US and Nigerian #Corn Growers Talk #Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman March 23, 2016

NCGA’s Paul Bertels and Nigerian Corn Growers Association’s Edwin Uche in front of the NCGA office.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) staffers welcomed the director of the Nigerian Corn Growers Association for a series of meetings this week on how farmers in the two nations can work together to increase corn demand.

Edwin Uche, director of the Nigerian Corn Growers Association, reached out for a meeting during the recent Maize Genetics Conference in Florida and expressed his excitement for NCGA’s work and enthusiasm for doing similar for farmers in Nigeria. During his visit to the NCGA office, Uche met with Vice President of Production and Stewardship Paul Bertels, Director of Communications Ken Colombini and Director of Development Joe Hodes.

Through a series of in-depth discussions, Uche explored ways in which he could increase corn demand in Nigeria while fostering acceptance of biotechnology and growing the country’s ethanol industry. A proponent of biotechnology in agriculture, Uche also hopes to move more farmers toward this productive technology and away from an ongoing reliance upon open pollinated varieties currently hampering yield in Nigeria.

Discussions yielded insights for NCGA as well. Uche shared his confusion as to how the idea of food versus fuel took hold in the United States, expressing that he sees how corn clearly provides an excellent way to meet both demands simultaneously. Additionally, his pro-biotechnology and pro-ethanol stances fostered hope for potential market growth in Nigeria which could lead to growth in American corn exports to the region.

Biotech, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, International, NCGA

Work Trucks Favor #Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman March 23, 2016

According to a new 2016 Fleet Purchasing Outlook study conducted by the According to a new 2016 Fleet Purchasing Outlook study conducted by the NTEA – The Association for the Work Truck Industry – biodiesel is now the most commonly used alternative fuel option on the market.

Each December, NTEA conducts a comprehensive Fleet Purchasing Outlook Survey to better understand the commercial vehicle landscape, including interest levels for advanced truck technologies and alternative fuels. The new survey results for 2016 show 18 percent of fleets use biodiesel now – up from 15 percent in 2015 – with more fleets planning to acquire or continue using biodiesel than any other alternative fuel option.

“The evolution of alternative fuel technologies is still triggering change for vocational truck specifications,” says Doyle Sumrall, Managing Director of NTEA. “However, general interest has dropped in recent years due to persistently low oil costs and will likely remain muted until prices rebound. Despite current challenges facing the alternative fuels movement, fleet interest in biodiesel has remained strong, actually increasing in 2016 as compared to the previous year.”

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) notes that the City of Moline in Illinois has operated its full fleet of over 102 diesel vehicles and equipment on B20, a 20 percent blend of biodiesel with ultra-low sulfur diesel, since 2006 which has helped the city enhance the performance and minimize the maintenance of its vehicles’ fuel systems at a lower cost than diesel fuel.

J.D. Schulte, Fleet Manager for the City of Moline, stated, “Here in Moline, air quality is paramount to our quality of life. We made the switch to clean, domestically produced plant-based biodiesel ten years ago, not only because it was a good choice for our fleet, but also because it was a good choice for our community. My advice to other fleet managers is, if you are conscious of and serious about air quality and looking for an easy and cost-effective solution to make a positive difference in your community, biodiesel is a natural choice.”

Biodiesel is the first and only commercial-scale fuel to meet the EPA’s definition as an Advanced Biofuel – meaning the EPA has determined that biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent when compared with petroleum diesel. In the Gross Vehicle Weight Class 5-8 vehicles that account for 92 percent of on-road diesel / biodiesel fuel use, nearly 90 percent of the medium- and heavy-duty truck OEMs support the use of B20 biodiesel blends.

Biodiesel, NBB

House Members Urge Reduction in #Ethanol Tariffs

Cindy Zimmerman March 23, 2016

A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman this week urging him to examine opportunities to reduce any tariffs on U.S. produced energy, including ethanol, during the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-Tip) negotiations.

“The U.S. ethanol industry has been unfairly targeted by the EU for increased duties (on ethanol) which have subsequently eliminated U.S. share in the European market,” reads the letter from nine members of Congress. “Currently Europe cannot adequately produce enough ethanol for their own market without importing ethanol from foreign sources, such as the U.S.”

“As T-TIP negotiations progress toward completion,” they continued, “we are confident you can leverage access to all domestic energy sources, such as U.S. natural gas, crude, and ethanol in order to achieve a favorable outcome for these industries and the reduction or elimination of trade obstacles to market access in Europe.”

The European Commission imposed a 9.6 percent duty on U.S. ethanol over three years ago in response to an anti-dumping complaint lodged by European ethanol trade group ePURE. In May 2013, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy filed a complaint with the General Court in Luxembourg which is still being litigated challenging the Commission’s decision.

“The duties imposed were unjustified and blatantly protectionist,” says RFA CEO Bob Dinneen. “Sadly, the real losers in this are European consumers that have to pay more for motor fuel because the lowest-cost liquid fuel in the world — U.S. ethanol — has been targeted by their protectionist policy. Since Europe cannot produce sufficient domestic ethanol supply, and must import the fuel from foreign sources, including the U.S., it is time to see the duties removed.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Government, Growth Energy, International, RFA

RFA, Growth Energy Join USGC

Joanna Schroeder March 22, 2016

The U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC) membership is expanding. This month the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy became official members. Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) and Al-Corn Clean Fuel also joined this month. USGC says their newest members, especially the ethanol trade organizations, will benefit them in multiple ways as they work together to increase global ethanol exports. Both groups will also have seats on USGC’s ethanol Advisory Team.

“We are proud to have RFA’s and Growth’s full support promoting ethanol overseas,” said USGC Chief Economist Mike Dwyer. “While they have sat on an advisory committee before, now they will really have the chance to engage as members. These organizations specialize in ethanol and offer input and context that will take our A-Team activities and programs to a new level.”

The 2014/2015 marketing year saw the second largest quantity of U.S ethanol shipped overseas. The organizations are using this as foundation for promoting U.S. ethanol as a clean-burning source of fuel to buyers and end-users around the globe. Lase year, this work was done through ongoing assessments of potential markets; bringing three buyers teams to visit the United States; bringing two groups of U.S. ethanol industry representatives overseas; and a series of workshops focusing on the environmental and economic benefits of ethanol use in China.

This year, this Council’s work will focus on the Asia-Pacific region, particularly Japan, Mexico, India and China as priority markets, with additional opportunities in Peru, the Philippines and other countries that are increasingly receptive to the benefits of blending ethanol into their fuel supplies.

“With RFA’s and Growth’s growing engagement in these programs, the steering committee is showing their commitment to our work abroad,” Dwyer said. “Developing new markets for fuel ethanol exports offers new opportunity for U.S. corn and sorghum producers and offers us new ways to partner with customers looking to reduce their fuel costs and their environmental impacts.”

Ethanol, Exports, Growth Energy, RFA, USGC

Report Confirms Ethanol’s GHG Reductions

Joanna Schroeder March 22, 2016

Earlier this month the European Commission released its new report, “The land use change impact of biofuels consumed in the EU,” (GLOBIOM). The study assessed the (indirect) land use change (LUC) impacts of biofuels demand expected as a result of Europe’s 2020 climate and energy policy. According to the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE), the study found that increased demand for European produced ethanol would have low impacts on land use change and confirms ethanol’s high net greenhouse gas (GHG) savings.

The study was conducted by IIASA, Ecofys and E4Tech at the request of the European Commission. The report found that the increased demand from ethanol made from sugar and starch crops, such as corn, along with cellulosic biomass bill have low impacts ILUC. In addition, the study found that this increase in demand will have no impact on food prices through 2020.

Specifically, the study finds that:

Conventional ethanol feedstocks, such as sugar and starch crops, have much lower land use change emissions impacts than other biofuel feedstocks. For example, in Europe the key feedstocks used to produce ethanol would have LUC emissions of 14g CO2 e/MJ for maize, 15g CO2 e/MJ for sugar beet and 34g CO2 e/MJ for wheat.
Cellulosic ethanol feedstocks similarly have a low or even positive LUC impact (16g CO2 e/MJ for straw ethanol, 0g CO2 e/MJ if a sustainable straw removal rate is introduced, -12g CO2 e/MJ and -29g CO2 e/MJ for perennials and short rotation crops).
Land use change impacts and associated emissions can be much lower if: abandoned land in the EU is used for biofuels production; yield increases occur as a result of biofuels demand; and/or peat drainage in Malaysia and Indonesia is halted.

biofuels, Environment, Ethanol, Indirect Land Use

Air New Zealand & Virgin Partner on Aviation Biofuel

Joanna Schroeder March 21, 2016

The aviation biofuel industry is flying to new heights. Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have announced a partnership to investigate options for locally produced aviation biofuel. This comes on the heels of the announcement that week that United Airlines is now flying a number of its commercial flights with biojet fuel.

As part of the initiative, the two airlines have released a Request for Information (RFI) on possible locally-produced biojet fuel. Both airlines say they are committed to ensuring that aviation biofuel delivers environmental, social and economic benefits, and respondents to the RFI are encouraged to address these principles. Companies can express interest through May 30, 2016.

Air New Zealand Chief Flight Operations and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan says the airline recognizes the impact aviation has on the environment and this RFI is a key initiative under its carbon management program. “By working in partnership with our alliance partner Virgin Australia we hope we can stimulate the local market, drive innovation and investment and potentially uncover a sustainable biofuel supply suitable for our respective operations,” said Morgan.

“Aviation biofuel offers a significant opportunity for the aviation industry to reduce emissions whilst also building long-term fuel security for the sector,” added Robert Wood, head of sustainability for Virgin Australia. “We are seeing the development of the aviation biofuel industry accelerate internationally but that is not yet the case for our region. We are confident that our collaboration with Air New Zealand to procure a large volume of aviation biofuel will de-risk investment in the sector, creating high-tech, high-skilled jobs in the region.”

aviation biofuels, biojet fuel

Research Converts Tomato Paste to Energy

Joanna Schroeder March 21, 2016

© Jamie Wilson | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Researchers from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology have developed a way to convert tomato waste in electricity. Led by Venkataramana Gadhamshetty, Ph.D., he and his team used a biological-based fuel cell that uses tomato waste left over from harvests in Florida. The characteristics of the decomposing waste make it a “perfect fuel source” for enhancing electrochemical reactions, Gadhamshetty said.

Food waste comes in many forms including the leftovers of manufacturing processes of sauces, ketchup and other cooking products. He began the research several years ago as a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. He says the project is important to Florida, where tomatoes are a key crop, because the state generates 396,000 tons of tomato waste every year but lacks a good treatment process. Gadhamshetty said a lot of this waste is ripe with chemical energy and he and his team wanted to see if this could be used as a source of electrons. The answer: yes.

The team tested the defective tomatoes in a new electrochemical device built at the South Dakota Mines campus, which degrades tomato waste and then extracts electrons. The power output from their mini reactor is small: 10 milligrams of tomato waste can result in 0.3 watts of electricity. But the researchers note that with an expected scale up and more research, electrical output could be increased by several orders of magnitude.

“It might be possible to one day put this device at the bottom of my kitchen sink” to convert waste into household electricity, Gadhamshetty said who added that this alternative fuel source is inexpensive technology because operations can be conducted at room temperature requiring no major investment of materials.

Gadhamshetty and SD Mines graduate student Namita Shrestha are collaborating on the project with Alex Fogg, an undergraduate chemistry major at Princeton University. Other project collaborators include Daniel Franco, Joseph Wilder and Simeon Komisar, Ph.D., at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“I’m really excited about this research. I come from a small country, Nepal, and we have power cut off as much as 20 hours in a day, so this could really help developing countries,” Shrestha said. “We cannot afford expensive technologies like waste treatment.” According to Shrestha’s calculations, there is theoretically enough tomato waste generated in Florida each year to meet Disney World’s electricity demand for 90 days, using an optimized biological fuel cell.

Electricity, Research, Waste-to-Energy

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder March 21, 2016

REG Energy Services, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Renewable Energy Group, Inc., has secured a $30 million line of credit from Iowa-based Bankers Trust. The line is a one-year credit facility, with an accordion option to expand to $40 million, subject to customary conditions. Chad Stone, REG CFO noted, “This credit line gives REG Energy Services additional capital to expand our blended fuel offerings and add to our already expansive distribution network.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has updated its annual survey of US non-starch ethanol and renewable hydrocarbon biofuels producers. The 2015 Survey of Non-Starch Ethanol and Renewable Hydrocarbon Biofuels Producers provides an inventory of the domestic advanced biofuels production industry as of the end of calendar year 2015, documenting important changes (e.g., biorefinery development, production capacity, feedstock use, and technology pathways) that have occurred since the publication of the original 2013 survey.
Stratas Advisors’ has released its Global Biofuels Outlook, a regional and country-level forecast through 2035 of policy, prices, supply and demand. This forecast has a globally-balanced assessment from Stratas Advisors’ petroleum and alternative fuels services. The report shows global ethanol usage expanding the gasoline pool by nearly 9 percent and biodiesel usage expanding the diesel pool to 3 percent by 2035.
The Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management took an important step toward the goal of developing sustainable offshore wind power off the coast of New York, by designating an official “Wind Energy Area” eleven nautical miles off Long Beach on Long Island’s South Shore. The news came one day after the administration withdrew its plan for offshore oil and gas drilling off the southeast Atlantic coast.

Bioenergy Bytes

Lowes Removes ‘Ditch Ethanol’ Signs

Joanna Schroeder March 21, 2016

The Renewable Fuels Association wrote a letter to Lowe’s CEO requesting that the “Ditch Ethanol” signs that were popping up on the Midwest be removed. Shortly after the letter was received, Lowes contacted RFA and said they were in the process of removing all the signs and they should all be gone within several days. The signs inaccurately warned consumers not to use ethanol in small engines.

“Thank you to Lowe’s for listening to RFA’s member companies and the nearly 400,000 workers and farmers across the country whose employment is dependent upon the success of renewable fuels,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “It is refreshing to see a large national corporation move so quickly to correct an obvious mistake. Lowe’s should be commended for the leadership they have demonstrated to address this situation conclusively and swiftly. We will continue to combat any and all misinformation about ethanol, to ensure consumers have access to the lowest cost, cleanest octane source in the world.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Chicago Thornton’s Locations Now Selling E15

Joanna Schroeder March 18, 2016

Thornton’s will be selling E15 at 43 Chicago-area locations by the end of this month. The fuel retailer has branded the ethanol blend Unleaded15.

“Unleaded 15 offers a great value to our Chicago guests, and supports our desire to provide the best possible fuel options,” said Jeff Gallic, Vice President of Fuel Supply. “Thorntons has offered E85 for years and given the market demand for higher ethanol blends, we feel Unleaded15 is the next logical step for our fuel portfolio.”

The industry responded to the news today with Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) stating, “We are pleased to see E15’s footprint growing throughout the country. Chicago consumers can now benefit from using a lower carbon, higher octane fuel blend that is approved for nearly 80% of today’s automotive fleet. This is also the first significant rollout of E15 in a reformulated gasoline market, designated by EPA in nearly 20 cities to help reduce smog levels with cleaner gasoline. That designation means E15 can be sold year-round in Chicago without being hampered by burdensome EPA gasoline volatility restrictions when the nation switches from winter to summer gasoline regulations.”

Growth Energy Co-Chair Tom Buis added, “On behalf of Growth Energy and its members, I would like to commend Thorntons for their decision to offer consumers Unleaded15, providing them with the opportunity to choose a homegrown, renewable fuel at the pump. By adding this E15 offering to their fuel portfolio, Thorntons has demonstrated their commitment to consumer choice, and a cleaner burning, homegrown high-performance fuel. Now Chicagoans will have the chance to do so as well by choosing to fill up with Unleaded15.”

E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy, RFA

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