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.
EPA Proposal will be Hot Topic at FEW
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
Biodiesel Helps 4-H Students Learn Science
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.
Ethanol Report on Reaction to EPA RFS Proposal
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
Candidate Clinton Clean Energy Commentary
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.
USDA to Invest $100M in Biofuels Infrastructure
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.
BioEnergy Bytes
- 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.
Ethanol Industry Blasts EPA RFS Proposal
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.
Biodiesel Industry Good with New EPA Proposal
The biodiesel industry is relatively pleased with the announcement today from EPA setting volume requirements for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Joe Jobe voiced “measured support” for the proposal while calling for improvements in the final rule.
“It is not perfect, but it will get the U.S. biodiesel industry growing again and put people back to work,” said Jobe. “However, more can be done, and we particularly look forward to working with the administration on strengthening biodiesel volumes for 2016 and 2017 during the comment period in the coming weeks.”
Biodiesel falls under the Biomass-based Diesel category of the RFS, which is a subset of the overall Advanced Biofuels category. The EPA proposal, which is slated to be finalized in November, would gradually raise biodiesel volumes by about 100 million gallons per year to a standard of 1.9 billion gallons in 2017. Because of biodiesel’s higher energy content, this would count as 2.95 billion ethanol equivalent gallons under the RFS. The overall Advanced Biofuel standard would rise to 3.4 billion ethanol equivalent gallons in 2016. NBB had requested more aggressive growth to a biodiesel standard of 2.7 billion gallons by 2017, along with additional growth in the overall Advanced Biofuel category.
EPA Announces Volume Obligations Under RFS
Beating the announced deadline of June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed the volume requirements under the RFS program for 2014, 2015, and 2016 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. EPA is also proposing the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel for 2017.
EPA is proposing to set the renewable fuel standards for 2014 at the levels that were actually produced and used as transportation fuel, heating oil or jet fuel in the contiguous U.S. and Hawaii. For 2015 and 2016, EPA is proposing ambitious increases in both advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel in comparison to 2014 levels. This proposed rulemaking also provides an evaluation of the expected volumes of cellulosic biofuel for 2015 and 2016, and proposes annual increases in the required volume of biomass-based diesel for 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Announcing the proposal today was Janet McCabe, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. EPA Announces RFS RVO proposal
McCabe took a number of questions from the media on the proposal. EPA RVO proposal media question and answer