Pacific Ethanol announced it completed its merger with Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. Per the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Aventine stockholders
received 1.25 shares of Pacific Ethanol common stock for each share of Aventine common stock owned at closing. As a result, Pacific Ethanol issued approximately 17.76 million shares in the merger, resulting in 42.5 million total shares outstanding as of July 1, 2015.- Georgia Power has announced the launch of a new solar sales and installation service for customers beginning July 1. As an unregulated offering, the program will be administered by Georgia Power Energy Services, a business unit more than 20 years old focused on providing turnkey installation of energy efficiency products for customers.
- Alterra Power Corp. and Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC have announced the completion of a $287 million construction loan facility for the 204 MW Shannon wind project. The facility was supplied by affiliates of Citi, Santander Bank, N.A. and the Royal Bank of Canada, and consists of a $212 million loan plus $75 million in various letters of credit. The loan is supported by a $219 million tax equity investment commitment supplied by subsidiaries of Citi and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
- While China’s installed wind capacity will treble from 115.6 GW in 2014 to an estimated 347.2 GW by 2025, global growth will begin to level off towards the end of the forecast period, with annual installations peaking at 56.8 GW in 2022, says research and consulting firm GlobalData. The company’s latest report states that China’s wind power landscape in 2025 will be dominated by onshore capacity, which will account for 334.7 GW, representing just over 96% of all installations, with offshore wind accounting for a mere 12.4 GW of installed capacity.
Despite Fewer Acres, Plenty of Corn for Ethanol
The number of acres corn planted is down this year. But the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says there’s plenty of the crop for ethanol and all the other uses from the grain. Citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Acreage report, NCGA says total corn planting in the United States totals 88.9 million acres, the lowest planted acreage since 2010 but the sixth-largest U.S. corn acreage planted since 1944.
“Corn farmers produced an abundance in 2014 that resulted in a large carry over into this year,” National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling said. “While planted acreage has decreased as farmers in many parts of the country face unrelentingly wet conditions, U.S. farmers have steadily increased our ability to grow more corn on every acre. Americans can rest assured that we will be able to meet all needs, be they for food, fuel or fiber, for years to come.”
USDA projects 13.5 billion acres of corn to be harvested this fall.
Franklin Orr Shares Optimism for Bioenergy
Dr. Franklin Orr, Under Secretary for Science and Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, provided the keynote address at the recent BioEnergy 2015 Conference which took place in Washington, D.C. In his role, Dr. Orr is the principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on clean energy technologies and science and energy research initiatives.
“If there is any technology that we are working on that illustrates the facets of innovation that we are trying to foster, it’s bioenergy. It goes from the fundamental science side of the house, to development, to demonstration and deployment. And we have lots of activities going on in all these areas.”
Dr. Orr said he truly believes that biofuels are a very important part of America’s energy and economic future. He added that this is clear when you look at the global context of energy.
He mentioned a few examples which indicate broader global challenges that we are going to face. “Energy security is one of those, creating good paying jobs in the United States is very important for us and of course reducing the emissions that lead to climate change.” Dr. Orr admits these are all big challenges, but stresses that biofuels can help in each of these measures.
Listen to Dr. Franklin Orr’s complete remarks to learn more about the future role of biofuels when it comes to science and energy across the United States: Franklin Orr's Remarks
Sen Klobuchar: Time to Govern by Opportunity
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) keynoted the opening session of the BioEnergy 2015: Opportunities in a Changing Energy Landscape conference in Washington, D.C. During her remarks, she noted it isn’t an easy time to be in Washington in terms of 
energy policy and the country has “lost opportunities” in energy policy since 9-11.
Sen Klobuchar explained that in the summer of 2008, right before the downturn, energy legislation was pushed through but legislators were unable to push through a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Instead, President Obama, during the worst downturn since the Great Depression, opted to move forward with failed Cap and Trade legislation.
“We’ve been governing by crisis,” said Klobuchar who stressed that now is the moment to govern by opportunity. She quoted Pope Francis who recently released his Encyclical on climate change who asked, “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us?” A better world, said Klobuchar.
Klobuchar ended her remarks focusing on ways the country can build on the progress of the past few years, including the success of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Listen to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s remarks: Senator Amy Klobuchar Remarks
View the 2015 BioEnergy 2015 photo album.
(Note: two days after her presentation the EPA held a public comment hearing in Kansas City where hundreds of people from across the country came together to support the RFS. Coverage can be found here.)
Citizen Testimony at EPA RFS Hearing
Of the more than 240 stakeholders who testified at the EPA hearing last week on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), at least 35 were citizens who spoke about why they felt it was important for our nation to continuing increasing the use of biofuels.
One of those was Austin Ludowese (pictured far left) of Stewart, Minnesota, who was raised on a family farm and is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stout majoring in business administration. “I was here representing a lot of young farmers who have the desire to come back to the farm,” said Ludowese who told EPA how the RFS encouraging ethanol production has helped his small community.
Ludowese says he was encouraged by the turnout at the hearing. “It really is overwhelming to see all the different supporters come from all the different areas, whether it’s an ethanol plant or just a simple farmer,” he said. “It’s a lot of the same message just expressed in different ways.”
He added that he does believe the EPA is listening and paying attention to what the stakeholders have to say about the RFS.
Interview with EPA hearing witness Austin LudoweseEPA RFS Public Hearing photo album
Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing is sponsored by
BioEnergy Bytes
- Solar 3D, Inc. has announced that its common shares were included in the Russell Microcap® Growth Index on June 26, 2015. Membership in the Russell Microcap Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.
- Less than 90 days after its U.S. launch, Kingspan Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingspan Group PLC, today announced its acquisition of American Solar & Alternative Power, LLC, known by its trade name, ‘ASAP’. The deal represents the first acquisition by Kingspan Energy in the U.S. and bolsters the company’s sales, marketing, and project development presence in New England and the New York tri-state area.
- Terry Ayres will be serving the Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) as the Chairman of the Board for the 2015-2016 term.
- SunShare has that 400 kilowatts of solar energy from two of its Denver Community Solar Gardens will soon be powering sixteen City-owned locations. One of the nation’s leading Community Solar providers, SunShare is headquartered in the Mile High City, known for having over 300 days of sunshine a year. Community Solar allows customers who either can’t or don’t want to put solar panels on their homes or properties to buy solar energy from a solar array located elsewhere in the community.
EPA’s Grundler Visits #RFSWorks Rally
The EPA official in charge of last week’s hearing on proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proved to be open and engaged and truly interested in listening to what stakeholders had to say about the proposal.
Chris Grundler, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality Director, even left the hearing for a time and walked down the street to listen at the #RFSWorks rally and spend some time talking one on one with those in attendance, including Renewable Fuels Association chairman Randy Doyal.
In his opening statement, Grundler said EPA set the volume levels lower than the RFS statute requires because the law allows reductions under certain circumstances. “We believe those circumstances are upon us,” he said, noting specifically the fact that cellulosic biofuel has not come on line as fast as hoped. “Simply setting the standards at the levels targeted by Congress and trusting this will sufficiently incentivize the market to achieve the mandates … would be irresponsible.”
At the same time, Grundler acknowledged that the statutory volume targets “were intended to be ambitious” and EPA believes the standards they have proposed for 2014, 2015 and 2016 are “ambitious but within reach of the responsive marketplace.”
Grundler listened attentively to testimony presented by stakeholders at the hearing and also encouraged written comments to be sent in to the agency by July 27.
Listen to Grundler’s opening remarks here: EPA's Chris Grundler remarks at RFS hearing
EPA RFS Public Hearing photo album
Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing is sponsored by
Prime the Pump Funds Ethanol Infrastructure
The chairman of the Prime the Pump fund says getting more fuel infrastructure in the marketplace is vital to getting higher level ethanol blends to consumers.
“It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg,” says Ray Defenbaugh of Big River Resources in West Burlington, Iowa. “The autos hold off because of the pumps, pumps hold off because of the retailers, because of the autos.”
Defenbaugh says government programs are nice, but it’s really important for the industry to help early retail adopters of high-level ethanol blends through grants to reduce their initial investment in infrastructure. “This is a self-help effort by not only the ethanol industry, but people who benefit from the ethanol industry.”
Syngenta announced a major donation to Prime the Pump at the recent NASCAR American Ethanol 200 in Iowa, which Defenbaugh was pleased to accept from Chris Tingle with Syngenta Enogen. “Syngenta contributed a nice check – $225,000 for the effort, and they’ll have two more installments,” said Defenbaugh. The company will be contributing $1 for every acre planted with Enogen corn enzyme technology, which they expect to ultimately total about $600,000.
Listen to Ray explain more about Prime the Pump in this interview: Interview with Prime the Pump chair Ray Defenbaugh
2015 American Ethanol 200 Presented by Enogen Photo Album
Coverage of the American Ethanol 200 sponsored by Enogen
Amyris Renewable Diesel Test with VW a Success
Industrial bioscience company Amyris says its two-year test with renewable diesel in Volkswagen vehicles has been a success. This company news release says the test was to check the commercial readiness of Amyris renewable diesel and its ability to enhance VW’s innovative and advanced diesel technology.
Utilizing vehicles provided by VW in real-world driving conditions, the two-year-long program to assess the results reinforced the company’s data that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were reduced by more than 60 percent on a well-to-wheel basis when using Amyris’s No Compromise® renewable diesel. In addition, the program demonstrated fuel economy that was similar to or improved over petroleum-based fuels, together while maintaining outstanding engine performance under a variety of conditions.
“The results of this program provide additional validation for renewable fuels and showcase the tremendous market potential for Amyris’s advanced renewable diesel,” said John Melo, President & CEO of Amyris. “Growing awareness of these benefits contributes to increased consumer awareness, end-user demand pull and future adoption of renewable fuels at a larger scale.”
The collaboration included evaluating emissions reductions and demonstrating performance of Volkswagen’s existing TDI Clean Diesel technology using advanced renewable diesel fuel.
Ontario Refinery Gets New Life as Atlantic Biodiesel
In what’s been a roller coaster ride for a biodiesel refiner in Canada seems to be on the upswing now. This article from the Welland (Ontario) Tribune says the former Great Lakes Biodiesel plant, which closed last year after falling into receivership, has officially reopened as the 45-million-gallon-per-year Atlantic Biodiesel.
“In a very short time, we’ve taken the assets and built up a business with a new management team,” said Michael Paszti, chief operating officer of the new company.
Paszti said the 25 people who had worked for Great Lakes Biodiesel were rehired to work at the plant, which is expected to be among the top 20 largest producers of biodiesel in North America after production begins at the end of July.
“There was a conscious commitment to the employees and they were kept on right through the process,” he said. “The operations workers are the same experienced workers we had before and they’re going to be critical to our success going forward. We need their experience to run this plant.”
The new owners do plan to expand the plant’s capacity down the road.