Putting Water Use in Perspective

Cindy Zimmerman

Among the emerging issues highlighted at last week’s Ethanol 2008: Emerging Issues Forum was water usage. Greg Krissek, Director of Government Affairs for ICM, put water use in context.

Greg Krissek“Basically, three to four gallons of water per gallon of ethanol is used in the ethanol plant,” Krissek says. “A little over one gallon actually touches the corn in what we call the contact process.” The rest is called non-contact, which is for processes such cooling of the equipment, that mostly evaporates. And he says plants are becoming even more efficient with some already falling under three gallons of water per gallon of ethanol.

Compared to gasoline, Krissek says the most conservative numbers for gasoline production range from 2-3 gallons of water to produce one gallon of gasoline, while some estimates are as high as 7-8 gallons.

Krissek also talked about the water usage for crop production, noting that only about 12-14 percent of corn acres are irrigated as a supplement to natural rainfall and as more drought tolerant varieties of corn are developed, less water will be needed for irrigation.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Greg here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ethanol/greg-krissek.mp3]

According to this link to EPA Water Trivia Facts, it takes 44 gallons of water to refine one gallon of crude oil (actually 1851 gallons to refine one barrel, which is 42 gallons).

Here are a few other bits of trivia regarding “how much water it takes to….”

Process a quarter pound of hamburger – one gallon
Brush your teeth – two gallons
Make one board foot of lumber – 5.4 gallons
Process one can of fruit or vegetables – 9.3 gallons
Make one gallon of paint – 13 gallons
Make one pound of wool or cotton – 101 gallons
Make one barrel of beer – 1500 gallons
Make four new tires – 2,072 gallons
Manufacture one new car, including tires – 39,090 gallons

Ethanol, News

Nebraska Starting Ethanol Producer Association

Cindy Zimmerman

By the end of 2007, over three-quarters of the gasoline sold in Nebraska contained ethanol. There are currently 21 ethanol production plants in Nebraska, producing over 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol each year, and the state ranks second nationally in ethanol production.

Duane ChristensenNebraska’s first ethanol plant, now known as Chief Ethanol Fuels in Hastings, began production in January, 1985. At the Emerging Issues Forum for ethanol held last week in Omaha, Chief Ethanol general manager Duane Christensen talked about a new organization being formed in the state called the Nebraska Ethanol Producers Association.

“As we’ve gone through the years, the ethanol business was relatively slow in growth and 10-15 years ago you knew everybody in the business,” Christensen said. “The last few years has been a real explosion in production and we have a lot of diversity and the producers in the state decided we needed to have an organization.”

The association will complement the current Nebraska Ethanol Board, not replace it, and will focus primarily on legislative issues. “This is really an organization that is about the ethanol producers themselves,” Christensen says. The organization is so new they are still in the developmental phase, but hope to have more information for producers in the next few weeks.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Duane here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ethanol/duane-christensen.mp3]

Ethanol, News

Missouri-Kansas Becoming Green Rivals

John Davis

moksflags.jpgWhen you live in this part of the country, you KNOW how big of rivals Kansas and Missouri are. This hatred goes all the way back to before the Civil War! I’ve even known people who would actually spit after they spoke the other state’s name. Officials at MU and KU have tried to tone down the rhetoric by calling it a border “showdown” instead of border “war” (which most diehard fans still call a war). Pretty fascinating for an Iowa boy who didn’t grow up with this rivalry that has moved to the football fields and basketball courts of the two states.

Now, it seems Missouri and Kansas have become rivals about how green they want to be. This story from the Kansas City (MO) Star says there is lots of legislation on both sides of the border, including more than 20 green bills before the Missouri legislature this session:

In Missouri, the bills showing movement this year rely on tax policy as a prod to change consumer habits and business operations.

The House last week gave first-round approval to a bill granting a $2,000 income tax deduction for the purchase of hybrid vehicles manufactured in the United States.

In the Senate, language recently added to a large agriculture bill also addresses alternative-fuel vehicles. The bill includes not only a tax deduction for hybrid purchases, but also incentives for consumers who purchase 85-percent ethanol gasoline and gas-station owners who install alternative fuel facilities.

Plus, a 5 percent biodiesel mandate is making its way through the halls of the Capitol in Jefferson City.

Kansas lawmakers have put forward several green bills, but all are overshadowed by the key issue of the year: a coal-burning power plant expansion in western Kansas.

Both the Senate and the House have passed legislation designed to clear the way for Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build two new coal plants at its existing Holcomb, Kan., plant…

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has vowed to veto the bill, saying it doesn’t do enough to encourage renewable energy or protect the environment.Read More

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Government, Legislation, News

Market Forces Force REG to Withdraw IPO

John Davis

reglogo1.gifThe high price of soybean oil is making it awfully tough on some biodiesel makers. In an unfortunate sign of the times for the biodiesel industry, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group has had to withdraw its attempt at an initial public offering (IPO).

CNNMoney reports that “unfavorable market conditions” has forced the company to reconsider what would have been a $150 million IPO:

The offering, filed in July 2007, listed Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) , Banc of America Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners as managers in the offering. The Ralston, Iowa-based alternative energy company had planned to use the proceeds from the offering to partially finance the construction of three new biodiesel production facilities, pay accrued dividends and general corporate purposes.

Biodiesel

Connecticut Town Considers Biodiesel

John Davis

greenwich.jpgThe town of Greenwich, Connecticut want to run about 150 of their 300 vehicles in the city’s fleet on biodiesel. Unsure how well that might actually work, officials decided to visit another New England town to see how their efforts had gone.

This story in the Greenwich (CT) Times has details:

[Elizabeth Linck, the town’s fleet director] and town Purchasing Director Joan Sullivan went last week to Keene, N.H., where the city has been using biodiesel for the past six years, to research the possible changeover.

“We wanted to see it in action,” Linck said. “When you do a project like this, you talk to the people who are doing it successfully.”

From fire trucks to public works vehicles, anything that runs on diesel in Keene’s city fleet uses the same soy-based blend being looked at by Greenwich. About 78 of the city’s 150 vehicles use biodiesel, which requires no special equipment.

Steve Russell, Keene’s fleet director, said the city was looking to cut down exposure to “eye piercing” and “lung piercing” emissions for its residents and employees.

“When you pull that car into that garage, it takes a while for those diesel fumes to go away,” Russell said. “My mechanics have noticed a major difference in the shop. It takes away the nasties.”

Keene is using soy-based B20, and Greenwich officials are considering the same after testing a 5 percent blend at first. While Keene officials say the biodiesel costs them more, they were able to get a state grant to help defray those costs. No word whether Connecticut offers such an incentive.

Biodiesel

Student Wins Honor for Solar Cell Project

John Davis

mccarthy.jpgAn Oregon teenager has been honored for his work on making solar cells more efficiently.

Brian McCarthy of Liberty High School from Hillsboro, Oregon placed third and won a $50,000 scholarship in the 2008 Intel Science Talent Search:

In his research, Brian McCarthy, 18, from Hillsboro, Oregon, investigated the viability of plastic solar cells as a new option in solar energy technology. Using interfacially polymerized combinations of porphyrins and phthalocyanines – plant-like photosynthetic materials found in nature that are photoactive and photoconducting (both properties of functioning solar cells) – he synthesized extremely thin, fragile films for potential use as solar cells and tested them using scanning electron microscopy techniques. Brian’s novel polymer films responded electrically to light, indicating that they could act as solar cells and offer a less expensive option to current silicon-based solar cell technology.

Science, Solar

U.S. Biodiesel Producers Look to Europe

John Davis

useuflags.jpgAmerican biodiesel producers, who are trying to keep their heads above water in a market of rising feedstocks, might have found a way to keep their doors open: send their biodiesel to Europe.

This story in the Des Moines (IA) Register says a weak dollar, coupled with American and European incentives, makes biodiesel made in this country cheaper than its counterpart on the other side of the Atlantic:

“You have to look for every market you can find,” said Bill Horan, who is chairman of Western Iowa Energy LLC, a Wall Lake biodiesel producer that lost $2.6 million in 2007 because of the high cost of soybean oil and other feedstocks.

The Wall Lake plant has shipped biodiesel to European buyers through Ames-based Renewable Energy Group, which manages the plant and markets its biodiesel.

The United States shipped about 300 million gallons of biodiesel to Europe in 2007, a 10-fold increase from the year before, according to the European Commission. U.S. biodiesel production last year was estimated at 450 million gallons.

The move really irks European biodiesel producers, who are threatening to file an anti-dumping case against the imported biodiesel. They say the $1-a-gallon U.S. tax credit amounts to unfair subsidy, and they might push their governments for a new tariff against U.S. biodiesel. But American producers argue they’re just filling the demand their European counterparts can’t.

Biodiesel, International

Ethanol Pump Promo for Sebring

Cindy Zimmerman

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council helped the American LeMans Series kick off the 56th running of the Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring this weekend with a pump promotion offering E10 for $2.56. A total of 2566 gallons of the fuel were sold at the local Gate Petroleum station in Sebring, Florida.

EPIC Sebring Pump PromoSeveral race car drivers were on hand to pump gas and sign autographs including Joel Feinberg and Chris Hall both of Primetime Race Group racing the GT2 Team Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.

The American Le Mans Series has chosen E10 as an “official ethanol-enriched fuel” of the series, the first time a street legal renewable fuel has been used in any endurance format. Also approved by the series is cellulosic E85, which will run in some of the cars this season.

Meanwhile, Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson this week announced new fuel quality standards for gasoline blended with ethanol.

These changes specifically target selected fuel quality standards for gasoline blended with 10 percent or less ethanol. This will allow even more stations in Florida to sell ethanol-blended fuel.

American LeMans, Cellulosic, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Racing

Wisconsin Trying to Buy Part of MN Wind Farm

John Davis

wpsc.jpgThe Wisconsin Public Service Corporation is looking to buy half interest of a Southeast Minnesota wind farm.

This story on the Finance and Commerce web site says the move is seen as part of Wisconsin’s effort to get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2015:

In September 2007, Minneapolis-based wind energy developer National Wind LLC announced that it planned to develop High Country as a community-owned wind project.

Under this business model, participating landowners get majority ownership of the wind farm. When fully built out, the High Country development will produce 300 megawatts.

In February, National Wind announced on its website that it had been negotiating with “a regional utility” to acquire part of the development. WPSC was that utility.

Terms of WPSC’s development and energy purchase agreement were not disclosed. But generally, putting in the infrastructure (turbines) to produce wind energy costs $2 million for every megawatt, which in this case would put WPSC’s cost at around $300 million.

The utility is expected to have 100 three-bladed white wind turbines on more than 70 square miles of farm land.

Wisconsin and Minnesota are considered in the top 20 states for wind energy potential.

Wind

Minnesota Looks to Increase Biodiesel Mandate

John Davis

Hoping to mimic the success its ethanol mandate has brought to that industry in Minnesota, the state is looking at bumping up its 2 percent biodiesel mandate.

This story from Minnesota Public Radio says a bill before the state legislature would increase that requirement by 10-fold:

juhnke.JPG“What this does is actually give a signal to industry that they should move ahead, and develop more infrastructure for this product,” [bill sponsor Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar] says.

Right now, trucks in Minnesota burn a blend that contains two-percent biodiesel. Juhnke’s bill would increase that to 20-percent by 2015. In the winter months, the requirement drops back to five-percent, until problems with cold weather are worked out. At least half of the biodiesel would be produced in Minnesota.

Juhnke says if biodiesel follows in ethanol’s footsteps, it will be good for rural Minnesota.

“You know, there are 17 ethanol plants right now, each of them averaging probably 35 or 40 really-good paying jobs in these communities, and so that money spins and turns in the local economies out here.”

Juhnke’s bill would also come up with $500,000 to fund algae biodiesel research in Minnesota.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation