Growth Energy Urges Action in California and Congress

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy sent letters to the California Air Resources Board and members of Congress today to address issues that could impact the expansion of ethanol.

Growth EnergyIn California, Growth Energy is calling on the Air Resources Board (ARB) to reopen comments on the low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in light of undisclosed documents recently uncovered related to the rulemaking process.

Through a public records request, Growth Energy uncovered numerous previously undisclosed documents and comments from ARB consultants that cast doubt on ARB conclusions and others that appeared to influence ARB’s assumptions. Following the discovery, Growth Energy issued a letter to ARB, calling on them to reopen the public comment period and allow comment on all documents received by ARB in connection with the LCFS as mandated by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). These include documents commenting on detailed environmental analyses of the LCFS developed by other corn ethanol stakeholders, including the Renewable Fuels Association and the New Fuels Alliance.

Meanwhile, on the national level, Growth Energy is asking Congress to fix a tax glitch in the program intended to promote the installation of pumps that dispense higher level ethanol blends. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit should allow fuel vendors to recapture up to $50,000, or 50 percent, of the total cost of installing alternative fuel dispensing systems but an IRS interpretation is only allowing retailers to take credit for a portion of the new pump, instead of the entire pump.

Legislation was introduced by Reps. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., to correct the IRS interpretation, but Growth Energy suggests making the technical correction in the 2009 tax extenders package.

Ethanol, Growth Energy

New Report Analyzes Biodiesel Feedstocks & Fuel

John Davis

REGlogo2Iowa-based biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group has released a report that looks at a wide variety of biodiesel feedstocks and the characteristics of both that feedstock and the fuel produced from it.

In the “Feedstock and Biodiesel Characteristics Report,” a first-of-its-kind of publication, REG, in cooperation with the Iowa Power Fund Board and the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, evaluated 36 biodiesel feedstocks and produced fuel from 34 of them:

These feedstocks varied from traditional fats and oils to novel feedstocks from around the world…

Each feedstock was tested for the following characteristics: moisture, free fatty acid, kinematic viscosity, FAC color, saponification value, moisture and volatile matter, insoluble impurities, unsaponifiable matter, MIU, oxidation stability, sulfur, phosphorous, calcium, and magnesium. If a feedstock exceeded 10 ppm phosphorous, 5 ppm calcium and magnesium, it was pretreated using the phosphoric acid procedure and dried. Feedstocks having free fatty acid in excess of 0.5 wt % were esterified using Amberlyst BD 20. The feedstocks were transesterified using identical reaction conditions and production protocols. Each biodiesel was characterized according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6751 and other properties. These characteristics were: cloud point, cold filter plugging point, cold soak filtration, fatty acid profile, relative density, kinematic viscosity, sulfated ash, carbon residue, water and sediment, visual inspection, free and total glycerin, flash point, copper corrosion, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, total acid number, moisture, sulfur, oxidation stability, and FTIR.

What makes the project so unique is that all of the wide range of feedstocks were pretreated, esterified, and transesterified using the same procedures and conditions to allow for uniform comparisons of critical fuel properties.

You can read the report for yourself here.

Biodiesel

DF Cast: Crunching the Renewable Identification Numbers

John Davis

df-logoA big issue in the current Renewable Fuels Standard … as well as the new RFS2 under consideration by the EPA … is the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs).

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we listen in on the conversation from the recent 2nd Annual RINWorld Summit held in Dallas, TX where the EPA’s John Wienrauch, Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAC) and Erv Pickell, Office of Enforcement Compliance Insurance briefed attendees on some issues with RINs and the current RFS and what we could see with the new RFS2.

Some of the current problems include unregistered users generating invalid numbers, duplicates RINs and even some fraud out there. And once a bad RIN is out there, it affects everyone down the line. But for the most part, those issues seem to be honest mistakes. Pickell says the EPA has been more forgiving with those who have self-reported their problems, but tighter controls will have to rein these issues in the future, especially with the new RFS2.

Weihrach says it comes down to the three Rs: registration, record-keeping and reporting.

It’s an important conversation, and you can here more of it here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/DFCast-11-20-09.mp3]

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, Biodiesel, Domestic Fuel Cast, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government

New North Releases Cellulosic Feasibility Study

Joanna Schroeder

woodwasteNew North, Inc. has recently released Phase 2 of a study on the feasibility of cellulosic ethanol plant in Niagara, an area in Northeast Wisconsin. Phase 2 demonstrates the availability of feedstocks to the plant, primarily wood resources, should the plant be able to produce ethanol using a diversity of feedstocks. The news is positive as many local community members and companies have expressed interest in providing feedstocks to the plant.

Phase 1, which was released this past July, studied the surrounding biomass resources in order to determine if a cellulosic plant could be sited in the region. Both parts of the report were conducted by Resource Analytics. The study also notes the possibility of creating switchgrass supplier cooperatives in conjunction with the establishment of an ethanol plant over the coming years.

“As second generation biofuels emerge as a fuel source, the New North is well positioned to take advantage with the resources and infrastructure necessary to create them,” said Jerry Murphy, Executive Director of the New North, Inc. “This study has demonstrated that a cellulosic ethanol facility at the former Niagara paper mill site has a great deal of promise for potential investors.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Research

Advanta Believes in Sorghum for Ethanol

advantaAdvanta US believes sorghum will become the most versatile feedstock for ethanol production. As a global seed company that has a direction toward research, they have seen a stream of similarities and advantages verses other readily known ethanol production methods such corn, sugar and switchgrass.

According to a press release from Advanta US, “As the world leader in sorghum, including bioenergy sorghums, Advanta is intimately involved in developing the biofuels industry worldwide,” says John Oppelt, Advanta US Manager of Business Development.

“Although the starch-to-ethanol method of ethanol production using corn or grain sorghum has gained the lion’s share of agriculture’s attention to date, the sugar-to-ethanol and cellulosic ethanol methods hold the greatest advantage in conversion and green footprint. Advanta is building upon the advantages of sorghum and currently is marketing hybrids we’ve developed for biofuel and bioenergy conversion around the world. Sorghum is the only crop offering multiple pathways to ethanol.”

Advanta is a global seed company headquartered in India with offices in Argentina, Australia, India, Thailand and the U.S.

Cellulosic, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Solar, Wind Latest Additions to Green Education

John Davis

mortarboardThere’s an old saying that goes, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” While it might be true that college does cost, there are some cheaper options out there. And more of those options are including solar and wind degrees from the less expensive community college route.

This article from CNN Money says that more of the more-affordable two-year schools are offering degrees in the ever-growing renewable energy sector:

In part the increase in demand at junior colleges is due to the recession: Many students can no longer afford pricey four-year colleges and are opting to attend two-year programs instead.

And the schools are about to receive a surge of funding thanks to the Obama administration, which has placed the country’s 1,200 two-year institutions at the heart of its recovery strategy, allocating $12 billion over the next decade to help modernize the system.

Already green partnerships between big industry and junior colleges are popping up around the country:

MesalandsCCGE has donated a small wind turbine to Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, N.M., and has plans to hire graduates of the school’s new wind energy technician program. And at Milwaukee Area Technical College, local industrial giant Johnson Controls (JCI, Fortune 500) is building a 2,500-panel solar education farm where students can learn to become photovoltaic installers and designers.

In helping put together the programs, companies are also building a pipeline of potential employees. “Johnson Controls’ headquarters is nearby, and it’s looking for thousands of people,” says Joseph Jacobsen, Milwaukee Area Technical’s associate dean of environmental studies. “The baby boomers are retiring, and it’s going to need new employees.”

The article goes on to say that the increase in people getting the green technical degrees is also building a demand for instructors with practical experience who can teach what this next generation of workers needs to know.

Of course, these programs join some of the biodiesel and ethanol degrees already out there (see my post about the masters degree in bioenergy at the University of Illinois from March 23, 2009).

Solar, Wind

Biofuel Jet Fuel Picked as One of Pop Sci’s 100 Best

John Davis

The world’s first jet fuel made from 100 percent renewable canola and soybean oil that has pushed a rocket to 20,000 feet has been picked as one of the top 100 innovations of the year.


This press release from the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) says the groups’ green fuel was tapped as the Best of What’s New Award from Popular Science Magazine in the aviation and space category in the current issue of the publication:

“This is our favorite editorial project of the year because we get to comb through thousands of new products and technologies and then recognize the most outstanding 100 with awards,” said Popular Science Editor-in-Chief Mark Jannot.

“We are truly honored and excited to be recognized by Popular Science,” said EERC Director Gerald Groenewold. “This is a tremendous example of the type of practical, cutting-edge technologies the EERC is commercializing on a continual basis, as well as a perfect example of our ability to partner with private industry and government entities worldwide,” he said.

The EERC’s fuel was created from completely renewable crop oils, such as canola and soybeans. Developed through a variety of existing contracts, the fuel was vigorously tested at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and meets all of the screening criteria for jet propellant-8 (JP-8) aviation fuel, a petroleum-based fuel widely used by the U.S. military. One major advantage of the EERC’s renewable fuel is that the fuel can be tailored to meet a wide variety of mission-specific requirements.

The fuel is so good it successfully launched a rocket above the Mojave Desert outside of San Diego, California. As you can see in the video at the top of this post, the rocket hit an amazing speed of nearly Mach 1 (the speed of sound) and reached an altitude of about 20,000 feet.

Check more of Popular Science’s Best of What’s New Awards, including some other green projects, at www.popsci.com.

biofuels

RFS2 Confusion Clouds Mass. Biodiesel Mandate

John Davis

MassMap1A 2 percent biodiesel mandate beginning next year and increasing to 5 percent in 2013 in Massachusetts has hit some glitches … thanks to confusion over what the next Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) might bring …. but it could now be moving forward.

Biodiesel Magazine reports the measure has come under fire because it only allows waste-derived biodiesel, a provision put into the mandate thanks to what lawmakers thought the EPA would allow under RFS2. But despite a pronouncement by the Massachusetts Oilheat Council (MOC) in its Nov. 13 newsletter that the requirement has had a “spell of relative silence,” some progress could be at hand:

On Sept. 30, MOC president Michael Ferrante sent an email to Dwayne Bregger, director of renewable and alternative energy development in the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, asking specifics regarding the mandate, to which Bregger replied, “Do know that we are moving forward with the Early Action Year beginning July 2010. We anticipate the EPA RFS2 protocol for greenhouse gas reductions to be available by the end of this year and that we will find it acceptable for adoption for [the Massachusetts] program. At that time, DOER will be able to qualify all biofuels (regardless of feedstock) that can demonstrate the 50 percent GHG reduction.”

The state’s exclusion of soy and other virgin oil biodiesel in its mandate was based on EPA’s proposed RFS2 rule, which was flawed in methodology used to calculate GHG emissions from crop-based biodiesels. In Bregger’s response to Ferrante, he wrote, “The eligibility of biofuels from agricultural feedstocks will depend on whether they meet the 50 percent GHG reduction criterion as per the Protocol, which we will adopt (most likely EPA RFS2 protocol).”

Bregger also said, “Tracking the biofuels (and differentiating “advanced”/qualified biofuels from others) into [Massachusetts] and then through the [Massachusetts] market is an area that we are much engaged in now. We will need to complete those procedures and then move into draft regulations.”

It’s another example of how the flawed thinking the EPA put into RFS2 is causing some anxiety in the green fuels sector. Let’s hope someone can get this mess straightened out before it starts to hit more mandates across the country.

Biodiesel, Government

Biodiesel Board Selects Leadership

John Davis

NBB-logoMembers of the National Biodiesel have chosen who will represent the trade association on its governing board and leadership committee.

In this NBB press release, NBB vice chair Gary Haer of Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group said the green fuel “is one of our nation’s valuable tools to fight greenhouse gas and enhance energy security,” and the the board’s leadership reflects the diversity and wide spread benefits of the association:

Officers elected to lead the board are:

* Ed Hegland, chairman, Minnesota Soybean Promotion and Research Council (farmer)
* Gary Haer, vice chair, Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (producer)
* Ed Ulch, secretary, Iowa Soybean Association, (at large)
* Jim Conway, treasurer, Griffin Industries (renderer/producer)

Biodiesel board members also voted to fill eight board member spots. Board members elected to the Governing Board include officers and:

* Darryl Brinkmann, American Soybean Association (at large)
* Kris Kappenman, ADM (producer)
* Bob Metz, South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council (at large)
* Ron Marr, Minnesota Soybean Processors (at large)

Greg Anderson, Denny Mauser, David Womack, Robert Stobaugh, Greg Hopkins, Doug Smith and Dave Lyons also serve on the Governing Board.

Biodiesel, NBB

Chief Ethanol Celebrates 25 Years

chief_ethanol_fuelsChief Ethanol Fuels is celebrating their 25th anniversary this month in Hastings, Nebraska. An open house will be held on Monday, November 23 at the plant and will include keynote speaker, Senator Ben Nelson.

The site was originally constructed by American Diversified Corporation and then bought by Chief Industries in 1990. It was the first production facility in the state. In the past 25 years, production has increased from 10 million gallons per year to approximately 70 million gallons per year today, thanks to several expansions that began in 1993 and continuous improvements today.

Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, said that the Chief Ethanol Fuels plant was Nebraska’s initial stake in the ground in terms of declaring ethanol as a major economic development initiative for the state. “Nebraska has a unique combination of corn, cattle and ethanol,” said Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. “Agriculture is the economic engine that drives Nebraska, and ethanol is adding value in very powerful ways that reverberate throughout our state. It is important that we continue to support and develop this industry for the good of Nebraska and for the good of our nation. Chief Ethanol Fuels has been a pioneer and leader in the state’s ethanol industry.”

Sneller added that the outlook for the sustainability of the ethanol industry is good. “Corn producers continue to grow more corn on less land and with less water—and ethanol producers continue to squeeze more ethanol out of a bushel of corn with less energy and less water,” he said. “Efficiency will improve profitability and will continue to position ethanol as a key component in America’s energy and economic future.”

Senator Nelson’s remarks will begin at 1:00 p.m. on November 23 followed by Bob Eihusen, president of Chief Industries and Duane Kristensen, general manager of Chief Ethanol Fuels. Tours of the plant will then follow.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News