Imperim CEO Says “Don’t Blame Biofuels”

John Davis

johnplaza.jpgThe food vs. fuel debate is still going strong with the chief executive officer of a major biofuel producer telling a technology summit not to blame his industry for the rise in food prices.

This story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says that at the Technology Summit in Bellevue, WA today, Imperium Renewables Chief Executive John Plaza told attendees that there’s a mood right now “that the world is falling apart” and that biofuels are responsible:

Plaza, whose company operates one of the largest biofuel refineries in the country in Grays Harbor County, thinks it is unfair to blame rising commodity prices on increased biofuel production.

And he said that people should not generalize when it comes to biofuels, noting there are differences between various feed stocks.

Algae is the one that most excites Plaza, saying it is “where the industry needs to go.” He sees a way for the country to reach energy independence utilizing algae as a biofuel source, doing so for less than $4 per gallon and by converting just 2.5 percent of the land mass in the country. (Much of it on land not needed for traditional crops.)

One of the audience members did ask Plaza that if he thought algae was such a good idea, why didn’t his company invest in algae-biodiesel operations. Plaza said the markets for large-scale biodiesel projects are dead… at least for the time being. His own company has had its share of problems as rising feedstock prices forced Imperium to cancel an initial public offering earlier this year.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Brewing Green Beer in Paradise

John Davis

mauibrewing.jpgNo, I’m not talking about something for St. Patrick’s Day. A brewer in Hawaii is making beer using green methods… including using biodiesel in the process.

This story from HawaiiMagazine.com says Maui Brewing Co. has been making up some internationally-recognized beers for several years:

But since opening in 2005, Marrero has also worked to make his company one of Maui’s most Earth-friendly. He’s one seriously resourceful brewer.

All of his delivery trucks—including his and wife Melanie’s cars—run on biodiesel he makes with his Kaanapali brewpub’s used vegetable oil. The brewpub’s lighting is entirely energy-saving compact fluorescent. Marrero is installing photovoltaic solar cells that will soon generate all of the brewery’s electricity.

The article goes on to say that the company even donates leftovers from the brewing process to local pig and cattle farmers for feed.

Biodiesel

GenGreen

John Davis

gengreen.gifOnline social networking is looking green… at GenGreen.org. Now, net-savvy Americans who are committed to living a more sustainable lifestyle can connect with other eco-conscious enthusiasts online. Members can share information and ideas and get updates on the latest news and developments in greener living. Biofuels and alternative energy are a big part of the “sustainable living made local” network. One of the website’s current top headlines boasts harnessing wind power at home: “Techonology Smooths Way for Home Wind Power Turbines.”

Wind turbines, once used primarily for farms and rural houses far from electrical service, are becoming more common in heavily populated residential areas as homeowners are attracted to ease of use, financial incentives and low environmental effects.

No one tracks the number of small-scale residential wind turbines – windmills that run turbines to produce electricity – in the United States. Experts on renewable energy say a convergence of factors, political, technical and ecological, has caused a surge in the use of residential wind turbines, especially in the Northeast and California…

Click here to find the full article.

Energy, Wind

Report: Government Key to Green Investment

John Davis

Investing in green technology is still a good investment… with a little help from the government.

U.S. News and World Report says a new report by Laurence Alexander, Paul Clegg, and Michael McNamara at Jefferies & Co. says what is being done to be green, such as biofuels, wind, and solar technologies, is very good with demand remaining strong. But government money and support programs are still key to green success:

Wind
Investors need to keep an eye on the U.S. production tax credit, which doles out $0.019 per kilowatt hour of juice generated. It’s set to expire at the end of 2008, and analysts say the program’s extension “remains the single most important issue facing the wind industry today.” Past failures to extend the credit have had “a devastating effect.” In 2004, installations fell 77 percent from 2003 after the credit was revoked. Analysts don’t expect a repeat of that disaster but caution that “anything is possible” in an election year.

Solar
Here, tax and subsidy structures in Spain and the United States matter most. Both have existing plans being revisited this year; Spain in September and the United States by year’s end. The industry is hoping to make headway in breaking open the “potentially enormous” U.S. market, but even if those two major subsidy plans get trimmed a bit, Jefferies expects the overall size of subsidies available to rise.

Biofuels
Ethanol has been all the rage in the sector, but the resulting surge in the price of corn used to produce the stuff could change the future of subsidies in the sector. Technologies that can move biofuel away from the “food vs. fuel” debate like biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol, biobutanol, biochemicals, and bioplastics could get a boost, Jefferies says. But fledgling firms remain risky as turmoil in the broader markets hampers new investing.

Jefferies recommends owning wafer maker PV Crystalox, solar panel and battery stalwart Energy Conversion Devices, and biofuel maker Nova Biosource.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Solar, Wind

Auburn Helping Alabama Town’s Biodiesel Efforts

John Davis

auburnu.jpgAuburn University, already helping Gadsden, Hoover, Montgomery, and Daphne, Alabama run their cities greener, is offering its help to another city wanting to reduce its dependency on oil.

According to this story in the Andalusia (AL) Star News, the town is the latest project for the school’s Natural Resources Management and Development Institute. School representatives were recently in Andalusia to talk to city officials to turn old restaurant and home cooking oil into biodiesel:

The fuel will then be used to power the city’s fleet of diesel vehicles, Mayor Jerry Andrews said.

Andrews said preliminary estimates show that the City of Andalusia can produce enough of the biodiesel products to cut in half its consumption of 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year. Other cities are producing biodiesel for $1 gallon, while the current price of diesel is $4 per gallon.

Initially, the city will collect used oil from local restaurants, but the long-term plan is to also provide small containers for reclaiming residential cooking oils.

“If we could recover one tablespoon of household oil per day, that would be four 55-gallon barrels we wouldn’t have to treat in our sewage system lines,” Andrews said.

Officials add the by-products, such as glycerin, can be used for things like soap and lotions.

Biodiesel

HS Team Brews Up Biodiesel Win

John Davis

merrimack.jpgA team of high school students is one of the top finishers in a college-level energy competition for its biodiesel project.

Merrimack New Hampshire High School’s Biodiesel Crew took second place in the prestigious Global Venture Challenge at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Knoxville, Tennessee. This story in the Merrimack Journal says the students were the only high schoolers in the event and beat out more than a dozen top-level colleges and universities to take the $7,500 prize:

“It was amazing,” said Andrew Paiz, 17, an MHS junior. “It was a great opportunity for all of us to present the prototype that we made for biodiesel, and we learned a lot.”

Junior Randy Perrine, 17, said the crew got a bit of an unexpected surprise as soon as the team arrived at the challenge.

“The first day of the competition we went there and we didn’t know this, but we were supposed to do a practice -presentation for just business owners in the area, so they could critique us,” said Perrine. “But we got it done and they gave us some really good advice.”
The group came prepared with its functional mini processor, which makes anywhere from 250 milliliters to four liters of biodiesel, according to Sean Muller, a chemistry teacher who works with the team.

The mini processor, called the “BioBuddie 2000,” was marketed by the team as an “educational product,” said Perrine, and the judges were impressed with the concept.

“Right now there are no education products available for biodiesel, so that was one of the things that made it unique,” said Perrine.

The next step for the students, they say, is to patent their invention and find a way so everyone can have a BioBuddie in their garage.

Biodiesel

Fuel Cell and Solar Vehicles Place in Shell Eco-Marathon

John Davis

shell.jpgShell is touting its Eco-Marathon Americas race as a success in developing breakthroughs in fuel efficiency. The race also demonstrated the fuel-saving capabilities of alternative fuels, with hydrogen- and solar-powered cars making the top five.

“Ladies and gentlemen, start your fuel-efficient engines” were the words that kicked off the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon(TM) Americas; and that’s exactly what more than 300 students from Canada, Mexico, and the United States did.

The team’s combustion-engine prototype vehicle achieved an astonishing 2,843.4 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,208.6 kilometers per liter. Despite wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour and various teams’ mechanical issues, competition was steep this year with three teams breaking the 2007 mileage record set by Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas welcomed 32 teams from four high schools and 23 universities from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The entries include 25 vehicles powered by combustion engines, four by fuel cell/hydrogen technology, one by diesel fuel, one by LPG (liquid petroleum gas) and two by solar power.

Category winners for the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas include:

Grand Prize

With mileage of 2,843.4 mpg (1,208.6 kilometers per liter) the Supermileage Team from Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind. won a $10,000 grand prize with their vehicle, 6th Gen.

Fuel Cell/Hydrogen

Penn State’s HFV Team from University Park, Pa., achieved 1,668.3 mpg (709.1 kilometers per liter) in its Blood, Sweat and Gears vehicle.

Solar

The Purdue Solar Racing team from West Lafayette, Ind., took first place with its solar vehicle Pulsar, which achieved 2,861.8 mpg (1,216.4 kilometers per liter).

Hydrogen, International, News, Racing, Solar

Saudi Oil Minister Blasts Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources last week denounced ethanol as an alternative to petroleum-based motor fuels.

Al-NaimiIn a speech to the International Oil Summit in Paris, Minister Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi said, “Let’s be realistic, ethanol and biofuels will not contribute to the protection of the global environment by reducing (carbon dioxide) emissions, they will not increase energy security, nor will they reduce dependency on fossil fuels to any appreciable degree.”

“Their cultivation eats into the human food supply, reduces the absorption of carbon dioxide as forests are cut down, has not improved the security of energy supply and has not reduced petrol prices,” he added.

Bob DinneenNot surprisingly, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen took exception to Minister Al-Naimi’s assertions about the energy, economic and environmental impacts of ethanol.

“For the Saudi Oil Minister to assert that biofuels are not an effective energy alternative is no different from the wolf complaining that Little Red Riding Hood was interrupting his dinner plans,” Dinneen wrote. “As a leader of a country that opposes strict limits on carbon emissions and favors continued expansion of petroleum production, it is not surprising that you express opposition to the development of biofuels.”

“What is also galling about your statement is the claim that biofuels negatively impact the ‘food market.’ The evidence demonstrates that the number one negative impact on the food market is the high price of your primary export – oil,” Dinneen continued. “One hundred dollar per barrel oil has driven up the cost of everything from fertilizer to diesel oil used to transport food, to plastics used in food packaging.”

Energy, Ethanol, News, RFA

Deadline Approaching for Ethanol Video Contest

Cindy Zimmerman

EPIC contestThe deadline for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council’s “Fuel the Change” sweepstakes is fast approaching and new entries have been rolling in. The final deadline for entries is April 21.

The contest calls for a 30 second video about how ethanol is a part of your life and how you’re fueling American independence and a greener, cleaner future one tank at a time. The producer of the Grand Prize winning video will receive a $10,000 cash prize and have the chance to have his or her commercial aired during the 2008 Indianapolis 500 on ABC.

The winner will be determined in part by people who go to the website and vote on their favorite videos. There will also be a $5000 “People’s Choice” award solely determined by popular vote. Voting on your favorite video also makes you eligible for weekly drawings for $500.

Entries so far have run the spectrum from animated to music videos, patriotic to amusing. Here’s a one of the latest entries from the site:

EPIC, Ethanol, News

Texas Report Studies Ethanol and Food Prices

Cindy Zimmerman

A study done by Texas A&M’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center concludes that corn prices have had little to do with rising food costs.

The report, “The Effects of Ethanol on Texas Food and Fuel,” also finds that relaxing the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) would not result in lower corn prices for livestock and poultry feeders.

According to the study, “important food items like bread, eggs, and milk have high prices that are largely unrelated to ethanol or corn prices, but correspond to fundamental supply/demand relationships in the world.” The study points to higher oil prices as the underlying force impacting consumer prices and agriculture. The report was issued in response to mounting questions about the impact of increased ethanol production on the Texas agriculture sector and overall economy.

NCGANational Corn Growers Association president Ron Litterer said, “The Texas A&M study dispels the food versus fuel debate. This study shows there are many forces creating increases in food costs and ethanol is not a major factor. Clearly, corn is meeting the demands for biofuels.”

The analysis also examined the potential effect of relaxing the RFS on corn prices and found that any action to relax the standard would not significantly reduce corn prices.

“This is due to the ethanol infrastructure already in place and the generally positive economics for the industry,” the study states. “The ethanol industry has grown in excess of the RFS, indicating that relaxing the standard would not cause a contraction in the industry.”

The analysis found that there are many important economic factors driving agricultural commodity markets and that higher energy costs are the fundamental drivers of changes in the agriculture industry.

corn, Energy, Ethanol, News