Iowa Biodiesel Board Refutes Truckers’ Claims

John Davis

Things are getting a bit tough in the fight to get a biodiesel mandate implemented in Iowa.

This post from the Des Moines Register says a letter that Decker Trucking of Fort Dodge sent to the legislature outlining the company’s two million mile biodiesel study that hurts biodiesel’s case is being refuted by the Iowa Biodiesel Board.

The letter says that biodiesel is not a cost-effective solution at this time … a charge the board obviously disagrees with:

“We have nothing but respect for Iowa’s truckers, but it seems fear and politics are overtaking facts,” said Randy Olson, executive director of the Biodiesel Board. “The study found few significant differences between 20 percent biodiesel and ultra low sulfur diesel in performance and operation.”

Olson added “truckers are known to be patriotic and dislike dependence on foreign oil, which makes it disappointing that they oppose this legislation.”

Last year, a biodiesel mandate cleared the State Senate but never made it to the House.

Biodiesel

Ethanol Industry Donates to Haiti Relief

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association LogoMembers of the Renewable Fuels Association have donated more than $70,000 to the American Red Cross to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen announced the donation during a luncheon at last week’s National Ethanol Conference in Orlando. “The story may have slipped from the front pages of the newspaper, but it has not slipped from the hearts and minds of the men and women who work in this industry,” Dinneen said. He publicly thanked those ethanol producers and organizations that donated to the fund – Absolute Energy, The Andersons, Big River Resources, Chippewa Valley Ethanol, Golden Grain Energy, Illinois River Energy, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Renewable Fuels Foundation.

Donations are still being accepted. Members of the ethanol industry who would like to contribute should send a check made out to the American Red Cross to the RFA office in Washington, DC.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Register Now for Energy Communications Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

Another approach and discussion is emerging surrounding messaging and education of global climate change. Green communication specialists will gather in May for a summit to refine the cause that clean energy and sustainable business practices are good policy and good business.

renergizeThe first-ever Green PR summit rEnergize Communications Summit will be held May 23-25 to discuss how corporate brands, products and initiatives will be best positioned for success in the new era of climate change and sustainability. Communication experts from corporations, organizations, trusts, foundations, and local and state government will be working together to create a unified messaging strategy that will prepare people for the global changes already under way to alleviate the destruction of climate change.

“There is a disconnect between the importance that people place on the environment and what sustainability actions they are willing to adopt,” said Joanna Schroeder, APR and Principal of 4R Communications, the company spearheading the summit. “Now that the world has embraced the issues surrounding climate change, and policy is underway to mitigate potential damage, we need a concerted communications effort that will help educate and prepare the public for these inevitable changes.”

Conference speakers include Cara Pike, Director of Our Social Capital Project and author of Climate Crossroads: A Research-Based Framing Guide; Autumn Salamack, Aveda; Greensburg, Kansas Mayor Bob Dixson; Brian Davis, CleanBiz Horizons; Jim Lane, Biofuels Digest; and Greg Pahl author of The Citizens Energy Handbook.

Register by March 15 to receive free registration to the webinar, “5 Key Barriers to Environmental Engagement,” as well as for conference registration discounts. For a full list of speakers, and to register, visit www.rEnergizeMedia.com. You can also follow news about the conference on Twitter at #GRPR.

conferences, Education, Energy, Environment

IKA Bio Reactor For Algae Production

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the exhibitors at the recent National Biodiesel Conference that I met with was Drew Harrison, Analytical Sales Manager for IKA Works, Inc. The company was displaying its new Bio Reactor, seen brightly lit in this photo.

Drew says IKA is a hundred year old company. Working with a marine science center they helped them build a photo bio reactor to grow algae. They built a prototype which the marine center used effectively and now they’ve come out with a production model which was on display at the trade show. The unit is a small R&D 10 litre fermenting tank with light for the photosynthesis reactions. He says this can be done in larger volumes too. They will work with a client company to build one to the size they need. Their customers will be “anybody who is looking to harvest algae for biodiesel, nutriceuticals, pharmaceuticals and food.”

You can learn more by listening to my interview with Drew here:

algae, Audio, Biodiesel Conference

California Solar Plant Gets $1.37 Bil Federal Loan

John Davis

A California company planning to build a large-scale solar power plant has received a Department of Energy $1.37 billion loan guarantee.

The New York Times reports that BrightSource Energy of Oakland will put in the first utility-scale solar power plant to undergo licensing in California in nearly two decades:

It would use solar thermal technology, in which mirrors concentrate sunlight to heat a fluid and generate steam. If built, it would be the largest of its kind.

“We’re not going to sit on the sidelines while other countries capture the jobs of the future — we’re committed to becoming the global leader in the clean energy economy,” Steven Chu, the energy secretary, said in a statement.

BrightSource has already signed contracts to deliver 2,600 megawatts of electricity to Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison. The plant in the Southern California desert is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs.

Solar

Growth Energy Responds to Cornell Paper

Joanna Schroeder

The debate rages on regarding ethanol’s greenhouse gas emission reductions (GHGs) as compared to conventional gasoline. Today, Growth Energy came out against two Cornell University professors’ recent paper that criticizes the Environmental Protection Agency’s calculations that grain ethanol boasts a lower GHG than gas.

Harry de Gorter and David R. Just, professors of Applied Economics and Management, will have their findings published in the inaugural March issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 32, Issue 1, Oxford University Press. The article, “The Social Costs and Benefits of Biofuels: The Intersection of Environmental, Energy, and Agricultural Policy,” criticizes both corn-based ethanol’s GHG reductions as well as ethanol subsidies and mandates.

Tom Buis, Growth Energy’s CEO stated, “What it appears these two professors at Cornell would have us do is maintain the status quo – keep our addiction to oil, no matter what the cost to our economy in lost jobs and money we send overseas, no matter what the cost to our environment, no matter what the cost to our national security.”

“The Cornell paper is pretzel logic at its worst. The truth is that when we fuel up with domestic ethanol in the U.S., we need less gasoline refined from carbon-heavy oil. And the science on this is clear: a peer-reviewed study published by Yale University found that grain ethanol is 59 percent cleaner than gasoline – with cellulosic ethanol 86 percent cleaner than gasoline,” continued Buis.

Buis concluded, “Academic studies, government agencies and independent papers have concluded that innovation and new technology in the ethanol industry is bringing us ever closer to a high-tech domestic fuel that can contribute significantly to cleaning our skies, while creating jobs and strengthening our national security.”

corn, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Researcher to Genetically Modify Algae for Biodiesel

John Davis

A researcher at Iowa State University is genetically modifying algae to make it a better feedstock for biodiesel.

This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Martin Spalding, ISU professor of genetics, development and cell biology,has received a $4.37 million grant U.S. Department of Energy to stack traits in algae, specifically, one type of alga, Chlamydomonas, whose genome has already been mapped out:

Spalding hopes stacking Chlamydomonas’ desirable traits will lead to more oil production and thermal resistance, ultimately developing a desirable feedstock for biodiesel and other renewable fuels production.

“We have a sequenced genome, we understand the metabolism, and we have the tools available to us to work with this alga,” Spalding said. Much of the current research on algae is being conducted on wild strains that have certain desirable traits such as high oil yield, but Spalding said, “The limitation with that strategy is that it has no flexibility because the algae can’t be manipulated genetically.”

Since the Chlamydomonas genome is already mapped, however, work can be done to tailor the genetic makeup of this alga to meet the growing biofuel industry’s needs.

It’s a three-year study that Spalding will conduct with some fellow ISU professors and Purdue University researchers as well.

algae, Biodiesel

Barley Ethanol Plant to Produce Feed

Cindy Zimmerman

A Virginia ethanol plant that uses barley as a feedstock will be offering a unique co-product as livestock feed when it comes on line later this year.

Osage Bio EnergyOsage Bio Energy has contracted with Land O’Lakes Purina Feed to market its barley protein meal (BPM), a co-product of its ethanol bio-processing operation. Osage Bio Energy’s first plant, Appomattox Bio Energy, located in Hopewell, Va., is currently under construction and scheduled to come online in late spring 2010. When complete, it will be the first commercial scale barley-to-ethanol processing plant in the United States.

land o lakes purinaThe company reports that BPM is a “new protein-rich animal feed ingredient.”

The innovative process design of Osage Bio Energy’s plant includes a specialized milling technique that removes the hulls from the barley — thus reducing the fiber and concentrating the protein and starch. The hulls will be pelletized on-site and sold as a renewable fuel source.

Through the use of special enzymes during fermentation, the plant will convert the problematic waxy beta-glucans in the barley into ethanol, preventing them from becoming part of the BPM. Additionally, state-of-the-art ring dryers will shorten the BPM drying time and preserve the proteins and amino acids.

The nutritional profile of BPM has unique characteristics that differentiate it in the feeding world. It has a low fat profile and high protein and lysine content relative to other grain-based feeds. Additionally, because the product is derived from barley that has not been genetically modified, it represents a new source of non-GMO animal feed for global customers.

Appomattox Bio Energy has the capacity to produce up to 250,000 tons per year of barley protein meal annually.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, feedstocks, livestock feed

Green Plains Renewable Energy Announce Profit

According to a press release by Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (GPRE), the company has announced its fourth quarter 2009 income profit of $23.1 million compared to a net loss of $1.8 million in fourth quarter 2008. The quarterly income is that of $0.91 per share compared to $0.08 per share in 2008.

“All of our businesses performed well in the fourth quarter,” said Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We generated significantly higher operating income during the quarter primarily due to a strong performance from our ethanol production segment. In the fourth quarter, we produced 122 million gallons of ethanol which exceeds our expected capacity. The combination of higher production volumes, a stronger margin environment, and harvest activities for agribusiness resulted in a record quarter.”

Accomplishments that attributed to the profit include:
1. In October 2009, the group unveiled BioProcessAlgae, LLC’s Phase I Grower Harvester TM pilot project.
2. In late 3rd quarter of 2009, the group entered into an agreement with Lincolnway Energy, LLC to provide ethanol marketing services.
3. On July 2, 2009, Green Plains completed the acquisition of two Nebraska ethanol plants located near Central City and Ord.
4. On January 15, 2009, Green Plains Trade entered into an agreement to provide third-party ethanol marketing services to Bushmills Ethanol, Inc. of Atwater, Minnesota.
5. On January 1, 2009 Green Plains acquired majority interest in Houston-based biofuel terminal operator Blendstar, LLC.

“I am proud of the many accomplishments our team achieved during 2009. We fortified our operating, administrative and commercial activities while at the same time demonstrated our ability to significantly grow our operating segments. Our business model has been tested through one of the most challenging environments the ethanol industry has seen and continues to prove itself. As a result, we were able to reach profitability for the full year. We believe our industry, and more importantly, our company is on solid footing for the coming years,” said Becker.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

E85 Now Available in Denton, TX

Today, in an effort to increase fueling location options for flex fuel vehicle owners, the Martin-Eagle Oil Company announced the installation of a new E85 refueling site located at their headquarters facility at 2700 James Street in Denton, TX. The new site will supply E85 to both retail customers and to wholesale accounts.

Motorists operating flexible fuel vehicles can fuel up at the 2700 James Street location and take advantage of the cost savings of approximately 25 cents per gallon and use a domestically produced renewable fuel.

“We have made a significant investment to establish this new retail site adjacent to our office and look forward to offering E85 to other retail vendors through our wholesale operations,” said Stephen Martin, President of Martin-Eagle Oil Company. “E85 can only be used in flexible fuel vehicles that have been designed to operate on high level blends of ethanol, and we calculate there are more than 102,000 FFVS operating in the metroplex. With only 6 current E85 fueling stations throughout the area, we anticipate significant demand for the product once motorists become aware of its availability.”

The new fully automated E85 fueling site is open 24 hours and accepts all major credit cards.

According to Martin, “While there is still a great deal of oil produced in Texas, the fact is that we import more than 70% of our transportation fuels. We believe that the use of E85 in flexible fuel vehicles can be part of the solution to both cleaner air and local job creation.”

Mindy Mize, Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Co-Coordinator added, “We are very pleased that Martin-Eagle Oil has chosen to open a new E85 refueling facility in the Metroplex. With so many flexible fuel vehicles in the region this new site will add to the fueling location options available to motorists.”

Martin-Eagle Oil will also be offering E85 to wholesale customers.

E85, Ethanol, News