Iowa Soybean Growers Call for Biodiesel Incentives-First Approach

John Davis

isoylogo.JPGThe Iowa Soybean Association is calling on Iowa lawmakers to take an incentives-first approach to biodiesel policy in the upcoming legislative session.

This story on Grainnet.com says they’re suggesting legislators consider some market-driven strategies:

Highlights of this plan include:

• an increase in the current retail tax credit program,

• creation of a “bulk sales” incentive,

• new infrastructure support options through the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Board,

• subsidies to existing biodiesel production facilities, and

• increased biodiesel usage by state fleets.

“We think this is a balanced, market-driven approach to biodiesel policy,” says Curt Sindergard, ISA president and a soybean farmer near Rolfe, Iowa.

While pushing for the incentives, the association is also rejecting any state mandates for biodiesel use (although federal mandates are OK). Officials admit that they’re getting an early start, but the see some serious issues with feedstock costs.

Biodiesel

Georgia Considers Ethanol Blend Changes

Cindy Zimmerman

Tommy IrvinGeorgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin is holding a couple of town hall meetings later this month to listen to comments regarding updating Georgia’s fuel standards for ethanol blends.

A recent article in Florida Today noted that state officials in Georgia and other Southeastern states, including Florida, are moving to alter fuel-quality standards that have discouraged refiners from adding ethanol to gasoline sold in the region.

Agriculture departments typically set the gasoline rules, and most of them in the Southeast — including in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee — are taking steps to ease their rules.

Standards can be relaxed without harming engine performance, officials say, and adding ethanol to gasoline could save motorists money.

A gallon of ethanol is about 40 to 45 cents cheaper than a gallon of gasoline in the region, which translates to several pennies cheaper at the pump for a typical gasoline-ethanol blend.

“That’s our goal. Give them a quality product, save a few dollars and be patriotic,” said Tommy Irvin, Georgia’s agriculture commissioner.

Georgia’s town hall meetings on the issue are scheduled for November 27 in Atlanta and November 29 in Tifton.

Ethanol, Government, News

Ag Secretary Nominee Has Biofuels Credentials

Cindy Zimmerman

Schafer BushIn his nomination of former North Dakota governor Ed Schafer as Secretary of Agriculture on Wednesday, President Bush noted his support of domestic fuel.

“Ed Schafer is the right choice to fill this post. He was a leader on agricultural issues during his eight years as the governor of North Dakota,” Bush said. “He oversaw the development of the state’s agricultural biofuels industry. He helped families recover from natural disasters — including drought, fires and floods. And he pioneered innovative programs to increase economic opportunity in rural communities.”

Schafer served as Governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000. He is nominated to replace Mike Johanns who resigned from the position last month to run for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska.

Ethanol, Government, News

Making Biodiesel from Sludge and Wood Chips

John Davis

chattanoogaseal.jpgA Tennessee company will try to make biodiesel out of sludge from the Chattanooga public works and wood chips.

This story posted on Chattanooga.com says the city council has given GSL Energy Solutions the green light on a six-month, test contract:

Gerry Harstine, president, said the bio-diesel produced by the process has a higher BTU than ethanol.

He said it can be used to power industrial boilers and high-speed, off-road diesel engines. He said further testing is needed to determine if it can work for other uses.

The firm will operate from a 100×200 facility at the Summit Landfill.

City public works will deliver the sludge to that site.

Mr. Harstine said the process can produce 2,000 gallons of the fuel from 60 wet tons of sludge. The city produces about 400 wet tons per day.

If it works, the benefits for Chattanooga are two-fold: the energy produced and the sludge going into the landfill reduced.

Biodiesel

Google Tops in Solar; Working on Other Renewables

John Davis

Internet search giant Google is the largest corporate installer of solar power, and company officials say they want to use more renewables in the future.

According to this article on C|Net.com, Robyn Beavers, the director of environmental programs at Google, says they intend to use renewable energy sources for 50 megawatts of electricity for its operations by 2012:

cce2007-logo.jpgBeavers spoke at the Conference on Clean Energy here on Monday where she outlined a number of initiatives that Google participates in aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Those include the 1.6 megawatt solar installation at its corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. In addition to panels on building roofs, Google has constructed a car port with solar panels as a roof, under which people can charge up plug-in hybrids.

Asked whether Google was considering wind power, Beavers said she couldn’t say. But she didn’t leave much doubt that all forms of renewable energy are actively under consideration.

“Wind, solar, geothermal, fuel cells–you name it, we’re looking into it,” she said.

Google officials say their investment in solar will pay for itself in seven and a half years. They’ve already dropped 30 percent of their consumption from the grid.

Solar

Combining Corn Cobs

Cindy Zimmerman

Poet-DeereEthanol producer POET is working with several leading agricultural equipment manufactures to refine methods for harvesting, storing and transporting corn cobs for commercial cellulosic ethanol production.

Among them is John Deere, according to public relations manager Barry Nelson, pictured here with POET CEO Jeff Broin. “On behalf of John Deere, we’re very interested in the new technologies that will be involved with the advancement of cellulosic ethanol,” said Nelson. “We’re designing and testing machines that can harvest the crops needed for ethanol production and see potential for expanded markets for our customers as the industry develops this renewable fuel resource.”

Deere Cob HarvestPOET is harvesting, storing, transporting and performing research on 4,000 acres of corn in South Dakota this fall in order to find the most efficient way for farmers to harvest cobs in large quantities. At a media event this week, some of the equipment was put to the test. In the photo from Poet, a John Deere 9860 STS Combine harvests co-mingled corn grain and cobs and dumps them into a Kinze Auger Wagon on the family farm of Darrin Ihnen near Hurley, S.D.

Jeff Broin says, “We are going to do something that has never been done before: produce cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs on a commercial scale. When our Emmetsburg, Iowa plant is operational in 2011, it will necessitate harvesting, storing and transporting 275,000 acres of corn cobs. The 4,000 acres we’re harvesting this fall represents the first step toward making that massive harvest achievable.”

corn, Ethanol, John Deere, News

Dinneen Discusses New Poll and New Coalition

Cindy Zimmerman

RFARenewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen is pleased with new poll results that show Americans want renewable fuels and he’s excited about a new coalition that is working to make that happen.

Dinneen says the poll affirms what many in the industry have known for a long time “that Americans absolutely believe we need to be maximizing the use of domestically produced renewable fuels like ethanol.”

The poll commissioned by RFA found that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe we should increase our use of renewable fuels and even more (87%) think the government should support the industry’s development.

“Those are powerful numbers, particularly given the negative media attention and misinformation that has been out there about renewable fuels over the past several months,” said Dinneen. “Americans get it. Americans understand that we are in a crisis with respect to energy usage in this country and that we have to do more to promote domestic renewables like ethanol.”

To that end, the Renewable Fuels Association has joined with a number of other biofuels and agricultural organizations and companies to create the Renewable Fuels Now coalition.

“We really felt that we needed to get out there in a much more aggressive and public fashion in a coordinated way by pooling the resources of these various groups to make sure that we’re not conceding the field to those who misrepresent the facts,” said Dinneen. “We’re going to make sure that Americans, who do get it, continue to have access to the best, most timely and most accurate information about renewable fuels.”

Listen to my interview with Bob here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/rfa/rfa-interview-10-30.mp3]

Audio, Ethanol, News, RFA

Duke Energy Seeks Multiple Energy Platforms for Indiana

John Davis

Duke EnergyThe famed ‘Crossroads of America’ could become the ‘Crossroads for American Energy’ if Duke Energy Corp. gets what it wants for Indiana. Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO Jim Rogers outlined a plan to equip Indiana with a combination of solar, wind, water and organic energy solutions to the Economic Club of Indiana earlier today in Indianapolis.

To ensure a sustainable and secure energy future, I have two aspirations for this country – that we substantially decarbonize our energy supply in this century and that we become the world’s most energy-efficient economy. Practically speaking, the way we can begin to achieve these aspirations is to take an entirely new path – and change the way we think about and use energy in this country.

Just last week, Duke Energy issued bids for power from renewable energy sources – including sun, wind, water, organic matter and other sources. Earlier this year, we agreed to purchase energy from Indiana’s first commercial wind farm, in Benton County, beginning in the spring of 2008. We are also collaborating with Purdue University on wind-power research, and on the potential for using switch grass as a fuel combined with coal.

Duke has already requested to increase its energy savings by more than ten times with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and has also filed similar requests in the Carolinas. Duke plans to introduce similar proposals to Ohio and Kentucky within the next six months.

Energy, News, Solar, Wind

OG&E Aims to Expand Wind Power

John Davis

OG&E Energy Corp.OGE Energy Corp. is the latest company to outline a program to harness more wind power. OG&E President and CEO Pete Delaney says the company plans to quadruple its wind power production. He announced the company also plans to be a big player in ushering in development for more wind power projects in western Oklahoma.

In a speech before the Downtown Rotary Club, Delaney also announced a major transmission line project in western Oklahoma. He said implementation of the company’s plans should give more OG&E customers the choice of being up to 100 percent “green power” users in a few years.

“The significant amount of wind in western Oklahoma is a largely untapped resource that is in increasing demand in Oklahoma and across the nation,” said Delaney. “We have been working on plans for some time now to significantly increase OG&E’s wind power production over the next four years.”

OG&E already has 170 megawatts of wind power. The accomplishment of this latest announcement could increase that capacity to about 770 megawatts, Delaney said.

The investment in wind energy development could move Oklahoma from being sixth in the nation to as high as third in wind power production behind Texas and California.

Energy, Wind

Ethanol Demand Continues to Exceed Production

Cindy Zimmerman

RFAEthanol production continued to grow in July, averaging 434,000 barrels per day according to the Energy Information Administration. Ethanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association, also increased to 464,000 barrels per day.

To date, RFA says the U.S. is averaging 402,000 barrels per day production with average demand exceeding production at nearly 429,000 barrels per day.

Ethanol, News, RFA