There´s no denying the capability for the use of ethanol is a few steps ahead of the infrastructure for accessing the alternative fuel. But, that doesn´t mean consumers can´t fill up their flex-fuel vehicles with E85 without ease. Simply log on to drivingethanol.org to find the E85 Fueling Station Locator. A drop down menu allows browsers to search for E85 pumps by city and state.
Turkey Day Goes Green
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a turkey, and lots of folks like to fry their bird in a pot of cooking oil. A company in Colorado that hauls away restaurant grease is asking people to donate their used cooking oil to be made into biodiesel.
This story in the Rocky Mountain News has more:
And while the amount of turkey grease that Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises collects this Saturday isn’t likely to cut our dependency on Middle Eastern oil, the company is still hopeful its post-Thanksgiving drive will be beneficial.
Aaron Perry, co-founder and CEO of RMSE, said the recycled grease will be turned into biodiesel. The grease can also be used for animal feeds, he said.
Perry said it’s better to recycle the grease than put it down a sink, because that clogs the drain and contaminates water.
This is the first year the recycling company has held such a drive, which will be conducted in 10 cities.
In addition, those picking up the used cooking oil will also be picking up nonperishable goods as part of a food drive. Click on the HolidayrecycOil logo for pickup locations.
Ethanol 101
You´ve heard of ethanol, but do you understand what, exactly, is this alternative fuel source? The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council offers a free online training course that will help you learn about “ethanol-enriched fuels.” Farmers, consumers and dealers can log onto drivingethanol.org to register for the Ethanol Fuel Performance Training course.
New Holland Backs Biodiesel 100 Percent
As we reported a couple of weeks ago, New Holland has approved the use of 100 percent biodiesel in all equipment with New Holland-manufactured diesel engines.
New Holland representatives Gene Hemphill and Michael Long were at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting last week talking with farm broadcasters about that announcement and other news from New Holland.
In an interview with Domestic Fuel, Long talked about the extensive testing and development New Holland has conducted using B100 in real-life conditions and the importance of using quality biodiesel from reputable dealers.
Here is an interview with Michael Long:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/new-holland/nafb-new-holland-biodiesel.mp3]
Give Thanks for Ethanol
With oil just pennies away from $100 a barrel, Americans are looking at higher costs for both their Thanksgiving travel and the turkey on the table. But, the good news is that ethanol is saving drivers about 15 cents a gallon this holiday season.
According to an analysis by John Urbanchuk, a director at the economic consulting firm LECG, LLC, Americans will fork over $520 million more this year than last year on their Thanksgiving travel. That means, based on the national gas price average of $3.11, an increase of 39 percent over 2006 just to drive over the hills and trough the woods to Grandma’s house. That is $520 million that won’t be spent on Black Friday, the traditional kick-off to the holiday shopping season. More specifically, it will cost the average family an extra $17 for roundtrip travel for Thanksgiving dinner.
The Renewable Fuels Association says the analysis also shows that without ethanol blended at ten percent with gasoline (E10), the average pump price of gasoline would be as much as $0.15 per gallon, or 4.7 percent higher than current levels and the average American household would pay $19.68 more than last year for the Thanksgiving trip.
“Americans are literally over a barrel this holiday season as oil prices are likely to remain high and gasoline will no doubt follow suit,” said Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. “Were it not for the growing availability of ethanol, Americans would be spending a whole lot more to go over the river and through the woods this holiday season.”
The New San Francisco Treat – Biodiesel
San Francisco, California has started a program to turn the waste cooking oil from the city’s many restaurants into biodiesel.
This story in the San Francisco Chronicle has more details:
Today the city launches SFGreasecycle, a free program in which the city will pick up used cooking oil and grease from local restaurants, hotels and other commercial food preparation establishments. Those substances then will be turned into biodiesel, a fuel made of plant oil that burns cleaner than petroleum-based fuels.
Although several other localities around the nation have begun limited programs to collect cooking grease for biodiesel, San Francisco officials believe theirs will be the largest such effort.
Eventually, the city wants to recycle grease produced in homes with the intention of someday using the locally produced biodiesel to power all city vehicles, including public buses and fire trucks.
“This is a case of taking what could be a bad situation and turning it into a win,” said Susan Leal, general manager of the city’s Public Utilities Commission, the agency behind SFGreasecycle.
Turning the grease into fuel also helps the city in that it costs $3.5 million a year to clean out sewer pipes clogged with illegally-dumped used cooking oil. Part of the plan is for the city to build its own biodiesel plant.
Some local biodiesel-from-grease makers are crying foul, however, as they say the city’s efforts are cutting into their feedstocks. Used cooking oil is getting to be a hot commodity, as you might remember from my story a couple of days ago.
Sweet Homegrown Alabama Biodiesel
The City of Eufala, Alabama has cashed in on the benefits of biodiesel.
This story in the Eufala Tribune says cost savings and tax credits are helping its bottom line:
By operating various city vehicles and machines on a co-processed bio-diesel mixture, the city currently saves approximately 90 cents per gallon of fuel. That’s big savings considering the city, even buying wholesale and without taxes, pays $2.31 per gallon for diesel.
[ Bill Clark, who oversees the bio-diesel project] says even more savings may come in the form of federal tax credits. The government is giving a 50 cents tax credit for each gallon of bio-diesel produced to organizations that meet certain requirements.Though cost may be the bottom line when considering alternative fuel sources, bio-diesel has other benefits as well.
Producing fuel locally cuts down on foreign oil dependency and also creates jobs throughout the country as more bio-fuel factories are established.
No wonder the city is known as an Certified Audubon Sustainable Community.
Companies Form Montana Biodiesel Venture
A West Coast company has joined a Texas-based company to form a joint venture to produce biodiesel in Montana.
This press release from Sustainable Oils… formed from Seattle-based Targeted Growth, Inc. a renewable energy bioscience company, and Green Earth Fuels of Houston, a vertically integrated renewable biodiesel energy company… has more.
The new venture will produce and market up to 100 million gallons of Camelina-based biodiesel by 2010, launching the single largest U.S. contract for the unique biodiesel-specific feedstock. Nearly all of the initial Camelina production is expected to be grown in Montana.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Montana – it represents a combining of two major thrusts of economic growth outside the boot,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “It is energy related and it is value-added agriculture. Having this sort of major commitment is great news.” This joint venture sets a precedent for continued research and development of dedicated energy crops.
Targeted Growth has spent years applying its suite of yield and trait technologies to Camelina to create the first Elite Camelina Seed. Green Earth Fuels opened one of the country’s largest biodiesel production facilities this month, in Houston (see my November 15th post), and is successfully developing additional projects to provide biodiesel that meets exceptional quality and ratability standards to leading energy companies.
Camelina development has been a three-year project for Targeted Growth.
“We have created a better feedstock for biodiesel,” said Tom Todaro, CEO of Targeted Growth. “Camelina can be rotated with current Montana crops, it grows in land with lower agricultural value, and it doesn’t significantly increase the use of fertilizer or irrigation water. We think this will be a model for the development and use of other biofuel-specific crops.”
Corn Growers Excited About Wind
The American Corn Growers Association is excited about looking to alternative energy options, namely wind, for the production of corn. Nebraska corn grower Dan McGuire says wind power can save up to 90-million gallons of water a year. Dan serves as the Director of the American Corn Growers Association Wealth from the Wind program and he says corn growers have been committed to exploring options with wind power with the Wealth from the Wind program for five years. In fact, Dan says some ethanol plants are already using wind energy for part of their electric load.
Water isn´t the only thing wind power can help regulate. Dan says wind energy can also reduce volatility in natural gas prices. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that 11,603 MW of wind power will save over half a billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. The association says that means it expects wind power to reduce the use of natural gas for power generation by about five-percent and even up to 12 percent if 20-percent of electricity is generated by wind.
Renewing Cheese Water for Renewable Fuels
A Wisconsin entrepreneur says producers don´t have to rely on corn, or even cellulosic waste, to create ethanol. Joe Van Groll, Owner of Grand Meadow Energy, LLC, says he can create ethanol from cheese water waste. Joe says this new method for creating ethanol is a great alternative. He points out that the ethanol industry is the target of negative publicity because critics say the use of corn takes water out of the water table and the food supply and shifts it to the energy market. But, Joe says water
is already a waste byproduct of the cheese making process, with 75 percent or greater water. Joe says using that waste to create ethanol removes that water, purifies it and puts it back into the environment.
Joe also uses canola oil for the production of biodiesel. He says there is no one “silver bullet” for creating renewable fuels. You can read more about Joe´s alternative production of alternative fuels at thenorthwestern.com.