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More Time for Higher Ethanol Blend Comments

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency is allowing another 60 days for comments on the proposal to allow an increase in the amount of ethanol that can be blended into regular gasoline.

epaThe original public comment period was to end on May 21 and will now end on July 20. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said, “We are aware of over 10,000 Americans who have already voiced their support for a higher blend of ethanol in our fuel supply and this extension makes it possible for thousands more to participate.”

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Bob Dickey said the extension will give farmers behind on planting more time to get comments submitted. “Because of the importance of this issue to America’s farmers and the pressing need to get our crops in the ground, we asked EPA to extend the time for comments from 30 to 90 days. Our growers need this extra time to be full participants in this important public policy process,” he said.

The current limit on the amount of ethanol that can be blended into a gallon of gasoline is at ten volume percent ethanol (E10) for conventional (non flex-fuel) vehicles. Growth Energy and 54 ethanol manufacturers submitted the E15 waiver application on March 6, and EPA must make a decision by December 1, 2009.

corn, Ethanol, Growth Energy

House Bill Seeks to Improve Renewable Fuels Standard

Cindy Zimmerman

The House Agriculture Committee last week introduced a bill to change provisions in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that are “limiting the potential for clean, homegrown renewable biofuels to meet our nation’s energy needs.”

The Renewable Fuel Standard Improvement Act (H.R. 2409) was introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) along with a bipartisan group of 42 other members of Congress.

“The unreasonable restrictions placed on the biofuels industry in the 2007 Energy Bill were never debated by Congress, and I’ve spent the past two years trying to undo the damage that we’re seeing now that EPA has published the proposed regulations that will make it impossible to meet the RFS,” Peterson said. ““In order to ensure that a clean, homegrown biofuels industry will succeed in the United States, we need to have Federal energy policies are flexible, practical, and innovative.”

Lucas says the most important provision in the bill is the expansion of the acreage eligible to produce biomass feedstock. “This will ease pressure on the current corn production system and it will open the way for more rapid development of next generation ethanol,” he added.

The bill eliminates the requirement that the Environmental Protection Agency consider indirect land use when calculating the greenhouse gas emissions associated with advanced biofuels. Currently, there is no reliable method to predict accurately how biofuel production will affect land use in the United States or internationally.

It also strikes the restrictive definition of renewable biomass included in EISA and replaces it with the definition included in the 2008 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill definition of renewable biomass was developed in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and other Congressional Committees and was discussed and debated in a transparent manner, unlike the EISA provisions, which were never openly discussed or debated in Congress.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Government

Fourth Florida Farm to Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

Florida farm to fuelPlans for the fourth Florida Farm to Fuel® Summit are progressing well and organizers expect the event on July 29-31 to be bigger and better than ever.

This year’s summit will once again include leaders from the agricultural, government, academic, technology, and financial communities who will share their progress in reaching the commercial production of biofuels and renewable energy in the Sunshine State. Topics to be addressed will include sustainability, biomass feedstocks, environmental and land use approvals, and agriculture and forestry in a reduced carbon economy.

Registration and more information is available at FloridaFarmtoFuel.com.

Biodiesel, biomass, conferences, Energy, Ethanol

BrightSource, Cal PG&E Ink World’s Biggest Solar Deal

John Davis

brightsourceenergyCalifornia utility PG&E and BrightSource Energy have signed a deal that will expand the two companies’ solar power agreement.

This story from Fortune Magazine says the utility will buy 1,310 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to be generated by seven giant solar power plant projects – the world’s biggest solar deal to date. This latest deal comes after BrightSource made an agreement in February to provide 1,300 megawatts of power to Southern California Edison:

PG&E had previously signed a power purchase agreement with BrightSource in April 2008 for 500 megawatts with an option to buy another 400 megawatts. The new 1,310-megawatt deal will supply enough electricity to power about 530,000 homes in California.

brightsourcepic2Those are impressive numbers, but not an electron of electricity has been produced yet. BrightSource now faces the challenge of licensing, financing billions of dollars in construction costs and then building nearly a dozen large-scale solar power plants to meet a 2016 deadline for the Southern California Edison (EIX) contract and a 2017 completion date for PG&E (PCG). (The big wild card is whether transmission lines will be available to connect the power plants to the grid.) The first PG&E project is set to go online in 2012 with the first SoCal Edison solar farm to begin generating electricity the next year. Those first two power plants are part of a 400-megawatt complex BrightSource is planning for the Ivanpah Valley on the California-Nevada border.

The article goes on to say that the Oakland, California-based BrigtSource now holds more than 40 percent of the big solar contracts in the U.S.

Solar

Biodiesel Starts Shipping Out of Port of Milwaukee

John Davis

innovationfuelsBack in January, I told you about how a New York-based renewable energy company had announced plans to move biodiesel and ethanol out of the Port of Milwaukee.

Now, this story from Milwaukee’s BizTimes.com says Innovation Fuels has started selling biodiesel to folks from around the world out of the port on Lake Michigan:

The company’s 312,000-barrel (45,000 metric tons) capacity terminal at the Port of Milwaukee is located on ten acres. The terminal is the first in the country that is totally dedicated for the sale and distribution of renewable fuels, the company said.

The terminal was originally built as Shell Oil’s Milwaukee headquarters in the 1950s. The terminal, acquired by Innovation Fuels from NuStar Energy L.P., includes a 20,000-square-foot warehouse, executive offices and a garage.

“The commencement of selling biodiesel via our Milwaukee terminal will significantly lower the cost of our biodiesel to customers in the Great Lakes due to lower transportation charges,” said Innovation Fuels CEO John Fox. “We also bring along a mindset of quality at a reasonable price, which is backed by our BQ9000 credentials as a marketer and producer in the Northeast United States. It is highly advantageous for us to be marketing Milwaukee based biodiesel to customers in Milwaukee and greater Wisconsin as well as to Chicago and the entire Midwestern region.”

Innovation officials say that this is just the beginning of using the Milwaukee port as a biofuels hub.

Biodiesel

Tax Credit Loss Idles Conoco/Tyson Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

conoco-phillipstysonA joint venture by ConocoPhillips and Tyson that would have the fuel giant turning the meat giant’s animal fat waste into biodiesel has folded because of the halving of a key federal tax credit.

This story from CNNMoney.com says the Borger, Texas refinery was idled last fall during changing economic conditions and government policies:

A spokesman for Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), Conoco’s partner in the project, said production could resume if government incentives are reinstated.

Speaking to reporters after the company’s shareholder meeting in Houston, ConocoPhillips Chief Operating Officer John Carrig said the project became idle after subsidies for the project were cut in a half.

Carrig said the company stopped the biofuels production “as result of some actions taken last fall by Congress that reduced some incentives for biofuels that applies to us, particularly the removal of subsidies.”

In a statement, Tyson Foods said the bailout bill approved by Congress and signed by President Bush in late 2008 reduced the tax credit for renewable diesel “co-processing” from $1 per gallon to $0.50 per gallon.

“As a result, the project was no longer economically feasible and was put on hold last fall,” said Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson. “Tyson and ConocoPhillips continue to discuss ways to resume the project. However, until the full tax credit is reinstated, production will likely remain suspended.”

When the refinery was first opened, the hope was that it would make 175 million gallons of biodiesel a year… coming at a critical time when the push for renewable energy sources was gaining strength in the face of skyrocketing petroleum prices. Now, there are concerns that this will be a sign that other major oil won’t hesitate to halt their renewable fuel efforts if they turn unprofitable… especially if they don’t have government help.

Biodiesel

Wind Turbine Blade Test Center Gets $25 Mil Grant

John Davis

masstechProgress on what could become the country’s first commercial facility in the United States able to test wind turbine blades longer than 50 meters should take a big step forward with some help from a $25 million federal grant.

This story in the International Business Times says the U.S. Department of Energy is giving the state of Massachusetts the money for the Massachusetts Wind Technology Testing Center, set to start construction in September and to be completed by the end of 2010:

masswindtech“Testing the next generation of wind turbines here will make Massachusetts a hub for the fastest-growing energy source in the world,” [Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick] said.

The center will attract companies to design, manufacture, and test their blades in the United States, the Department said, rather than shifting them to Europe.

Improving technology for longer blades will be especially useful for large-scale offshore wind power projects, the department said.

Officials believe the facility will help move wind turbine technology along, helping reduce production costs.

Wind

REG Consolidates Midwest Biodiesel Plants

John Davis

reglogo2Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. has signed a deal with three Midwest biodiesel plants to consolidate under the REG name.

Biodiesel Magazine reports that Western Iowa Energy with a 30 MGY refinery in Wall Lake, Iowa; Central Iowa Energy’s 30 MGY Newton, Iowa facility; and the Danville, Illinois Blackhawk Biofuels, LLC, a 45 MGY facility in Danville, Ill., are part of the deal:

Ownership of the operations of all four companies will be consolidated in a new holding company to be named Renewable Energy Group, Inc. The consolidated company will be owned by the current members of the three acquired companies and current Renewable Energy Group (REG) investors, including Bunge North America, ED&F Man, Natural Gas Partners, NGP Energy Technology Partners, US Renewables Group (USRG) and West Central Cooperative. The transaction is subject to approvals by the shareholders of all four companies and to other conditions, including customary regulatory approvals.

REG’s chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Stroburg cited demand by major petroleum distributors and oil refiners as a key factor in the decision to move forward with plant consolidation. “As the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) takes effect and our nation moves toward energy reform, the distillate market is demanding technical expertise, dependable supply, more efficient distribution and creative pricing options from major biodiesel partners,” Stroburg said. Under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, the RFS calls for 500 million gallons of domestic biodiesel consumption ramping up to 1 billion biodiesel gallons in 2012.

REG management believes the consolidation will help the company by bringing greater economies of scale in biodiesel production.

Biodiesel

EPA Responds to Indirect Land Use for Ethanol Issue

Cindy Zimmerman

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has received a response from the Environmental Protection Agency explaining the decision to include indirect land use change in calculating estimates of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for biofuels, but the senator still believes it should not be a factor in the Renewable Fuels Standard.

According to the letter from EPA acting assistant administrator Elizabeth Craig, the agency is required under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to include indirect land use in its estimates of the carbon footprint of biofuels. “The statute specifically includes ‘significant emissions from land use changes’ within the concept of indirect emissions,” she said. “Excluding indirect land use changes – whether domestic or international – from the analysis would depart from both the statutory text and from the scientific thrust of the requirement of lifecycle analysis.”

grassleyDuring his weekly conference call with farm reporters on Tuesday, Grassley said he had not yet received a response, but believes that indirect land use “doesn’t meet the common-sense test.”

“Because, first of all, there’s no science behind it and EPA ought to only be making their decisions based on science,” Grassley said. “And then you get into the ridiculous situation that somewhere around the world somebody’s waiting to plow up an acre of virgin soil just because they’re waiting to see if Chuck Grassley sells a little more corn for ethanol. I think that’s a ridiculous combination that doesn’t face the real-world test.”

Grassley admitted that he didn’t think the land use issue was “a big deal” when he voted for the energy bill. “Now, obviously, it could be a big deal if it’s used to make ethanol look less environmentally positive or even environmentally negative. And taking it out would be the only way to make sure it wasn’t used,” he said.

By “taking it out” Grassley means Congress would have to change the law unless EPA decides not to use indirect land use calculations because of a lack of scientific consensus.

Ethanol, Government, Indirect Land Use

Alternative Fuel Projects Win EPA Awards

John Davis

epaseal1A big rig running on natural gas… a propane-fueled trimmer… gas from a wastewater treatment plant burned to make electricity… these are just some of the projects the Environmental Protection Agency has recognized in its annual Clean Air Excellence Awards Program.

For the ninth year, EPA is honoring 15 recipients from across the United States for their environmental achievements in community action, education, and science and technology. These innovative air quality programs provide environmental benefits and create green products and jobs.

“Each year, our Clean Air Excellence Award winners offer amazing new examples of how we keep our air safe and clean,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This year’s winners have built on that tradition of innovation to show what is possible in protecting human health and the environment.”

Here are some of the winners using renewable energy projects (from the EPA’s Web site):Read More

biofuels, Government, Propane