PA Officials Get Behind-the-Scenes Look at Lake Erie Biofuels

John Davis

lakeerielogo.gifLocal and state officials in Pennsylvania have received a first-hand, behind-the-scenes tour of the new Lake Erie Biofuels plant at the site of the former International Paper plant near Erie, PA.

This story in the Erie (PA) Times-News says they were impressed with what they saw at the 45-million-gallon-a-year facility:

“I must have read a million things about this place, but until you see it, you don’t get a full understanding of it,” said Dennis Yablonsky, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Yablonsky led a delegation of local and state officials on a tour of the biodiesel plant, which has grown over the past two years at the East Lake Road site that once held the International Paper plant.

In November, state, federal and local government officials joined Erie Management Group to cut the ribbon on the $60 million facility that has the capacity to produce 45 million gallons of biodiesel a year.

Now, five months later, Erie Management Group founder Samuel P. “Pat” Black said he is happy with the progress of the $60 million plant. And government development officials said the $15 million that government programs pumped into the former IP site and its infrastructure is also paying off.

“Absolutely we are happy with it,” said Monica Brower, chief executive of the Economic Development Corp. of Erie County. “We have had almost $85½ million of (private and public) investment in this site, and it has only been two years. To be able to do this in just two years … it’s amazing.”

The story also has the following link with video so you can see it, too. Check it out!

lakeerievideo.jpg

Biodiesel, Government

SC Bills Fostering Renewable Energy

John Davis

A trio of bills before the South Carolina legislature are designed to promote renewable energy in the state, as well as conservation by consumers.

mcconnell.jpgSenate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell’s (R-Charleston) three bills were presented to a state Senate Finance Committee this week. This story from television station WFMY says the first bill dealt with tax breaks for making home improvements for energy savings. And that’s just the beginning:

A second bill would give a sales tax break to companies buying machinery, tools or parts to produce electricity from alternative sources, including solar, wind, tides and biomass.

That kind of break and other energy production incentives have been a huge benefit for companies like Ecogy Biomass, a company that began turning soy oil into biodiesel in Estill in January.

Hal Wrigley, president of Ecogy Biomass and Knightbridge Biofuel said the soy oil for his biodiesel cost $1.75 a gallon last year and was $5.25 a gallon last month.

“Right now, the only lucrative place to sell it is over in Europe,” Wrigley said.

Wrigley wants to see more incentives that encourage companies to mix biodiesel with regular diesel and tax breaks for truckers and other consumers buying biodiesel.

Other bills being considered address existing incentives for people installing solar water heaters or panels to generate electricity.

State and federal income tax breaks for installing those devices have helped Bruce Wood’s Sunstore Solar in Greer. South Carolina had lagged North Carolina and Georgia for years in state tax breaks, Wood said. That meant that he was doing 70 percent of his business out of state. But now 75 percent of his business is in South Carolina and his payroll has tripled to nine people.

“There’s a green movement that’s afoot,” Wood said.

The tax break makes the cost of putting in solar panels more reasonable while shortening the time it takes for the systems to pay for themselves with reduced energy bills. A solar hot water system that costs $6,000 comes with an $1,800 federal tax credit and $1,500 from the state. That means the system will be paying for itself in less than six years, instead of the 12 years it would take without the break, Wood said.

For those who argue that this is just another government handout, officials point out the economic benefit of programs like these. They say the state is poised to add more than 22,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector… if the right incentives are there.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, Legislation, News, Solar, Wind

Canada Turning Plastic Into Biodiesel

John Davis

minasbasin.jpgA project north of the border could turn waste plastic into biodiesel.

This story from CanPlastics.com says Nova Scotia is investing $20 million in government money in the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company’s expansion project for a biodiesel plastics processing plant for plastic waste.

“We are committed to investing in innovative and resourceful companies that contribute to job growth, a green environment, and a strong economy for Nova Scotia,” said [Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald] in a statement. “Minas Basin is taking a leadership role by helping to ensure environmental sustainability for this province.”

According to Minas Basin, the new plant will divert 4,000 tons of plastic waste. The governmental investment will allow the company to commit to more than $27 million in capital expenditures.

Company officials say the money will help them move into “the next phase of sustainable restructuring for Minas Basin,” as well as creating a renewable energy supply for the province.

Biodiesel, Government

Building E85 Infrastructure

Cindy Zimmerman

A recent article by Red Herring reporter Justin Moresco called the need for ethanol distribution and retail infrastructure “Ethanol’s Unsexy Dilemma.”

Moresco quotes Karl Doenges of CleanFuel USA, Michelle Kautz with the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), Robert White of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and Matt Hartwig with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), among others, about the challenge of making E85 available for the six million flex-fuel vehicles already on the road.

If each station assisted 300 of the flex-fuel vehicles on the road today, said Michelle Kautz of NEVC, there would have to be 20,000 stations.

Clean Fuel Pump“I would say our biggest hurdle is the potential cost to the retailer of putting infrastructure in and the education needed to get customers to support that,” said Robert White, of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, a trade group.

Putting in an E85 tank and dispenser costs from between $6,000 and $30,000, said Mr. Doenges, vice president and general manager for CleanFuel USA, which has equipped several hundred stations.

The simplest overhauls need a tank cleaned and a new dispenser. The big jobs—with all the “bells and whistles”—require ripping out concrete, adding new tanks and dispensers, and extending islands and canopies.

There are federal tax breaks and a growing number of state incentives for stations to add E85 infrastructure.

But Mr. Doenges said the other hurdle to ramping up E85 is the oil companies.

That’s why CleanFuel also acts as a distributor to bring ethanol to retailers. At the same time, change is happening.

Matt Hartwig of the Renewable Fuel Association said that ethanol storage tanks are popping up at terminals across the country.

“You see the infrastructure being put in place,” he said. And once the ethanol is at the terminals—even if it’s intended for E10—that will make the jump to higher blends easier in the future, he said.

E85, Ethanol, News

Cellulosic Arkansas

Cindy Zimmerman

Arkansas is hoping to become a leader in cellulosic ethanol production.

University ArkansasAccording to a story in the Advance Monticellonian, Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR) recently assembled a panel of biofuels experts at the University of Arkansas at Monticello to discuss how Southeast Arkansas can play a part in it in the future of cellulosic ethanol.

Ross said, and Southeast Arkansas is “wellpoised to become a national leader” in the field of cellulosic ethanol.

Toward that end, Ross said, he has introduced the American Made Energy Act of 2008. The bill, which has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Readiness, “promotes the development of homegrown biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power through expanding research and development, extending tax credits, and providing grants and loan guarantees to produce these new technologies on a large scale,” Ross said. The legislation, he noted, would invest $3.8 billion in alternative and renewable energy, an amount which he said that the U.S. would spend in only ten days fighting the Iraq war.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

WI Soy Crush Facility Gets $4 Mil Grant

John Davis

doyle.jpgWisconsin’s first soybean crushing facility is being built… thanks to a $4 million grant from the state.

Gov. Jim Doyle handed out the money to farmer-owned Landmark Services Cooperative, which has plans to process 20 million bushels of soybeans each year at the plant:

“The soybeans Wisconsin grows so well will stay here in the state, get processed in Evansville and may end up fueling the tractors along these roads,” Governor Doyle said. “This facility offers us a way to create jobs, free us from big oil companies and advance our commitment to renewable energy.”

A soybean crushing facility separates soybean oil from the rest of the bean, which can then be processed into bio-diesel. Currently, most of the state’s soybean crop is processed in other states and sold back to Wisconsin farmers for feed. Last year the state’s first large-scale commercial biodiesel plant opened in DeForest with the capacity of producing 20 million gallons of biodiesel annually from a variety of feedstock sources, including soybean oil.

Despite Wisconsin being one of the nation’s leader in soybean and renewable fuel production, it did not have a soybean crushing facility.

Biodiesel, Government

Biodiesel Carrying 124 Cars at a Time

John Davis

washferry.jpgA ferry carrying 124 cars in Washington State’s Puget Sound has been running on biodiesel since last month, and officials are hoping to expand the green fuel into another transport.

This story from Biodiesel Magazine says it’s the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division’s second try in recent years at trying to run ferries with biodiesel:

The 124-car ferry Issaquah has been running on a five-percent blend of soy biodiesel since March 10 and so far there haven’t been problems. In 2004, the ferries division ran a B20 blend in the Issaquah and other ferries, but had to abandon the program due to severe clogging in the vessels’ filters and purifiers.

Paul Brodeur, director of vessel maintenance, preservation and engineering for the division, said, “so far we’ve been running successfully. We’re about ready to bring our second vessel (the Tillikum) on at the end of this week. It’ll be back in operation on April 7.”

The 87-car Tillikum will be tested with B5 canola biodiesel.

Biodiesel

Flax Finding New Life as Biodiesel Stock

John Davis

texasam1.jpgFifty years ago, you could see acres and acres of flax growing in the southern part of Texas. Today, the crop once grown for vegetable oil, is finding new life as a feedstock for biodiesel.

This story from Texas A&M University says the school’s Texas AgriLife Research field trial experiment is testing four varieties of flax seeds:

morgan.jpg“It’s kind of like we’re coming full circle,” said Dr. Gaylon Morgan, small grains researcher and member of the Texas A&M AgriLife project team. “Flax was grown on about 400,000 acres during that time and Texas AgriLife Research had an active flax breeding program.

“Those varieties were known nationwide for having good cold tolerance. That’s what we needed, a flax variety was something you could plant in the fall, survive the winter, avoid late freezes, and produce seed in the spring. Now we’re evaluating this as a possible biodiesel product or (one which) could be used in the vegetable oil industry.”

The testing is also looking at the feasibility of other oilseeds, such as canola, rapeseed, winter-hearty safflower, and camelina, to find the best oil yields.

Biodiesel

State Grant Helps PA School Buy Biodiesel

John Davis

A $40,000 grant is helping a Pennsylvania school district go green. The Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant will help the Radnor Township School District purchase nearly 94,000 gallons of B20 biodiesel, as well as helping cover two storage tanks for the green fuel.

The district received praise from Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty through her agency’s press release:

mcginty.jpg“Schools, truck drivers, small businesses and families across the commonwealth are feeling the pressure of higher fuel bills on their budgets and wallets,” said McGinty. “Switching from conventional fuels to homegrown biofuels will help break our addiction to foreign oil, bring down costs, strengthen national security, and grow our economy.

“The Radnor Township School District is leading by example on this front. Rather than sending all of its diesel fuel dollars out of state, it’s making an investment in Pennsylvania.”

The move is also touted for its benefit to the environment and district’s students:

Biodiesel provides significant environmental improvements compared to traditional diesel fuels. Running the district’s diesel-powered vehicles on the renewable fuel will result in the following emissions reductions each year, according to district calculations:

• Particulate matter, linked to asthma and respiratory ailments, 12 percent,

• Unburned hydrocarbons, 20 percent,

• Carbon monoxide, 12 percent,

• Sulfur dioxide, linked to smog and acid rain, 20 percent, and

• Carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, 16 percent.

Ninety-four thousand gallons of biodiesel might not seem like a lot, but it is a start that one school district was able to make toward a greener future… with just a little help.

Biodiesel, Government

How to Get to $1 a Gallon Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The CEO of Coskata claims they will be able to make ethanol for $1 a gallon or less in the near future.

The Green Tech Blog reports on a meeting with Coskata’s William Roe where he explained how this will happen.

CoskataRoe explains that Coskata combines both biological and thermochemical processing and can use a wide variety of feedstocks, from wood chips, weeds and non-food crops like miscanthus, to even human waste and carbon-heavy garbage like tires.

Coskata, which has received an investment from General Motors, also makes fuel from the lignin in biomass. Some companies making ethanol from strictly biological processes can’t use lignin to make fuel.

“You can imagine biorefineries in every single state. This is an enormously efficient process,” Roe said. “We don’t need ‘eurekas’ anymore. We think it comes down to execution.”

In basic terms, Coskata’s process converts all the different feedstocks into synthetic gases, then feeds it to microbes that convert it to liquid fuels.

Coskata plans to make a formal announcement later this month about its 40,000 gallons a year demonstration facility which is already under construction at an undisclosed location.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News