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Energy Reform? Then Don’t Follow California.

Joanna Schroeder

Many states look to California to set the stage for environmental and energy reform. They passed the first greenhouse gas emissions legislation. They passed the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. But not so fast. They are bankrupt. They still have some of the worst air pollution in the country. They still have “brownouts” when it rains.

treesLet me give you an example of why California should not set the stage for energy reform. Just today, Biofuels Digest reported that BlueFire Ethanol, a waste -to -energy biofuels company primarily using wood waste, is relocating its second facility from California to Mississippi. Why? A $1 million a year tax hike plus after two years, difficulty getting the permits through. Oh, and did I mention that the DOE threatened to pull its $40 million funding if the project wasn’t sped up?

So BlueFire has sped up. In Fulton, Mississippi.

“We wanted to move quicker, and DOE said we needed to move quicker than we were able to in California,” said BlueFire CEO Arnie Klann in the Digest. “The Economic Development people in Mississippi, and in Itawamba county, welcomed us, and facilitated the project in every way. After going through a 20-month process with our Lancaster facility in California, we expect to be done with permitting by the end of the first quarter, after starting in July, and we have already located an off-take partner for our ethanol, upriver in the Memphis area.

While the plant relocation is great news for Mississippi, it’s sad news for California which will now lose nearly $8.3 million is tax revenue. And let’s face it. This is not the only biofuels project to flee California, nor will it be the last one. If our country is really commited to energy reform then it must not follow the ways of states like Califonia, but follow the lead of states like Mississippi that are welcoming biofuels projects with open arms.

biofuels, Commentary, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Wind Consortium Led by Illinois Institute of Technology

Joanna Schroeder

iit_logo_2005_2Wind energy has received another gust with the announcement from U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu that three universities have been given investments for wind energy research. An Illinois Institute of Technology (IITT) led consortium has been selected for up to $8 million to support the research and development programs that include private industry, state and local governments, and other universities as partners. The other two benefactors are University of Minnesota and University of Maine.

“Illinois Institute of Technology’s consortium is pleased to have been chosen to help advance wind energy for the nation,” said IIT President John Anderson. “The combination of research and academic opportunities at IIT and its academic consortium partners, in conjunction with industry, will help the United States be at the forefront of this technology.”

The wind projects, guided by “20% Wind Energy by 2030 Report,” will focus on the improvement in current land-based and offshore turbine technology and also provide educational opportunities for college and graduate students in the field of wind energy technologies. The three projects selected are in support of President Obama’s focus on creating clean energy and green jobs. The funds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Wind power has the potential to provide 20 percent of our electricity and create hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said Secretary Chu. “We need to position the United States as the clear leader in this industry, or watch these high-paying jobs go overseas. The investment we’re making today will help ensure that America has both the talent and the technology we need to compete.”

News, Wind

Company to Auction Ethanol, Biodiesel Equipment

John Davis

maasWhat’s a loss for some ethanol and biodiesel producers could be a big gain for others looking to expand or get into the green fuel business. A pair of auctions… one in Nebraska and the other in New Jersey… by Maas Companies will offer some brand-new, out-of-the-box ethanol and biodiesel production equipment.

MaasbiodieselequipmentCarelton, Nebraska is the site of the Altra Nebraska LLC ethanol equipment auction, where $220 million worth of equipment capable of producing 110 million gallons a year will be offered for sale on Wednesday, October 28, starting at 10 a.m. On Thursday, November 12, six, 10-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel process trains will be up for sale at the Hampton Inn & Suites – Newark Harrison Riverwalk, 100 Passaic Ave, Harrison, New Jersey, starting at 11 a.m.

GuytonAllison Guyton, director of operation for Maas Companies says her company has been doing these types of sales of biodiesel and ethanol equipment since the 1980s.

“It has a tendency to go in cycles depending on how the industry is doing based on transportation costs, commodity prices, and subsidies from the different states,” Guyton says. She says both sets of equipment are still in shrink-wrap, on pallets, and ready to be installed into any operation.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity for an entity to either come in and purchase the euipment and keep it on-site and finish the construction process, or buy new equipment at a fraction of new cost and then transport to their location have it installed there.”

To hear more of my conversation with Guyton, listen here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/Guytonintw-edit.mp3]

You can see more of the equipment and details about how to bid in-person or online at the Maas Companies Web site.

Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Iowa Ethanol Producer Embarks on Algae Project

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa Governor Chet Culver was seeing green at the grand opening of the Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) Algae Project Thursday in Shenandoah.

GPRE“This project here is an ideal of what this could mean not only to securing our energy future and helping fuel the world and lower emissions, but jobs in Iowa,” Culver said during the event held at the GPRE ethanol plant in Shenandoah. “It’s amazing what this could mean at a time when we really need economic development and job creation.”

“We are excited by the opportunities this technology offers to sequester the CO2 emitted at our ethanol plants,” said GPRE president and CEO Todd Becker. “Our plants have warm water, waste heat and C02 which provide a perfect environment for the BioProcessAlgae Grower Harvester technology to be deployed. The algae produced have the potential to be used for advanced bio-fuel production, high quality animal feed, or as biomass for energy production, but our focus is solely on efficiently growing algae and sequestering carbon dioxide at this point.”

The Algae Project has been working to develop breakthrough technology for the mass production of algae. The oil extracted from the algae will be used to create biodiesel. With their anticipated 200 tons per acre per year and an oil extraction rate of 30%, the goal is to produce 5.8 million gallons of biodiesel and 51,000 tons of high protein meal product per year. With the oil extraction, the protein meal product would be fed to poultry and swine. GPRE received $2 million from the Iowa Power Fund and has $2 million in matching funds for the project

algae, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News

MN Vikings Work with ALAMN to Promote E85

mn-vikingsThe Minnesota Vikings along with the American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN) are working together to promote E85. Drivers of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) can receive a free parking space in the Gold Lot at 401 4th Street South in downtown Minneapolis during Viking’s home games. The free parking is open to the drivers of the first 25 FFVs in the lot during the eight home games this season — those arriving after the 25 free parking passes are gone will have to pay the usual $40 charge for the premium parking spot near the Dome.

ala-mnVolunteers from the ALAMN will be at the two Gold Lot entrances to identify FFVs and distribute the free passes. The ALAMN supports the use of cleaner-burning E85, and has partnered with the Minnesota Vikings to raise awareness and use of the ethanol-based fuel, sold at more than 350 stations in Minnesota. The first 25 FFV drvers in the Gold Lot will receive coupons for 10 cents off per gallon of E85 at the downtown station.

Also, a trip for two to Soldier Field in Chicago is being given away to watch the Vikings play the Bears on December 28th. Fans can register to win the “Vikings Road Trip, Fueled By E85” contest by clicking here.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

USDA Official Will Tour Iowa Biofuels Industry

Cindy Zimmerman

usdaUSDA Deputy Secretary Dr. Kathleen Merrigan will get some first hand knowledge of Iowa’s ethanol industry during a tour scheduled for October 20. During her visit, Dr. Merrigan will learn about ethanol production, utilization of co-products and biodiesel research.

Merrigan will first visit Lincolnway Energy, a 50-million gallon per year ethanol plant with a corn oil extraction process. Next, she will tour Couser Cattle Company’s 5,000 head operation which utilizes distillers grains as livestock feed. Finally, Deputy Secretary Merrigan will tour Renewable Energy Group’s Research Center which houses industry-leading biodiesel programs, including cutting-edge corn oil-to-biodiesel commercialization research.

Biodiesel, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, USDA

Photos Win Ethanol Sturgis Contest

Cindy Zimmerman

rfaThe Renewable Fuels Association has announced the winners of its E85 Flex-Fuel Challenge Sturgis Photo Contest.

Tim Gillespie of Cameron Park, California was the Grand Prize winner of a $1,000 gift card to the motorcycle dealership of his choice after submitting his winning photo, “Sturgis Bikes 2009” pictured left. The photo contest was judged based on creativity as well as quality.

rfa“End of the Ride” photographer Ron Storrm of Wausaukee, Wisconsin was awarded a $100 gift card to the motorcycle dealership of his choice after receiving the Most Voted Award from daily votes submitted to the www.e85challenge.com website. Note the glass of “ethanol” in that photo!

“This contest was about passion for motorcycles, that American pride, and how the combination of an American fuel like ethanol just makes sense,” said Robert White, RFA Director of Market Development. “It was also about education and teaching fellow riders that motorcycles and other small engines can use up to 10% ethanol safely and effectively.”

The RFA Market Development team conducted promotional and advertising events throughout the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground and town of Sturgis by handing out 10,000 take home palm cards to the rally-goers with information about ethanol, RFA’s consumer website ChooseEthanol.com and the E85 Challenge contest.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Coskata Unveils Semi- Commerical Cellulosic Plant

Joanna Schroeder

Coskata Inc., has finally unveiled it’s “semi-commercial flex ethanol facility” to the world today with the New York Times taking the lead. In the article author Matthew Wald writes, “The facility, built by a company called Coskata, is not quite proof that a new era is at hand for American transportation fuels. But with the company claiming it will be able to convert wood waste into biofuel for about $1 a gallon, the plant suggests that day may be drawing nearer.”

Project Lighthouse (the name for the plant) will be able to reduce greenhouse gasses by as much as 96% over gasoline while using half of the water per gallon as compared to producing a gallon of gas. The company also claims that its process is as much as 7 times as energy positive as the fossil fuel used in the process.

In a press statement, Bill Roe, Coskata’s President and CEO said, “We are proud that we have successfully scaled our technology to this significant level. This facility is demonstrating that our efficient, affordable and flexible conversion technology is ready for commercialization. The next step is to build full-scale facilities and begin licensing our technology to project developers, project financiers and strategic partners.” Long-term, Coskata will commercialize their plants between 50-100 million gallons per year.

The difference in Coskata’s flex ethanol facility is that it will be producing ethanol from numerous feedstocks, including wood biomass, agricultural waste, sustainable energy crops, and construction waste. The feedstock flexible nature of this approach, says the company, is that it allows for true geographic flexibility, meaning facilities can be built anywhere a feedstock can be sourced or delivered.

Multiple feedstock use has proven to be financially rewarding as last month, HERO BX’s CEO Leonard Kosar noted in a media call that their company will be using 15 different feedstocks to profitably produce biodiesel this year.

Roe concluded by saying, “Coskata leverages proprietary microorganisms and efficient bioreactor designs in a unique three-step conversion process that can turn virtually any carbon-based feedstock into ethanol, from anywhere in the world. Coskata’s biological fermentation technology is ethanol-specific and enzyme independent, contributing to high energy conversion rates and ethanol yields.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

DF Cast: Mixing Ethanol and (Bio) Diesel

John Davis

cleanflexYou can’t burn ethanol in a diesel engine. Nope. Just not done. Like mixing oil and water.

But what if you added more water to the ethanol? And came up with a way to mix the hydrated-ethanol blend with the diesel… or better yet, biodiesel… right at the point of ignition? Ahhh… then you’d have something that National Corn Growers Association chairman and Nebraska corn farmer Bob Dickey calls the CleanFlex Power System… a new venture he has formed with Ron Preston, president of CleanFlex. Together, they hope to get the 60 million diesel engines in the U.S. to burn some ethanol as well.

They don’t have a Web site, yet, but you can contact CleanFlex at 402-480-0346.

df-logoIn this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, listen to Bob and Ron as they discuss how this process works and how it will help renewable fuels meet the next round of emission requirements set to kick in in 2011.

Listen to the podcast here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/DFCast-10-16-09.mp3]

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, Biodiesel, Domestic Fuel Cast, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, News

Study: Cars Running Corn-Based E85 Outperform Telsa

Joanna Schroeder

The Biofuels Digest has reported that a new study found that cars running on corn-based E85 have 30 percent lower CO2 emissions over the car’s lifetime than the Tesla Roadster, an all electric vehicle running on coal-based electricity. These results are based on the new CAFE standards that were passed this summer. But maybe more interesting, the study found that the Tesla will actually create 21 percent more C02 emissions than a car running on conventional gas.

Tesla RoadsterThe full study, based on the GREET model for corn ethanol emissions, can be downloaded here. Additional criteria used included the e85 fuel economy figures as established in the most recent University of Nebraska study; Tesla’s reports on miles per KWh, Department of Transportation figures on auto lifespan, EIA data on electricity prices, E85 price data from e85prices.com, and EPA figures on emissions from coal-fired power generation.

Although the operating costs of driving a car vary from state to state, the Digest also found that, “based on current ethanol prices, the total increase in cost of ownership for running an E85 vehicle in the US is $19 per year, compared to a non-flex fuel vehicle running conventional gasoline (with up to 10 percent ethanol content). E85 saves an average of 6 tons of CO2 emissions over the average life of a vehicle, when utilizing corn ethanol, and up to 36 tons of CO2 when running on cellulosic ethanol derived from waste biomass.”

Cellulosic, corn, E85, Electric Vehicles, Ethanol, Ethanol News