Colorado’s RPS Going Forward

Joanna Schroeder

Colorado’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is going forward. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutionality of the legislation stating the RPS does not impose unlawful regulations on out-of-state companies. In their written opinion, the judges determined that Colorado’s RPS would not harm interstate commerce.

Current state law requires electric generators to ensure that a percentage of the electricity they sell to Colorado consumers comes from renewable sources. That prompted the Energy and Environment Legal Institute (EELI), which has longtime ties to the coal industry according to the renewable energy industry to file suit in federal court – arguing that out-of-state companies wereScreen Shot 2015-07-14 at 10.14.43 AM unfairly and adversely impacted.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Interwest Energy Alliance (a regional partner of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)) were two of several organizations to intervene on behalf of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and in support of the state’s RPS.

“Because electricity can go anywhere on the grid and come from anywhere on the grid, and because Colorado is a net importer of electricity, Colorado’s renewable energy mandate became a ‘target’ for people and groups hoping to freeze or rollback RPS programs – not only in Colorado, but also in other states around the nation,” said SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch. “By ruling on the substance of the issue, we believe the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision sends a clear signal that renewable energy standards are, in fact, legal under the Constitution’s dormant commerce clause. We applaud the court for its clear guidance.”

Colorado was the first state in the U.S. to adopt a renewable energy standard by a popular vote. The renewable energy industry said the law has widely benefited the state as wind power supports up to 7,000 well-paying jobs, including manufacturing jobs at 22 facilities around the state and wind has attracted $7.8 billion in capital investment to the state’s economy.Read More

Clean Energy, Electricity, Renewable Electricty Standard (RES), Solar, Wind

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDF1Amazon Web Services, Inc. has announced that it has contracted with Iberdrola Renewables, LLC to construct and operate a 208 MW wind farm in Perquimans and Pasquotank counties, North Carolina, called the Amazon Wind Farm US East. This new wind farm is expected to start generating approximately 670,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of wind energy annually starting December 2016. When completed, it will be the first utility-scale wind farm in the state of North Carolina, with the energy generated delivered into the electrical grid that supplies both current and future AWS Cloud data centers.
  • The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club®, a program formed by Green Mountain Energy Company to donate solar projects to non-profit organizations, has been transformed into an independent non-profit and is expanding its mission and scope to go beyond solar power to solutions for a sustainable lifestyle. As a newly formed non-profit, the Sun Club has announced an expanded mission to enhance the quality of life through long-term, sustainable solutions that focus on people and the planet, which will include donations of new sustainability technologies, like water conservation, energy efficiency or waste reduction tools, to non-profits.
  • Abengoa has announced that a project sponsored by Abengoa in collaboration with Starwood Energy has been selected by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) as the approved sponsor to finance, construct, own, operate and maintain the Delaney to Colorado River 500 kV transmission line project.
  • IncBio has secured an agreement to design and build a 75,000 MT/year biodiesel plant, for Biocosta Green Energy SA in Santa Marta, Colombia. The plant will be producing biodiesel directly from crude palm oil blended with palm acid oil and PFAD up to a total of 25% FFA, and will include pre-treatment, acid esterification with IncBio’s solid catalyst technology, transesterification, dry wash using ion exchange resin and biodiesel distillation. It will incorporate IncBio’s ultrasonic technology in all steps of the plant in order to produce the highest quality biodiesel at the lowest possible cost. The plant will use locally sustainably produced palm oil as feedstock. IncBio expects the plant to be started up in May 2016.
Bioenergy Bytes

LanzaTech Teams with Others to Build Ethanol Plant

John Davis

LanzaTechghent1LanzaTech is partnering with two companies in the metals businesses to build a nearly $97 million ethanol plant. This company news release says LanzaTech, ArcelorMittal a steel and mining company, and Primetals Technologies, in the iron and steel industry, will construct Europe’s first-ever commercial scale production facility to create bioethanol from waste gases produced during the steelmaking process. The resulting bioethanol can cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 80 per cent compared with conventional fossil fuels.

The 47,000 ton ethanol/annum project, sufficient to fuel half a million cars with ethanol blended gasoline, will demonstrate the added value of recycling waste streams, not only by reducing emissions at source, hence reducing ArcelorMittal’s direct carbon footprint, but by keeping fossil fuels in the ground through the production of commodity chemicals and fuels that would otherwise be made from oil.

Approximately 50 per cent of the carbon used in the chemistry of steelmaking leaves the process as carbon monoxide. Today, this waste gas stream is either flared or used to heat and power the steel mill. In either case, the carbon monoxide is combusted and the resulting CO2 is emitted. LanzaTech’s technology, however, recycles the waste gases and ferments them with a proprietary microbe to produce bioethanol. Every ton of bioethanol produced, displaces 5.2 barrels of gasoline as well as reducing ArcelorMittal’s CO2 emissions by 2.3 tons.

The project will be located at ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, is anticipated to commence later this year, with bioethanol production expected to start mid-2017.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, International

NREL Expert on E15 Infrastructure at ACE

John Davis

aceA senior National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) analyst will discuss E15 infrastructure at the upcoming American Coalition for Ethanol’s (ACE) Conference. This ACE news release says Kristi Moriarty, the principle author of a recent government report examining the compatibility of existing fuel station infrastructure for E15, will speak during the conference August 20 in Omaha, Nebraska.

“One reason the ethanol industry petitioned EPA to approve the use of E15 is because existing standards indicated the blend was compatible with most existing equipment,” said ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty. “Unfortunately, gas station owners have been misled by ethanol detractors into believing that adding E15 would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in new equipment. We’re looking forward to hearing from Kristi Moriarty, the lead author of the NREL report which destroys the E15 compatibility and cost myths,” said Lamberty.

The theme of the August 19-21 ACE Conference is “Quiet Ingenuity, Bold Advance.” The event will also feature a talk on technology and advanced biofuel innovations involving Ray Defenbaugh, President and CEO of Big River Resources LLC, Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors, and Jeff Oestmann, President and CEO of East Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC, a retailer panel discussion on E15 and flex fuel sales, a progress report on ethanol and DDGs exports, ethanol plant board member training, and much more.

This link has more information on the ACE Conference.

ACE, conferences, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Koolbridge’s Smart Load Tech Heads to NCCETC

Joanna Schroeder

The North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) at North Carolina State University has signed a five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with North Carolina-based Koolbridge Solar, Inc. NCCETC will work with Koolbridge to test their Smart Load Center technology, a smart circuit breaker panel for integrating a photovoltaic and energy storage system with a home’s or commercial building’s loads and the electric grid. In other words, when the sun is shining, the technology transfers the loads from the grid to the off-grid solar and battery system for use when the sun goes down. Koolbridge Solar’s technology was invented by Paul W. Dent, who according to Wikipedia is the co-inventor of Bluetooth wireless technology.

“Koolbridge Solar, Inc. has a new advanced inverter, Smart Load Center, and other patented and patent-pending energy management technology designed to lower the costs of distributed photovoltaic systems and increase value by allowing for easy integration of energy storage and by allowing continued operation in case of electrical outage with the local power company,” said Stephen Burnett, chairman & CEO of Koolbridge Solar. Burnett also stated his company values the support of the NCCETC and will actively seek funding to allow for more significant input from the Center.

As part of the collaboration, The Center will provide high-level policy, market, and technical guidance to Koolbridge on their products and strategies. The Center will also support Koolbridge’s pursuit of federal and state grants and other funding opportunities wherever possible and appropriate. NCCETC is known for their work in solar policy, markets, and technology as well as related codes and standards and has received two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot grants.

Professional Engineer and Renewable Energy Program Coordinator of the NCCETC, Tommy Cleveland, added,”The Center is pleased to have entered into the first MOA with Koolbridge Solar in accordance with its mission to improve North Carolina and citizens’ access to affordable and reliable solar energy.”

Clean Energy, Electricity, Energy Storage, Smart Grid, Solar, Video

Take a Ride on the Waves with Algae

Joanna Schroeder

It’s time to start surfing the waves with algae. One of the hottest technologies during the BioEnergy 2015 conference was the algae surfboard developed by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) California Center for Algae Biotechnology.

algae surfboardTraditionally surfboards have petroleum, aka fossil fuels, as a component. However, these algae surboards are made from algal oil, produced by Solazyme (also a San Diego-based company). According to DOE, the algal oil is converted to polyols by UCSD chemists and then sent to surboard manufacturer Arctic Foam. Once here, the company shapes the foam boards and then coats them with fiberglass and a renewable plant-based resin.

Does it work? DOE said early surfer reviews have given the prototype a “perfect ten”. The “surfboard of the future” is a bit more flexible than traditional surfboard and this appeals to many surfers.

The team of scientists along with Solazyme and Artic Foam are planning to continue their work and the hope is that polysols will eventually be able to replace components of not only surfboards, but other products that require similar petroluem-based chemicals.

View the 2015 BioEnergy 2015 photo album. 

algae, biomaterials, bioplastics

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDF1Enel Green Power, acting through its subsidiary Enel Green Power Chile, and Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA (Endesa Chile) have signed a long-term agreement for around 25 years of energy supply and sale of green certificates connected to a geothermal project and a photovoltaic project in Chile, as well as for around 20 years of energy supply and sale of green certificates connected to a wind power project in Chile. The contract for an estimated total value of up to U.S. $3.5 billion will enable Enel Green Power Chile to develop three plants with a total installed capacity of approximately 300 MW, which will require around 800 million U.S. dollars of investment.
  • When EPA releases the final Clean Power Plan this summer, regulators and industry will move to consider compliance options in earnest. While opponents contend that these options will be limited and costly, the track record of EPA regulations allowing for market-based compliance suggests otherwise. This report looks at outcomes under prior EPA rules, finding that when regulations allow for market-based compliance, efficient and active markets develop rapidly and industry responds with innovations that reduce compliance costs. Given the structure of the proposed CPP and the status of current markets for advanced energy technologies and services available as compliance options, the report predicts that the CPP will elicit a similarly robust market response.
  • Calling it a “win-win” that will benefit both the economy and environment, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has announced its strong support for HR 3001 – legislation introduced in Congress by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) that will allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to enter into 30-year renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPA). The GSA is an independent agency which manages and supports the basic functioning of the federal government, including procurement. Under current law, only the U.S. military can enter into power purchase agreements for longer than 10 years. Earlier this year, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced similar legislation.
  • The Minister for Energy and Mines Dr. Antonio Isa Conde, Vice Minister of Energy Ernesto Vilalta, Secretary of State and Vice-President of the National Council for Climate Change Omar Ramirez, and other high-ranking governmental officials met recently with Worldwatch’s Alexander Ochs, Director of Climate and Energy at Worldwatch to review the new study, “Harnessing the Dominican Republic’s Sustainable Energy Resources“. According to the report, transitioning to an electricity system powered 85 percent by renewables can decrease the average cost of electricity in the Dominican Republic by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2010.
Bioenergy Bytes

GEA Good Source for Clean Power Plan

Joanna Schroeder

During the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum that took place in Washington, D.C. on July 9, 2015, Karl Gawell, executive director for the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), called on bipartisan action. “In the world market, policymakers are working to address the upfront risk of geothermal projects and shortening lead times. Congress needs to take action on pending legislation to make similar progress in the U.S.,” Gawell said.

He added that geothermal projects are subject to extensive bureaucratic delays. “Geothermal development projects can go through as many as six NEPA analyses,” explained Gawell. As a result, geothermal projects cannot effectively take advantage of short-term tax incentives. We need longer term incentives.

There are currently several pieces of legislation pending in the U.S. House and Senate that seek support for renewable energy including geothermal energy development (S.562, S.822, S.1057, S.1155 and S. 1407, in the Senate). Gaswell called out to legislators: “We urge the sponsors of the individual pieces — Senators Heller, Wyden, Tester, Risch, Crapo, Merkley, Murkowski and others (as well as Representatives Simpson, DeFazio and Gosar) – to work together on a bipartisan basis if an energy bill moves forward.”Read More

Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Electricity, Geothermal, Video

Tennessee Couple Busted in Fake Biodiesel Scheme

John Davis

scalesofjustice1Officials in Tennessee are cracking down on those trying to bilk the state out of money for biodiesel, maintaining the integrity of the state’s program. This article from the Chattanooga Times Free Press says John and Lisa Brichetto both were found guilty of trying to take the state of nearly $150,000 in a fake biodiesel energy scheme.

The Brichettos were the principals in Northington Energy LLC, which received grants and loans to build a biodiesel fuel manufacturing facility near Wartburg, [Russell Johnson, district attorney for the 9th Judicial District] said.

The News Sentinel newspaper in Knoxville in 2011 quoted former economic development official Becky Ruppe as saying the county hoped to capitalize on the energy development.

In addition to the grants and loans to the Brichettos — only $4,908 of which was actually used to buy equipment, according to Johnson — the state put in $293,000 worth of utilities and $150,000 for a road in the Flat Fork Industrial Park. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave $25,000 for site improvements and Morgan County chipped in $9,000.

“We gained a lot of infrastructure for a little bit of money,” Ruppe told the News Sentinel in 2011.

But the biodiesel plant, completed in late 2008, never went into production, and a local bank later foreclosed on the 7,500-square-foot facility, the newspaper reported.

The Brichettos originally were indicted in May 2011, but several delays kept the trial to coming to fruition until now.

Biodiesel

BioPower to Build Waste-to-Diesel Plant

John Davis

BioPowerA Florida-based company will build a $175 million waste-to-diesel plant. This article from Today’s Energy Solutions says BioPower Operations Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiary Green3Power Operations Inc. (G3P) won the award to build a facility which will convert waste into ultra-low sulfur synthetic green No. 2 diesel fuel using G3P’s exclusively licensed gasification technology and the Fischer-Tropsch process. The plant will be at the existing St. Lucie County Solid Waste Management Facility and extend the life of the landfill while reducing environmentally harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr. Neil Williams, PhD, P.E., CEO of Green3Power says “St. Lucie County has a long history of implementing innovative and cost-effective technologies at the St. Lucie County Solid Waste Management Facility. This facility will enable St. Lucie County to increase their landfill air space over time while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions. To that end, and due to the close proximity of the site to the G3P corporate offices, I95, and the Florida Turnpike, G3P plans to construct our showcase facility at the St. Lucie County site.”

The facility will reduce the odors from waste collected, which will no longer be placed into the landfill, thus eliminating the disposal of organic waste in the landfill. G3P has been working with its strategic partner, Vanderweil Engineering, a joint venture partner in the facility which will convert approximately 1,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, used tires and yard waste to synthetic diesel fuel. If additional waste is needed on any given day, the additional waste will be excavated from the County landfill to create more landfill air space, and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from the landfill.

Green3Power Operations USA and Vanderweil will design, permit, engineer, procure and act as contractor during the next 18 months while the facility is being permitted and built. G3P will also provide operations and maintenance for the facilities for 20 years with a 10 year extension, after the facility is built.

renewable diesel