ACE Conference 2026

Environmental Film Launched Amidst Controversy

Joanna Schroeder

DownstreamHey – in case you haven’t heard, tar sands are going to save the world. They are a renewable fuel you know. Wrong and wrong. Today, a new documentary focusing on the controversy surrounding the development of Alberta’s oil sands, “Downstream”, will be entering the US TV market, just in time to fire people up for Earth Day. Downstream is a modern day re-telling of “David vs. Goliath” or the tiny town of Fort Chipewyan versus Big Oil.

Tar Sands Before and After

Tar Sands Before and After

The film was produced by academy award nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks and is available to watch on Babelgum’s online TV site, Our Earth. It has premiered at film festivals around the world and already been shortlisted for an Oscar. The film takes you on a journey through a town negatively affected by the environmental impacts of oil development. Mutated fish and fowl live alongside a disproportionately large number of people suffering from a multitude of cancers. Naturally, the oil companies and local government officials vehemently deny the correlation between oil sand production and environmental and health issues. During a demonstration, one sign summed it up, “Upstream Oil for the States, Downstream Death for Alberta.”

Ironically, this film is causing more controversy than of the environmental kind. The film has vexed Alberta’s government due to the fact the Alberta Film Development Fund subsidized $67,000 of the film. An intense national discourse and debate over future arts funding and freedom of artistic expression has ensued.

For those of you renewable fuel supporters, this is a film not to miss. Check out the trailer here.

Energy, Environment, Miscellaneous, Video

Alt Energy Studies Becoming More Popular at Technical Colleges

John Davis

As some segments of the economy continue to take a downturn, much of the renewable energy sector is still experiencing an uptick. In fact, for some areas, they can’t get enough of qualified workers. That has prompted more and more technical training colleges to turn their efforts to teaching the skills becoming more and more in demand.

mid-state-technical-college1This story from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel features Mid-State Technical College as an example of how these schools are helping change the economy with the promise of alternative energy:

Mid-State is considered a leader in training workers for the renewable energy sector, which, with the aid of federal stimulus dollars, many experts say will be a source of job growth during tough economic times.

The goal is to provide training for future jobs as paper mills move to manufacture next-generation biofuels from wood waste. Several mills have received federal energy grants to pursue these projects, and more funding could come through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Clark said.

“We’re perfectly aligned for that,” Clark said.

In Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College has seen strong demand for courses in energy management and energy efficiency, said Vicki Martin, interim president… Read More

biomass, Cellulosic

Saltwater Could Make Algae-Biodiesel Profitable

John Davis

While algae-based biodiesel continues to grow in interest, producers of the REALLY green fuel are trying to find ways to make sure they can turn a profit… just like any biodiesel producer. Being able to grow algae in the more plentiful saltwater could be key to making the process profitable.

aurorabiofuelsThis story from the gas2.0 Web site says California-based Aurora Biofuels has completed an 18-month pilot project that produced 1,000 gallons of ATSM quality biodiesel in Florida open ponds of just 1/8th of an acre. Company officials say they could get as much as 6,000 gallons per acre when fully cranked up:

A company spokesperson stated, “In the near-term we expect to demonstrate that the economics of this process can produce biodiesel that is price-competitive with fossil fuels.” A 50 acre pond is scheduled for completion in 2010.

And the article goes on to point out there are other places working on saltwater algae for biodiesel:

In a similar vein, Australian researchers just released a report stating that they have found that biodiesel production for saltwater algae can be competitive with the production of petroleum diesel. However, they also state that due to the cost of transporting biodiesel from an algal farm, the best scenario may be to locate an electricity generating plant in the same vicinity and simply convert the chemical energy into electricity. Creating such a powerplant would also make new jobs for local workers. (The analysis used an assumption of about 1,000 acres of ponds.)

In addition, a new technique in New York is reported to cut the cost of making algae-biodiesel by 40 percent. They’re using a ‘continuously flowing fixed-bed’ and uses a solid rather than liquid catalyst, which allows the flow of biodiesel to stay constant. Researcher Ben Wen says this is the first economical way to produce biodiesel from algae oil.

algae, Biodiesel

Study Shows Biodiesel Reduces CO2 Emissions

John Davis

Just in case you need more evidence of the clean-burning nature of biodiesel, a new study once again confirms the fuel’s green nature.

A six-month demonstration by California-based fleet States Logistics’ saw carbon dioxide reduction of 72.9 tons compared to straight petroleum diesel. This National Biodisel Board press release says the company will be able to use the information to market to customers, and eventually, may use it to sell carbon offsets on the voluntary markets:

stateslogistics“We were really pleased to see the quantified reduction of CO2 and other pollutants,” said Ryan Donovan, VP of Operations and Business Development of States Logistics. “This is something that we can take to our customers, like Clif Bar & Company, and they can show their customers. We all benefit from having this information available to show the efforts being made to reduce carbon footprint throughout the supply chain.”

States Logistics ran seven trucks: four on soy-based B5 (5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum diesel) and three on B99 (99% biodiesel and 1% petroleum diesel). The B99 trucks (three-axle International model 8600) ran 48,198 miles and consumed 8,770 gallons over the six month period. The equivalent straight petroleum diesel output would have been 89.9 tons, but with B99, the output was 19.8 tons for a savings of 70.1 tons. The B5 fleet (two-axle flat bed) traveled 61,433 miles and consumed 7,090 gallons of B5. Equivalent petroleum CO2 output would have been 71.4, with B5 the output was reduced to 68.6 for 2.8 tons of CO2 reduction. In addition to CO2 reduction, an estimated 119 pounds of particulate matter were eliminated from the exhaust during the six month period. Carbon monoxide (CO) was reduced by over 500 pounds, hydrocarbons (HC) by over 50 pounds, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) by close to 40 pounds.

nbb-logo2“This information is valuable to any fleet using biodiesel,” said Tom Verry, Director of Outreach and Development for NBB. “We picture eventually offering this as a value-add report for BioTrucker Fuel Card holders.”

The NBB released the results of the test during the recent Mid America Trucking Show (MATS)… the largest U.S. based trucking show, attracting nearly 60,000 truckers to Louisville, Ky. every year.

The organization also used the event to release the results of an online survey of owner-operators, independent and company drivers. NBB found: only 8 percent were not familiar with biodiesel; 75.8 percent have a positive impression of biodiesel; 57 percent have at least tried biodiesel and 94 percent would use biodiesel in the future; supporting American farmers tops the list of reasons for using biodiesel with 59 percent choosing this and 40 percent choosing energy independence.

Biodiesel, NBB

Gulf Ethanol Changes Name to Encompass Added Company Focus

gulf_alternative_energyGulf Ethanol Corporation has annouced the change of its name to Gulf Alternative Energy Corporation. The name change encompasses the added focus of the company’s biomass processing technology.

gulf_alternative_energyprocessingWith their main office in Houston, Texas, Gulf Alternative Energy develops cellulosic ethanol pre-processing and production technologies for the ethanol producers in North America. The Company plans to use its patented, exclusive technology to retrofit existing corn-based ethanol plants for cellulosic ethanol production and also for use in the design and construction of its own cellulosic ethanol production facility.

Gulf Alternative Energy is working to transform America’s renewable and abundant biomass resources into cost competitive, high performance biofuels such as E85.

biomass, Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Ethanol Report on Indirect Land Use

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report PodcastThis edition of the “Ethanol Report” discusses the critical decisions being made regarding renewable fuels and indirect land use on both the federal and state level. Comments are from Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper, Air Improvement Resource President Tom Darlington and Nathanael Greene, Senior Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

You can listen to “The Ethanol Report” on-line here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/ethanol-report-29.mp3]

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

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol Report, Indirect Land Use, RFA

Ethanol Producer Defends Product

Cindy Zimmerman

In a very well-written opinion piece for the Omaha World-Herald, a Nebraska ethanol producer defends his product, the industry and American agriculture.

Kaapa EthanolChuck Woodside, chief executive officer of KAAPA Ethanol in Minden, NE and secretary of the Renewable Fuels Association, says attacks upon corn ethanol are becoming more frequent and fanciful – but “there’s scarcely a kernel of truth in any of them.”

“Their fundamental flaw is underestimating the ingenuity of the American ethanol industry — and American agriculture as well. Both are becoming more technologically advanced and more efficient in every way, including their use of energy, water and land,” writes Woodside.

Because of efficiency improvements at American ethanol plants, there have been dramatic reductions in the use of water and energy. While production increased at ethanol facilities in the United States from 2001 to 2006, their water consumption decreased by 27 percent, electricity usage declined by 16 percent and total energy use went down by 22 percent.

Not only is ethanol a clean-burning energy source, but its production is also increasingly efficient in its use of resources.

Similarly, producing increased amounts of grain ethanol requires remarkably little land in this country and exerts a negligible impact on land use throughout the world. The total amount of cropland dedicated to American ethanol production in 2007 was only 0.6 percent of the worldwide total.

Moreover, the total amount of agricultural land required to produce 15 billion gallons of grain ethanol in the United States by 2015, as required by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, would most likely be less than 1 percent of world cropland.

Read the entire op-ed here.

Ethanol, Opinion

Corn Growers Establish Climate Task Force

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association Ethanol Committee has established a task force of corn farmers to focus on climate issues, such as land use change, greenhouse gas emissions, cap-and-trade policies, carbon sequestration and low carbon fuel standards. The team includes farmers from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio.

NCGA“There is a wealth of information and research on climate change that we need to gather and communicate to our members and policymakers,” said Steve Ruh, chairman of the task force and a farmer in Sugar Grove, Ill. “We also know there is a need for more research to fill the gaps for policy and legislative initiatives that will help us maintain economic and environmental sustainability.”

One immediate project for the task force is a response to the controversial low carbon fuel standard proposed by the California Air Resources Board.

corn, Ethanol, global warming, Indirect Land Use, NCGA

New Partnership for Cellulosic Ethanol Technology

Cindy Zimmerman

AE BiofuelsCalifornia-based AE Biofuels is partnering with Merrick & Company to commercially implement its enzyme-based technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol.

MerrickMerrick provides engineering and architectural design-build, procurement, construction management, and geospatial services.

According to a press release, the companies will work together “to rapidly deploy AE Biofuels’ next-generation biofuels technology to address the significant demand for cellulosic ethanol created by the revised Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).”

The combination of AE Biofuels’ industry-leading technology and Merrick’s leading position as a world-class engineering and services provider brings to the market a solution that is both cost-effective and commercially viable to address the growing demand for non-food, advanced biofuels.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, technology

Myrtle Beach Area to Get Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

coastalbiodieselA new biodiesel plant is set to open in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina.

This story from WCBD-TV in Charleston says Coastal Biodiesel Group, Inc. is opening a $4.5 million facility in Horry County that will employ 50 people making the green fuel from used cooking oils:

“We are pleased to begin operations in South Carolina with our Conway facility. Horry County provides us with a positive business environment and excellent labor pool, as well as giving us excellent market access. We appreciate all the support we’ve received from state and local officials,” said Mark L. Hefner, president of Coastal Biodiesel Group.

Coastal Biodiesel will take used cooking oils from restaurants and commercial cooking firms to produce biodiesel. The company has purchased a 28,000 square foot facility in Conway, and estimates it could produce up to 4 million gallons of biodiesel annually.

“Coastal Biodiesel Group is an innovative start-up company that recycles used cooking oils and grease trap waste to produce biodiesel. The company’s decision to establish its operations in South Carolina is a strong testament that our state’s business-friendly climate, strong workforce and growing alternative energy sector are working to attract new investment. We welcome Coastal Biodiesel Group to South Carolina’s business community and wish them success in their new venture. Thanks to the team effort by state and local officials, Horry County will benefit from this investment with new jobs,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.

The company will start picking up the used oil this week with hopes of beginning biodiesel production in the next few months.

Biodiesel