NEC 2027

Valero Announces Biodiesel Venture

John Davis

ValeroLast week, I told you how petroleum company Valero Energy Corp. could be looking at getting into the biodiesel business (see my post from Sept. 11, 2009). Now, it looks like the company is doing more than just looking.

This story from the San Antonio Business Journal says Valero has teamed up with Darling International Inc. to develop an animal fat biodiesel plant in Louisiana:

San Antonio-based Valero and Irving, Texas-based Darling plan on building a biodiesel facility on a site adjacent to Valero’s St. Charles refinery near Norco, La. The facility will have the capacity of producing 135 million gallons per year. Proposed development costs were not disclosed.

The planned facility will convert grease — animal fats and used cooking oil supplied by Darling — to commercially viable renewable diesel. Valero is North America’s largest independent oil refiner. Darling is a food processing by-products recycling company. Darling recycles used restaurant cooking oil and by-products from beef, pork and poultry processers into usable products for the agricultural, leather and biodiesel manufacturing industries.

The companies are expected to apply jointly for a U.S. Department of Energy backed loan from an $8.5 billion fund that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Biodiesel

Big Oil Predicts Big Growth for Ethanol, Biodiesel

John Davis

The largest oil and gas producer in the country is predicting that in 20 years, there will be more ethanol and biodiesel than gasoline and diesel produced in the U.S.

LandisBloomberg.com reports that Katrina Landis, head of BP’s alternative-energy unit, made the claim that biofuels will replace about 25 percent of gasoline and 8 percent of diesel in 2030, raising American biofuel production by more than four times what it was per day in 2007:

Gasoline producers are entering the U.S. ethanol business as the government promotes use of the corn-based fuel to curb dependence on oil imports. Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner, paid $477 million in March for seven ethanol plants owned by bankrupt producer VeraSun Energy Corp. Biodiesel, for use in diesel-powered engines, is made from vegetable oils and animal fats.

BP Alternative Energy has earmarked $8 billion for project investment in the decade through 2015. BP, which expects biofuels to account for 11 percent to 19 percent of the world’s transport-fuel market by 2030, supplied about 10 percent of global biofuels last year, according to company estimates.

Expansion in biofuels, along with solar, wind-power and carbon-capture and storage projects, will help BP reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, blamed for global warming, Landis said.

“We are now taking steps in BP to build the cost of carbon into everything we do; every project we consider, whether that be in exploration, refining or retail,” Landis said.

You can read the text of Landis’ speech here.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Enerkem Breaks Ground on Waste-to-Biofuels Facility

John Davis

EnerkemCanadian company Enerkem has broken ground on a new energy research facility.

This company press release says the advanced waste-to-biofuels facility is a partnership with the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta,:

The research facility, a collaboration between Enerkem, the City of Edmonton and the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), will focus on the conversion of various types of waste from industrial sectors and from the municipal sector, to produce green transportation fuels and chemicals. It will be adjacent to the commercial waste-to-biofuels production facility, which will soon begin construction and will at term produce 36 million litres of ethanol per year.

“Enerkem is proud to take part in this unprecedented project that will keep more waste out of landfills, will reduce GHG emissions and will allow for the production of green transportation fuels,” said Vincent Chornet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enerkem. “The joint energy research facility and our commercial waste-to-biofuels production facility, demonstrate our company’s leading position in waste processing and in the production of advanced biofuels.”

The facility is expected to be done by the first part of next year.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

State of SD Adds 3 E85 Dispensers

The state fleet in South Dakota will soon be able to fuel up with E85 at three new dispensing units. The sites will be in Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Pierre to assist with the Department of Transportation.

About 1,270 of the state’s fleet are E85 compatible and purchased about 32,640 gallons of the clean, alternative fuel at private facilities in 2009. The new E85 sites should bring the gallons consumed up considerably.

govmike_rounds“It makes it more convenient for state employees to get higher ethanol blends, and it should increase our use of those higher ethanol blends to an estimated 250,000 gallons per year,” said Governor Mike Rounds. “It also will benefit South Dakota’s ethanol producers and the farmers who grow the corn that’s used to make ethanol.”

Funding for the three ethanol tanks comes from a $280,000 energy grant that is part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus package.

There are 93 publicly accessed E85 and blender pump stations in the state of South Dakota.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government

Mascoma and Chevron Team for Cellulosic Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

An agreement between Mascoma Corporation and Chevron Technology Ventures will provide feedstock for conversion to cellulosic ethanol and by-products.

mascoma_logochevronAccording to a press release, Mascoma has entered into a feedstock processing and lignin supply agreement with Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), a division of Chevron U.S.A., Inc. Under terms of the agreement, CTV will provide various sources of lignocellulosic feedstock to Mascoma, which will then convert the feedstock to cellulosic ethanol producing lignin as a by-product.

The project will last for two years, and Mascoma is hopeful that the developed technology may be suitable for a wide variety of feedstocks.

Cellulosic, Energy, Ethanol, Ethanol News

1Hour Flex Launched

Joanna Schroeder

A new U.S. based company called Alkol, has launched 1Hour Flex, a technology, according to the company, that allows any car to run on any amount of ethanol (E85) or gasoline. The conversion is reported to take less than one hour. The company has its roots based in Brazil where there are more flex-fuel vehicles on the road than anywhere else in the world. It’s this Brazilian history that the company says makes its complete system better than any other.

alkolsystem

1Hour Flex has three components: an Electronic Converter that alters fuel injectors timing; Ignition Remapper which alters the spark plugs firing time; and a Cold Start System, which allows the engine to quickly start in cold days. Although the system could be installed at home, the company recommends having a certified technician install the technology.

Al Costa, CEO of Alkol said, “Flexing a car improperly can lead you to a number of problems, such as the engine failing when most needed; ridiculously high fuel consumption which basically nulls any savings you could get from the new fuel; fuel injectors clogging; even the fuel pump burning up, etc. That´s why we focus on installing whatever we know that the car will need to properly work without the customer having to do anything.”

1HourFlex is a complete system versus partial systems others offer and is fully automated. In addition, Alkol claims its ignition remapper system has no parallel and is a key component of the effectiveness of the technology. The company is slowly entering the U.S. market and is looking to a price of around $900 for the entire system including installation. The company is also looking at installing E85 pumps at the conversion locations.

E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Burger King Tests Motion Power Prototype

Joanna Schroeder

_1JG5186New Energy Technologies, has successfully tested its MotionPower technology for generating electricity from the motion of cars and light trucks, in conjunction with a Burger King restaurant in Hillside, New Jersey. The durability field-test was conducted between September 3-7th and is one of the last steps needed prior to its commercial launch.

“It would be great to generate clean electricity by mechanically capturing the kinetic energy of the 100,000-plus cars that drive through our Hillside store alone each year,” stated entrepreneur and Burger King franchise owner, Mr. Drew Paterno. “If the MotionPower™ device works and does what we think it will do, we’d be interested in installing it in all our locations.”

New Energy’s MotionPower™ technology is designed to be installed in locations where hybrid, next-generation electrical, and conventional fuels-driven vehicles decelerate or stop, thus ensuring that vehicles are not ‘robbed’ of energy they would otherwise use to accelerate. Instead, MotionPower™ devices actually assist vehicles in slowing down, and in the process of doing so, capture the vehicles’ motion energy before it is lost as brake heat, and creatively convert that energy into clean ‘green’ electricity.

“We’ve had a favorable response to our MotionPower™ technology from the marketplace and from those who generated electricity by driving their cars over our device. We’re keen to aggressively commercialize our technology and have designed each phase of our testing to help move us towards this goal,” explained Mr. Meetesh Patel, Esq., President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc.

Energy, News, technology

Cobalt Biofuels Named a Global Cleantech 100 Company

Joanna Schroeder

460x276-2Guardian News & Media recently announced their Global Cleantech 100 presented by the Guardian. Although this was the first year the list was created, more than 3,500 nominations were submitted. On this year’s list were 55 American based companies including Mountain View, California based Cobalt Biofuels. The list includes companies that are on the forefront of cleantech innovation. Cobalt Biofuels was recognized on the basis of its innovative technology for the production of biobutanol from non-food lignocellulosic material.

“It is a high honor to be included in the Global Cleantech 100 as it recognizes the rapid progress we have made toward our goal of commercializing biobutanol and the tremendous promise that biobutanol offers as a next generation biofuel,” said Rick Wilson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Cobalt Biofuels.

The 2009 list represents the collective opinion of hundreds of experts from cleantech innovation and venture capital companies in EMEA, North America, India and China, combined with the specific input of an expert panel of 35.

“The first ever Global Cleantech 100 shines a spotlight on which companies and which technology areas the global innovation community is most excited about from a commercial standpoint,” said Richard Youngman, managing partner at Cleantech Group.

biobutanol, Energy, Environment, News

Wind Energy Gets Billion Dollar Boost from Congress

John Davis

wind_turbineWind turbines could become more efficient and reliable, with some help from a $1-billion program that has just passed the U.S. House.

Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) is the sponsor of the measure that the San Francisco Chronicle says aims to ensure that the biggest of the wind-generating turbines will be the most cost effective… important if wind energy is to hit the Energy Department’s prediction of wind providing 20 percent of U.S. electricity supplies by 2030:

Tonko said more research is needed to overcome the “many significant technical issues” facing wind-generated electricity.

One of the biggest barriers is the high cost of transporting ever-growing rotary blades and heavy tower components from assembly plants to wind farms in gusty but often remote regions.

Under Tonko’s bill, the proposed wind research, development and demonstration program would get up to $200 million annually over five years to spur the creation of low-cost transportable towers and larger, lighter and more affordable blade materials.

Tonko said the initiative could leverage nanoscience research by businesses and research institutions that are working at the molecular level to create lighter and more durable materials.

The program would also look for ways to make the turbines’ gearboxes more reliable and develop cheaper assembly techniques for large components. Plus, it would work on how to overcome the issue of unpredictable winds.

Government, Legislation, Wind

Iowa Railroad Tests Biodiesel

John Davis

IowaInterstateRailroadSome trains in Iowa are burning locally produced biodiesel to see about the green fuel’s long-term viability in locomotives.

The Omaha World Herald reports that Cedar Rapids-based Iowa Interstate Railroad has been testing a B5 blend from Ames-based Renewable Energy Group and will increase it to B20 over the course of the eight-month test:

“Our company has been looking at biodiesel as an alternative to diesel fuel for some time,” said Dennis Miller, president and CEO of Iowa Interstate.

The locomotive being used in the test is an older one that is part of a “slug” unit used mainly to switch cars in a yard. It operates virtually around the clock.

The engine’s performance is being analyzed to determine the effects of biodiesel fuel on horsepower, fuel economy and engine wear. The tests will continue into the winter to determine how biodiesel affects the locomotive’s performance in cold weather.

Miller said the trial could open the door for more than 600 railroads to add biodiesel as a fuel source.

Right now, no makers of large diesel locomotive engines approve of biodiesel because there’s little data on the effect it has on those types of engines. But if things work out, that will all change by the time this testing is done, and maybe the manufacturers will give the green light to the green fuel.

Biodiesel