Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association has launched a “Minnesota Biofuels Locator” app that enables iPhone users to find stations throughout the state that offer E15, E85 and blender pumps. In April, the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association launched the app for Android users.- Talen Energy has announced an agreement to sell Talen Renewable Energy, LLC to funds managed by California-based Energy Power Partners. The sale will include 25 projects in four states with a total of 65 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity. The portfolio includes landfill gas-to-energy, solar, wind and cogeneration projects. Subject to regulatory approvals, the agreement is expected to close by the end of the year.
- The Edison Foundation’s Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI) has released a new book, Thought Leaders Speak Out: The Evolving Electric Power Industry, that features more than 20 essays by electric utility and technology company leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders focused on three distinct and interrelated areas driving the transformation of the electric power industry today—the evolving grid, the evolving customer, and evolving regulation.
- Telefonix Inc., a developer of cord reel technology and manufacturer of PowerPost commercial electric vehicle charging stations (EVSEs), has announced the installation of six Level 2 PowerPost commercial electric vehicle charging stations at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. MD Anderson is now working to help improve the environment by offering workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging to employees at their Texas facility.
Corn Growers Testify and Rally for RFS
Corn growers from across the nation were in Kansas City, Kansas last week to testify and rally in support of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Leaders of the National Corn Growers Association were among over 200 stakeholders to provide comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to reduce the volume of ethanol required to be used in the nation’s fuel supply under the RFS.
NCGA President Chip Bowling of Maryland, NCGA Ethanol Committee chairman Jeff Sandbourn, and NCGA Chairman Martin Barbre of Illinois testified that EPA’s proposal would cut nearly 4 billion gallons of ethanol from the RFS through 2016, representing nearly a billion and a half bushels in lost corn demand.
“We simply cannot afford – and will not tolerate – efforts to cut the demand for corn, and that’s exactly what your proposal will do,” Bowling told the EPA. “We cannot let this stand. We’ve done our part, and our allies in the ethanol industry have done their part. It’s time the EPA sided with those of us supporting a domestic, renewable fuel that’s better for the environment.”
Corn growers also led a rally near the hearing in support of the RFS. “We have never before seen so much grassroots interest in a particular issue,” said Bowling. “The many who came here today had to set aside important work back home, with delayed planting or other important field work. They are here because they know what’s at stake.”
Listen to the corn growers testimony here:
NCGA testimony at RFS hearing
Listen to the rally speakers here:
RFS Works Rally
EPA RFS Public Hearing photo album
Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing is sponsored by
FFA Helps ‘Prime the Pump’ for Ethanol & Students
Maker of Enogen corn, Syngenta, recently announced it had raised money for ethanol infrastructure through the “Prime the Pump” campaign, an industry initiative to help early retail adopters of high-level ethanol blends through grants to reduce their initial investment in infrastructure. By donating a dollar for every acre of corn planted with the Enogen variety, Syngenta will put approximately $600,000 into the fund. In addition, the company teamed up with local FFA members at the American Ethanol 200 NASCAR truck race in Iowa and matched dollars the group raised through donations at the race, a percentage of that the FFA groups get to keep.
Dan Lopez is the high school guidance counselor at South Tama. He said his students were able to get out and talk with a lot of the tailgaters at the race.
“One hundred percent of the folks have been behind [ethanol],” he told Chuck during an interview, adding the people have been appreciative of Syngenta’s efforts to get more ethanol out to consumers and how the company supports the FFA.
Miranda Johnson who teaches at Twin Cedars Community School District said the folks at the race understand ethanol. “They understand the importance of using ethanol. It’s been great!”
While Johnson said her FFA hasn’t decided yet what to do with the money raised, Lopez’s FFA plans to use its share to send students to the national FFA convention.
Listen to Chuck’s interviews with both FFA groups here: South Tama FFA Twin Cedars FFA
2015 American Ethanol 200 Presented by Enogen Photo Album
Coverage of the American Ethanol 200 sponsored by Enogen
Martifer Solar Opens PV Plant in Belgium
Martifer Solar has completed the construction and connection of a 738.45 kWp PV system on the rooftop of the Decathlon building in Evere, Belgium for the company Orka NV. The company handled all aspects of the plant development and construction.
According to Martifer, The building hosts the largest Decathlon store in Europe and currently stands as one of their largest stores in the world. With an area of 10,600 m2, the 738.45kWp PV plant installed on the building’s rooftop, was built using 2,735 monocrystalline solar panels installed on fixed structures. The rooftop PV plant will produce an estimated 632.3 MWh/year.
“This PV plant installed by Martifer Solar in the Benelux region represents the reliability, safety and bankability of the projects and work that we have been doing in this region. The achievement of more than 150 projects built on over 300 rooftops in Belgium, together with our global expertise allows us to consolidate and expand our strategy for the EPC and O&M business in the Benelux region,” said Luis Pinho, operations manager in Belgium for Martifer Solar.
Jan Heyse, managing director of Orka, investor and asset manager for the project, added, “This project was more complex and had a longer development lead time due to the close integration with the construction of the building itself. We have enjoyed working with Martifer Solar to realize this project to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. With this realization Orka’s capacity in rooftop PV in the Brussels region totals 7Mwp, divided over 6 rooftops.”
With the completion of this project, Martifer Solar has installed approximately 35 MW of total PV capacity installed in Belgium.
DOE Invests in Sorghum
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed to investing up to $30 million in sorghum research through the Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA) program. The TERRA program seeks to develop technologies that can increase the precision, accuracy and throughput of energy crops breeding. Doing so, said DOE, will enable more detailed measurements of phenotyping, plant physiology and more sophisticated bioinformatics for gene discovery and trait association.
Photo Credit: Mississippi Crop Situation
This is one of the largest investments the sorghum industry has seen to date and will have a significant impact on the future of sorghum. A total of six projects were funded through the DOE at universities and research institutions across the nation. The project locations are Clemson University, Purdue University, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension, University of Illinois, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
“This underscore’s something we strongly believe in,” added Clayton Short, renewables committee chair for the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. “Sorghum is a genetically diverse crop ripe for improvement. The DOE realizes this and we are excited to see what additional opportunities this leads too.”
NSP and the Sorghum Checkoff continue to invest in relationships with DOE, private industry and researching universities and will keep members updated as research progresses and results are published.
BioEnergy Bytes
- Finavera Wind Energy Inc. has closed the previously announced acquisition of Solar Alliance of America. Under the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement, Finavera has acquired 100% of the equity in Solar Alliance for 11,915,238 shares of the Company and contingent payments of up to $4 million USD in cash comprised of up to four installments of $1 million USD. The cash payments are staged and contingent upon Solar Alliance meeting quarterly EBITDA targets.
- DTE Energy will install smart, solar-powered trash compactor and recycling units in its downtown Detroit neighborhood to help make the city cleaner and greener. The Bigbelly units, the first solar-generated compactors in the city of Detroit, are expected to arrive this summer. DTE will install seven of the units which collect and compact trash on site and also gather aluminum and plastic containers for recycling. The pilot program supports the company’s Energize Detroit neighborhood revitalization initiative while helping to protect the environment.
- Sunrun has announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not been determined. Sunrun has applied to list its common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol “RUN”.
- SunPower Corp. has announced a major new philanthropic initiative in partnership with GRID Alternatives. The Solar Futures program will expand on GRID Alternatives’ work in high schools, providing both classroom and hands-on solar training to K-14 students, with a focus on high school juniors and seniors. SunPower is donating 1 megawatt of high efficiency solar panels and inverters.
RFA Chairman to EPA: Tear Down the Blend Wall
Testifying at a public hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and rally in Kansas City, Kansas Thursday, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) board chairman Randy Doyal urged EPA to “tear down the blend wall” and implement the statute as Congress intended.
In his testimony at the hearing, the CEO of Minnesota-based Al-Corn Clean Fuel said that even though gasoline consumption might be slightly lower today than Congress anticipated when it adopted the RFS, it was always the intent of the program to push beyond the blend wall and increase the share of renewable fuels in our nation’s fuel supply.
“…the Clean Air Act statute does not permit EPA to take into account ‘factors that affect consumption,’ such as purported infrastructure constraints or the so-called ‘blend wall,’ in determining whether to grant a general waiver of the RFS,” Doyal noted. “By embracing the ‘blend wall’ concept, the EPA proposal not only violates the law, but also undermines the incentive to expand biofuel production and distribution capacity, and allows oil companies to only blend as much renewable fuel as they are comfortable using.”
Doyal also made remarks at the #RFSWorks rally. RFA chair Randy Doyal at RFS rally
EPA RFS Public Hearing photo album
Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing is sponsored by
Enogen, Tech Boost Ethanol, Corn Producers’ Profits
Combining its own patented process for converting the corn kernel fiber into cellulosic ethanol with Syngenta’s Enogen corn, specially bred for ethanol production, Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) is boosting its bottom line, as well as the profits for local growers. During an interview at the American Ethanol 200 in Iowa, CEO Delayne Johnson explained they use the alpha amylase enzyme already in Enogen corn with their own process to enhance the production of ethanol.
“When we combine the two technologies together, the benefits of [Enogen and the technology] allows plants to get up to 15 percent additional throughput, reduce energy content by 10 percent, and it also allows them to get all the benefits out of [both technologies combined],” he said.
Delayne added the $1 million a year his company doesn’t have to pay for the alpha amylase enzyme it would have had to add to ethanol production allows it to pay premiums to local farmers.
“It’s been fantastic for continuing to turn the dollars in rural America.”
Listen to all of Chuck’s interview with Delayne here: Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors
2015 American Ethanol 200 Presented by Enogen Photo Album
Coverage of the American Ethanol 200 sponsored by Enogen
Governors Tell EPA the #RFSWorks
The governors of Iowa and Missouri both spoke out in bipartisan support of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) during a hearing and rally Thursday in Kansas City.
Iowa Republican Governor Terry Branstad drew applause several times during his testimony at the public hearing on EPA’s proposed volume obligations under the RFS. “We are pleased to be here and get outside the Beltway where Big Oil’s army of well-paid lobbyists seem to have so much undue influence,” said Branstad to applause. While Branstad acknowledged the positive changes EPA made in the proposal for biodiesel, when it comes to ethanol “the agency seems to have bought Big Oil’s faulty arguments hook, line, and sinker.”
“By setting the RFS below the Congressional targets, the EPA caps the amount that will be produced,” said Missouri Democrat Governor Jay Nixon. “It is counter intuitive for the agency charged with enforcing the clean air laws to impose a defacto limit on ethanol, a product which so clearly emits fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”
“Quite frankly, I’m not seeing how it’s going to hurt our economy to produce cheaper, better, cleaner fuel, and it’s certainly not going to hurt our environment,” said Nixon.
Both governors went from the hearing across the street to a Rally for Rural America to support the RFS and both had their state agriculture directors with them as well. Listen to or download their testimony and rally speeches below.
Iowa and Missouri Governors at EPA Hearing IA and MO governors and ag directors at RFS rallyEPA RFS Public Hearing photo album
Coverage of EPA RFS Hearing is sponsored by
Abe Hughes Joins POET
Congratulations to our good friend Abe Hughes for his new career opportunity with POET. I just spoke with Abe by phone to find out more about what he’s doing now as POET Senior Vice President of Business Development. From the release:
In this role, Hughes will help guide POET’s strategies for continued growth, whether through independent initiatives or partnerships, both in the U.S. and abroad.
“I’m excited to join the experienced and visionary leadership team at POET to help further shape the future of the biorefining and alternative energy industry,” Hughes said. “I look forward to helping POET continue its leadership, innovation and growth through unique partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and international expansion opportunities.”
“Abe’s experience and his personality are a great fit at POET,” CEO Jeff Lautt said. “There are exciting opportunities ahead in this industry, and I know Abe will help us make the most of them.”
Prior to joining POET, Hughes was Vice President North America for New Holland Agriculture and Construction, a world leader in the manufacture and sale of tractors, combines, hay tools and other agricultural and construction equipment.
Listen to the excitement in Abe’s voice as he tackles this new challenge with POET: Interview with Abe Hughes, POET