remove manual labor, integrate the digging and grading process, increase soil separation and improve both quality and volume to substantially reduce the cost of vegetative rootstock propagation.”

In recent U.S. trials, the machine has demonstrated a 200 percent increase in rhizome collection over manual systems. this allows, says the research team, the opportunity for regional nurseries to more efficiently expand to meet the demand for both solid and liquid fuel conversion. The harvester and planter package will be available beginning this year and will be available for expanded grower crops in time for the 2011 season.

bioenergy, biofuels, Cellulosic, Equipment, feedstocks