President Clinton Discusses Economy, Energy at NACS

Joanna Schroeder

clintonPresident Clinton was the keynote speaker during the closing session at the 2009 National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) conference. His focus during his speech was the American economy, with a few words on the state of health care, education and energy in the mix. But the big question was: is the recession over? His answer: “Yes. No. Maybe.”

If you are an economics professor, the answer is yes. Economists tend to determine the state of the economy using the textbook definition that says that two consecutive quarters of growth signal the end of a recession. If you are a business owner, the answer is no. People are still losing jobs and unemployment is still on the rise and home foreclosures are still increasing. The maybe comes into play, says Clinton, in that we can come out of a depression, but if people get spooked and stop spending, we’ll be right back into the recession. What could cause this? The price of oil going back to $100 per barrel. This may not be that far off as last week saw prices rise to $80 per barrel.

Clinton then went on to say, “We (America) has got to change how we create and exchange energy. Climate change is real.” He also expressed concern that if we lose the ability to feed the people when we need it most, we are going to have water wars and resource wars that make the middle east look tame. Clinton noted that the UK, Germany, Denmark and Sweden are the only four countries to exceed their climate goals. Why? These countries outperformed the U.S. because they created new jobs when they changed how they created and delivered energy.

Although this country has some very difficult challenges ahead of it, Clinton ended his speech with some words of encouragement, “On balance, I am widely optimistic about the future.”

conferences, Energy, Environment, News, water

Book Review – Turning Oil Into Salt

Joanna Schroeder

51M7xxHIPpL._SL500_AA240_What do salt and oil have in common? In its time, the world was overdependent on the strategic commodity (oil today and salt more than 100 years ago).  Our country (nor the world) is “salt dependent” but the world is oil dependent, but not in the way that most people define oil dependence. “That is what energy independence means: that it no longer matters who holds the reserves, that oil becomes much less relevant to global affairs, that it becomes just another commodity,” writes Gal Luft and Anne Korin, in “Turning Oil Into Salt Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice.”

The authors, who co-founded Set America Free Coalition and are also co-directors of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), continue,”Contrary to popular conception, energy independence does not mean autarky – it doesn’t mean walling ourselves off from the global market. Independence means not having to kowtow to the various petrodictators that sit on the bulk of the world’s oil reserves. Independence requires that oil become just not that important any more.”

The meat of the book delves into what energy independence looks like and the strategies that are currently in place, which the authors note are not effective and write that, “America’s energy policy still suffers from institutional paralysis.” They discuss terrorism at length but make a point that most authors fail to make, “Energy independence will not stop terrorism and will probably not prevent rogue regimes from obsessively pursuing nuclear weapons.” (The reason the U.S. is supposedly in a war with Iraq.)Read More

book reviews

Promoting BYO Ethanol to Retailers

Cindy Zimmerman

nacsRepresentatives from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) teamed up at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show in Las Vegas last week to promote the BYO Ethanol blender pump program.

Robert White (left) with RFA says blender pumps that can offer a variety of ethanol blends, from E10 to E85 and several steps in between, which gives consumers more choices and retailers more potential income opportunities. “With a blender pump for ethanol, you have a dispenser that everyone can use,” White said at the show. “Whether they’re fueling their lawnmower, their motorcycle, their legacy vehicle, their flex-fuel vehicle, there’s something for everyone.”

However, retailers have expressed concerns about liability issues in the event that consumers put the wrong type of fuel in a certain engine and it causes damage. “We promote standardizing labeling practices for the retailers because we want them to be protected. If they’re selling our product we don’t want any liability issues for them,” White said. The blender pumps are clearly labeled that blends above 10 percent are only for flex-fuel vehicles.

Domestic Fuel reporter Joanna Schroeder interviewed Robert about some of the ethanol blend issues they were discussing with retailers at the 2009 NACS show. Listen to or download that interview here.

ACE, Audio, blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Corn Grower Named to Growth Energy Board

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth EnergyA Minnesota corn grower has been named to the board of directors for Growth Energy.

Gary Pestorious is a fifth-generation farmer and CEO of a family-run 12,500-acre farming operation in Freeborn County, Minn. He is a member of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and has served as Chairman of POET-Glenville, a 44-million gallon farmer-owned ethanol plant, since production began 10 years ago.

growth energyPestorious also served three years on the Board of Directors of the American Coalition for Ethanol, representing the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, as well as on the board of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, until its merger with Growth Energy last year, and previously served as a member of the Renewable Fuels Association in his role for the last 10 years as Chair of POET-Glenville. He also serves on the boards of POET-Hanlontown (Iowa), a 50-million gallon-a-year plant, and POET-Lake Crystal (Minn.), a 55-million gallon-a-year plant, and serves as Chair of SoyMor, a 30-million gallon biodiesel plant.

Pestorious takes the seat previously held by Darrin Ihnen, of South Dakota, who recently assumed new responsibilities as President of the National Corn Growers Association.

corn, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Obama Pushes Hybrids, Wind & Solar at MIT

John Davis

ObamaportraitPresident Barack Obama was touting renewable energy during his visit this week to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Wall Street Journal reports that during a speech before 750 MIT faculty, local business leaders and politicians reminded those in attendance that green energy choices will lead the country to true economic prosperity:

Mr. Obama also touted the $80 billion in energy-related spending in the $787 billion stimulus bill he signed in February, saying it “makes the largest investment in clean energy in history, not only to help end this recession, but to lay a new foundation for lasting prosperity.” The stimulus package includes spending on battery technology for hybrid vehicles, energy efficiency retrofitting and renewable energy initiatives like wind and solar power.

Mr. Obama had campaigned on the promise of quickly capping U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions, a break with the policies of the George W. Bush administration. But legislation that would reduce industrial emissions has lost momentum in Congress this year, as lawmakers labor over health-care system and financial industry regulations that have taken months longer than anticipated.

The president’s aides had once hoped the Senate would pass a climate change bill before the United Nations’ climate change summit in Copenhagen in mid-December. But now, early next year is the soonest final legislation is expected to reach the Senate floor. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to begin hearings next week on legislation to cut U.S. emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020.

The White House believes the legislation could be passed by January, but the article says few in Congress see that happening.

Solar, Wind

Ethanol, Biodiesel to be Part of Navy’s Green Fleet

John Davis

MabusThe U.S. Navy has launched a new program to green its fleet… and biodiesel and ethanol are important elements of that campaign.

This article in the Pacific Coast Business Times says that during a seech this week in Santa Barbara, California, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus launched the idea of a “Green Fleet,” an ambitious goal to use non-fossil fuels to produce half of the energy for the U.S. Navy’s sea and shore vehicles:

In a speech hosted by the Santa Barbara Council of the Navy League at the Dreier Building in Santa Barbara, Mabus noted that the Department of Defense accounts for 93 percent of the federal government’s energy consumption. Greening the Navy and Marine Corps’ energy sources will go a long way toward weaning the country off costly fossil fuels produced in “volatile” regions, he said.

Mabus acknowledged that the Navy’s technology and infrastructure aren’t mature enough to handle the job now. But history has shown that both tend to catch up to the Navy’s demand, Mabus said, citing the moves from wind to coal and steam to oil. “If the Navy comes, they will build it,” he said.

Mabus said a variety of alternative sources — ethanol, biofuels, fuel cells and more — will be needed to achieve the Navy’s goals. The service already runs its submarines and most of ships with nuclear power.

The Navy has already commissioned the service’s first hybrid ship, the USS Makin Island, that uses a combination of gas turbines and electric drive. Mabus believes that innovations in the clean fuels business will make the Green Fleet a reality.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, News

Companies Working on Cellulosic Technology

Cindy Zimmerman

Two companies have formed an alliance to commercialize a patented process to economically and efficiently produce ethanol from cellulose feedstocks.

chemproThe ChemPro Group of New Jersey has joined with Mo-Fuel (Rural Bio-waste) of Sikeston, Missouri on the project. According to Steve Lavorerio, President of ChemPro, the process can handle a full spectrum of cellulosic feedstock, from wood chips and pulp-and-paper-plant byproducts to corn stover, rice straw, grass, and even municipal waste.

“The process, which lends itself to modular construction, is also economical as an add-on to existing corn ethanol plants,” said Lavorerio. “It can process the low-value waste product with the potential to increase yields of ethanol by 15% and improve the value of by-products by 50%.”

The first step being taken by the alliance is the construction of a mobile feedstock testing unit that will be used to generate process data from various types of cellulosic feedstock. The unit is expected to be operational in early 2010.

biomass, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol Groups Refute Science Article

Cindy Zimmerman

All of the major ethanol organizations in the country have made statements refuting an article in Science journal this week regarding indirect land use change effects of biofuels.

“Fixing a Critical Climate Accounting Error”, authored by recognized ethanol-detractor Timothy Searchinger, argues that biofuels and other bio-based energies should be accountable for the biogenic tailpipe and “smokestack” CO2 emissions that are absorbed by growing feedstocks and carbon emissions that could result from land clearing. The authors claim that existing and proposed regulations, such as the so-called U.S. cap and trade bill, create an accounting loophole that will lead to increased deforestation.

Renewable Fuels Association LogoThe Renewable Fuels Association says the authors propose an unnecessary and impossible system that would trace actual flows of carbon. “The real issue is not accounting tactics, but whether biofuels reduce GHG emissions compared to continued petroleum use. There is clear and substantial evidence that they do.” RFA noted in a statement.

Growth EnergyGrowth Energy CEO Tom Buis says that doing what the article suggests “would give an indirect benefit to oil – they’re saying it’s OK to pump oil out of the ground and use trees to absorb the carbon. But that does nothing to address our country’s dependence on expensive and carbon-intensive fossil fuels like oil, extracted from overseas oil fields or tar sands, where emissions are three to five times the rate of normal crude oil production.”

ACEBrian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) notes that “Searchinger is not a scientist, economist, or agronomist who has taken the time necessary to study whether his theories about land use and biofuels are validated by on-the-ground measurements. He’s an attorney who appears to have a political ax to grind against biofuels. New technology makes corn ethanol more efficient and sustainable each and every day, while future sources of oil get less efficient and more harmful to the environment.”

ACE, Ethanol, Growth Energy, Indirect Land Use, RFA

Ethanol Report From NACS

Cindy Zimmerman

nacsThe largest gathering of retailers who sell fuel to the public has been going on this week in Las Vegas. The NACS show, which is the annual meeting of the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing, draws some 10,000 visitors from all over the country and even internationally.

Ethanol Report PodcastIt was the first opportunity for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) to promote the recently introduced BYO Ethanol blender pump program to retailers. Domestic Fuel reporter Joanna Schroeder was there and talked to Robert White of RFA and Ron Lamberty of ACE about the program, blender pumps in general, and feedback from retailers for this edition of “The Ethanol Report.”

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

Listen to or download the podcast here:

ACE, blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

Montana More than Doubles its Wind Energy Output

John Davis

NaturEnerA new wind energy farm in Montana will more than double that state’s wind energy output.

The $500 million Glacier Wind Farm in Northern Montana is now the biggest in the state, putting out more than 210 megawatts and joins Montana’s Judith Gap farm, which produces 135 megawatts of power. This article in the Great Falls (MT) Tribune says Gov. Brian Schweitzer and NaturEner USA officials were on hand for the completion ceremony:

schweitzer1“This wind farm is one of the reasons Montana is on the map as a leader in wind energy development,” Schweitzer said.

NaturEner USA began construction of the Glacier Wind Farm near Shelby in 2008. It is to be built in two phases.

Schweitzer spoke at the official ground breaking of the first phase on July 17, 2008. The 106.5 megawatts of power from that phase went online at the end of October 2008.

With the completion of the second phase, the entire 210-megawatt output is now on the electrical grid, according to the governor’s office.

San Diego Gas and Electric, an investor-owned utility in California that serves 1.2 million customers, is purchasing some of the power produced at the Glacier Wind Farm.

And yet another wind farm is planned for that area. The $800 million Rim Rock project will feature 206 turbines generating 309 megawatts of power, making it one of the largest wind farms in the Northwest United States.

Wind