ACE Conference 2026

House Ag Committee Chair Blasts EPA Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday announced strong opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s just released proposed rulemaking on the Renewable Fuels Standard that includes impacts from indirect land use changes.

During a hearing to review the impact of the indirect land use and renewable biomass provisions in the renewable fuel standard, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) blasted the proposal as being unfair to corn ethanol.

“You’re going to kill off the biofuels industry before it even gets started. You are in bed with the oil industry,” Peterson said. “I want this message sent back down the street. I will not support any climate change bill. I don’t trust anybody anymore.”

Margo Oge, head of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, took the heat in the witness chair before the committee, attempting to clarify and justify the measuring of international land use changes, such as forest clearing in the Amazon, in determining lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for biofuels. Oge laid the blame back in the laps of the congressmen questioning her who voted for the 2007 Energy Information and Security Act. “EISA required EPA to look broadly at lifecycle analysis and to develop a methodology that accounts for all factors that may significantly influence this assessment, including indirect land use,” Oge said. “Ignoring such a large contributor of greenhouse gas emissions would render the concept of lifecycle analysis, which was mandated by Congress, scientifically less credible.”

The White House responded to Peterson’s comments with a statement that “There should be no question — the Obama Administration is committed to renewable fuels.”

Energy, Environment, Ethanol, Government

Corn Ethanol Positives in RFS Announcement

Cindy Zimmerman

Corn ethanol seems to have made out better than expected in the proposed rulemaking for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) announced this week by the Obama administration, mainly because it allows the industry to provide more input regarding indirect land use impacts.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is pleased with President Obama’s commitment to the biofuels industry by the creation of the Biofuels Interagency Working Group and they hope that will help to inject more reason into the indirect land use debate.

“In our conversations with the Environmental Protection Agency, we understand that there is a great deal of work that needs to be done on modeling and a great effort that needs to be put into using current and correct data regarding indirect land use,” said NCGA President Bob Dickey. “NCGA will be working closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and EPA to ensure scientific data is used.”

Making the announcement about the RFS Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated that corn ethanol will continue to play a role in the development of renewable fuels for the nation. “EISA calls for investments in corn based ethanol, much of it grown in rural America and the Midwest, as well as a swift transition to advanced cellulosic ethanol,” said Jackson. “Working together we can have true energy independence, put billions of dollars back into our communities and create green jobs for rural communities across the nation.”

Lisa JacksonWhen pressed by reporters for details about how corn ethanol fits into the RFS, Jackson noted that 15 billion gallons of ethanol production are “grandfathered in” under EISA, most of which is corn ethanol. “Corn based ethanol is a bridge, it’s an extraordinarily important bridge, but it is a bridge to the next generation of biofuels,” said Jackson. In answer to another question, Jackson said, “This proposal lays out a number of pathways for us to include corn based ethanol” and she noted that EPA’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions calculations indicate that ethanol is “16 percent better than gasoline.”

Regarding indirect land use analysis, Jackson said they are specifically seeking scientific peer review on a number of factors, including “the satellite data used to project future land use changes, the land conversion greenhouse gas emissions factors, the estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from foreign crops, the methods to account for variable timing of greenhouse gas emissions, and the issue of how our models are used together to provide overall lifecycle greenhouse gas estimates.”

corn, Energy, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Growth Energy, RFA

Ethanol Report on RFS Announcement

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report PodcastThe ethanol industry is pleased and encouraged with the announcement made by the Obama administration regarding the future development of biofuels under the Renewable Fuels Standard and the creation of a Biofuels Interagency Working Group made up of USDA, EPA and DOE. See EPA’s proposed rulemaking for the RFS here.

This edition of “The Ethanol Report” includes audio from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen.

You can listen to “The Ethanol Report” on-line here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/ethanol-report-32.mp3]

Download audio for broadcast use here: Ethanol Report on RFS2

Or you can subscribe to this podcast by following this link.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Government, RFA

Chocolate to Fuel Biodiesel Race Car

John Davis

chocolatecarBack in November, 2007, I told you about a truck that was running from London, England to Timbuktu in Africa on chocolate-based biodiesel (see my post from Nov. 27, 2007). While that trip was built for endurance, the latest effort in the chocolate-biodiesel world is made for speed.

This story from TG Daily says researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK have now built a Formula 3 racing car capable of taking corners at 125 mph… running on biodiesel made from chocolate:

The car meets all Formula 3 racing standards except for its biodiesel engine, which is configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. Formula 3 cars currently cannot use biodiesel. The team hopes to enter it in some sort of race soon, though, said [project manager James] Meredith.

Components made from plants form the mainstay of the car’s make up, including a race specification steering wheel derived from carrots and other root vegetables, a flax fibre and soybean oil foam racing seat, a woven flax fibre bib and plant oil-based lubricants.

The biodiesel engine is configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. It also incorporates a radiator coated in a ground-breaking emission destroying catalyst.

In the future, the team plans on building more chocolate-biodiesel vehicles, including regular passenger cars, boats and maybe even Formula One racing cars.

But you gotta wonder… what is it with these Brits trying to run their cars on chocolate?

Biodiesel

Kansas to Get Wind Turbine Plant

John Davis

siemensCiting its central location… in relation to the United States and the country’s wind power industry… officials at Siemens say they will build a wind turbine equipment factory in Hutchison, Kansas.

This Reuters story says the German company expects to employ about 400 people:

The new plant will manufacture nacelles, or the structures that house a wind turbine’s generating components, including the gearbox, drive train and control electronics.

Construction is expected to begin in August, and the first 90-ton nacelle is expected to be shipped in December of 2010.

The factory’s planned annual output is 650 nacelles, or 1,500 megawatts.

The factory will join other Siemens operations in the U.S.: a wind turbine blade plant in Ft. Madison, Iowa and a wind turbine research and a development center in Colorado.

Wind

New EPA Rules Could Be Bad News for Biodiesel

John Davis

epasealWhile the new Environmental Protection Agency rules regarding the Renewable Fuels Standard have been welcomed by some renewable fuel advocates (see Cindy’s post from earlier today), the news is not as bright for backers of biodiesel.

According to this story in the Des Moines (IA) Register, biodiesel made from soybeans… very popular in the Midwest… won’t meet the new requirements for reducing greenhouse gases. And industry officials say that if the soy-biodiesel isn’t counted, it will be extremely hard to meet the 1-billion-gallons a year biodiesel requirement by 2012:

To qualify toward the annual targets, the 2007 energy law says biodiesel must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared with conventional diesel. The EPA is crediting biodiesel made from soybean oil with only a 22 percent reduction.

Congress required the EPA to assess the carbon footprint of biofuels and to take into account the land-use impact of using food crops such as soybeans and corn for biofuels. The theory is that using food commodities for fuel can increase greenhouse gas emissions, because forests and grasslands will be put into cultivation to maintain adequate global food supplies.

There also are emission targets for ethanol, but existing corn ethanol plants were exempted from them, whereas existing biodiesel plants were not given a similar break.

“They’re going to have to change (the rules) unless they want to take a step backwards in producing domestically produced low-carbon diesel replacement fuel,” said Michael Frohlich, a spokesman for the National Biodiesel Board.

The article goes on to say that some experts believe that mixing soy-biodiesel with biodiesel made from animal fat or waste grease could meet the new requirements.

I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this one. Stay tuned.

Cindy listened in on today’s press conference and has this audio from the biodiesel question Des Moines Register reporter Philip Brasher posed: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/brasher-question.mp3]

Audio, Biodiesel

Propel and Enterprise Rent-A-Car to Educate on E85

propelPropel Fuels and Enterprise Rent-A-Car will partner to educate on Enterprise’s FFV fleet in Sacramento, Calif. Twelve Sacramento Enterprise locations will participate in the program to begin in a few months.

enterprise“We really applaud Enterprise for their commitment to E85 and their commitment to flex fuel vehicles,” said Rob Elam, president of Propel Fuels. “We think that – especially in states like California – that kind of leadership from business is very much appreciated by both the public as well as policy decision makers at the state level.”

The collaboration will include supplying Enterprise’s customers with information on E85 and provide a listing of Propel Fuels’ E85 locations. Propel Fuels recently established five “Clean Fuel Points” or, small modular fuel dispensers, in and around the Sacramento area.

Elam stated, “[The station owners] don’t need to put any money upfront to deploy any sort of infrastructure, they don’t have to manage the fuel procurement, they don’t have to do any of the customer outreach, and they also don’t have to do any of the credit card integration.” He also noted that the Enterprise partnership could expand as more Clean Fuel Points come about in additional areas of the state.

E85, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

Ethanol Industry Pleased With White House Action

Cindy Zimmerman

The ethanol industry is unanimous in its praise for the actions announced today by the Obama administration with regard to the future development of biofuels under the Renewable Fuels Standard and the creation of a Biofuels Interagency Working Group.

RFADuring a press conference immediately following the announcement, Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen said, “The president has sent an incredibly important signal today that biofuels are going to be a key component in his strategy to address energy, economic and environmental challenges. This is a positive step forward for the industry.”

Growth EnergyGrowth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the comprehensive plan announced today will decrease dependence on foreign oil, create American jobs and cut greenhouse gas emissions. “America’s ethanol producers stand ready to help the president, and his working group, meet their ambitious goals,” said Buis.

ACEThe American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Executive Vice President Brian Jennings said they are grateful to President Obama for outlining how biofuels will continue to play an integral role in our nation’s economic and energy security policy. “Importantly, the President’s directive will ensure that science – not politics – determine the future of biofuels, which will surely disappoint opponents of ethanol whose PR campaign has been designed to destroy public policy support for ethanol,” Jennings said.

All groups were also pleased that EPA committed to further study the controversial theory of indirect land use change before finalizing the greenhouse gas emissions scores for biofuels. Dinneen says “just comparing apples to apples” the direct effects of ethanol production show a better than 60 percent better improvement over petroleum. “Trying to evaluate indirect effects, particularly international indirect effects, is highly dependent on assumptions used and data available and there is a great deal of uncertainty about this,” said Dinneen.

Furthermore, Buis said that indirect land use change as currently proposed doesn’t allow an accurate comparison of fuels because it doesn’t include the indirect effects of other fuels. “To include indirect effects in regulations without even considering the indirect effects of other fuels would unfairly bias those regulations against biofuels,” said Buis.

Jennings said they encourage the Interagency Working Group to require fossil fuels undergo the same lifecycle analysis that has been imposed on biofuels, “an evaluation which will show that future sources of oil are going to have some serious consequences for the environment, while future sources of biofuel are going to be even better and more sustainable than they are already.”

See EPA’s proposed rule for the RFS here.

ACE, Cellulosic, Energy, Ethanol, Government, Growth Energy, RFA

Agencies Work Together for Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

Three government agencies have been given a presidential directive to aggressively accelerate the investment in and production of biofuels.

VilsackThe U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy, together with the Environmental Protection Agency will make up the the new Biofuels Interagency Working Group. “The president has directed us to create a comprehensive biofuel marketing development program to focus on the infrastructure that will be necessary for this industry to be a permanent part of the American economy and to do it in a sustainable way,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a conference call this morning with EPA administrator Lisa Jackson and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Lisa Jackson“In the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), Congress recognized the need for a homegrown fuel source,” said Jackson. She said EPA is today publishing a standard that establishes four categories of renewable fuels and is soliciting peer reviewed, scientific feedback to ensure that the best science available is utilized prior to implementation.

ChuSecretary Chu noted that agriculture is one of the nation’s greatest resources for energy. “We have incredible capacity not only to grow the food we need and to have dynamic exports, we can also grow a considerable amount of energy,” said Chu. He announced that $786 million will be invested through the recovery act for the development of advanced biofuels and the expansion of commercial biorefineries. Chu also said they will be creating an Algae Biofuels Consortium for the development of algae biofuels.

The working group is part of the Proposed Regulations for the Renewable Fuels Standard released by EPA today.

Listen to the press conference here:[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/government/usda-epa-doe.mp3]

Biodiesel, biofuels, Energy, Ethanol, Government

White House Announces Interagency Biofuels Group

Cindy Zimmerman

white houseThe White House will form a working group to be chaired by the heads of three government agencies to speed the sustainable development of biofuels.

The action was announced during a press conference this morning with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who will head the new Biofuels Interagency Working Group. They pledged to work together to accelerate funding to encourage production of next-generation biofuels from biomass and other non-corn feedstocks.

biofuels, Energy, Government