Cellulosic Ethanol Power Plant for Kansas

Cindy Zimmerman

mid kansas electricAbengoa Bioenergy and Mid-Kansas Electric Company are planning to develop the nation’s first commercial-scale hybrid cellulosic ethanol and power plant in Kansas.

Announced this week, Abengoa Bioenergy Hybrid of Kansas will be “a sustainable solution that will diversify electric generation in Kansas and help power the state’s growing demand for energy using Abengoa Bioenergy’s state-of-the-art, integrated bio-refinery technology and Mid-Kansas’ service capabilities.”

“As an international energy company, we believe this project is an important part of our continual growth in bioenergy,” said Javier Salgado Leirado, president and CEO of Abengoa Bioenergy. “Advancing this project required the perfect match of agricultural resources, technology, and a utility partner—all present in our partnership with Mid-Kansas. The agreement terms allow us to move forward with the project and bring significant investment to Kansas.”

The facility will be constructed at a cost of $550 million and have the capability to generate electricity and produce cellulosic ethanol. The cellulosic ethanol facility will produce 15 million gallons of ethanol per year and use corn stover, wheat straw and switchgrass as fuel inputs. The plant will use 2,500 tons of biomass daily to produce ethanol and electricity. Start-up operations are expected in 2012.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Iogen Makes Cellulosic Ethanol Gains

Cindy Zimmerman

Iogen Corporation is moving cellulosic ethanol closer to commercial reality.

IogenThe Canadian company produced over 581,000 liters (153,484 gallons) of cellulosic ethanol in 2009, more than double its 2008 production. That brings the company’s total cumulative production to more than one million liters since 2004, heading cellulosic ethanol into the realm of viable commercial production.

“Advanced renewable fuels such as cellulosic ethanol will play a critical role in meeting future energy demands, and Iogen is playing a vitally important role in the commercialization of this technology,” says Gordon Quaiattini, President of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, International

Global Ethanol Plant to Use GreenShift Technology

Cindy Zimmerman

Global Ethanol recently received the rights to use new corn oil extraction technologies at a 100 million gallon ethanol plant in Lakota, Iowa.

greenshiftThe technology, patented by GreenShift Corporation allows first generation corn ethanol plants to tap into the existing reserve of inedible crude corn oil with an estimated industry-wide output of about 20 million barrels per year. This corn oil normally comes out in the distillers grain co-product of ethanol production, but once extracted it can be used in the production of next generation fuels, such as biodiesel, biojet fuel, and renewable diesel, thereby enhancing total fuel production from corn and increasing ethanol plant profits.

Under the terms of the agreement, Global will directly finance, build, own and operate a facility based on GreenShift’s patented corn oil extraction technologies designed to extract more than 2.2 million gallons per year of corn oil in return for an ongoing royalty payment to GreenShift equal to more than about 20 percent of the market price of the extracted corn oil at the time of shipment.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Michigan Company Acquires Nebraska Ethanol Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

A subsidiary of Zeeland Farm Services of Michigan recently acquired an idled ethanol plant in Cambridge, Nebraska.

Nebraska Corn Processing (NCP) is the name of the subsidiary that plans to resume production at the plant as quickly as possible this year. The plant was built in 2007 but was idled for much of 2009. “This acquisition will allow NCP to gain a foothold in the energy industry and to further invest in agriculture,” explained Cliff Meeuwsen, company president. “Our goal is to develop viable business opportunities that will benefit NCP, agriculture and the communities in which we reside.”

Zeeland Farm Services is an agricultural and transportation company serving the upper Midwest since 1950. The company’s Grain Division will provide commodity price risk management services to NCP while the Ingredients Division will market the animal feed co‐products that are produced from the plant to the livestock industry.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Facilities

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