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Ethanol and Biodiesel Details in Climate Bill Compromise

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has provided more details about the compromise worked out this week on the climate change bill expected to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives on Friday.

RFA“Good faith negotiations and old fashioned horse sense led to a deal that achieves both our energy security and environmental goals,” said RFA President Bob Dinneen. “By ordering further review of the controversial theory of international indirect land use change, Congress can allow science to catch up with policy goals.”

According to RFA, the compromise contains the following provisions:

The definition of renewable biomass was harmonized with the 2008 Farm Bill language for private lands. Environmental safeguards for public lands were preserved.

The Environmental Protection Agency is prohibited from imposing the unfair penalty of international land use change on biofuels for 5 years while research is conducted to determine the validity of such a theory. After that period, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy as well as the EPA Administrator must jointly decide to accept or reject the findings. Additionally, Congress will have one year following that decision to act, if it so chooses.

Biodiesel facilities built before implementation of the 2007 energy bill while be grandfathered into the law in the same fashion as ethanol facilities of the same vintage.

Dinneen says House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and their staffs deserve a great deal of credit for getting this bill to a vote. “While just the first step in a long process, the House should move quickly to pass this legislation,” he said.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFA

FF Bioeconomy Conference to Look at Biofuels

John Davis

ff-transitiontobio-energyThe final in a series of Farm Foundation conferences looking at agricultural issues in the modern economy will be held next week in Little Rock, Arkansas and will focus on extension services and renewable energy.

The Transition to a Bioeconomy: The Role of Extension in Energy conference will be June 30-July 1 at Little Rock’s Doubletree Hotel:

The program features experts working in renewable energy, biofuels, energy efficiency and new energy technologies. Presenters include industry leaders, staff from USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy, and researchers working in energy efficiency, renewable energy and new energy technologies.

Plenary sessions will address the important role of Extension educators in providing consumers with timely information on energy-related programs and research findings. An outlook on renewable energy technologies will also be featured. In addition to plenary sessions, six workshops are planned to allow participants to focus in on specific areas of interest. Workshop topics are:

* Risk Management for Energy Investments
* Making Energy Efficiency Choices
* Energy Crop Agronomics
* Forestry
* Harvest, Storage and Logistics
* Extension and Other Delivery Methods

There still seems to be time to register for the event, but I’m not sure about availability at the Doubletree Hotel.

More information is available at this Farm Foundation Web site.

biofuels, Farm Foundation

Oil Company Launches Battery-Powered Car

John Davis

maya300In what could be considered a paradox, an oil company has a car that won’t need any non-renewable petroleum.

This article from the Gas2.0.org Web site says ExxonMobil is introducing the Maya 300, a lithium-ion battery powered car that can drive up to 120 miles on one charge… but looks and feels like a gasoline-powered car:

The Maya 300 was developed in conjunction with Electrovaya, a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery systems. The two companies have worked together to, “develop the innovative urban vehicle that will be a ‘game changer’ in advancing transportation alternatives.” ExxonMobil actually developed the lithium-ion battery separator film and was the first company to introduce the lithium-ion battery in 1991.

The Maya 300 charges in 8-10 hours, plugs into a regular household 110 volt outlet and will be available to consumers for around $20-25,000 in 2011. To my knowledge, this will be one of the most affordable consumer electric vehicles on the market. The Tesla Sedan sells for around $50,00, the Chevy Volt is expected to retail around $30,000 and the bare-bone Toyota Prius starts at $22,000.

The article goes on to say that ExxonMobil and Electrovaya have teamed up with the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore to educate residents and visitors, including being able to rent the Maya 300 to get a real feel for how it drives.

Car Makers, Electric Vehicles

Growth Energy CEO Optimistic About Ethanol Industry

Cindy Zimmerman

The 25th annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop was the first for Growth Energy, the ethanol industry organization formed late last year, and CEO Tom Buis was impressed with the turnout at the conference despite current economic conditions.

Tom Buis“I think everyone is really interested in moving forward,” Buis said. “Obviously we are going through some rough spots, economically, but I think people are optimistic and at the end of the day we will all win.”

Buis has only been on the job with Growth Energy for three months, but like the ethanol industry, his roots are in agriculture, operating a grain and livestock farm with his brothers in Indiana before moving to Washington DC and spending the past ten years with the National Farmers Union. His agricultural background allowed him to see the importance of the ethanol industry to the nation as a whole. “What we do in this industry is right,” he says. “Whether it’s creating jobs in rural America, or providing a profitable market for farmers, or revitalizing our rural communities, protecting our national security or reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Buis is very excited about the announcement made at the FEW that the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) has united with Growth Energy to become Growth Energy Market Development. “They’ve spent well over a decade working on the marketing components of ethanol, the flex-fuel vehicles and E85 pumps,” he said. “We have to deal with the legislative and policy front, but we have to deal with the marketing component as well.”

Listen to Chuck Zimmerman’s interview with Tom Buis from FEW here:

Ethanol, FEW, Growth Energy

USDA Loan Helps Minnesota Biodiesel Plant Expand

John Davis

usda-logo2A Minnesota biodiesel facility is getting a $25 million USDA Rural Development loan that will help the refinery expand the number of feedstocks it is able to turn into the green fuel… including the by-product of another green fuel:

soymorUSDA Rural Development is providing SoyMor Biodiesel a $25 million guaranteed loan to purchase equipment that will enable SoyMor to convert multiple types of feed stocks, including an unrefined corn oil waste product from nearby ethanol facilities, into biodiesel. In its current configuration, the plant only has the ability to process soybean oil.

The loan is the second USDA Rural Development has made under the Section 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program of the 2008 Farm Bill.

USDA officials say the loan will restore nearly 30 jobs to the local Albert Lea community after the biodiesel plant had to suspend operations just more than a year ago. In addition, it will add value to the area’s ethanol industry.

Biodiesel, USDA

Cornell Opens New Biofuels Research Lab

Cindy Zimmerman

The latest national biofuels research facility opened this week in at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

cornell biofuelsThe main focus of the new $6 million, 11,000-square-foot Cornell Biofuels Research Laboratory will be on cellulosic ethanol.

“The Biofuels Research Laboratory catapults Cornell to the forefront of renewable energy research and becomes the centerpiece of the university’s broad portfolio of work on cellulosic biofuel and bioproducts,” said Cornell’s Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences Susan Lynch during a ribbon cutting ceremony. “Many stand to benefit from the work of the Biofuels Research Laboratory, which holds great promise for transforming our economy and alleviating our nation’s energy crisis,” Henry said. “New York farmers will see new opportunities to grow the plant material used as inputs, workers will see job growth in the bioenergy sector, and we all gain from a more sustainable energy supply.”

Henry is pictured here in a Cornell University photo with professor and principal investigator Larry Walker, New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Cornell President David Skorton.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Research

Book Review – Energy Shift

Joanna Schroeder

energy-shift-coverThe world’s energy paradigm is shifting and this shift is going to affect every company, CEO, and person in the world. But how? It’s a question I’ve often wondered about so this week I read, “Energy Shift: Game-Changing Options for Fueling the Future.” This book was unique in that it targets business leaders and helps them understand the major forces that are changing how business is being done today. The authors Eric Spiegel and Neil McArthur both work for Booz & Company.

Although the authors cover off on a lot of topics, I wanted to highlight one thing in particular. The authors point out that meeting the world’s growing demand for electric power while limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases is the most urgent imperative for energy policy in the twenty-first century. Developing alternatives to coal has been much talked about as has how to store electricity. However, what you don’t hear as often and that the authors stated quite succinctly as it relates to handling the increase in global demand for electricity is this.

exhibit_8-21“One additional factor that may push demand even higher in the future is the advent of electricity as an alternative energy source for transportation: the the extent that plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles succeed in the marketplace, they will increase the demand for electricity in proportion to the decrease in demand for petroleum that they create.”

Despite all the attention to the world’s energy situation, the authors note that there has not been sufficient change in the reality of energy production to significantly shorten the timetable for the energy shift. How fast this will happen, they say, depends on how the three major areas of uncertainty are resolved.

  1. 1.  The future of greenhouse gas regulations.
  2. 2.  Energy Security.
  3. 3.  The pace of technological innovation.

So what happens when you mesh these three challenges together? No one knows. But the authors do make suggestions on how this transition can be smoother, faster and more effective, but you’re going to have to read the book to find out.

Click here to buy “Energy Shift”.

book reviews

What Does Sugarcane Have to Do With Global Warming?

Joanna Schroeder

global_warmingEverything. According to the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA). The rationale? Brazil’s highly successful, 30-year experience with sugarcane as a feedstock for ethanol. The country’s ethanol program has been in place since the mid-70s. In this time frame, ethanol has saved nearly 600 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. How much is that? It would take 20 years and six billion trees to have the same results.

Unlike any other country, Brazil’s use of ethanol makes gasoline the alternative fuel. In 2003, flex-fuel cars (FFV) were introduced and today 34 percent of the light vehicle fleet are FFVs and close to 90 percent of new light vehicles purchased are FFVs. In addition, 46 percent of the country’s energy is provided by renewable sources. In addition, all of Brazil’s nearly 400 sugar and ethanol mills are self-sufficient in electricity, and a growing number of mills are generating a surplus by using cane straw and bagasse,

According to the UNICA’s senior international affairs adviser Geraldine Kutas, “Brazil could be a low-carbon economy. Unfortunately, even though the country is a large renewable energy producer, it is also the fourth largest emitter of carbon, because of deforestation. The fight against climate change requires ambitious public policies and joint leadership from the government and the public sector.”

This is just one success story that will be highlighted during Green Week, June 23-26 in Brussels, the largest annual conference to focus on the European Union’s environmental policies. UNICA will participate in both a panel discussion, “Climate Change: What can be asked of emerging economies?” on June 24 as well as have a booth set up in the exhibit area.

For more information about other speakers, topics and events during Green Week, visit www.greenweek2009.alligence.com.

Cellulosic, Company Announcement, conferences, Flex Fuel Vehicles

VIASPACE to Discuss Giant King Grass as Energy Crop

Joanna Schroeder

cover_2009-071I reported several months ago about VIASPACE’s plans to expand the production of Giant King Grass to be used to produce advanced biofuels. VIASPACE is currently growing Giant King Grass in southern China and pursuing opportunities in other regions and countries. Today, the company announced that their Chief Executive, Dr. Carl Kukkonen, will be making several presentations at the China Agricultural University and the Biofuels and Jatropha Markets Asia conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 29-July 1, 2009. His presentation is entitled, “Giant King Grass: An Energy Crop for Cellulosic Biofuels and Electric Power Plants.”

VIASPACE is developing the technology to create “grassoline” through the production of a fast-growing feedstock called Giant King Grass. This feedstock is able to produce low-carbon cellulosic biofuels as well as can be used as a replacement for coal at the heat source for electricity generating power plants.

According to Kukkonen, “In addition to biofuels, another near-term use of biomass such as Giant King Grass is to simply burn it, instead of coal or oil, in an electricity generating power plant. An existing coal fired power plant can replace up to 30% of its coal with biomass. Co-firing grass with coal can be accomplished by a straightforward modification of existing power plants, which does not require the large capital expense of building a new power plant. This is probably the simplest and cheapest way to reduce net carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. However, new 100% biomass-dedicated power plants are also being built, as there are long-term operating and environmental benefits for biomass power plants, compared to coal-burning plants.”

A detailed article about the process was included in the latest edition of Scientific American magazine. The article’s authors believe that cellulosic biofuels are the most environmentally attractive and technologically feasible near-term alternative to oil and possess advantages, in contrast to first-generation biofuels from corn and other edible feedstock.

biofuels, biomass, Company Announcement

Climate Bill Compromise Better for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm state lawmakers led by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) have reached a compromise with Democratic leadership in the House on the so-called climate change bill that makes it more palatable to agriculture and biofuels interests.

collin petersonPart of the agreement includes allowing USDA to have oversight for agricultural carbon offset programs instead of EPA. “The climate change bill will include a strong agriculture offset program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will allow farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners to participate fully in a market-based carbon offset program,” said Peterson. “This agreement also addresses concerns about international indirect land use provisions that unfairly restricted U.S. biofuels producers and exempts agriculture and forestry from the definition of a capped sector.”

The compromise over indirect land use issue was that bill sponsor Henry Waxman (D-CA) will ask the EPA to commission a study of indirect costs and that any method of counting those costs should be agreed to by both USDA and EPA.

Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, was pleased that Peterson and Waxman were able to reach a compromise on the issue. “We believe that additional study of the issue of indirect land use change will further demonstrate that these provisions should never have been a part of the 2007 energy law to begin with,” Buis said in a statement. “This is a good first step in a longer process, including full review by the House and Senate.”

The American Clean Energy and Security Act is expected to come up for a vote on Friday and President Obama encouraged passage during his press conference yesterday. “It is legislation that will finally spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet,” Obama said.

Energy, Environment, Ethanol, Government