Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How are you connecting your precision equipment and data?”
It looks like many of our readers haven’t quite adopted the wireless capabilities when it come to connecting precision equipment. It looks like the majority of you are utilizing memory cards and USB sticks. However, after attending the 2015 InfoAg Conference the Cloud is here and it looks like it is the key to efficiency.
Here are the poll results:
Memory cards – 33%
USB sticks – 33%
Cloud (wifi)- 1%
Cellular network – 17%
Other – 16%
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What brings you to the county, regional or state fair?
We are in the heat of fair season. Whether its a county, regional or state fair it is easy to find one to attend. I have exhibited livestock at fairs my entire life and I hope to instill my love for the fair life into my daughter very soon. Some people go for the food, the great concerts, to exhibit their livestock or to simply take in all the sights. Tell us why you love the fair. Is it for the overall experience or is it the craving of a footlong corn dog?
A new analysis from the Renewable Fuels Association shows that while ethanol exports dropped in June, the export of dried distillers grains (DDGS), a by-product of ethanol production, set an all-time record.
U.S. ethanol exports retreated for the third month in a row in June, according to RFA analysis of government data released today, dropping 7% from May to 60.2 million gallons (mg). Canada (22.9 mg, or 38%), the United Arab Emirates (12.7 mg, or 21%) and the Philippines (7.4 mg, or 12%) accounted for the bulk of exports in June, followed by South Korea (4.2 mg) and the Netherlands (4.2 mg). No ethanol exports were shipped to Brazil in June. Outside of Canada, Brazil has been the largest customer for U.S. ethanol exports, averaging 12.3 mg per month over the past five years. Through the first half of the year, exports stood at 437 mg, indicating an annualized rate of 874 mg.
June exports of U.S. distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS)—the animal feed co-product manufactured by dry mill ethanol plants—bounded 12% higher to 1,306,623 metric tons (mt), breaking the previous monthly record set in July 2014. Monthly exports to China reached an historic high of 967,529 mt in June—with China maintaining a 74% market share for the second month in a row. Exports to the rest of the world in June reversed a 7-month decline as monthly export volumes increased 10%. Mexico (76,784 mt, or 6% of exports), Canada (38,501 mt), Egypt (35,197 mt), Thailand (23,982 mt) and Ireland (22,700 mt) captured most of the remaining global market for U.S. DDGS in June. Year-to-date exports for 2015 are 5.8 million mt, implying an annualized total 11.6 million mt—almost one-third of projected domestic production.
Meanwhile, ethanol imports also fell again in June to just 717,320 gallons of denatured product. Almost all of that imported ethanol (99 percent) came from Spain.
A Florida company is going to build 56 cellulosic ethanol plants. Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. struck the deal with construction company Renewable Resources Development of America, LLC (“RRDA”) to build the plants both domestically and abroad using Alliance’s patented CTS technology.
It is anticipated that the first CTS plant, under the agreement, will be located in central Georgia, breaking ground this fall and will process up to one thousand metric tons a day of agriculture and forestry waste. RRDA is in advanced negotiations with local municipalities and expects to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2016.
In addition, RRDA and the Company have entered into an agreement whereas RRDA will invest $4 million into the Company in exchange for a 10% ownership stake in the Company, 2 million warrants and a license to the first commercial plant to be built by RRDA in Vidalia, Georgia.
Alliance officials say the first commercial plant is being designed and will be up and running early next year.
Ag company Syngenta and ethanol producer Quad County Corn Processors have joined the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, formerly known as the Advanced Ethanol Council. The group’s mission is to help its members speak with one voice to put the advanced bio-refining industry in the best position to succeed.
Syngenta and Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) are engaged in a collaboration to license Cellerate, a revolutionary, new enhancing technology that can help ethanol plants convert corn kernel fiber into cellulosic ethanol. The corn fiber ethanol pathway is approved by U.S. EPA as an RFS-eligible cellulosic biofuel. QCCP owns and operates an ethanol plant in Galva, Iowa, and is one of the leading developers of cellulosic ethanol production technology through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies, LLC.
“The cellulosic biofuels industry is breaking through at commercial scale, and it is critical for the industry to remain unified when it comes to how we engage on policy and regulatory matters,” said Brooke Coleman, executive director of the ABBC. “Syngenta and QCCP are highly engaged on both the business and political fronts, and we look forward to working with them on strategies that will help the industry succeed in 2015 and beyond.”
In addition to enabling plants to increase production by up to 6 percent, Cellerate can help ethanol producers increase the protein content of dried distillers grains to as much as 40 percent and increase total yield of distillers corn oil up to 1.2 pounds per bushel. QCCP is currently on track to annually produce 2 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol via the Cellerate process.
“We are very excited about our ability to develop a cellulosic biofuel technology that increases ethanol throughput and corn oil extraction while reducing energy input and carbon emissions,” said Delayne Johnson, chief executive officer of QCCP. “It is this type of value proposition that makes the future of cellulosic ethanol so bright.”
Austin Ludowese is a Minnesota farm boy majoring in business education at the University of Wisconsin-Stout but this week he is pumping E10 at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground to help educate bikers about ethanol.
This is Ludowese’s last week of a two month internship with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) which he says has been a great experience. “Working with RFA has been great,” he said. “It’s good to see how passionate people are in the industry and the kind of work they put in to promote not only using ethanol but educating as well, which is what we’re doing here in Sturgis.”
During his time with RFA this summer, Ludowese has traveled to Washington DC and to the EPA hearing in Kansas City where he testified about the importance of ethanol to his family farm in Minnesota. “Ethanol has always been a huge part of my family, as far as farming, we deliver all of our corn to ethanol plants,” he said, adding that learning more about the policy side of the industry will help him when he returns to farming after graduating from college. His brother Evan interned with RFA last year.
RFA will be continuing “Free Fuel Happy Hours” at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground where Ludowese will be filling motorcycle tanks with 93 octane E10 from 1-4 pm today and tomorrow.
S2E Technologies Inc. (S2E) has completed what they call the largest contiguous solar farm in Canada. The 100 MW solar farm is located in the county of Haldimand, Ontario and will produce enough electricity to power nearly 17,000 homes in the Province. S2E said they played a crucial role in facilitating an agreement between major shareholders in the project, Samsung Renewable Energy Inc., Conner, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure, and Six Nations of the Grand River and the engineering, procurement and construction provider, Canadian Solar Inc.
S2E Technologies Inc. (S2E) announced completion of the largest contiguous Solar Farm in Canada (CNW Group/s2e Technologies Inc)
“We are proud of our role and to be able to take a long term minority stake in the project,” said Milfred Hammerbacher, CEO of S2E. “Building teams and providing sustainable solutions is our passion. We believe projects like these will make a positive difference for our communities and future generations.”
Carlos Fernandez, President of S2E added, “This project has already lead to S2E partnering with Sifton Properties Ltd, a London based real estate developer, on an exciting new Smart Community in London Ontario, which could be one of the largest Net Zero Energy communities in the world.”
SolarCity and ILIOSSON, S.A. de C.V. have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for SolarCity to acquire ILIOSS, one of the largest commercial and industrial solar developers in Mexico. Upon close of the acquisition, ILIOSS will operate as an independent business unit of SolarCity.
According to GTM Research’s Latin America PV Playbook, Mexico is the top-ranked Latin American market for distributed generation (DG). GTM Research forecasts Mexico’s DG market to grow at a 69% CAGR through 2020. GTM Research Senior Solar Analyst Adam James notes, “SolarCity’s entry into Mexico could be a market-moving event for the country’s PV sector. The C&I segment is the most scalable near-term opportunity in the country, and the introduction of a strong financing product into the market would accelerate PV growth considerably.”
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will be the keynote speaker at the National Summit on Smart Grid & Climate Change, to be held in Washington, DC on October 13-14. The National Summit will take place in between two seminal events related to climate change: the issuance of the final rules for the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and the United Nations Climate Change negotiations in Paris in early December (COP-21).
TruStar Energy has announced the grand opening of Sacramento County’s (California) updated CNG fueling station. TruStar Energy was contracted to completely refurbish the existing CNG fueling station – that had been in operation since the early 80’s. The new combination time fill/fast fill station will be used primarily to provide fuel for the County’s refuse fleet, but also has a fast-fill dispenser to allow other county vehicles to fuel up.
Final rules for the Clean Power Plan have been released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as announced by President Obama. The plan calls for carbon reduction from the power sector (aka utilities) by 32 percent below 2005 levels in 2030. According to the EPA, power plants are the largest drivers of climate change in the U.S. emitting nearly one-third of all carbon emissions. This legislation is the first of its kind to set limits on carbon emissions for this sector.
During the announcement, the President said, “There is such a thing as being too late when it comes to climate change.”
The goal of the Clean Power Plan, and coupled with other pieces of legislation such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is to reduce not only carbon emissions, but toxic emissions, from the two largest polluting sectors – power and transportation. By 2030, emissions of sulfur dioxide from power plants will be 90 percent lower and emissions of nitrogen oxides will be 72 percent lower, compared to 2005 levels. EPA said Americans will avoid up to 90,000 asthma attacks and spend up to 300,000 more days in the office or the classroom, instead of sick at home. And up to 3,600 families will be spared the grief of losing a loved one too soon. These statistics will be even better with the reductions from the transportation sector.
“We’re proud to finalize our historic Clean Power Plan. It will give our kids and grandkids the cleaner, safer future they deserve. The United States is leading by example today, showing the world that climate action is an incredible economic opportunity to build a stronger foundation for growth,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “The valuable feedback we received means the final Clean Power Plan is more ambitious yet more achievable, so states can customize plans to achieve their goals in ways that make sense for their communities, businesses and utilities.”
EPA said they received and reviewed more than 4.3 million public comments on the proposal, and participated in hundreds of meetings with stakeholders. The plan, according to the EPA, works by building on strategies states and businesses are already using. Today, the U.S. uses three times more wind and 20 times more solar energy than it did in 2009, and the solar industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. It safeguards energy reliability by setting common-sense, achievable state-by-state goals that build on a rapidly growing clean energy economy and gives states and utilities the time and flexibility they need to meet their goals.
The final rule establishes guidelines for states to follow in developing and implementing their plans, including requirements that vulnerable communities have a seat at the table with other stakeholders. EPA said it is proposing a model rule states can adopt, as well as a federal plan that they will put in place if a state fails to submit an adequate plan. Both the proposed model rule and federal plan focus on emissions trading mechanisms to make sure utilities have broad flexibility to reach their carbon pollution reduction goals. EPA also finalized standards to limit carbon pollution from new, modified and reconstructed power plants.
There were mixed emotions on the plan but general praise from environmental, health and the renewable energy industries that this was a bold move in a forward direction. Click here to read more about the Clean Power Plan from the White House perspective.
In an effort to promote the American Ethanol brand, Iowa and Nebraska Governors have announced a statewide pump labeling initiative to promote the use of ethanol blends including E10, E15, E30 and E85. Both states are offering the approved labels free of charge. The American Ethanol brand was introduced in 2011 when NASCAR adopted E15. So not to confuse consumers, “American Ethanol” is a “brand” only and is the same ethanol blended fuel offered across the country.
“This new brand label will provide a consistent consumer experience at pumps across the state and capitalize on the high profile that American Ethanol has enjoyed through the NASCAR partnership,” said Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. “We want to make it even easier for consumers to find this clean-burning, high-performance fuel wherever they travel.”
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, added, “When it comes to air quality, American Ethanol-blended fuel burns cleaner. The new pump labels are a great way to inform consumers of the wealth of benefits American Ethanol-blended fuels provide. It is cost-effective, American-made, renewable and better for our environment.”
According to the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, fuel blended with ethanol burns cleaner and improves air quality compared to regular gasoline. They also cite ethanol fuel blends lower the level of toxic, cancer-causing emissions in vehicle exhaust—reducing air pollution, improving human health, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Several retail outlets have already begun displaying the American Ethanol label. All vehicles can use E10 while vehicles 2001 and newer can use E15. Flex-fuel vehicles can use any blend of ethanol up to E85.
“Kudos to the EPA for recognizing this important error and reassessing the 2014 ethanol export data,” said Dinneen. “This is a critical issue because it affects the estimate of how many RINs generated in 2014 will remain available for compliance with biofuel obligations required by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It also has implications for estimates of RIN carryover stocks.”
The memo comes after RFA and member biofuel companies raised the issue in correspondence with the EPA in early June and again at a public hearing on June 25 on the RFS in which dozens of commenters took issue with the agency’s proposal to slash the renewable blending volume obligations (RVOs) for 2014–2016.
According to the memo, “… public commenters indicated that they believed it was an error to treat the reported amounts of undenatured ethanol as being part of the 2014 supply of RINs. Ethanol that is exported in undenatured form would not have generated RINs, and thus should not have been subtracted from the total number of RINs generated for fuel ethanol in 2014 for purposes of calculating the available supply of RINs for 2014 in the proposal. EPA intends to account for this…in the determination of the appropriate volume requirements in the final rulemaking.”
The RFA says the recalculation could increase the blending obligation for renewable fuel from a proposed level of 13.25 billion gallons to more than 13.6 billion gallons.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How are you connecting your precision equipment and data?”
