Caterpillar & First Solar Enter Into Partnership

Joanna Schroeder

Caterpillar and First Solar, Inc. have announced a joint partnership to develop an integrated photovoltaic (PV) solar solution for microgrid applications. First Solar will design and manufacture a pre-engineered turnkey package for use in remote microgrid applications, such as for small communities. The package will feature Cat-branded solar panels manufactured by First Solar and will include a balance of system components.

“This strategic alliance provides yet more evidence of a global energy transition, where solar energy’s reliability and cost competitiveness with traditional fuels effectively allows it to complement conventional generation. It is also Catepillar Microgrid Solutionsevidence of the role that solar can play in enabling the local generation and distribution of energy to address specific needs,” said Marc van Gerven, First Solar’s vice president for Global Marketing. “By entering into this alliance with Caterpillar, with its extensive experience and reach, we’re establishing an important new precedent for the commercialization and scaling of microgrid-based distributed generation solutions.”

Caterpillar will exclusively sell and support the integrated solution featuring Cat-branded solar panels through its worldwide Cat dealer network, along with its current offerings of generator sets and energy storage. As noted by Caterpillar, microgrids provide value to prime power diesel and gas customers by integrating renewable energy, such as solar power, with generator sets. This technology can help to provide reliable, affordable clean energy.

“We are excited to announce this alliance, underpinned by First Solar’s 10 gigawatts of global experience in solar energy, and coupled with Caterpillar’s knowledge of generator sets and distributed power, and the strength of our unmatched dealer network,” said Steve Niehaus, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Electric Power Division. “By working with First Solar, we will optimize the efficiency and integration of solar power with our offerings.”

Caterpillar expects to first market the new microgrid solution in the Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America regions, with the integrated PV solution, including Cat-branded solar panels, available for customers in that region in the second half of 2015.

Clean Energy, Electricity, Microgrid, Solar

Tesla Partners with College of Marin

Joanna Schroeder

During a presentation at Tesla Design Studios in Los Angeles the company unveiled a new Tesla battery that has home, commercial and utility-scale storage applications. College of Marin is the first community college to partner with Tesla to install the new battery storage products on campus.

The college received $5.3 million in government incentives to help cover the costs of site prep, installation of the lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system, and software that receives dispatch commands from a solar inverter. Concrete slabs will be installed behind the Student Services Building at the Kentfield Campus and near the Main Building at the Indian Valley Campus.

Tesla home batteryVice President Greg Nelson expects installation to begin in mid-May and last until the end of June. Once the stationary batteries are operational, Nelson estimates the cost savings to be anywhere from $100,000-$150,000 annually for the College.

“Leveraging existing relationships made this new partnership possible. Through collaboration with our friends at Marin Clean Energy, we were able to meet the program qualifications and embark on this new venture with Tesla that has been nine months in the making,” said Nelson. “This takes College of Marin to the next stage of energy conservation, moving the College forward as a leader in sustainability. I believe this program will grow, creating opportunities for other community colleges throughout the country.”

“We are proud to partner with Tesla and others in this innovative pilot project,” said Board of Trustees President Wanden Treanor. “College of Marin is honored to help prove the potential for this new energy source while at the same time generating considerable savings to the College’s energy bill. It is another step toward realizing a promise we made to the residents of Marin.”

automotive, Clean Energy, Energy Storage, Solar

RFS Uncertainty Chills Advanced Biofuel Funding

Cindy Zimmerman

biologoA new analysis from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) finds delays in rulemaking for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) have chilled necessary investment in advanced and cellulosic biofuels.

According to the analysis, the industry has experienced an estimated $13.7 billion shortfall in investment over the past two years as the Environmental Protection Agency has delayed setting volume obligations for biofuels under the RFS.

(EPA) was nine months late issuing the 2013 RVOs and is more than 17 months late in issuing the 2014 rule. Further, the agency has made cellulosic biofuel producers wait an average of 29 months (more than two years) for approval of production pathways. Currently, 29 companies have unresolved petitions filed with EPA and they have been waiting on average more than 32 months for resolution. A majority of an estimated $13.7 billion shortfall in investment for cellulosic and new advanced technologies should therefore be attributed to EPA’s delays in issuing timely rules.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, notes that the situation came about just as plants were beginning to reach the commercial stage. “The chill in investment has had the heaviest impact on cellulosic biofuel developers,” said Erickson. “The delays in rulemaking have also undercut the industry’s ability to create new employment opportunities, resulting in the loss of more than 80,000 direct jobs.”

According to BIO, the industry has invested more than $5 billion in first-of-a-kind demonstration and commercial-scale biorefineries around the world. The analysis finds that as of April 2015, there are five commercial cellulosic biorefineries with a combined capacity of more than 50 million gallons within the United States and registered to meet the goals of the RFS, along with several pilot and demonstration plants. Additional commercial biorefineries are under construction.

advanced biofuels, BIO, Cellulosic, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFS

Retailers Tout E15 in New Video

John Davis

A new video has retailers extolling the virtues of E15. Clear the Air Chicago, a coalition advocating to make the higher blend of ethanol available citywide, is behind the video in which the retailers credit E15 with boosting business, improving customer satisfaction, and providing reliable service, while saving drivers 5 to 15 cents per gallon.

“It’s been a windfall for us,” said Roger Green, Station Owner from South St. Paul, Minnesota. “It’s been a huge increase in our inside store sales and our volume sales.”

The City of Chicago is considering a proposal that will bring E15 to Chicago gas stations.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Video

GROWMARK Shows Off New Propane Terminal

John Davis

growmarkcantonGROWMARK showed off its newest propane terminal in South Dakota. This company news release says the April 28 open house at the Canton terminal attracted about 70 people to the event.

GROWMARK, headquartered in Bloomington, Ill., acquired the Magellan Pipeline Company, L.P. in 2013 and added rail capacity. Facility upgrades were complete and the terminal was operational in January 2015.

“This opportunity made strategic sense for us,” said Kevin Carroll, GROWMARK VP Energy & Logistics. “Our retail division, STAR Energy, acquired Siouxland Propane in 2013, expanding our footprint into the South Dakota geography. This terminal will support the expanded footprint and enhance our supply for other areas of our System.”

The upgraded GROWMARK terminal provides storage capacity of more than 300,000 gallons and the capability to fill two semi-truck tanks simultaneously, each loading at a rate of approximately 570 gallons per minute. The terminal is adjacent to the BNSF railroad, and GROWMARK has upgraded the facility to allow for six railcars to unload at one time, with the opportunity to expand that to eight cars in the future.

Propane

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • http://energy.agwired.com/category/bioenergy-bytes/Probe Manufacturing, Inc. has announced changes to its organization that will shift the focus of the company to its innovation & product development incubation services with emphasis in Cleantech and high growth opportunities. The company will be offering product development acceleration to startups and VC backed companies.
  • During a historic visit to China the Government of Equatorial Guinea, represented by the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy (MMIE), announced on April 30 the signing of multiple memoranda of understanding with Chinese companies covering large areas of cooperation in the electricity and industrial sectors. The agreements were made during the Equatorial Guinea-Asia Economic Forum in Dalian.
  • Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power has surpassed 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy development with the acquisition of a controlling interest in the 60-MW North Star Solar Facility in California from First Solar, Inc. The remaining interest in the project will be owned by an affiliate of First Solar.
  • Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. has announced it will be exhibiting its light-weight CNG fuel storage systems at the 2015 ACT Expo in Dallas, Texas, May 4-7, 2015. Quantum will be showcasing its recently released next generation Q-Cab LITE, a back-of-cab mounted system for heavy duty truck applications that integrates three of Quantum’s large diameter tanks, and its next generation Q-Rail LITE, a frame rail mounted system for medium and heavy duty truck applications.
Bioenergy Bytes

DOT Announces New Rail Car Standards

Cindy Zimmerman

rfa-railcarU.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced a final rule for the safe transportation of flammable liquids by rail.

The final rule, developed in coordination with Canada, focuses on “safety improvements that are designed to prevent accidents, mitigate consequences in the event of an accident, and support emergency response.”

“Safety has been our top priority at every step in the process for finalizing this rule, which is a significant improvement over the current regulations and requirements and will make transporting flammable liquids safer,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, believes the new rule strikes “a fair balance in setting comprehensive standards while at the same time being sensitive to the limitation of retrofit capacity by giving less hazardous flammables — like ethanol — additional time to retrofit railcars.”

“We applaud the Department of Transportation for working to harmonize these regulations with Canada; for adopting a risk-based approach that prioritizes the most dangerous and highly-volatile flammables like crude oil while giving medium hazard liquids like ethanol additional time to come into compliance, for recognizing the limitations of the retrofit capacity, and, for establishing a regular reporting process for the retrofit schedule,” added Dinneen.

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, however, expressed disappointment with the new rule. “Although we are pleased that this rule begins to acknowledge the difference between cars in ethanol and crude service, we are extremely disappointed that regulators are requiring extensive changes to the ethanol rail fleet, while seemingly ignoring the number one cause of these accidents – broken rails and poor track condition,” said Buis.

The new rule requires a phase out or retrofit of all DOT-111 railcars transporting crude oil and ethanol by May 2023. Specifically, the rule requires a phase out or retrofit of all unjacketed CPC-1232 railcars used to ship ethanol by July 2023. Additionally, a new tank car standard has been put in place that establishes the DOT-117 as the new railcar to ship oil and ethanol. The DOT-117 includes a 9/16 inch steel hull, roll over protection, full height head shields, top fitting protection, and jacketing with thermal protection.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, RFA, transportation

U.S. Ethanol Exports Rebound in 2014

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-fasUSDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service reports that exports of U.S. ethanol exports rebounded last year after two years of declines. It was the second highest level of ethanol exports in history, making the United States the largest exporter of ethanol in the world, surpassing Brazil for the second time.

Value and volume of ethanol exports were both up approximately 35 percent from 2013, although still below the record set in 2011. At nearly 3.2 billion liters (836 million gallons), U.S. ethanol exports were worth more than $2 billion dollars. Six percent of ethanol produced in the United States was exported last year, shipped to a more diverse range of markets. Exports to Canada accounted for 40% of the total and while exports to Brazil and Europe dropped, dramatic increases were seen in markets such as the Philippines, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

On the other side, U.S. ethanol imports (including both fuel and non-fuel ethanol) dropped by more than half in 2014, to less than 900 million liters, the lowest level since 2010. At the same time, domestic ethanol production jumped nearly eight percent in 2014, reaching a record 54 billion liters (14.3 billion gallons).

Read the entire FAS report here.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USDA

NBB Talks Biodiesel Issues with NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

ww15-nbbThe National Biodiesel Board (NBB) took part in the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting Washington Watch this week to talk with reporters from around the country about issues important to the industry, number one being get the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) back on track.

“We hope that they not only get it back on track but get those volumes out there, they need to be higher,” said NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs Anne Steckel, speaking about EPA’s plan to release overdue volume obligations under the law by June. “EPA has said they want 2014 volumes to be actual production, so for our industry that would be about 1.75 billion gallons.”

Steckel says they hope EPA will add several hundred million gallons to that each year going forward to support industry growth.

In this interview with Agri-Pulse reporter Spencer Chase, Steckel also talks about the status of the biodiesel tax incentive. Interview with Anne Steckel, NBB

Audio, Biodiesel, Government, NBB, RFS

Yukon Seeks Input on Biomass Energy Strategy

John Davis

yukonA Canadian territory is seeking the public’s input on a biomass energy strategy. This news release from the Yukon government says wood is at the heart of the proposal.

“A biomass energy strategy will guide the development of an emerging sector that can offer yet another much-needed solution to deliver adequate energy during our long, cold winter months,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Scott Kent said. “The adoption of modern, clean-burning wood-heating technology will increase demand for wood products and create new jobs in the forestry and the heating industries.”

Six key action areas are being proposed:

Using biomass energy for government infrastructure.
Developing regulations, policies and programs for a biomass energy industry.
Managing air quality to protect public and environmental health and safety.
Facilitating the development of a biomass energy industry in Yukon.
Ensuring a sustainable timber supply.
Ensuring biomass fuel quality and security.

“Using biomass for heat is a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solution for heating in the territory,” Kent added. “The proposed action items are a clear path forward for achieving a viable, safe and clean industry that will be good for Yukon’s economy and environment. We look forward to receiving feedback from the public.”

Comments will be accepted until June 26.

biomass