Central City & Ord Ethanol Plants Back in Production

Joanna Schroeder

GPRELogoGreen Plains Renewable Energy announced today that their recently acquired ethanol plant located in Central City, Neb. is back in production. This 100 million gallon per year (mpy) biorefinery has been idle since November 2008. Green Plains said they made necessary repairs and capital improvements to the plant.

This plant was purchased from AgStar Financial Services back in May. AgStar became the default owners of the plant, along with one in Ord, Neb. when VeraSun Energy filed for bankruptcy. Earlier this month, Green Plains also announced that the plant in Ord also commenced operations – just 8 days after the purchase became official.

“The startup of the Ord plant within eight days of completing the purchase is a testament to our operational experience and our considerable understanding of the plant technology,” said Todd Becker, Green Plains’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Ord plant has been idle since November 2008, but based on our expertise, we developed and executed a comprehensive plan that allowed us to quickly achieve this milestone. We are glad to bring this plant back online producing ethanol.”

Green Plains, based in Omaha, Neb., is North America’s fourth largest ethanol producer with a combined operating capacity of 480 mgy.

Company Announcement, Ethanol, Ethanol News

FFV Campain Announced at Farm-to-Fuel Summit

farmtofuelAccording to the Clean Fuels Foundation, a national consumer awareness campaign aimed at owners of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) was officially launched at the Farm-to-Fuel Summit. The project is a cooperative effort between key Florida state government interests, gasoline/E85 distributors, ethanol companies, and several nonprofit environmental and energy advocacy groups.

The Florida Farm-to-Fuel Summit provided the forum for Charles Bronson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to announce that the state would be taking a proactive role aimed at increasing the use of higher blends of renewable biofuels, like ethanol, in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). “Our state has developed a comprehensive strategy to become more energy independent with clean, sustainable, and affordable fuel sources,” said Governor Crist. “Today’s announcement is one more step that our state can take in the effort to become better stewards of our natural resources.”

“The FFV Awareness driver education project is designed to locate and encourage drivers of FFVs to try higher blends of ethanol when they are available. This will help Florida meet its goals of reducing the cost of and reliance on imported oil, improving air quality, and creating economic development opportunities – all while reducing greenhouse gases. This is a Win-Win-Win for Florida drivers, the state government, and the nation,” said Douglas A. Durante, Director of the Clean Fuels Foundation.

There are currently thirty E85 stations in the state, with a majority of them located in the South Florida market.

ffv-clubThe Clean Fuels Foundation and the FlexFuel Vehicle Club of America are the project organizers in cooperation with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The lead sponsor for the pilot project is the Renewable Fuels Association. Other project supporters include General Motors, Verenium, Protec Fuel Management, Urbieta Oil, Florida Biofuels Association, and the USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses.

Car Makers, E85, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Mass. Hands Out $2.2 Mil in Wind Energy Grants

John Davis

The State of Massachusetts has handed out $2.2 million to fund nine new wind energy projects.

This press release from the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says the agency’s secretary, Ian Bowles, made the announcement of the grants awarded by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust through the new Commonwealth Wind Community-Scale Wind initiative:

ianbowles“Wind energy is a core component of Governor Patrick’s plan for the Commonwealth’s clean energy future,” said Secretary Bowles. “These nine grants will help get more wind turbines installed and help more community institutions reduce their use of fossil fuels.”

The Governing Board of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust approved the grants totaling more than $2.2 million. Project funding included design and construction grants for three new wind projects totaling more than 4 megawatts (MW) in capacity, and six feasibility studies for wind energy that would total more than 3 MW in capacity if built. The nine grants go to public projects, educational institutions, a farm, and a shopping center. Funds for the Trust come from renewable energy charges on electric bills, which generate roughly $25 million a year to support renewable energy installations and companies.

“These heavy energy-users—municipal and state facilities, schools, retail centers, and farms—have much to gain from wind power, and the Trust is glad to be able to put wind power within their reach,” said Phil Giudice, Commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and chair of the Trust’s Governing Board.

The three projects receiving design and construction grants are the town of Hanover, for its wastewater treatment plant; the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission; and the Massachusetts Department of Correction, for North Central Correction Institution-Gardner.

Awards for the six feasibility studies go to Allen Farm, Martha’s Vineyard; Cape Cod Academy, Osterville; Centerville-Osterville-Marston Mills Fire District; Colony Place, Plymouth; Falmouth Academy, Falmouth; and Up-Island Regional School District, Chilmark, Aquinnah, and West Tisbury.

You can read more about each project here.

Wind

JB Hunt’s Big Rigs Running on Algae Biodiesel

John Davis

JBHunttrucksNational carrier J.B. Hunt has committed to burning algae biodiesel in its semi-trucks.

This post on the FleetOwner blog says that after successfully testing 20 and 50 percent blends of SunEco Energy’s biodiesel, made from algae oil, J.B. Hunt found it reduced emissions by more than 80 percent without any loss of power:

“Producing renewable fuel supplies from algae grown in American ponds is an intriguing new option,” noted Gary Whicker, senior vice president of engineering for J.B. Hunt, in a press statement. “Our initial experience with their algae-based biodiesel is promising, and we are excited about the opportunity to work … towards a lower cost, less carbon intensive, and more secure energy supply for our business.”

I’ve talked about the potential for algae as a vehicle fuel stock in this space before – just last year in fact – but I didn’t think we’d be seeing it put through its paces in trucking this soon. And frankly, I shouldn’t be surprised that J.B. Hunt of all carriers is forging ahead with a plan to use algae-based biodiesel in its trucks, for this is a carrier long known for doing things differently – a hallmark of its late founder, Johnnie Bryan Hunt.

While the post does point out that algae biodiesel is still some time from commercial viability, the fact that a billion dollar carrier like J.B. Hunt is taking on a project like this shows that someone sure thinks that profitability running algae biodiesel can’t be that far away.

algae, Biodiesel

Denver Converting 100 Trucks to Biodiesel

John Davis

DenversnowplowThe city of Denver is coverting more than 100 trucks and snow plows to run on clean-burning biodiesel.

The Denver Business Journal says the city is getting $700,000 in federal stimulus bucks to retrofit the equipment:

Denver announced Thursday that it had received the “Clean Diesel Conversion” grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The money will be spent on:

• 48 city-owned public works trash trucks.

• 53 Denver Water construction trucks.

• Nine snow plows at Denver International Airport.

• Buying more than 250,000 gallons of B100 biodiesel from Blue Sun Energy Inc. in Golden, which does business as Blue Sun Biodiesel.

“Biodiesel is cleaner than diesel and is a domestically produced energy source,” said Sabrina Williams, environmental analyst and grant project manager with Denver’s Department of Environmental Health, in the announcement. “We’ve been using biodiesel in the city’s fleet since 2004. This grant money will be used to offset the cost of purchasing the environmentally-friendly fuel.”

The conversion includes putting pollution-control devices on the trucks and snow plows and various idle-reduction technologies to help cut down on emissions.

Biodiesel

DOE Announces New $30 Billion In Loan Guarantees

Joanna Schroeder

PD*28924131More good news for ethanol. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced up to $30 billion in new load guarantees funded in part, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and in part through 2009 appropriations. Once again, next generation biofuels projects get an additional boost as the lending authority includes up to $500 million in subsidy costs to support loans for these groups. These dollars are coming specifically from the Recovery Act.

Just last week, the DOE announced $85 million for Algal and Advanced Biofuels, the funding also coming from the Recovery Act.

As reported first by Biofuels Digest, the solicitation is the seventh rounds of solicitations by the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program, which encourages the commercial use of new or improved energy technologies to help foster clean energy projects. Applications will be accepted over the next 45 days.

If it is at all possible to speed up the federal government, the DOE has said that is has created a streamlined process to accelerate the loans. In addition, they are absorbing up to $3 billion in loan guarantee administration costs that were originally charged back to former loan recipients. The DOE will announce more details regarding the load guarantee solicitations funded by the Recovery Act soon.

biofuels, Ethanol News, Legislation

Verenium and BP Launch Cellulosic Ethanol Venture

Cindy Zimmerman

The joint cellulosic ethanol venture between BP and Verenium Corporation now has a name – Vercipia.

VercipiaThe two companies announced that their 50-50 joint venture company will operate under the name Vercipia Biofuels, and corporate headquarters will be in Florida.

Vercipia continues to focus on the development of one of the nation‟s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities, located in Highlands County, Florida. The company is also developing a second commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol site in the Gulf Coast region.

“I continue to be pleased and enthusiastic with the progress our joint venture – Vercipia – has made in only a few short months, and I look forward to a highly productive and successful next two years as we move toward bringing a first commercial facility into production,” said Carlos Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium.

“BP’s ‘all of the above’ approach to meeting America’s future energy needs includes a significant investment in biofuels development, as this project demonstrates,” said Susan Ellerbusch, President of BP Biofuels North America. “We believe Vercipia will be a key player in the biofuels supply chain in the coming years.”

Since announcing the formation of the joint venture company in February, Vercipia has applied for and been selected to move forward with due diligence on a Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee for the Highlands project, which is now underway. In addition, the team has continued to advance development activity in Florida and on a second site in the Gulf Coast region.

Cellulosic, Energy, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Report: Biofuels Market to Triple by 2020

John Davis

PikeResearchA new report shows some pretty strong growth in the biofuels market in the next decade, especially in the biodiesel sector.


This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Boulder, Colorado-based Pike Research sees the biofuels market tripling by the year 2020, growing from $76 billion to $240 billion:

“The study started out as an assessment of technologies in the biofuels industries, but then it grew into a more of a market analysis,” said Robert McDonald, author of the report.

Growth on the supply side was linked to game changing technologies related to biofuels processing. “In the biofuels world, feedstock is king and any technology that provides additional feedstock is a game changer to me,” McDonald told Biodiesel Magazine. “I think the technology developed by Clayton McNeff [of Ever Cat Fuels in Isanti, Minn.] for making biodiesel from trap grease is one of the developments that is very exciting.”

Recycled greases, however, do not have the same potential that algae or jatropha holds for the biodiesel industry over the long term, the Pike Report said. “They’re planting a lot of jatropha right now, but it will take four to five years to mature, so we’re looking at 2013-2014 before it starts to make an impact,” McDonald said.

The article goes on to says that while algae-based biodiesel is still about five years away from being commercially viable, the number of breakthroughs and the amount of investment in the pond scum energy will make it a matter of “when” and not just “if.”

Biodiesel

New Biodiesel Plant Nearly Doubles California’s Output

John Davis

crimsonA Colorado biodiesel company has nearly doubled California’s total output of the green fuel.

Denver-based Crimson Renewable Energy has completed a 30-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel and glycerin plant near Bakersfield, California, the largest biodiesel facility in the state. Previously, California had only 34 million gallons a year of biodiesel production:

Crimson’s new Bakersfield production facility can utilize a wide variety of feed stocks such as waste inedible animal fats, used cooking oil, and virgin vegetable oils to produce low carbon and ultra-low carbon fuels to meet California’s new Low Carbon Fuel Standard requirements for fuels with reduced carbon / GHG emissions. Using lifecycle carbon / GHG emissions calculations released by the California Air Resources Board, biodiesel produced at the Crimson Bakersfield facility can reduce carbon /GHG emissions by to 337,000 metric tons per year. The facility also includes the capacity to process up to 50 million pounds per year of crude glycerin, to produce high-quality, refined glycerin, which is an important ingredient in a variety of industrial, personal care, pharmaceutical and food applications.

Crimson officials say they have taken a sustainable approach to their biodiesel plants. This plant near Bakersfield will serve California’s Central Valley, Central Coast and Los Angeles Basin areas.

Biodiesel

Petra Solar to Mount Panels on NJ Utility Poles

John Davis

PetraSolarA solar panel company will be mounting 200,000 smart solar photovoltaic panels on the poles of a New Jersey utility, making it the largest pole-attached solar installation in the world.

This press release from Petra Solar, Inc., says the project to mount the systems on New Jersey’s PSE&G utility poles and street light poles will create 100 green jobs in installation, research and development, operations and manufacturing:

In a contract of about $200 million with PSE&G, Petra Solar will make units for 200,000 poles in New Jersey’s six largest cities and 300 rural and suburban communities in PSE&G’s service territory. Over the 3½ year life of the contract, Petra will add the green jobs to its employee base of 40-plus employees, most of whom work in the company’s South Plainfield headquarters and manufacturing facility.

Shihab Kuran, President and CEO of Petra Solar, said, “This contract is transformational for us. We are tripling in size and will start hiring immediately. We invite those interested in applying for positions to visit the company’s website at www.petrasolar.com.”

“Our SunWave™ pole-mounted, grid-connected PV generation system delivers true technological innovation,” Kuran said. “Our product will enable PSE&G to enhance the reliability of its delivery of electricity to customers. ”

Petra’s SunWave system uses a combination of highly distributed, grid connected photovoltaic generation and smart grid communications capabilities, while providing enhancement of electric distribution grid reliability through a host of functions such as voltage support.

Solar