Groups Sue EPA Over RFS

Joanna Schroeder

A coalition has sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over the final rules of the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2014, 2015 and 2016 that were finalized near the end of last year. The current levels for fuels do not meet legislative mandates for those years regardless of the fact that the biofuels industry has shown they can meet fuel volumes.

rfs-mess-2A group that consists of seven industry associations including BIO, Americans for Clean Energy, American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, the National Sorghum Producers, filed the suit on Friday, January 8, 2016 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Case 16-1005).

According to a group statement, among other things, the petitioners intend to demonstrate that EPA’s interpretation of its general waiver authority is contrary to the statute. By focusing on fuel distribution capacity and demand rather than supply, and by failing to consider surplus RINs from prior years, the Agency erroneously concluded that there was an inadequate supply of renewable fuel to justify a waiver of the levels established by Congress. The petitioners also plan to point out other fundamental flaws and inconsistencies in the government’s rule.

A preliminary, non-binding listing of issues to be raised in the court of appeals will be filed by February 11. The statement concluded, “The petitioners look forward to presenting their arguments to the court of appeals to provide clarity and certainty to market participants concerning the requirements of the statute.”

ACE, BIO, EPA, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NCGA, RFA, RFS

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDF1Dyadic International, Inc. has announced that it repurchased and retired an aggregate of 2,136,752 shares of its common stock at $1.35 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $2,884,615 pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement entered into with Abengoa Bioenergy. The Company’s CEO, Mark Emalfarb, commented, “I am pleased that we have been able to repurchase this large block of stock and believe it will have a very positive impact on shareholder value.”
  • Three POET biorefineries will expand ethanol production capacity by a combined total of 25 million gallons in 2016. POET Biorefining – Hanlontown (Iowa), will expand from 58 million gallons per year (MGPY) to 64 MGPY; POET Biorefining – Hudson (South Dakota) will expand from 58 MGPY to 65 MGPY; and POET Biorefining – Caro (Michigan) will expand from 55 MGPY to 67 MGPY. Each plant filed separate expansion permits within their respective states and will soon be producing at the level their RIN permit allows.
  • ACCIONA Energy has started construction work on the 93 MW San Roman Wind Farm, located near the southeast coast of Texas. The project was acquired by ACCIONA Energy from developer Pioneer Green Energy. Located in Cameron County, the San Roman Wind Farm will be equipped with 31 ACCIONA Windpower AW125/3000 turbines. Each turbine has a rotor diameter of 125 meters and will be mounted on an 87.5 meter steel tower. The new wind farm will be operational by the end of 2016.
  • The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released its January 2016 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) and Winter Fuels Outlook by region. The Outlook finds the amount of renewable sources used to generate electricity is expected to increase by almost 10% this year, with wind and solar power again showing strong growth in 2016.
Bioenergy Bytes

IA’s Biofuels Industries Could Help Biochem Industry

John Davis

ia-flag1The lessons Iowa has learned in making ethanol and biodiesel could serve the state well in an effort to make bio-based chemicals. This article from the Des Moines Register says, though, a new report indicates a state tax credit is needed to help the Hawkeye state take a slice of the country’s $250 billion chemical market with greener replacements.

“If you are not there at the nucleation, you can be left at the sideline and not be part of it,” Brent Shanks, one of the report’s authors, said during a news conference Thursday.

Shanks and two other Iowa State University professors wrote the report. The Iowa Biotechnology Association and the Cultivation Corridor, a regional effort to bring more bioscience companies to central Iowa, commissioned it…

The biotech association, Cultivation Corridor and other business groups, are pushing for a state tax incentive meant to spur the production of bio-based chemicals.

They have argued that Iowa needs to take advantage of its position before other states catch on. Many also were disappointed similar legislation did not receive enough support to pass last year.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad called for a revenue-neutral bio-renewable tax credit in his Condition of the State address this week.

The article goes on to say Iowa’s massive ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-processing infrastructure gives the state an advantage over other states to start growing a bio-based chemical production industry. Proponents of the tax incentive point out that similar tax incentives in biodiesel and ethanol helped those industries grow so well in Iowa.

biochemicals, Biodiesel, Ethanol

Propane Autogas Buses Offer Clean Ride to School

John Davis

propane-vision-mb1A school district in Indiana this month is rolling out the state’s largest deployment of propane autogas school buses, giving the students a cleaner ride to school and saving taxpayer dollars. The Metropolitan School District of Warren Township will start using 11 Blue Bird Propane Vision buses purchased through dealer MacAllister Transportation, including 10 78-passenger models and one bus outfitted with a wheelchair lift.

“Better cold weather starts, lower maintenance and fuel cost, quieter buses, as well as better air quality for students, the bus driver and our community were the reasons we chose propane autogas,” said Steve Smith, director of transportation for M.S.D. Warren Township. “With the fuel’s clean operation, we anticipate longer maintenance intervals and lower periodic maintenance cost.”

The new Blue Bird Propane Vision buses replace older diesel models. A propane autogas fuel system manufactured by ROUSH CleanTech powers each bus.

Historically, propane autogas costs about 50 percent less than diesel per gallon and reduces maintenance costs due to its clean-operating properties. To fuel the buses, M.S.D. Warren Township installed two onsite autogas fuel stations with 1,000-gallon capacity each. “Our drivers will feel more confident taking the longer routes and field trips by having fuel conveniently located and available around the clock,” Smith said.

“M.S.D. Warren Township joins over 500 other districts nationwide experiencing the benefits of propane autogas technology: lowering operating costs, maintenance costs and emissions,” said Brian Carney, group account director for ROUSH CleanTech.

The fleet of propane autogas buses is expected to lower nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 13,600 pounds and particulate matter by about 350 pounds each year compared with the diesel buses they replaced.

autogas, Propane

Corn, LP Joins Growth Energy

Joanna Schroeder

Corn, LP has joined Growth Energy, an organization comprised of the ethanol industry and biofuel supporters. Corn, LP is located in Goldfield, Iowa and has a nameplate production capacity of 60 million gallons per year.

growth-energy-logo1“We are excited that Corn, LP has joined the Growth Energy team,” said Growth Energy co-chairman Tom Buis. “Corn, LP is an outstanding plant that provides a great market for corn growers in the heart of Iowa and produces highly nutritious animal feed for the region. Corn, LP also creates good jobs that cannot be outsourced, improves our environment and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.”

Corn LP logoDr. John Gazaway, President of Corn, LP, commended the partnership, saying, “By joining Growth Energy, we will be able to further our mission of adding value to locally grown grains and benefitting our community through economic growth. We are also proud to support Growth Energy’s efforts to ensure a strong future for our industry.”

Company Announcement, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Top 2016 Ag Issues Preview

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you expect to be the top ag issue of 2016?”

We have been discussing the 2016 presidential elections for nearly a year already and it will only increase. When it comes to agriculture it should be one of the most talked about issues. So, I am not surprised to see it top our poll. We also had many chime in with milk prices, climate change and immigration. All important agricultural issues impacting our ag community.

Here are the poll results:

  • Trade – 13%
  • WOTUS- 0%
  • GMO labeling – 27%
  • Presidential election – 40%
  • Biofuel expansion – 0%
  • Other – 20%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What do you think of new dietary guidelines?

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines are to encourage Americans to adopt a series of science-based recommendations to improve how they eat. What do you think of them? How will they impact how we grow/raise food?

ZimmPoll

China Instigates Anti-Dumping Investigation

Joanna Schroeder

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has initiated anti-dumping countervailing duty investigations into U.S. produced distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) exported to the country. Both the ethanol industry and the grains industry expressed concern over the announcement.

Dried Distillers GrainsU.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight responded by saying, “We are disappointed to see today the initiation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigations of U.S. DDGS exports to China. We believe the allegations by the Chinese petitioners are unwarranted and unhelpful. They could have negative effects on U.S. ethanol and DDGS producers, as well as on Chinese consumers, potentially over a period of many years. We are also confident that our trading practices for DDGS, ethanol and all coarse grains and related products are fair throughout the world. We stand ready to cooperate fully with these investigations and will be working closely with our members to coordinate the U.S. industry response.

“The U.S. Grains Council has worked in China since 1981 to find solutions to the challenges of food security through development and trade. There have been measureable positive effects of this work for the Chinese feed and livestock industries and Chinese consumers. We and our members will work vigorously in the coming months to demonstrate that the allegations being investigated by MOFCOM are false, even while we continue to stand ready to expand our cooperation with China on agricultural issues of mutual benefit.”

This is not the first time that China has been down this road. Back in 2011 China began an investigation into DDGs but then in 2012, they dropped it. Now, in 2015, they have re-begun the process.

Tom Buis, co-chair of Growth Energy, weighed in with a statement noting his dissatisfaction with the allegations. “We are disappointed to see the initiation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties cases against U.S. DDGS exports to China. The false allegations by the Chinese petitioners have the potential to seriously threaten our largest overseas market for DDGS and could have a significant impact on the supply, demand and price for DDGS in the U.S. and other foreign markets. We are working closely with our members and the U.S. Grains Council as it coordinates an industry response.”

Distillers Grains, Exports, Growth Energy, USGC

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDF1Hanwha Q CELLS GmbH has announced that it has signed and closed a share purchase agreement to sell a portfolio of three operating PV power plants in the United Kingdom. The projects were sold for a total amount of GBP 61.7 million (approximately US$90 million) plus working capital to the London listed NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited.
  • Nashville-based renewable energy provider Silicon Ranch Corporation and the Phoenix-based Renewable Energy Team of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. have announced that construction is set to begin at Silicon Ranch’s 52-Megawatt (MW)AC solar energy plant in Jeff Davis County, Georgia that will provide power at cost-competitive rates to Green Power EMC for the next thirty years.
  • M.J. Bradley & Associates has published a comprehensive modeling analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s final Clean Power Plan. The study released today finds that it can achieve significant reductions of carbon pollution from the nation’s power sector while preserving a diverse energy mix. Further, the analysis shows that the Clean Power Plan will increase investment in cost-effective clean energy resources, such as renewables and energy efficiency, and can result in savings for customers on their electric bills.
Bioenergy Bytes

EPA Study on Vehicle Emissions Raises Questions

Joanna Schroeder

A new study has raised questions about the veracity of the U.S Environmental Protection Agencies vehicle emissions modeling system. The third party report found it to be an inadequate and unreliable tool for estimating the exhaust of emissions of gasoline blends containing more than 10 percent ethanol. The evaluation of EPA’s latest Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES2014) model was conducted by scientists from Wyle Laboratories, Inc., and Volpe (part of the U.S. Department of Transportation), and commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Foundation.

rfalogo1“Overall, it was found that the predictive emissions results generated by MOVES2014 for mid-level ethanol blends were sometimes inconsistent with other emissions results from the scientific literature for both exhaust emissions and evaporative emissions,” according to the study. “…results and trends from MOVES2014 for certain pollutants are often contrary to the findings of other studies and reports in the literature.”

The study found that the MOVES2014 model predicts increased exhaust emissions of nitrogen components and particulate matter as the ethanol content in gasoline increases, even though real-world emissions testing based on mid-level ethanol blends has shown distinctly opposite trends. “The results from other researchers often show ethanol-related emissions trends that are different than the MOVES2014 results obtained for this study…” the study found. “In some cases not only were magnitudes different but different [directional] trends were presented.”

The study’s authors suggest the MOVES2014 model’s questionable predictions for certain emissions likely result from the use of data that misrepresents the actual parameters and composition of mid-level ethanol blends. Specifically, the default ethanol blend data in the model is based on arcane “match blending” methods intended to “match” specific fuel parameters, rather than “splash blending” methods that are used in the real world. According to the study, “…real-world splash blends may not have the same attributes as the modeled default match blends used in MOVES, and actual emissions may be different than the emissions predictions from MOVES.”

In an attempt to simulate the emissions of mid-level ethanol blends created using real-world “splash blending” practices, the Wyle and Volpe scientists performed an analysis where certain fuel parameters were modified. However, the model still produced questionable results that suggested increases in emissions of nitrogen components and PM as ethanol content increases.

To correct the deficiencies with the MOVES2014 model, the authors recommend obtaining new mid-level ethanol blend emissions data using blends that better represent real-world fuel properties and blending practices. They write that “…additional vehicle exhaust testing from mid-level ethanol blends with well-defined fuel properties is recommended.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Biodiesel Production Record Set in Iowa

John Davis

Iowa-RFA-logo-new1Already the nation’s leader in biodiesel production, production of the green fuel in Iowa hit record levels in 2015. This news release from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says despite policy uncertainty for nearly all of 2015, Iowa biodiesel production set a new annual record of 242 million gallons, topping 2013’s record of 230 million gallons.

“It must be said that Iowa’s record biodiesel production in 2015 is a testament to the efficiency of Iowa’s plants and to the effectiveness of Iowa’s state level policies promoting the production and use of biodiesel,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Considering neither the federal Renewable Fuel Standard nor the federal biodiesel blenders’ tax credit were in effect for the vast majority of 2015, the resiliency of Iowa biodiesel producers really shone through in 2015. With the federal RFS and tax credit in place for 2016, we are hopeful for big things.”

The amount of Iowa biodiesel produced from soybean oil decreased in 2015, but remains the largest feedstock in Iowa, accounting for 66 percent of production. Animal fats held steady at 19 percent of biodiesel feedstocks. With changes to some biodiesel plants’ technology, distillers’ corn oil made a big jump to 10 percent of production, up from just 2 percent last year. Used cooking oil and canola oil accounted for the remaining 5 percent.

IRFA says Iowa has 12 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce nearly 315 million gallons annually.

Biodiesel, Iowa RFA