ACE Conference 2026

$1.3 Million Grant Helps Build Connecticut Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

greenleafbiofuelsA $1.3 million State of Connecticut grant will help a private company build a biodiesel refinery.

This press release from Greenleaf Biofuels, LLC, says the company inked the deal to build a waste-grease feedstock biodiesel plant in New Haven harbor:

The grant to Greenleaf is the largest of several announced by Connecticut late last year and is part of the State’s production facility program to directly support biodiesel production. Greenleaf’s grant is underwritten by Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and administered through the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT).

“Projects such as this biodiesel facility and companies like Greenleaf are critical components to the state’s economic future,” said Joan McDonald, commissioner of DECD and chair of Connecticut Innovations. “Connecticut must continue to innovate and focus on developing new, cutting-edge jobs. We need to develop alternative sources of energy, breaking free from our dependence on foreign oil and using our natural resources more responsibly. These are key elements of a new economic development agenda that will lead the state in the next generation.”

Discussing the Greenleaf New Haven facility, Gus Kellogg, founder and CEO of Greenleaf, said: “The technology for building advanced biodiesel processing facilities is ready now to meet customer needs at prices competitive even at today’s suddenly lower fuel prices. In the future, we believe our products will become even more attractive to energy customers. That’s because, since the 1970’s when current energy supply and related environmental issues first emerged, fossil fuel prices have mostly trended upward.”

Officials say when the plant is up and running next year, it will be able to make 6.7 million gallons of biodiesel a year from used cooking oil and grease. They add the plant will use little water and generate little waste, among other earth-friendly practices the refinery will employ.

Biodiesel

Algae Biodiesel Maker Announces Opening of Plant

John Davis

stellarwindGreen pond scum will become green fuel at a new pilot production plant in Indiana.

Stellarwind Bio Energy, LLC, a producer of fuel oil from algae, announced the opening of its new small scale pilot production facility and corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. The plant has a 1/10th acre greenhouse, along with offices and an advanced research and development

Leveraging two years of research, design and development, the new headquarters located at 8440 W. 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN, will allow Stellarwind Bio Energy to build a scaled pilot production facility deploying its PhycoGenic ReactorTM and PhycoProcessorTM. During this phase intensive effort will continue as the company refines its systems and manufacturing processes.

Our Vision Statement – “To reshape the competitive energy landscape by providing a new domestic source of eco-friendly renewable energy.”

“Our vision statement says it all. Renewable, eco-friendly fuel sources are no longer an option; they are now a necessity. For years, science has known that algae are a far better producer of fuel oils than other biological sources. The problem has been to cost-effectively build a bioreactor that can inexpensively grow, harvest and process commercially viable quantities of fuel oil from algae. We are committed to deploying such a system,” states [Will Kassebaum, President and CEO of Stellarwind Bio Energy].

Company officials says their PhycoGenic ReactorTM will allow them to grow algae very cheaply… key to making the venture sustainable. They also claim that algae, which produces 10,000 gallons of fuel per acre each year, is a better biofuel feedstock than corn (150-330 gallons of ethanol per acre per year) or soybeans (70-100 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year). Plus, they say the oil from algae is easier to refine into gasoline, kerosene or aviation fuel.

algae, Biodiesel

E85 Bill Now in Hands of Indiana Governor

ron-altingIndiana Senate lawmakers today approved a bill that would allow schools to receive grants to install E85 dispensing units. House Bill 1193 was sponsored by State Senator Ron Alting (shown right).

“Currently, retailers and local governments can receive grants to invest in E85 pumps and fuel tanks,” Alting said. “This legislation would allow school corporations and universities to also receive grants so they can install E85 fuel tanks on campuses.” Alting said since grants became available last year, more than $135,000 has been provided to various retailers.

Along with a Federal income tax credit for E85 infrastructure, Indiana also offers tax breaks and incentives for those who produce and/or use biofuels. Funding for these grants comes from corn check-off funds and has no cost to Indiana taxpayers.

There are currently 116 E85 fueling locations within the state of Indiana.

E85, Ethanol, Facilities, Government, News

Ford to Unveil Tri-Fuel Mondeo

trifuel_mondeoFord plans to unveil a vehicle that is capable of running on gasoline, up to 85 percent ethanol fuel, as well as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). The Mondeo will be displayed at the AMI Leipzig Motor Show in Germany starting March 28. The vehicle will be available in a four-door sedan, five-door liftback and in station wagon forms.

According to Ford, when the 2.0-liter Duratec engine uses LPG, the Mondeo Sedan and Liftback models can cover an estimated total of 286 miles. When running on conventional fuel and/or E85, the Mondeo has a range of 529 miles, meaning that the combined range is over 746 miles.

The Ford Mondeo tri-fuel vehicle will be sold in certain European beginning in April.

blends, E85, Ethanol, News

ACE Thanks EPA Administrator for Support

Cindy Zimmerman

ACEThe American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) sent a letter this week to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson thanking her for EPA’s consideration of the application for approval to use ethanol blends up to E15.

EPA Lisa Jackson Addresses ACEJust a few days before the waiver petition was filed, Administrator Jackson met with a group of 30 ethanol supporters who traveled to Washington DC for the “Biofuels Beltway March,” a grassroots ethanol advocacy fly-in organized by ACE. In the letter, ACE executive vice president Brian Jennings expressed his appreciation to Jackson for taking time to meet with the group.

“We are most grateful you took the time to address our concerns about the E10 blend wall and the role EPA has in examining the scientific data to consider how midlevel blends, up to E15, may be approved for use in motor vehicles,” said Jennings. “ACE agrees with you that science, not politics, must drive the decision to move beyond E10. We are further convinced the scientific data contained in our petition and available today on the use of blends up to 15 in legacy motor vehicles justifies its approval.”

Jennings also invited Jackson to visit “a modern-day, state-of-the-art ethanol biorefinery to discover more about how technology innovations are helping biofuels contribute to a low-carbon future” and offered to arrange a tour of a facility for the administrator or her staff.

ACE, blends, Energy, Environment, Ethanol, Government

Ethanol Workshop Celebrates 25 Years

Cindy Zimmerman

2009 marks the silver anniversary of the Fuel Ethanol Workshop, the industry’s largest and most widely attended expo and educational event.

FEW 09With the economy in mind, the 2009 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo has joined with the 2009 International Distillers Grains Conference & Trade Show and the Advanced Biofuels Workshop, to give industry professionals the ability to attend all three shows in one trip. In addition, FEW is offering a special deal for all existing and under construction ethanol plants to send two members of their team for free.

All three events will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, with the Distillers Grains Conference kicking it off on June 14-15. The Advance Biofuels Workshop will be held on June 15 and the 2009 FEW on June 15-18.

Registration information and details for all three events, which are all organized by BBI International, can be found on-line here.

conferences, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, FEW

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard Criticized

Cindy Zimmerman

The California State Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing heard testimony Monday from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) criticizing the proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

RFA Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper testified on behalf of the ethanol industry that under the standard proposed by the state Air Resources Board (ARB) “biofuels are penalized for a highly uncertain and unproven market-mediated effect known as indirect land use change, while petroleum and other fuel types are assumed not to cause any indirect or market-mediated impacts.”

RFARFA’s testimony reflects the views of 111 scientists, researchers, and academics from California and around the country who wrote Governor Schwarzenegger recently stating, “Leaving aside the issue of whether these [indirect] effects can be predicted with precision or accuracy, or whether such a penalty is appropriate for the LCFS, it is clear that indirect effects should not be enforced against only one fuel pathway.”

In addition, RFA is concerned that the proposed standard “has the potential to undermine the development of next generation biofuels, like cellulosic ethanol, because of the arbitrary nature in which the carbon accounting modeling is applied to biofuels and ethanol specifically.” Cooper testified that “artificially limiting the use of first generation biofuels may inadvertently “blow up the bridge” to future renewable fuels.”

Cooper suggested that the ARB change the proposal by improving the modeling used and including more current data for agricultural yields and the impact of distillers grains, the feed co-product of ethanol production, on reducing the need for additional crop acres. He also suggested that ARB initiate a comprehensive evaluation of the indirect impacts of other fuels under consideration, including gasoline, electricity, natural gas, and others to ensure an accurate performance-based regulation and organize a multi-disciplined group of disinterested economists, climate experts and other scientists to evaluate the accuracy of ARB’s work.

Environment, Ethanol, RFA

Nebraska, U.S. on the Cusp of Wind Energy Boom

John Davis

wind_turbineDespite having some pretty wind-swept plains, Nebraska has lagged behind other states in wind energy production… including its closest neighbor to the east, Iowa, which boast the nation’s second largest amount of wind energy produced. But that could soon change.

This article from the Omaha (NE) World-Herald says Pres. Barack Obama’s push for renewable energy could help Nebraska catch up, while giving the nation’s wind energy production a boost:

The push could create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the wind energy industry alone, and experts say there is still time for Nebraska to join in the boom.

“Nebraska historically has been a conservative state, and I think we took a conservative approach to wind,” said Dave Rich, manager of renewable energy programs for the Nebraska Public Power District. “We’re behind, but we think there are still opportunities for Nebraska.”

Wind isn’t the only area where Nebraska and Iowa can capitalize on Obama’s green jobs push, which began with passage last month of the president’s stimulus plan.

The article goes on to point out that wind energy jobs in the U.S. grew from 50,000 to 85,000 during 2008. And if the U.S. gets just 20 percent of its power from wind by 2030, the wind energy industry will grow by 12 times.

Wind

Encore Energy Buying Troubled Biodiesel Plants

John Davis

encoreenergyMississippi-based Encore Energy has announced it is buying up biodiesel plants that are not producing at their capacity.

Biofuels International reports the move comes on the heels of the company’s move to team up with another firm to provide plant management and feedstock allocation… moves that I’m sure are not just coincidental:

This represents a major component of the company’s 2009 growth plan. It believes that consolidation of biodiesel assets will position the company as a premier producer and distributor of biodiesel nationwide.

Encore Energy Systems has also entered into an agreement with Chicago-based Zenergy International to provide biofuel plant management services and feedstock allocation. The agreement provides mission critical management and provisioning services to Encore Energy Systems’ biofuel production facilities as required.

Biodiesel

AT&T Makes Big Investment in Alt Fuel Vehicles

John Davis

Communications giant AT&T is putting more than 15,000 alternatively-fueled vehicles on the road… a $565 million venture aimed at helping the environment and saving the company gasoline costs.

This story from Bloomberg says Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson figures replacing the company’s cars with electric hybrids and more energy-efficient vehicles will save AT&T 49 million gallons of gas over the next 10 years:

Stephenson said the new vehicles, which would amount to about one-fifth of AT&T’s current fleet, also will produce 25 percent fewer greenhouse-gas emissions — atmospheric gases that overheat the planet. The strategy falls in line with President Barack Obama’s goal of capping emissions to fight global warming.

Company officials say more than half of the vehicles will run on compressed natural gas (CNG), and the move is expected to reduce carbon emissions the equivalent of taking more than 38,600 traditional passenger vehicles off the road for a year.

Miscellaneous