ACE Conference 2026

Hawaii Commission Deals Blow to Biodiesel Deal

John Davis

HECOA deal that would have provided biodiesel to a Hawaiian Electric Co. plant has been dealt a tough blow that in all intents and purposes kills the project.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports that the state Public Utilities Commission has denied HECO’s request to change where it would have gotten the green fuel for its plant:

According to the contract terms, [Seattle-based] Imperium [Renewables] was to build a local refinery with a pipeline to supply biodiesel for HECO’s newly completed, $142.3 million, 110-megawatt plant at Campbell Industrial Park.

imperium-logoWhen the contract was later amended to have Imperium import biodiesel from a West Coast refinery, HECO also sought a terminaling and trucking agreement with Aloha Petroleum to transport the imported biodiesel to its generating plant. That additional contract would have incurred additional costs that HECO would have passed on to its customers.

The PUC also determined that the contract with Aloha Petroleum without a corresponding biodiesel supply contract was unnecessary.

“While we’re disappointed in the ruling from the PUC, we understand their concerns about cost to ratepayers,” said Imperium CEO John Plaza. “We put together the best proposal we could based on HECO’s contractual requirements to source sustainable palm oil.”

The original deal was seen as a savior for the ailing Imperium Renewables, which has struggled in recent years when feedstock prices skyrocketed.

Biodiesel

Grassley, Cantwell Introduce Bi-Partisan Biodiesel Bill

John Davis

GrassleyCantwellA bill that would extend the biodiesel tax incentive by five years, as well as changing the way the program is administered, has been introduced.

SustainableBusiness.com reports it is a bi-partisan measure from Democrat U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state and Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa:

The Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act is expected to provide stability and reliability to the biodiesel industry by extending the tax incentive for five years. In addition, the legislation would change the tax incentive from a blenders excise tax credit to a production excise tax credit. This change will focus the incentive on the domestic biodiesel industry, improve administration of the nation’s tax laws and protect the integrity of the credit, according to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the trade association for the U.S. biodiesel industry.

The bill gained the praise of the NBB:

NBB-logo“Domestic production and use of biodiesel is consistent with an energy policy that values the displacement of petroleum with low-carbon, renewable fuels. This legislation will provide certainty to biodiesel producers and improve the form and function of the biodiesel tax incentive. We strongly support this proposal and commend Senator Cantwell and Senator Grassley for introducing this forward thinking legislation,” said NBB CEO Joe Jobe.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation

Rhode Island Students to Show Off Fuel Cell Model T

John Davis

A group of Rhode Island students who drove a biodiesel-powered truck 3,000 miles cross-country last summer are showing off their latest green energy project.

FuelCellModelTA fuel-celled powered Model T from Ponaganset High School, put together by teacher Ross McCurdy and his student, is going to be on display at GovEnergy 2009, the premier energy training workshop and tradeshow for Federal agencies, going on now in Providence, Rhode Island:

ConEdison Solutions has been involved with Ponaganset High School, part of the Foster-Glocester school district, as a result of a major energy efficiency program which has saved the district $700,000 annually and reduced its energy use by 29 percent. The company also introduced the state’s first environmentally friendly biomass boiler – a wood chip gasifier system using locally-produced chips – to heat the 371,000 SF Ponaganset Middle and High Schools in North Scituate, RI.

Along with the Model T, that biodiesel truck that made the trek from Rhode Island to California last August (see my post from August 25, 2008) will also be on display.

Miscellaneous

UL Announces New Certification Path for Ethanol Dispensers

ulUnderwriters Laboratories (UL) today announced an additional dispenser certification path for mid-level ethanol fuel blends up to 25 percent ethanol.

“The development of renewable energies continues to evolve at a rapid pace and we understand the need for future innovation, cost effectiveness and getting product to market quickly; however, public safety must remain paramount,” said Jeff Smidt, General Manager Global Energy Business for UL. “We now have multiple certification paths available for fuel dispensers that will provide not only for public safety, but also future blend flexibility for dispenser manufacturers. We feel with this additional certification path, we have addressed current and future industry needs.”

There are now three certification paths for pre-blended ethanol fuels:

1) UL 87 for gasoline and ethanol fuel blends up to E10
2) The established requirements of Subject 87A-E85, which address gasoline and ethanol fuel blends up to E85
3) The new certification path in Subject 87A-E25, which addresses gasoline and mid-level ethanol fuel blends up to E25

Prior to August 1, UL had two certification paths for gasoline and ethanol fuel dispensing units, UL87 for blends up to E10 and Subject 87A for blends up to E85. UL first announced Subject 87A covering E85 dispensers in October of 2007.

Although equipment manufacturers were consulted in a recent meeting regarding this issue, it is unclear if this will be positive or negative for the increased use of ethanol in retail equipment across the U.S.

blends, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, News

Ethanol Group Proposes Biofuels Road Map

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth EnergyGrowth Energy today introduced a renewable fuels road map desigened to “help America reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create new green collar jobs and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.”

Growth Energy co-chairman, retired General Wesley Clark announced the five-point plan at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, NV.

The five main points of the road map include:

1. Lift the regulatory cap on ethanol in gasoline.
2. Build an alternative fuel infrastructure by increasing flex fuel pumping stations and constructing biofuel pipelines.
3. Require all vehicles sold to be Flex Fuel Vehicles.
4. Strengthen market transparency to give Americans more information about the hidden costs of foreign oil and its carbon content.
5. Adopt a national Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

“These are five concrete steps we can begin taking right now,” Clark said during a press conference from Las Vegas. “Within 3-4 years, if we follow this plan, we’ll have reduced our dependency on foreign oil by a million barrels a day. That’s the equivalent of taking Venezuela out of the U.S. import group.”

Clark says the plan would also create more than 136,000 new jobs and introduce more green fuel into the nation’s energy supply.

Clark was joined at the press conference by Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, and ethanol industry leaders Jeff Broin of POET and Dave Vander Griend with ICM. Listen to their opening statements here:

Ethanol, Growth Energy

Congress Takes Cash for Clunkers from Loan Program

Cindy Zimmerman

“Cash for Clunkers” has another $2 billion to get less fuel-efficient vehicles off the road – but the renewable energy loan guarantee program has $2 billion less for research into alternative fuels.

RFARenewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen says Congress should replace those borrowed funds as soon as possible. “While the cash for clunkers idea has merit, it contains no language or direction to steer consumers to alternative-fuel vehicles,” said Dinneen. “As such, a failure to replenish this fund when Congress returns this fall would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. We need not choose between clean fuels and clean vehicles, we need both.”

Dinneen says the loan guarantee program being tapped to provide the cash for the clunkers is critical to bringing next generation biofuels and other renewable energies to the marketplace. “Companies seeking to turn sugar waste and other cellulosic materials into biofuel, for example, were looking to this program as the security they need to take the risks that will accelerate the commercialization of their technologies. Now, those companies are forced to anxiously wait and see if Congress will replace those funds,” he added.

The Senate last week voted 60 to 37 to approve $2 billion in additional funding after approval by the House the week before.

Ethanol News, Government, RFA

Gator Tree Could Be Key to Cellulosic Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

A spiky tree with a reptilian bark may be able to take a bite out of the cost to produce cellulosic ethanol.

gator treeThe tree is often called a sweetgum, but it also goes by the name “alligator tree” because it does look like one. So, it’s appropriate that researchers with the University of Florida – home of the Gators – have found that bacteria growing in its wood may improve the process of making cellulosic ethanol.

As the team from UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences reported in the July issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a strain of the wood-decaying Paenibacillus sp. bacteria named JDR-2 has a knack for breaking down and digesting one of these components, hemicelluloses.

That knack could help modify preprocessing steps for cost-effective production of ethanol.

“The acids, the heating — all of these steps you have to take beforehand are expensive, require a lot of work and, let’s face it, no one wants to work with sulfuric acid on that scale if you don’t have to,” said James Preston, the team leader and a professor in UF’s microbiology and cell science department.

“By engineering the bacteria already being used to produce ethanol to also process hemicelluloses the way this Paenibacillus does, you should be able to significantly simplify the process.”

Preston came across the bacteria a few years ago, as he was using decaying sweetgum trees to grow shiitake mushrooms on his tree farm in Micanopy, Fla. After studying the unusually uniform composition of the decaying wood, he and his colleagues went on to study the genetics of one of the bacteria digesting that wood.

The team has now mapped JDR-2’s genome, and Preston expects that, within the year, they will transfer genes behind JDR-2’s abilities to bacteria used to produce ethanol. This would be followed by the design of processes for the cost-effective production of ethanol from wood, agricultural residues and other potential energy crops.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research

Illinois Congresswoman Halvorson Supports E15

halvorson3Illinois Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson yesterday voiced her support of increasing the blend of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent. The Congresswoman, along with many other supporters, spoke at a news conference at the Illinois Corn Growers Association home office.

In March, national trade group Growth Energy submitted a Green Jobs Waiver asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow gasoline blended with as much as 15 percent ethanol. A rule that dates back to the 1970s arbitrarily caps at 10 percent the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline. The report titled “Economic Impacts of Increasing the Ethanol Blend Limit on Top Ethanol Producing States” was released Thursday by Growth Energy. Congresswoman Halvorson announced findings of the report, “I’m proud to say that by extending the ethanol blend in our gasoline mixture to E15, Illinois has the capacity to gain over 4,000 full-time jobs and have $833 million injected into Illinois’ economy. Blending higher percentages of ethanol into our gas is a step we can take right now to create American jobs, local jobs, increase our energy independence, improve our environment, and help many of our local farmers.”

Gene Griffith, secretary of the Illinois Renewable Fuels Association, added, “A significant portion of the Illinois economy is based on renewable fuels, many of which are small ethanol-producing plants. By increasing the cap on ethanol blends from 10 percent to 15 percent, the EPA would enable the renewable fuels industry to grow, which would result in more Illinois jobs, a more stable economy, cleaner emissions and greater energy independence. With high unemployment in Illinois, there couldn’t be a better time to implement this new plan.”

July 20 marked the end of the EPA’s 90-day public comment period on the waiver application. The EPA has until December of this year to decide if it will allow up to a 15 percent ethanol blend in the American fuel supply.

blends, Ethanol, Government, Growth Energy

Ethanol Industry Concerns About EPA Peer Review

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency’s peer review of the renewable fuel standards lifecycle analysis released today is being characterized by corn and ethanol industry groups as biased, bizarre and puzzling.

EPAThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the EPA “stacked the deck against biofuels in its process to “peer review” the agency’s indirect land use change analysis (ILUC) conducted for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) proposed rule” by including as reviewers “several noted anti-ethanol and anti-agriculture activists, including environmental lawyer Timothy Searchinger.”

“EPA has asked the foxes to guard the hen house on this issue,” said RFA President Bob Dinneen. “By adding lawyers and advocates to a scientific review panel, EPA bureaucrats have made a mockery of the Administration’s commitment to sound science.”

Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, responded to the release of the study today by calling on Congress to repeal the ILUC provision in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.

“We need to stop this nonsense. This is the most bizarre concept I have ever seen. EPA’s peer review proves that too much uncertainty about the economic modeling, data and science exists to allow this to ever become regulation. Even the peer review committee could not agree,” Buis said.

National Corn Growers Association president Bob Dickey says they are disappointed in the lack of objectivity in the review.

“We are dismayed by EPA’s complete disregard for an approach that is fair and balanced. We are also puzzled as to why the United States Department of Agriculture, which has extensive knowledge related to this issue, was in no way included in the peer review process,” Dickey said. “We call upon the EPA to modify its approach to reflect the commitment of President Obama to adhere to policies based on sound science and a transparent process.”

According to EPA, the peer reviewers “are recognized as leading experts in their respective fields, which include: lifecycle assessment, economic modeling, remote sensing imagery, biofuel technologies, soil science, agricultural economics, and climate science.” EPA will consider the peer review results along with public comments received, and implement the reviewer’s technical recommendations to the greatest extent possible.

corn, Environment, Ethanol, Growth Energy, Indirect Land Use, NCGA, RFA

Chrysler’s 2010 FFVs

2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXTChrysler’s sale to Fiat has not stopped them from rolling out their line of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in 2010. Chrysler will have seven vehicles able to use E85 in their 2010 line up:

4.7L Dodge Dakota
4.7L Dodge Ram
3.3L Dodge Grand Caravan
2.7L Dodge Avenger
3.3LChrysler Town & Country
2.7L Chrysler Sebring Convertible
2.7L Chrysler Sebring Sedan

The 2010 FFVs will be available for purchase in all states excluding: California, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhone Island, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.

Car Makers, E85, Ethanol News, News