USDA Restarts Biomass Crop Program

Joanna Schroeder June 1, 2015

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has restarted the Biomass Crop Assistance Program that provides financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners interested in growing and harvesting biomass for renewable energy.

According to USDA, financial assistance is available through BCAP for costs associated with harvesting and transporting agriculture or forest residues to facilities that convert biomass crops into energy. Eligible crops may include corn residue, diseased or insect infested wood materials, or orchard waste. The energy facility must first be approved by USDA to accept the biomass crop.

Beginning today (June 1, 2015) facilities can apply for, or renew, their BCAP qualification status. $11.5 million of federal funds will be allocated to support the delivery of biomass materials through December 2015. Last year, more than 200,000 tons of dead or diseased trees from National Forests and Bureau of Land Management lands were removed and used to produce renewable energy, while reducing the risk of forest fire. Nineteen energy facilities in 10 states participated in the program.

Financial assistance is also available to grow biomass crops that will be converted into energy in selected BCAP project areas. New BCAP project area proposals will be solicited beginning this summer and accepted through fall 2015, with new project area announcements and enrollments taking place in early spring 2016. This fiscal year USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will allocate up to $8 million for producer enrollment to expand and enhance existing BCAP project areas. The extended proposal submission period allows project sponsors time to complete any needed environmental assessments and allows producers enough lead time to make informed decisions on whether or not to pursue the BCAP project area enrollment opportunity. This fiscal year USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will allocate up to $8 million for producer enrollment to expand and enhance existing BCAP project areas.

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, biomass, Renewable Energy

Report: Farmers Can Grow Food, Fuel

Joanna Schroeder June 1, 2015

According to research conducted by Russ Gesch, a plant physiologist with the USDA Soil Conversation Research Lab in Morris, Minnesota, farmers can successfully and sustainably grow food and fuel. Gesch specifically looked at growing Camelina sativa with soybeans in the Midwest. Gesch’s study was recently published in Agronomy Journal.

Camelina is a member of the mustard family and research shows is well suited as a cover crop in the Midwest. “Finding any annual crop that will survive the [Midwest] winters is pretty difficult,” said Gesch, “but winter camelina does that and it has a short enough growing season to allow farmers to grow a second crop after it during the summer.”

Soils also need to retain enough rainwater for multiple crops in one growing season. Gesch and his colleagues measured water use of two systems of dual-cropping using camelina and soybean. They compared it with a more typical soybean field at the Swan Lake Research Farm near Morris, MN.

Researchers planted camelina at the end of September. From there growing methods differed. In double-cropping, soybean enters the field after the camelina harvest in June or July. Relay-cropping, however, overlaps the crops’ time. Soybeans grow between rows of camelina in April or May before the camelina plants mature and flower. Camelina is being used today to produce aviation biofuels.

Researchers found multiple benefits of Relay-cropping – the technique actually used less water than double-cropping the two plants. Camelina plants have shallow roots and a short growing season, which means they don’t use much water. “Other cover crops, like rye, use a lot more water than does camelina,” said Gesch.Read More

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, Research

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder June 1, 2015

Trina Solar has announced that it provided Osaka Sangyo University (OSU) with its newly developed Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) cells and modules for OSU’s Solar Car, the “OSU-Model-S”. The OSU-Model-S will compete in early August in the IFA Suzuka Solar Car Race, the largest international solar car race taking place in Japan.
Green Charge Networks was named as one of the “15 Smart Grid Companies to Watch in 2015″ by Smart Grid News. Smart Grid News differentiated Green Charge from other energy storage vendors based on its strong customer base, with an emphasis on schools and industry partnerships and no-cost business model through $56 million in equity funding by K-Road Ventures.
The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) is reminding the global geothermal community to make their nominations for this year’s GRC Awards by June 19, 2015. The awards recognize distinguished colleagues in the geothermal community from around the world. The winners will be honored at the GRC Awards Luncheon at the GRC Annual Meeting being held at the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, Reno, Nevada, September 20-23. The theme for this year’s meeting is Geothermal: Always On.
U.S. Senators Dean Heller, Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Jon Tester (D-MT) have joined in introducing the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (S. 1407) to simplify the permitting process for solar, geothermal and wind projects on public lands. A hearing is scheduled for June 9, 2015.

Bioenergy Bytes

EPA Proposal will be Hot Topic at FEW

Cindy Zimmerman June 1, 2015

The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal for volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard will be a hot topic at the 2015 Fuel Ethanol Workshop this week in Minneapolis.

Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) Executive Director Brooke Coleman will be on the program tomorrow morning to talk about what the proposal means for the advanced biofuels industry. “The good news is it is clear that EPA and the Obama Administration want to send a signal to the marketplace that domestic renewable fuel markets are going to grow. The blending targets are definitely stronger and theoretically create new markets,” says Coleman. “But Clean Air Act regulations have to have backbone to actually achieve their ambitions, and EPA is still allowing the oil industry’s refusal to comply with the RFS to be cause to slow the program down.”

There continues to be concern in the industry about how the proposal will impact investment in advanced biofuels. “Renewable fuels are a huge opportunity for the United States to achieve President Obama’s climate change goals, capture private investment, create jobs and save drivers money. Today’s proposal undermines all of that,” says Adam Monroe, president of Novozymes Americas, a biotechnology company that provides enzyme solutions for biofuels production. “The EPA’s aspiration should not be a slow buildup in renewable fuel volumes, it should be an economy driven by clean technologies, supporting thousands of new jobs and billions in private investment. That all starts with aggressive goals for the RFS.”

Novozymes will be featured in many of the workshops at FEW and will be sponsoring our coverage this week.

Coverage of the Fuel Ethanol Conference is sponsored by

advanced biofuels, AEC, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, FEW, Novozymes

Biodiesel Helps 4-H Students Learn Science

John Davis June 1, 2015

Some Minnesota 4-H students are learning more about science, thanks to biodiesel. This story from the St. Paul Pioneer Press says this knowledge could help these kids fill an expected 1,000 person gap in those able to fill the business, science engineering and agriculture jobs in this country each year.

For junior high and high school students, “4-H involvement could lead to college, university or even trade school and an ag-related job,” said Josh Rice, who runs the science of agriculture programming at University of Minnesota Extension. “Agricultural awareness is a very important piece of this. There are ag jobs out there and it’s not just production agriculture. It can be marketing, processing, distribution and even social science.”

Minnesota is the first state to start a 4-H Science of Agriculture Challenge, which is a team competition showing science and engineering understanding. The teams have three or four members between grades six and 12 who share a common interest. A coach guides them through the scientific or engineering process. The teams also meet with a mentor from the industry, who gives guidance and an inside view of an agricultural career.

Brian and Anna Prchal of Montgomery and their cousin Tyler Fromm of New Hope teamed up to work on biodiesel.

Jodi Prchal, Brian and Anna’s mother and a fifth-grade teacher, is their coach.

Brian created biodiesel from used fryer oil at a local restaurant. He describes the process in detail on how to transform that oil into fuel.

“You can burn straight filtered vegetable oil in a diesel engine, but it gums up the engine,” Brian said…

Jodi Prchal says the critical moment came when they tried it in an engine. Brian had bought a single-cylinder, nine horsepower diesel engine and it ran smoothly on the biodiesel.

The article goes on to say that Brian learned how to make biodiesel for just 70 cents a gallon, as opposed to the $4 a gallon conventional diesel goes for. Anna and Tyler learned how much cleaner the biodiesel burned and how much better it was for engine wear.

Later this summer, they’ll present their work to a panel of judges and compete for scholarship money. Organizers would like to see this state program go nationally.

Ag group, Agribusiness, Biodiesel

Ethanol Report on Reaction to EPA RFS Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman May 29, 2015

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2014, 2015 and 2016 and Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen is disappointed.

In this Ethanol Report, Dinneen talks about why he believes the proposal is a step backward for the RFS and how it places the potential growth in renewable fuels in the hands of the oil companies. Ethanol Report on EPA RFS volume proposal

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA, RFS

Candidate Clinton Clean Energy Commentary

Cindy Zimmerman May 29, 2015

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton came out in favor of domestic, renewable energy in an op-ed for the Cedar Rapids Gazette this week.

“I believe the United States can and must be the clean energy super power for the 21st century,” writes Mrs. Clinton. “We can’t afford to cede our leadership in developing and deploying the advanced, clean fuels of the future that will grow our economy, lower our energy bills, reduce pollution, and protect the health of our families and communities. And America’s farmers and rural communities have to be at the heart of this effort.”

Clinton gave a strong endorsement of the Renewable Fuel Standard:

The Renewable Fuel Standard can continue to be a powerful tool to spur the development of advanced biofuels and expand the overall contribution that renewable fuels make to our national fuel supply. But we also can’t ignore significant changes to the energy landscape since the RFS was expanded in 2007. We have to get the RFS back on track in a way that provides investors with the certainty they need, protects consumers, improves access to E15, E85, and biodiesel blends, and effectively drives the development of cellulosic and other advanced biofuels.

Read the entire editorial here.

biofuels, politics, Renewable Energy

USDA to Invest $100M in Biofuels Infrastructure

Joanna Schroeder May 29, 2015

The Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership is getting an infusion of up to $100 million according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack. The funds will be used to build and update infrastructure needed to bring more biofuels to market. The announcement came on the same day that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Renewable Fuel Obligations (RVO) for 2014-2016 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Photo credit: Joanna Schroeder

As part of the program, USDA will provide competitive grants to match funding for state-led efforts to test and evaluate innovative and comprehensive approaches to market higher blends of renewable fuel, such as E15 and E85. States that are able to provide greater than a one-to-one ratio in funding will receive higher consideration.

“American-made, clean energy sources support the environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create jobs and sustain the economy in rural communities across the country. We are fortunate that our farmers are producing record amounts of feedstock for these fuels,” Vilsack said. “However, a combination of factors, including lower commodity prices and reduced demand for feed as the poultry industry recovers from highly pathogenic avian influenza, are creating uncertainty for America’s corn and soybean producers. With this partnership, USDA is helping to ensure the infrastructure is in place for consumers to access more renewable fuels, expand marketing opportunities for farmers, and grow America’s rural economies.”

The new USDA partnership will help support the installation of fuel pumps capable of supplying higher blends of renewable fuel. The goal of the program is to double the number of fuel pumps capable of supplying higher blends of renewable fuel to consumers, such as E15 and E85.

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, E15, E85, Ethanol, Renewable Energy

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder May 29, 2015

Suntech has announced that it will supply approximately 63 MW of solar panels to 8 separate Gunkul Engineering projects being constructed across Thailand. The projects are expected to be grid connected and operational by the end of 2015.
Gaelectric and Tesla today announced the purchase and planned deployment of Tesla Energy’s first battery power utility-scale project in Ireland. The two companies are collaborating to develop a pipeline of multiple battery projects to build new transmission system services required to facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. The initial demonstration project, 1 MW in size, is targeted for deployment in 2016.
The ASA/USA Softball Hall of Fame Museum and four-field complex has become the first softball venue and predominately women’s athletic venue in the country to earn the EPA Green Power Partnership with their commitment to offset 100 percent of its electricity consumption with renewable wind power, following a recent agreement with Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E). The 10-year agreement between ASA/USA Softball and OG&E provides the ASA Hall of Fame complex with renewable energy credits for its OGE Energy Field, ancillary fields, museum and administrative offices.
MIRA Ltd., an engineering, research and test consultancy with capabilities in electrical and hybrid systems, has announced a collaborative agreement with Fundação Parque Tecnológico Itaipu (FPTI) to develop a new centre of excellence for energy storage in Brazil. As the first project of the agreement, research and development for a new and flexible architecture lithium battery for stationary power and transportation applications will be the focus.

Bioenergy Bytes

Ethanol Industry Blasts EPA RFS Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman May 29, 2015

Ethanol industry groups are blasting the EPA proposal for volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for what they see as siding with the oil industry.

“Today’s announcement represents a step backward for the RFS,” says Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen, noting that the EPA continues to cling to the “blend wall” methodology. “The EPA plan fundamentally places the potential growth in renewable fuels in the hands of the oil companies — empowering the incumbent industry to continue to thwart consumer choice at the pump with no fear of consequence for their bad behavior.”

“EPA is yet again proposing to circumvent the RFS by limiting ethanol use to the amount oil companies are willing to blend with the gasoline they refine and not one gallon more,” said American Coalition for Ethanol executive vice president Brian Jennings. “If EPA is willing to let oil companies disregard Clean Air Act requirements to clean up motor fuel, how does it expect power plants to comply with their Clean Air Act proposal to curb carbon pollution?”

“It is unfortunate that EPA chose to side with the obligated parties who have deliberately refused to live up to their obligation to provide consumers with a choice of fossil fuels or lower cost, higher performing, homegrown renewable energy at the pump,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis.

“Once again, the EPA has chosen to ignore the law by cutting the corn ethanol obligation 3.75 billion gallons from 2014 to 2016. This represents nearly a billion and a half bushels in lost corn demand,” said National Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling. “The only beneficiary of the EPA’s decision is Big Oil.”

EPA will hold a public hearing on the proposal June 25 in Kansas City, Kansas. The public has until July 27 to comment on the proposal.

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

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