GE has introduced its new Renewable Energy business at the European Wind Energy Association’s 2015 Annual Event in Paris. The new unit significantly expands GE’s wind portfolio in the wake of its recent acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses. The new business expands GE’s global wind footprint to more than 30,000 turbines worldwide and significantly increases its presence in regions like Europe and Latin America. In Europe alone, GE’s installed base will grow by approximately 50 percent as a result of the deal.- Trina Solar Limited has announced that two of its overseas subsidiaries, Trina Solar (U.S.), Inc. and Trina Solar (Singapore) Science & Technology Pte. Limited, have signed a total of US$90 Million in financing facility agreements with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and Barclays Bank PLC.
- Equinix, Inc. has announced that it has signed power purchase agreements with both an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and Invenergy LLC to purchase wind energy in Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, which will cover all Equinix data centers throughout North America. These agreements will provide a combined 225 MW of capacity, bringing Equinix’s total renewable energy coverage in North America to 100% by the end of 2016, and nearly doubling its global renewable energy, moving from 43% to 82%. Both projects will be fully deployed by the end of 2016.
- Distinguished guests and media recently joined Hydro Ottawa’s President and CEO, Bryce Conrad, on a tour of the future site of the utility’s new 29 MW facility. Scheduled to be completed in 2017, the new below-ground hydroelectric station will feed into the provincial grid and power 20,000 homes with clean renewable energy every year.
Renewable Diesel Use High at Propel Fuels’ Stations
Earlier this year, Propel Fuel launched its Diesel HPR (High Performance Renewable) across Southern California in August 2015. The company has announced that consumer adoption of the product has risen 300 percent compared to its former biodiesel product (B20).
Propel’s Diesel HPR features several performance features including a 75 cetane rating, 40 percent higher than regular diesel. The company cites Diesel HPR provides cleaner and more efficient combustion for more power and a smoother ride at a cost similar to or lower than petroleum diesel.
“Diesel HPR is an affordable way for fleets and consumers to reduce emissions and improve local air quality while seeing better engine performance,” said Rob Elam, CEO of Propel. “As new diesel models hit the market, drivers across California are moving towards low carbon fuel options such as Diesel HPR.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, renewable diesel’s high combustion quality results in similar or better vehicle performance compared to conventional diesel, while California Air Resources Board studies show that renewable diesel can reach up to 70 percent greenhouse gas reduction compared to petroleum diesel. Studies show that Diesel HPR improves local air quality due to the reduction of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate (PM 2.5) emissions. NOx and particulate emissions are directly linked to air quality in California, negatively impacting children, people with lung diseases such as asthma, and people who work outside.
Propel is the largest retailer of low-carbon fuels in California with 32 public stations across the state selling Diesel HPR. There is a Propel Android app and Apple app that identifies alt fuel locations and real-time pricing. Propel also provides Diesel HPR commercial and bulk availability for business and government fleets statewide.
U.S. Toyota Makes Cars with ‘Green’ Gas
Toyota will soon be manufacturing cars with “green” gas. The company announced its efforts to nearly eliminate all CO2 emissions from its factories and vehicles and will achieve this, in part, with electricity produced from methane. The “green” gas, also known in some instances as renewable natural gas, is a byproduct of trash decomposition from the nearby Central Kentucky Landfill.
“We will generate one megawatt (1 million watts) per hour at the site,” said Toyota’s environmental strategies manager Dave Absher. “That’s enough annual energy generation to produce approximately 10,000 vehicles. The system can eventually be scaled up to 10 megawatts per hour.”
Toyota has announced aggressive global emission reduction goals for all of its production plants as well as for the cars they produce. This year the company launched the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and has made the technology available for use by other automakers. In addition, they are developing manufacturing technologies that also use hydrogen as a power source within their plants. The company has also integrated other renewable energy power sources including wind, solar and locally produced renewable energy. Toyota hopes to reach its zero emissions goal by 2050.
“The landfill gas generator represents the kind of thinking that our company is asking us to do to reduce our carbon footprint over the next 35 years,” said Kevin Butt, Toyota’s general manager for environment strategies. “It’s a small step, but a significant one. These types of changes to our manufacturing operations coupled with other global initiatives will help us reach this very aggressive goal.”Read More
Biodiesel Leaders Push for Tax Credit Renewal
Biodiesel leaders from across the nation descended on Washington, D.C., to push lawmakers to renew the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit. The National Biodiesel Board points out producers have been without the credit for all of 2015, and that’s the fourth time in six years Congress has allowed it to lapse.
During the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, NBB board member Greg Anderson, a soybean producer from Nebraska, said they’d like to get the tax credit done for two years – retroactive for 2015 and for the upcoming 2016 calendar year. He said it’s important to get this passed.
“It levels the playing field,” said Anderson. “We know that oil is subsidized, and biodiesel is a young industry [in comparison]. It would give incentives and confidence to the plants out there that have the production capacity, want to make new hires, provide great jobs and energy independence. We’re lacking when [the tax credit] is not in place.”
Anderson feels confident it will get done, because he knows the NBB’s Washington office has been working legislators hard. He hopes those lawmakers will realize just how valuable the fuel is and how it fits with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
“Biodiesel is the tip of the spear toward the RFS’ success. We’re the only advanced biofuel commercially available,” showing success from coast-to-coast, heating homes and fueling vehicles cleanly, he noted.
Anderson added the NBB is also working with the Environmental Protection Agency that could see more aggressive RFS growth for biodiesel than what the EPA is currently proposing.
Listen to interview here: NBB board member Greg Anderson
Wind Energy Can Lead Europe in 2030
According to a new report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), wind power can exceed gas, coal and other forms of energy by 2030 if European member states follow the ambitious policy framework put in place through 2030.
The report finds total wind installations in Europe could reach 392GW with 294GW of onshore and 98GW of offshore wind. Today, Europe’s 128.8GW can meet 10 percent of European power consumption in a normal wind year. Giles Dickson, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association, noted wind power can be the foundation of the European energy system within the next 15 years.
The report outlines a number of policy priorities that need to be addressed including the development of national renewable energy action plans for member states; streamlining national permitting procedures; proposing legislation for well-functioning energy markets and driving reform of the Emissions Trading System. Should these policies be implemented the report finds the measures will result in a net gain of EUR13 billion, the equivalent of the EU’s funding for transport infrastructure over the next 5 years. The wind industry would also support up to 366,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“Wind power makes economic sense. But policymakers must demonstrate more determination than is on show today,” said Dickson. “Wind power can deliver economic growth in Europe by boosting investments, creating jobs and reducing electricity bills. A new market design, a reformed ETS and rigorous accountability on 2030 targets are essential if these goals are to be achieved.”
“Already onshore wind is cheaper than any form of new power generation. Last year wind power installed more than gas and coal combined in the EU. Europe’s energy and economic transition is underway.” Dickson added, “Now politicians must decide whether to accelerate this transition or drag their heels, which would damage investments and job creation.”
BioEnergy Bytes
- New Hampshire is crashing into an arbitrary cap on solar, and without swift measures before the next legislative session begins in January, New Hampshire’s competitive solar market and local jobs are in jeopardy. Tell Utilities Solar Won’t be Killed (TUSK) and their Chairman Barry Goldwater Jr. are urging New Hampshire’s leaders to preserve competition by lifting this cap on energy choice and preventing disruption to a growing market.
- Concurrent Design, Inc. has received a one-year, $1 million cooperative award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. With support from Pecan Street Inc., the company will develop an advanced prototype of Energy Switch, a home energy device that manages the flow of electricity between a home, the home’s solar panels, an on-site battery, back-up generation, and the electric grid.
- Invenergy has announced that it has signed a 125 MW wind power purchase agreement (PPA) with Owens Corning to provide the insulation, roofing, and fiberglass manufacturer with renewable energy supporting their new corporate sustainability goals.
- Representatives from C.A.T., U.S. Venture Gain Fuel Canada, and Gaz Métro, along with local and regional dignitaries, celebrated the grand opening of the first GAIN Clean Fuel compressed natural gas (CNG) public station in Quebec. The GAIN station, located at 4 Transport Street in the industrial park of Coteau-du-Lac, will provide the North American carrier with alternative fuel to support C.A.T.’s growing fleet of CNG trucks.
Effect OSG Unveils “Hybrid” House
The Effect Operational Sales and Systems Group (Effect OSG) has unveiled a “hybrid” house on a private home in Laurentians in Quebec. The home is powered by an Enerdynamic Hybrid Technologies (EHT) wind and solar hybrid system. The systems, coined EnerCubes, consists of eight vertical axis wind turbines featuring an innovative vane design and solar panels fully integrated into an automated battery management and control system.
The Outback Power management system controls eight 500 watt EnerCubes, 3.8 kilowatt (kW) of solar panels and batteries with 54 kWh energy capacity. According to Effect OSG, the roof mounted EnerCubes has features such as:
- self-start at wind speeds as low as 1.7 meters per second (3.8 miles or 6.1 kilometers per hour) sustained rotation;
- low maintenance since the system has no drive shaft, no gear boxes, no brushes, bushings or slip rings;
- modular design, which allows ‘flat-packed’ shipping to the deployment site with plug and play installation;
- scalable, since they can be installed either as single functioning units or grouped together for additional power, low vibration, through the use of precision matched bearings, which are the only turbines’ moving parts; and
- no electromagnetic interference (EMI) since the generator emits a frequency of 14 HZ when operating at its rated output, which is too low to produce EMI.
President and CEO of Enerdynamic Hybrid Technologies Inc., John Gamble, said, “We are most pleased to deliver an advanced wind and solar hybrid resource with key performance parameters.
Paul Dionne, President Effect OSG, added that, “as a specialist firm in linking client needs to custom fit energy solutions, we felt that introducing this wind generator technology, which turns with much greater ease than traditional turbines, gave our clients a significant edge in using an ultra-efficient wind energy system to be less dependent on electric utilities.”
Other companies involved in the project included O² Globale Énergie, Phase3 Energy and EnShift Power. Other contributors include Gagnon & Zollner Maîtres Artisans, for system installation and building structure; Triacta Power Solutions, for power monitoring system; and Budget Propane, for gas heating systems, as an alternative to further reduce customers’ electrical bills.
Consumer Food Opinions & Mass Media
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s mass media’s impact on consumer food opinion?”
This poll made it clear that mass media does impact the opinions consumers have on food. Is this a good thing or bad? It seems good news doesn’t make front page. How do we get consumers to look at the science behind the food they eat? Maybe that should be an upcoming ZimmPoll.
Here are the poll results:
- Big – 71%
- Small – 19%
- None – 0%
- Doesn’t matter – 10%
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, Does your agribusiness/operation have a crisis communications plan?
Consumers are more interested than ever about our diverse food supply. We as an agriculture community have a great challenge when it comes to communicating in an ever-changing world where information is just a click away. Agribusinesses and farming/ranching operations need to be proactive in communicating with the consumer. Do you have a crisis communications plan set in place? Have you had to use it?
Military Jets Could Fly High on Roadside Gumweed
Researchers in Nevada are finding a way to turn a roadside weed into a high performance military jet fuel. This article from the University of Nevada, Reno, says the school’s Glenn Miller is leading the effort in a project that refines roadside gumweed into biofuel.
“The plant grindelia squarosa, known as curly top gumweed, has extractable hydrocarbons with the potential use as a biodiesel or biomaterials crop,” Miller, a professor in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, said. “Gumweed is native in Nevada and grows on the side of freeways and, more importantly, is an arid land crop that requires less water than other substitutes like alfalfa. Alfalfa takes five feet of water to grow while gumweed uses no more than a foot of water.”
The collaborators on the project planted the gumweed at the University’s Valley Road Field Laboratory and the Main Station Field Laboratory using minimal water and fertilizer resources. After growing and harvesting the gumweed, it went through biomass processing where it was broken down to liquid that smells like tar.
The researchers say the crop and process can produce up to 122 gallons per acre on a biennial basis on the semi-arid lands of Nevada. The project received $500,000 in grant funding from the United States Department of Agriculture and has the potential to supply up to 20 percent of fuel demand for the military.
“It is estimated that if even 10 percent of sagebrush-covered lands in Nevada are used to grow gumweed for aviation biofuels, 400 to 600 million gallons per year of jet biofuels could be produced,” Hongfei Lin, a collaborator from the College of Engineering, said. “That’s definitely incredible. There’s lots of potential.”
Testing to Begin at Nebraska Biodiesel Plant
The retrofitting of a Nebraska biodiesel plant is nearly complete, and officials are ready to start testing the equipment for its actual opening. This article from the Beatrice (NE) Daily Sun says the Duonix biodiesel plant is almost ready to go after originally being built in 2007 and bought in 2011 by Flint Hills Resources, which is a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., and Benefuel Inc.
Mayor Stan Wirth said the company will begin testing the plant before putting it into operation sometime next year.
“For the past year, they have been retrofitting the plant for the first commercial sale use of their biodiesel technology,” Wirth said. “In preparation of that startup, they will be conducting safety checks on the plant and its equipment over the next couple months.”
According to a letter sent to the company’s “neighbors,” the safety checks may result in a “blowdown,” which is the venting of high-pressure gas or water.
The routine procedure is used to check the integrity of piping work, the letter stated, that produces a sound similar to the roar of a jet engine and may last for a few minutes.
Workers will also test the flare gas recovery system, designed to minimize the need for flaring, a safety mechanism that reduces pressure and maintains balance in industrial systems.