We’re back in session at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade & Policy Issues. I’ll be posting live throughout the morning. Feel free to join in.
Description Of EU Renewable Energy Mandate
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission To The United States here at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference was Laurent Javaudin.
His comments focused on the impact of EU mandates for renewable energy. To start with, in the EU they don’t have a mandate of a certain number of gallons of biofuels. Instead they are looking at requiring alternative energy sources like biofuels be a percentage of the fuel consumed and achieve it by 2020. He says that they don’t consider just biofuels but also other alternative sources of energy. The biofuels that are considered must be produced in a sustainable way. They also expect these fuels to obtain at least a 35 percent decrease in green house gas emissions.
He says that the mandate across the EU is still a work in progress and they hope to have it agreed to by the second quarter of 2010.
You can listen to my interview with Laurent here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ff-global-09-javaudin.mp3]
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Ethanol Reducing OPEC’s Price Grip
We know that OPEC has had a monopoly control over the price of oil on the world market and we hope that the increase of more environmentally friendly biofuels will force that to change. However, David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, has created a model to measure how much impact we’re having.
I spoke to David here at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference. He wanted to show how ethanol in particular fits into the whole OPEC price situation. His model shows that by increasing the supply of fuel with ethanol you reduce OPEC’s ability to make money. He says that our ethanol production has raised the price of fuel in OPEC’s own countries while lowering it for everyone else around the world.
He says the promise of ethanol isn’t just it’s value to our environment but the ability to lessen OPEC’s grip on fuel prices.
You can listen to my interview with David here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ff-global-09-zilberman.mp3]
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Biodiesel Hybrid to Get 100 MPG
A Colorado company is getting ready to debut a biodiesel hybrid officials claim will get 100 miles per gallon… if they can get it finished for an upcoming auto show.
KMGH-TV in Denver reports Lightning Hybrids of Loveland is unveiling a vehicle this Wednesday at the Denver auto show… although company Chief Executive Officer Dan Johnson admits they need to finish the prototype, including getting in painted in time:
“We are jazzed, we are really jazzed,” said Johnson.
The company is unveiling the LH4, a biodiesel, hydraulic hybrid.
“It’s a sports sedan, very practical, four-seater, and has some storage,” said Johnson.
The company is also building the LH3, a three-wheeled version that also has four seats.
The hybrid drivetrain uses two different power sources, biodiesel fuel and hydraulics, which helps with the acceleration.
Lightning Hybrids also hopes to get some money from the city of Loveland… a $100,000 cash incentive, $50,000 for a performance agreement and $50,000 after the company hires 25 employees… to get the operation going. They hope to have the cars on the market by the spring of 2011. Better get your financial incentives in order by then if you want to purchase one. Cost is expected to be between $50,000 and $60,000.
Homegrown Biodiesel Behind “Magic Fuel Bus”
A high school science project has turned into a way for a North Carolina school to save money, save the environment and comply with a state law requiring biodiesel use.
This story from the Burke County (NC) News Herald says East Burke High School, located between Hickory and Morganton in North Carolina, is the home of science teacher Bob Smith and his Magic Fuel Bus team of juniors and seniors Kelly Triplett, Ethan Hull, Nathan Maltba, Nou Yang, Mucheng Yang and Porter Yang have built a biodiesel refinery:
…after spending three days a week afterschool on the project, the students presented Friday morning the results and implications of the project to school board members, local biodiesel experts and parents.
The team’s first two processors failed, but the current processor, a five-gallon reactor, has produced more than 80 gallons of biodiesel fuel, Triplett said…
Porter Yang said the team started its trials in October and began testing the fuel in November.
But the team’s first successful batch of biodiesel fuel wasn’t created until January.
“We were surprised, but excited,” Nou Yang said.
With the successful batches of biodiesel, the students set forth to test the fuel in the high school’s activity and yellow school buses beginning in February, Smith said.
Nou Yang said the buses, for two weeks each, used a diesel and biodiesel mix of 5 to 15 percent biodiesel.
The biodiesel managed to improve the buses’ mileage, created less pollution and there was less friction in the engine, Nou Yang said.
The test results led the students to recommend building a biodiesel manufacturing plant in order for the schools to save money and to comply with a new state law, Mucheng Yang said.
The state law, which went into effect this school year, requires diesel school buses to use at least 2 percent biodiesel, Hull said.
School officials say they are looking at putting in a refinery to turn the area’s waste cooking oil into a steady supply of biodiesel… and the Magic Fuel Bus team aims to be part of that effort.
Biodiesel, Ethanol Make Saudis Nervous
Renewable energy, including biodiesel and ethanol are making the big oil producing countries nervous… and that’s got to be a good thing.
This story in the New York Times quotes Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi as trying to dismiss alternative energy, while praising non-renewable petroleum as “an enabler of progress and prosperity.” He cautioned that the current economic crisis — and the uncertainties over future oil consumption — could force producers to trim their supplies, and hence could cause a new price shock.
Mr. Naimi also offered his strongest public criticism against the drive for alternative fuels — which he referred to as “supplemental” energy — and the inconsistent policies of consuming countries. Although he never once mentioned either the United States or President Obama by name, these were clearly his targets.
But the readers of the Times aren’t buying this oil prince’s faulty logic. From the comments section of the article, I found that most people dismissed Al-Naimi’s argument almost as quickly as he dismissed the viability of biodiesel and ethanol.
From “Clif”:
When a seller is driven to praising his product the only thing it tells us is that he is looking to sell more of what he has to offer. The Saudis have far far more to lose from declining oil production than the world at large has to lose from any lack of flexibility in energy supplies.
From “Brennan”:
Pretty obvious he is going to try to scare people into using oil for centuries to come. The thing is right now it is supplemental for the most part but as technology increases his oil will basically not be worth anything because no one will really have large scale uses for it in the United States and a few other countries.
“T.Caine” said:
To me this is as unconvincing as it is unsurprising. Not that anyone can really blame him for making the pitch. It is only natural to fight for the survival of his country’s largest export and influx of capital, but that does not change the fact that oil is a finite resource and its use should begin declining.
Hmmm… nervous foreign oil producers worried that they’ll be replaced by American farmers. I like the sound of that!
Ethanol Production Affects Meat Trading Patterns
Biofuels production in Canada will impact meat trading patterns according to research by Al Mussell, George Morris Centre, University of Guelph. He says that the increase in biofuels production will turn the country into an importer of grains instead of an exporter. Al was one of the speakers at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.
He says that as you develop an ethanol production system built on feed grains it will seriously impact feeding livestock. That will mean serious adjustments over time. He says that these trends take a while to work themselves out. But in the long run he says we should like the taste of Brazilian beef and pork.
You can listen to my interview with Al here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ff-global-09-mussell.mp3]
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Poverty And Biofuels Production
A very interesting presentation at our Farm Foundation Global Trade and Policy Issues conference had to do with the impact on poverty. Tom Hertel, Purdue University, was our presenter.
He says they conducted an international study of 16 developing countries and the impact of biofuels production on the poverty level. As he puts it, it’s a very complex issue. Most people he says think that just because food is scarce in low income countries that biofuels production from feedstocks would contribute to poverty but in fact, the opposite is true in some parts of the world like southeast Asia. However, in other parts of the world where the low income population is mostly urban, like South America, the opposite is true.
You can listen to my interview with Tom here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ff-global-09-hertel.mp3]
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Biofuels Effects According To Stenholm
Former Texas Congressman Charles Stenholm was the moderator for our second session here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference. I don’t think you’ll find anyone more knowledgeable about the policy side of this discussion.
He says that it’s clear to everyone that the price of our basic commodities which was extremely beneficial to our producers has had a tendency to increase the price of food. He says that it’s had a major affect on our livestock producers. He thinks Congress has a difficult challenge in front of it. He’s all for alternative biofuels but he wonders about subsidizing biofuels for example. One thing he thinks we should have looked at is a counter cyclical program. We’ve heard it said before but he said it again, that the price of corn will be set by the price of oil.
You can listen to my interview with Mr. Stenholm here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ff-global-09-stenholm.mp3]
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Technical Global Biofuels Analysis
Providing us with a “Technical Global Biofuels Analysis” here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference was Thomas Alfstad, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Thomas was on the program to speak about a technical global biofuels analysis.
He says that last year they completed a study on biofuels. They looked at the U.S. importing fuels to meet the RFS. He says their findings were that there are strong incentives for producers to expand production of biofuels. He says that biofuels producers may have short term concerns but that their findings should be encouraging for the long term.
You can listen to my interview with Thomas here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ff-global-09-alfstad.mp3]
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album