USDA, Navy to Work on Advanced Biofuels

John Davis

VilsackNavyThe USDA and the Department of the Navy (DoN) have agreed to work together to develop advanced biofuels and other renewable energy systems.

This USDA press release says the agreement is part of the government’s plan to build a clean energy economy, create new jobs and reduce American dependence on foreign oil, while building a strike force that will run on green power in the near future:

Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus emphasized how partnering with USDA supports his vision for energy reform. Mabus’ overarching goal is to increase warfighting capability. “In order to secure the strategic energy future of the United States, create a more nimble and effective fighting force, and protect our planet from destabilizing climate changes, I have committed the Navy and Marine Corps to meet aggressive energy targets that go far beyond previous measures.”

From a strategic perspective the objective is to reduce reliance on fossil fuels from volatile areas of the world. Tactically, on the battlefield, the costs of transporting fuel is exponentially increased; in extreme cases a gallon of gasoline could cost up to $400. Mabus continued “Even more serious and sobering, we are putting our Sailors and Marines in harms way as fuel convoys often meet a lethal enemy.”

In two years, the Navy wants to have a Green Strike Group composed of nuclear vessels and ships powered by biofuel and a Great Green Fleet that has nuclear ships, surface combatants equipped with hybrid electric alternative power systems running on biofuel, and aircraft running on biofuel by 2016.

biofuels, Government

Timing Key with this Year’s Biodiesel Conference

John Davis

2010NBBlogoOutside of location, location, location (for real estate, at least), the three most important words in business might be timing, timing, timing. You get both when you attend the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Feb. 7-10 in the Dallas-Forth Worth area (actually Grapevine’s Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center).

The NBB points to location, in the 30 biodiesel plants that make Texas home … and timing, as the EPA is expected to implement the new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) just before the conference and Congress soon could renew the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive:

Soon to be finalized, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS-2) will set new minimums for biodiesel use. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), which hosts the seventh annual conference beginning February 7th, has invited regulators to Grapevine to explain the complex compliance issues of the new program to stakeholders from across the country.

The biodiesel tax credit, which expired at the end of the year, has helped nurture the industry from a niche market favorite to a widely used alternative fuel that is chipping away at global warming.

“The tax credit is the biodiesel industry’s single most important market driver, and the RFS-2 is the safety net that insures energy investors of demand for our American made, sustainable fuel,” [Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board] said. “Without that market certainty, as well as other factors like the steep fall in oil prices, 2009 was a very difficult year.
bogo
“However, I am convinced that 2010 promises to bring stability to the industry and at the very least gets us back to where we were in 2008,” he said.

Jobe said the opportunity to learn about the new RFS is the most important reason biodiesel stakeholders will not want to miss this year’s conference and expo at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, but stressed there will be much more to see and do.

Don’t forget, you can still bring a friend for free to the conference. The NBB is offering a “buy one, get one free” registration when both people are registered at the conference hotel. Get more information here.

Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, NBB

“Green Coal” to Debut at UK Biomass Conference

John Davis

EBWUKAn energy source made from biomass that’s touted as “magic coal from the steam cooker” will make its debut at the Energy from Biomass and Waste conference January 26-27, 2010 at the Royal Horticultural Halls & Conference Centre in London, England.

This press release says “Green Coal,” invented the German company the G+R Technology Group, will be produced at the first industrial production plant for biocoal:

GRTechIt took nature millions of years – by means of simple chemical processings mankind is in the meantime capable to solve the issue within just a few hours: biowastes, crop residues and organic wastes result in highly efficient combustibles, at the same time offering a profitable benefit to the environment. Compared to brown or black coal, the “Green Coal” Gco(c) is completely CO2-neutral and will contribute to a considerable reduction of CO2 emissions.

Fossile energy sources such as gas, oil and coal are finite, expensive, make us dependent and strongly impact the environment. Renewable energies therefore presently face a boom, also in the UK. The green active coal might be a genuine alternative to solar cells, wind turbines and others. The Green Coal Gco(c) production process was for the first time described in 1913 by the German chemist and Nobel laureate Friedrich Berguis. Recently it was rediscovered by the Max-Planck-Institute and is currently considered as alternative hope for the future when it comes to climate. The production process – the so-called Hydrothermal Carbonisation (HTC) in technical terms – is simple in principle and reminds you of cooking: all kinds of organic biomass are put into a kind of steam cooker, water is added as kind of converter and finally the mixture is heated. After a couple of hours the Green Coal Gco(c) emerges.

G+R Tech also says the Green Coal method could be applied to all organic residues and biowastes, even animal wastes and sewage sludges.

If anyone has a chance to see this technology next week in England, let me know if this is what it seems to be on the surface.

biomass, International

Winter & Double Crops Increase Biofuels Opportunities

Joanna Schroeder

TomRichardI recently wrote about the potential of energy crops for biofuels, but there are many more opportunities including the biofuels value of planting winter crops or double crops. Last week during the AG CONNECT Expo, I spoke with Dr. Tom Richard, associate professor with Pennsylvania State University, who discussed the opportunities for biofuels and agriculture through the planting and harvesting of winter crops and double crops.

For many decades farmers have been encouraged to plant cover crops as an effort to reduce soil erosion, capture nutrients and improve soil quality. These cover crops are left on the ground and not marketed. The only difference with a double crop, explained Richard, is that it is marketed and becomes a second crop for the year.

“What we’re finding now with the biofuels industry is there’s potential to use what we’ve thought of as cover crops as double crops and actually market the material,” said Richard. “The above ground biomass could be a winter grain like winter rye, winter wheat or winter barley or could be an oil seed like winter canola or could be summer crop.”

Richard also explained that by going to a double crop or a winter crop, you will increase the net energy of the biofuel produced. The reason for this is that you are taking advantage of the sunlight and nutrients for a wider, longer growing season and a farmer can actually increase the productivity of that single piece of land by around 20 percent.

There are also advantages of planting winter or double crops from an environmental perspective. Most notably the roots are taking up nutrients and preventing erosion during the time of year that gets a lot of rain in many places throughout the country. The plants are also adding organic matter to the soil.

I asked Richard what the country needs to do to encourage farmers to begin growing these double or winter crops and he noted that subsidy programs are not enough. “We think a combination of some environmental subsidies plus a market for that second feedstock, that energy crop, will combine to make it a very attractive option.”

Listen to my interview with Tom below.

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, feedstocks

How to Create Effective Biofuels Public Policy

Joanna Schroeder

One of the biggest challenges for our country lies in the issue of how to create effective public policies that will grow the biofuels industry and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Dr. Antonio Bento, associate professor in the Applied Economics and Management Program at Cornell University, has been researching exactly how to do this and he shared his results during the AG CONNECT Expo last week.

ABentoFirst we must take a step back to take two steps forward. There are several policies in place that mandate the production of biofuels with the Energy Independence & Security Act having one of the greatest impacts. This act requires 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022 with 15 billion coming from corn-ethanol. Bento noted that the country is well on its way to meeting this goal yet surprisingly, “While a lot of public press has blamed the increasing food prices due to these mandates, we find very little effect. Indeed, we find the bulk of the increase in food prices comes from the fluctuation in crude oil prices and our dependence on foreign oil, and less on the land we are devoting for the production of biofuels.”

Speaking of land, Bento also notes that biofuels are disproportionately being blamed for indirect land use effects. This has to do with the fact his framework, unlike a lot of the other models out there, is really accounting for the dynamics. “In other words, we really account for the fact that overtime yields will improve, we account for the fact there’s multiple land use that could adjust and we account for the fact there will be technology progress in the industry,” said Bento.Read More

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, politics

Sioux Falls Gets Ethanol Blender Pumps

Cindy Zimmerman

Motorists in Sioux Falls, SD now have more fuel choices at the pump with the installation of four new ethanol blender pumps at a Kings Mart gas station in the city.

BYOThrough a joint effort between the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council (SDCUC), the station now offers a variety of fuel blends including unleaded gasoline and E10, and E30 and E85 for Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs).

“This is the first location in Sioux Falls to offer a blend of 30 percent ethanol for FFV owners,” said Ron Lamberty with ACE. “The important investments made by the owners of King’s Mart, and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council with the assistance of ACE and the “Blend Your Own Ethanol” campaign, have provided consumers with another ethanol fueling option in Sioux Falls.”

The BYO Ethanol campaign was launched last year as a partnership between ACE, the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Corn Growers Association and leading corn-producing states such as South Dakota. The campaign works to show gas station owners the benefits of blending ethanol and using blender pumps to provide choices for motorists.

The Sioux Falls blender pump location joins 40 other locations across South Dakota and around 150 nationwide. ACE offers an on-line map of blender pump sites.

ACE, blends, corn, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, NCGA, RFA

Biofuels Could Benefit Chesapeake Bay

Cindy Zimmerman

Homegrown biofuels production could power a robust local economy and improve the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay by significantly reducing pollution runoff to the Bay’s local waterways.

That’s the primary finding in a report released today by the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“This report clearly highlights the real and quantifiable benefits a next-generation biofuels industry presents to the Bay region, and outlines very near-term policy decisions each state could – and should – take to enhance an already growing economic opportunity for the region and get it right so that the industry can grow in a way that is environmentally sustainable,” said Maryland Delegate and project advisory panel chairman Jim Hubbard.

The report found that producing next-generation ethanol and other biofuels from growing plants in the Chesapeake Bay watershed such as switchgrass, barley and rye, and fast-growing trees like willow and poplar could create 18,000 jobs and 500 million gallons of fuel.

biofuels

Novozymes: Strong Outlook for 2010

Joanna Schroeder

This morning Novozymes held is annual 2009 4th quarter sales call and earning report and overall it was favorable. While 2009 began with a rocky start for Novozymes and the majority of the ethanol industry, with effective management the company was able to finish off the year on a positive note.

nzlogoSteen Riisgaard, President and CEO, noted, “After a shaky start to 2009, I’m very pleased with the way we managed our business throughout the year. We were able to deliver on our earnings guidance communicated at the beginning of the year by responding rapidly to the challenging market conditions. Looking at 2010, we expect a positive development but with continued low visibility. And even with the current market conditions, we see very favorable long-term trends for Novozymes and remain confident of our ability to deliver on our long-term targets.”

Overall, in 2009 the company’s sales were up by 4 percent with an increase in 7 percent just during the 4th quarter as compared to 2008. Some of this can be attributed the company’s commitment to developing more effective enzymes for biofuels production, with enzyme sales to the biofuel industry up 7 percent and Novozymes maintained a market share of more than 60 percent throughout 2009. In addition, its partnership with leading technology companies who are currently producing first generation biofuels and are developing second and third generation biofuels have had a positive impact.

For 2010, Novozymes expects both of its enzyme business and biobusiness to grow between 2-6 percent.

To access the full earnings report, click here.

biofuels, Company Announcement, International

Book Review – Climate Cover-Up

Joanna Schroeder

This week we’re back to climate change, and the author James Hoggan, lays out the “crusade to deny global warming in “Climate Cover-Up.” For those of you familiar with the online green space, you may have come across the blog DeSmogBlog, which is co-founded by Hoggan. This site is dedicated to “out” those companies, experts and scientists who are (or were) trying to deny global climate change and manipulate the public. It also calls out the supporting characters to the deceit – the mainstream media.

ClimateCover-UpLike companies who have been outed in their campaigns against ethanol, Hoggan outs companies like ExxonMobil who had campaigns against the existence of global climate change. Climate changed seemed to gain worldwide consensus in 2006/07 in part due to the success of Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth“. (For Gore fans, he just released his follow-up “Our Choice” last winter.)

Hoggan writes, “…no one seemed to be confused about climate change in 1988. The great scientific bodies of the world were concerned, and the foremost political leaders were engaged. So what happened then and now?” Well, that’s exactly what Hoggan lays out for the reader:  a big fat smear campaign against the earth. Read More

book reviews, Environment

Cellulosic Ethanol Could Produce Sugar Substitute

Cindy Zimmerman

Instead of making ethanol from sugar, SunOpta of Canada is working on making a sugar substitute from ethanol.

sunoptaSunOpta subsidiary SunOpta BioProcess Inc. (SBI) has been awarded $5.5 million (Canadian) in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada to develop an integrated cellulosic ethanol plant and co-located xylitol production facility in the Greater Toronto area.

The fabrication of valuable co-products is expected to allow biofuel producers to increase their profitability and competitiveness. SBI and its partners have developed an integrated process that will produce both food grade xylitol — a healthy sugar substitute — and fuel grade cellulosic ethanol, therefore increasing the economic and environmental sustainability of cellulosic ethanol production. Using wood chips as feedstock, the technology is projected to decrease process water consumption by up to 75% compared to producing corn ethanol while retaining all of the life-cycle carbon benefits inherent to cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News