The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a DOE-Labor Working group that will help unions maximize job creation as states develop Clean Power Plan compliance plans. The partnership is with the DOE, Utility Workers Union of America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and United Steelworkers. The Quadrennial Energy Review noted that the energy sector is expected to produce 1.5 million new jobs over the next 15 years.- Bigbelly, Inc., the leader in smart waste and recycling management, today announced it has established a wholly-owned UK subsidiary effective August 1, 2015. The subsidiary, operating as Bigbelly UK, will have flagship offices in Bath, England, and will now directly serve all existing and future UK-based Bigbelly customers.
- Abengoa and Toshiba Corporation, have been selected as preferred bidders to build the Tees Renewable Energy Plant owned by MGT Teesside. This will be the world’s newly built largest power and steam from biomass plant, and will be located in the Port of Teesside, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom. It will have a capacity of 299 MW of electricity and steam, both for self-sufficiency and to be exported to nearby industry and users.
Time to Learn More about Biodiesel & Bioheat
Next week I’ll be attending the Biodiesel and Bioheat Forum, sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. Want to join me? Get registered now.
Home heating oil and biodiesel leaders will discuss a biodiesel blend with significant environmental and economic benefits and the role Minnesota soybean farmers can play in meeting the demand of this market.
“The Midwest use of biodiesel is lower in the winter while the East Coast use of heating oil is much higher,” said Tom Slunecka, CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. “Minnesota has an opportunity to grow our supply and better serve both markets.”
Some of the panelists scheduled to appear include: Read More
RFS Hits 10 Years, Celebrations Begin
Celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) began last Friday, with farmers and biofuels advocates beginning a series of grassroots events nationwide.
Over fifty grassroots events will take place at state and county fairs throughout the month of August… Farmers and consumers will have the chance to inform and educate elected officials, and local and national media on the successes of the RFS in the past decade.
… Monday, constituents from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin are dropping off comments they submitted to the EPA on its proposed multiyear RVOs during the comment period at the district offices of their respective U.S. Senators to show the economic impact of the RFS on their communities and the importance of the RFS to everyday Americans – and to rally for clean, secure, American energy and point to the progress of the past decade under the bipartisan law.
In just the past 10 years, the renewable fuel industry has stimulated the economy, created American jobs, and helped farmers and rural communities get back on their feet:
Consumers: After ten years under the RFS, we have tripled production of homegrown renewable fuel, which now makes up nearly 10% of our motor fuel supply. As designed, the RFS has reduced our reliance on imports from an unstable global oil market, reducing the price of gas and insulating us from price shocks.
Economy: The RFS has spurred investment in biofuels and been a major stimulus to the nation’s economy, creating $184.5 billion in annual economic output and $46.2 billion in wages each year, and generating over 852,000 American jobs that can’t be outsourced.
Rural Communities: By promoting homegrown, renewable fuel the RFS is America’s most successful policy bolstering rural economies and family farmers by injecting more homegrown renewable fuel into our motor fuel supply, and less oil imported from hostile foreign regions. Thanks in large part to the RFS, farm income rose 88% from 2006 to last year—nearly doubling.
Environment: The RFS is the most effective policy reducing America’s greenhouse gas emissions. The RFS also cuts down on asthma- and cancer-causing pollution in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Using traditional corn ethanol represents a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to regular gasoline, according to research by the Department of Energy. Advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 88-108% compared to gasoline—and independent studies have proven we need renewable fuel volumes at statutory levels to keep the advanced biofuels industry moving forward. Last year, ethanol-blended gasoline was responsible for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 40 million metric tons, or the equivalent of 8 million cars removed from the road per year.
USDA Builds Rural Energy with Loans & Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping build renewable energy in rural areas. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $63 million in loans and grants for 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide that USDA is supporting through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
“This funding will have far-reaching economic and environmental impacts nationwide, particularly in rural communities,” Vilsack said. “Investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects supports home-grown energy sources, creates jobs, reduces greenhouse gas pollution and helps usher in a more secure energy future for the nation.”
These REAP projects are expected to generate and/or save 207.8 million kilowatt hours (KWh) of energy – enough to power more than 13,600 homes for a year.
The next application deadline for REAP grants is November 2, 2015.
BioEnergy Bytes
- FuelCell Energy, Inc., a leader in the design, manufacture, operation and service of ultra‐clean, efficient and reliable fuel cell power plants, has announced the appointment of two new members to the Company’s Board of Directors, including Paul F. Browning, former President and Chief Executive Officer, Irving Oil Company Limited and Matthew F. Hilzinger, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, USG Corporation.
- Tawau Green Energy (TGE) has provided updates on the geothermal power project in Malaysia. A PPA has been signed with the state utility and the project is approaching exploration drilling with an estimated 3 x 40 MWe gross progressive development. In an email to the Geothermal Energy Association, TGE representatives said they are open for interested partnering parties or investors for the project.
- Isolux Corsan has delivered its first PV Solar project in Honduras. The Aura II PV Solar Plant, will produce 61.48 MWp and was built within a tight window of only 7 months. The PV Solar Plant, located in the region of Choluteca, will generate 109 million kWh per year, equivalent to supply clean energy to more than 80,000 Honduran families, and reducing the emission into the atmosphere of 40,000 tons of CO2 annually.
- China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Limited has announced that it has signed a wind turbine purchase agreement with a Chinese state-owned enterprise to provide wind turbines to its wind farm project located in Pakistan with a total capacity of 49.5MW. Pursuant to the purchase agreement, Ming Yang will deliver 33 units of 1.5MW wind turbines in three batches starting from September 2015 and will provide five-year complimentary warranty services after the installation.
Celebrating a Decade of Success with the RFS
August 8, 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) containing the original Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) being signed into law by President George W. Bush.
The signing ceremony took place at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where President Bush noted that the bill he was signing into law would “…lead to greater diversity of fuels for cars and trucks. The bill includes tax incentives for producers of ethanol and biodiesel. The bill includes a flexible, cost-effective renewable fuel standard that will double the amount of ethanol and biodiesel in our fuel supply over the next seven years. Using ethanol and biodiesel will leave our air cleaner. And every time we use home-grown fuel, particularly these, we’re going to be helping our farmers, and at the same time, be less dependent on foreign sources of energy.”
Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen remembers that day very well, particularly the support that the new law had from the oil industry. “It would not have happened without the support of the American Petroleum Institute,” said Dinneen. “They wanted out of MTBE, they wanted to have an argument in court that would protect them from the lawsuits against MTBE, so they were supportive of a growing market for renewable fuels.”
However, Dinneen notes that the oil industry underestimated the ability of farmers and the ethanol industry to gear up and produce such significant quantities of the domestic fuel that they surpassed the original goal of 7.5 billion gallons for 2012 six years early. “The program was an immediate and overwhelming success … and it led to RFS2 being passed in 2007,” said Dinneen.
Dinneen recounts the success of the RFS over the past decade and how it has changed energy, economic, and rural policy in this edition of The Ethanol Report. Ethanol Report on RFS 10th Anniversary
MN Soy Growers to Hold Biodiesel & Bioheat Forum
It’s a hot August, but the folks in Minnesota are well aware the winter chill is not that far away. That’s why the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) is holding a Biodiesel and Bioheat forum Aug. 19 in Mankato to talk about how the green fuel can help keep you warm when the winter winds return (and make no mistake about it, they will).
Bioheat fuel is a heating blend of 5 percent biodiesel or less with ASTM D396. ASTM International, an organization that sets industry consensus standards for fuels, recently, released standards that approved blends of 6 to 20 percent biodiesel. This ushers in the opportunity for heating oil consumers to use Bioheat as a better alternative.
Represented among the delegation will be the New York Oil Heating Association, Nazzaro Group, LLC, Petroleum Liaison, Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association, Hart Home Comfort, Northeast Public Affairs, Ohio Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, National Oilheat Research Alliance, National Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals, Oilheat Manufacturers Association, Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey.
Bikers Line Up for Free 10% Ethanol
From the Midwest to Mexico, the west coast to the east coast, every state and various countries – bikers of all stars and stripes love the word free, especially when it comes to fuel for their rides. That made the fourth annual Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) “Free Fuel Happy Hours” a big draw at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground this week.
RFA pumped 1,872 gallons of 93 octane, 10 percent ethanol in four days this week for bikers in town for the 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Many bikers came back every day to fill their tanks, as they spent their days traveling through the beautiful Black Hills. RFA also gave away lots of free t-shirts, coozies, and information about how E10 is approved for use in any motorcycle – not any higher blends.
We talked to a few of the bikers who came through to fill up, including a guy from Mexico City, a farmer from Wisconsin, and others from Iowa, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Interviews with bikers filling up with E102015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with RFA at the Buffalo Chip Photos
Biodiesel Helps Boost Europe’s Biofuels Use
Transportation biofuels use in Europe is up again, thanks in large part to biodiesel. This article from the Brussels Times says biofuels for transport increased by 6.1 percent in 2014 in Europe, following a decrease in the previous year.
It still remains lower than in 2012. Consumption of sustainable biofuels reached its highest level with 12.5 million tep (Mtep – million-ton equivalent of petroleum). The increase in the use of biofuels for European transport is mostly due to biodiesel (+7.8%), whereas consumption of bioethanol remained stable (+0.1%). Biodiesel represented 79.7% of biofuels consumption, and bioethanol 19.1%, when taking into account the energy content (instead of the metric volume).
In Belgium, total biofuels consumption reached 387,599 tep. Biodiesel represented 90.5% of total consumption in 2014, and bioethanol the remaining 9.5%. Like in other EU28 countries, Belgian biofuels were certified 100% sustainable. In Spain and in Estonia this percentage was 0%.
Thus it seems that use of certified sustainable biofuels following criteria established by the European directive Renewable Energies, reached its highest level in 2014, with 12.5 Mtep, 89.4% of total biofuels consumption in the European Union, and 4.3% of EU fuel consumption.
The article went on to point out that oil companies will be some of the biggest drivers in the biofuels market, and they are already the biggest producers of biodiesel.
American Ethanol Goes Old School in Darlington
American Ethanol is going old school for the upcoming race on September 6, 2015 in Darlington Raceway. During the Southern 500, the team will leave its traditional green and black design behind for racing suits that bring back the days when Dillion’s grandfather, Richard Childress, circled NASCAR tracks in a classic No 3. red and white Chevrolet.
The throwback race will feature historic paint that many fans will remember. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Childress, the famed race-team owner, raced the No. 3 before his sidekick Dale Earnhardt Sr., made it eternally famous and infamous. More than 30 years later, the Chevrolet his grandson, Austin Dillon, drives will honor the historic paint scheme during the 2015 Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
“For this race, the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet will shed its green-and-black design for the first time in five years,” said Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the National Corn Growers Association NASCAR Advisory Committee and a farmer from Paxton, Nebraska. “The different paint should draw the attention of fans, especially because of the connection to Austin’s grandfather. And the red, white, and blue makes perfect sense for this American made fuel.”
Dillon, past NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™ champion, will be looking for his first career win at the “Lady in Black” track in NASCAR’s premier series. He finished an impressive 11th in his only series start at the 1.37-mile track.
Race fans can pre-order the highly detailed Action Racing Collectables throwback die-cast of Dillon’s No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet by clicking here.