NextEnergy has awarded $295,000 in Michigan Accelerating Technology (MATch) Energy Grant funds to three Michigan companies – Navitas Advanced Solutions Group, LLC., REL, Inc. and Temper, Inc. The MATch Energy Grant provides matching funds, or cost-share, as well as funding for follow-on commercialization projects, to eligible Michigan businesses and universities applying for federal funding in the area of advanced energy. Launched in 2012 with funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the MATch Energy Grant directly supports the commercialization process for applied research projects.- BIRD Energy is in its sixth funding cycle for U.S.-Israel joint Project Proposals with a focus on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. A project proposal must include R&D cooperation between two companies or cooperation between a company and a university/research institution (one from the U.S. and one from Israel). The proposal should have significant commercial potential and the project outcome should lead to commercialization. The following areas of research and development themes are within the scope of this call: Solar Power, Alternative Fuels, Advanced Vehicle Technologies, Smart Grid, Water-Energy Nexus, Wind Energy or any other Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency technology. The conditional grant per project is up to 50% of the R&D costs associated with the joint project, and up to a maximum of $1 million per project.
- Global Bioenergies has been selected to be part of the new Tech40 label which highlights 40 high-tech companies listed on Alternext. The list of the 40 companies that constitute the Tech40 label was revealed on April 27, 2015 during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Economy and Industry. The selected companies are now regrouped in a dedicated market index.
- Electric drive vehicles—with improved fuel efficiency, technological advances, and an alternative to gasoline and diesel fuels—are beginning to make inroads in this segment as commercial and government fleet operators consider investing in greener vehicles. According to a recent report from Navigant Research, sales of electric trucks and buses are expected to total more than 805,000 from 2014 to 2023.
SolarReserve Wins Edison Award
SolarReserve has been named a 2015 Silver Winner for innovation by the internationally renowned Edison Awards™ for its efforts in advancing solar energy and solar thermal energy storage worldwide. The awards recognize innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy. Being recognized with an Edison Award has become one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business. The awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose inventions, new product development methods and innovative achievements changed the world, garnered him 1,093 U.S. patents, and made him a household name.
“It’s exciting to see companies like SolarReserve continuing Thomas Edison’s legacy of challenging conventional thinking,” said Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards’ executive director. “Edison Awards recognizes game-changing products and services, and the teams that brought them to the market.”
The need for storage technology is growing – especially as the use of renewable energy grows. Intermittency has been a concern along with the need to be able to deliver renewable power during peak demand periods. SolarReserve is addressing these issues and currently has more than $1.8 billion of projects in construction and operation worldwide, with development and long-term power contracts for 482 megawatts (MW) of solar projects representing $2.8 billion of project capital.
“We are honored to receive recognition from the Edison Awards and its distinguished panel of judges for our success in developing and commercializing breakthrough technology that solves the intermittency issues experienced with other renewable energy sources,” said SolarReserve’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Smith. “It is gratifying to have industry experts recognize the value and strategic vision of this technology as well as SolarReserve’s leadership in solar power and energy storage.”
Kum & Go to Offer E15
Iowa-based convenience stores Kum & Go will begin offering E15 as a fuel option. The first station will be in Windsor Heights, Iowa on April 30 with 65 stores in Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Dakota planning to offer the higher blend within the next two years.
“We have a strong tradition in our company to implement sustainability within our business and at our locations. From our 100 LEED-certified stores, to our selection of alternative fuels, E15 was a natural addition to our fuel offering,” said Jim Pirolli, Vice President of Fuels, Kum & Go. “Having E15 in our portfolio allows Kum & Go to offer our customers a quality product at a great value.”
The news was welcomed by the ethanol industry.
Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, issued the following statement:
“We are thrilled to hear that Kum & Go will be offering E15, providing motorists with a choice and savings at the pump. Kum & Go prides themselves on their exemplary service and a drive to give the customer more than what they expect, and this latest announcement underscores their role as an innovator and leader in the convenience store marketplace. Furthermore, this announcement shows that customer demand for higher blends of homegrown, renewable fuels, such as E15, is growing and Kum & Go is taking the necessary steps to deliver what the marketplace demands and what the consumer wants.”
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) pointed out that that this action will bring the total number of states offering E15 to 20.
“RFA would like to thank Kum & Go for their continued leadership in ethanol,” said Robert White, vice president of industry relations at the Renewable Fuels Association. “They have been offering E85 to consumers for years, and this addition of E15 in these seven states just makes sense. These continued E15 announcements demonstrate that the business case is solid for higher blends, and should lead other retailers to explore their options.”
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty offered congratulations and thanks to Kum & Go for making E15 more widely available.
“Kum & Go has been a leader in offering E85 as a fuel choice at most of the locations they’ve built in the last several years – it seems fitting that they would now be the first large Midwest retailer to announce the addition of E15 as a fuel option. In the c-store business, everyone “wants to be first to be second,” so other retailers will take notice when a chain like Kum & Go is added to the list of E15 retailers that includes Mapco, Murphy Oil, Protec, Sheetz, and other smaller chains and single stores that have been offering E15 for two years or more. E15 is real, and with the number of vehicles built and warrantied for E15 growing by 10 million or more a year, it’s a smart option for stations to offer in the future,” said Lamberty.
Navajo Students Wind Schoolyard STEM Lab
Nizhoni Elementary School in Shiprock, New Mexico has been awarded the first-ever Schoolyard STEM Lab from Samsung and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). The STEM Lab was donated during the 10th annual National Environmental Education Week.
The Schoolyard STEM Lab is an outdoor classroom space designed to work in any climate for a hands-on, immersive environmental education program that consists of a Growing Dome greenhouse where students can apply the scientific method to cultivation projects. The school’s plan is to have all students take part in exploring such topics as aquatic life, solar power and sustainability, conduct geothermal energy experiments, and conserve native plants and natural resources. 
The Growing Dome will help students better understand STEM, and will help them make connections between the natural environment and Navajo culture.
“We are excited to award Nizhoni with the Lab. It is a solid resource that they can use to leverage the natural environment to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a way that is relevant to the community,” said Diane Wood, president of NEEF. “We thank Samsung for their financial support and Growing Spaces for its partnership and installation of the Schoolyard STEM Lab.”
Located on Navajo Nation in northern New Mexico, Nizhoni’s school is considered a turnaround school- Nizhoni Elementary went from an F in 2012 to a B in 2013 on the New Mexico Public Education Department’s School Report Cards. The school district is 100 percent Title 1 federally funded due to the high-level poverty within the communities it serves and provides free breakfast and lunch to all of its students. Despite these challenges, the school is committed to equipping its students with the necessary knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in pursuing post-secondary education and early career opportunities.
“Students at Nizhoni are eager to learn,” said Principal Patsy Marquez. “We have been working hard to raise our student’s levels of achievement in areas like math, science and technology. In doing so, we need to make sure that they have access to the tools that they need in order to learn. The Schoolyard STEM Lab is a great tool that we can use to accelerate student learning by introducing all of our students to the scientific inquiry process within the context of the natural environment.”
Jennifer Choate, Nizhoni’s gifted education teacher who submitted the winning application on behalf of the school, added, “The Schoolyard STEM Lab also provides an opportunity for students to harvest their own herbs and vegetables which can be shared with the community and used by the school to prepare more nutritious meals,” added
Poll Says Americans Support RFS
More than six in 10 Americans support the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) according to a new national poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The RFS mandates the amount of renewable fuels to be used in the U.S. transportation fuel supply.
The poll finds that the RFS garners broad, bipartisan support from Democrats (65%), Independents (61%) and Republicans (57%) alike. Nearly two in three registered voters overall (62%) support the RFS. Less than two in 10 voters (18%) oppose the standard and two in 10 have no opinion (20%).
Other key findings include that two-thirds of voters (65%) support Federal tax incentives on cellulosic ethanol expansion. Fifty-one percent Fifty-one percent of voters oppose tax incentives given by the federal government to oil companies in order to help pay for such things as equipment depreciation, oil depletion allowances, and foreign investment tax credits for taxes they pay in foreign countries. Only about one-third of voters (34%) support such government assistance to oil companies and 15 percent have no opinion.
In terms of mandating automakers to produce alternative vehicles, 69 percent of registered voters support requiring automakers to build cars that use “fuel” other than oil including electric vehicles, natural gas and biofuels.
“This poll clearly shows that the oil industry’s misinformation, hyperbole, and manufactured angst against the RFS is not resonating with an American public that wants competition for the pump, relief for their wallet, and lower carbon fuels for the planet,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “More than six in ten Americans understand the economic, environmental, and national security benefits of the RFS. Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency should take note of the high level of support for the program and allow the RFS to work at the levels Congress envisioned in 2007. Failure to do so only rewards the recalcitrant incumbent industry, jeopardizes investment in new innovative technologies, and ignores an American public intent upon moving our nation’s energy future forward.”
BioEnergy Bytes
- SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. has announced an expanded supply arrangement with Vivint Solar. Vivint Solar will purchase and install SolarEdge’s optimized DC inverters with integrated rapid shutdown and revenue-grade metering in its installations nationwide.
- Trina Solar Limited has announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Administrative Committee of the Hefei Xinzhan General Pilot Zone to develop up to 300 MW of distributed generation solar power and related projects in Hefei, Anhui Province. The first phase of the project consists of a 30 MW commercial rooftop project, on which the Company will start construction in the second quarter of 2015.
- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. has announced that it has supplied approximately 3 MW of PV modules to Embotelladora de Sula S.A. for Honduras’ largest rooftop solar system, which is also the largest solar PV rooftop project in Central America. Located in San Pedro Sula, the approximately 3MW rooftop project covers an area of 34,000 M2 and sits on top of a modern production facility for bottled soft drinks, juices and purified water. The project was developed by Smartsolar.
- Wuxi Suntech has announced the introduction of its new HyPro product line. The average mass production cell efficiency of HyPro can reach up to 20.5% with the PERC technology. Suntech has made an initial shipment of 236kW of the HyPro module in March. The module will be available globally this July, for both commercial and residential projects.
Ethanol Tops Alternative Fuels ZimmPoll
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is your favorite alternative fuel (to gasoline)?”
A hands down winner in this week’s poll on alternative fuels was ethanol. Which is not a surprise. However, many may be surprised to see the clear runner-up was solar. We had many chime in for the other category. A few of those included: algae diesel, biohydrogen and biobutanol.
Here are the poll results:
- Biodiesel – 10%
- Ethanol – 42%
- Propane – 9%
- Natural gas – 7%
- Wind – 6%
- Solar – 17%
- Other – 9%
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, How will high path avian flu impact industry?
The states impacted by high path avian flu are on the rise. The most recent outbreak in Iowa on a chicken egg farm has led us all to wonder the short and long term repercussions it will have on the industry, exports and prices for the consumer. In this week’s ZimmPoll we want to know if you think this flu strain will transform the industry or will it bounce back quickly?
American Ethanol Finishes 5 Years with NASCAR
Over the weekend at Richmond International Raceway, American Ethanol and NASCAR officially celebrated five years and seven million miles of running on 15% ethanol blended Sunoco Green E15, unveiling a new paint scheme with E15 prominently located on the hood of Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet SS.
Dillon, who has been advocating the benefits of ethanol for three years now, drove his first American Ethanol paint of the 2015 racing season in the Saturday Toyota Owners 400 race, which was delayed by rain until Sunday. While he finished 27th in the race, ethanol still came in first.
“This has been a tremendous partnership,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “Since NASCAR switched to Sunoco Green E15 five years ago, we have seen a very a substantial change in the national dialogue regarding ethanol – when people see NASCAR rely on ethanol week after week in all three of its national racing series, they understand that it is a fuel that they can rely on as well.”
American Ethanol driver Austin Dillon, National Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, RCR Racing owner Richard Childress
Bowling added that according to a 2014 study, NASCAR fans are over 75 percent more likely than non-fans to support the use of ethanol blended with gasoline to fuel their own car.
Biodiesel to Tackle South Pole
A group planning a drive to the South Pole is choosing biodiesel to get it there. According to this article in Green Car Reports, Zero South‘s goal is to be the first to reach the South Pole without using any fossil fuels.
“We shall draft a symbol of military defense for the front lines of environmental defense,” expedition organizer Nick Baggarly declared.
Each Hummer is equipped with a 3.2-liter six-cylinder turbodiesel engine that will run on biofuel during the expedition.
There’s also an electric motor for each axle, retaining the Hummer’s four-wheel drive capability.
Electricity is supplied by a 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, mounted in an insulated battery box to maintain consistent temperature.
The whole trip will cover 1,200 miles, and the group plans to document its journey and produce a 10-episode television miniseries and feature-length film.
Illinois Could Cut Carbon Pollution with More E15
A new study shows that Illinois could cut its carbon pollution if the state adopted higher blends of ethanol, such as E15. The report from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s principal research economist, Dr. Steffen Mueller, and backed by a group pushing for Chicago’s adoption of the E15 Clean Air Ordinance, says carbon could be cut by up to 663,646 tons per year, the equivalent of taking 139,715 passenger vehicles off the road in Illinois every year.
Key Findings:
Illinois motorists consume about 1.5 billion gallons of gasoline per year, nearly all of which is E10. The analysis shows that if consumers in Illinois had access to and chose to fill up with E15 gasoline, emissions of carbon dioxide pollution across the state would be reduced by 663,646 tons each year. These savings are equivalent to taking about 139,715 passenger vehicles off the road in Illinois every year.
The report shows that a gallon of E15 saves 1.26 g of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per megajoule compared with E10 (gasoline with 10 percent ethanol blend). CO2e includes carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane.
Dr. Mueller’s conclusions demonstrate that switching to a motor fuel with a greater quantity of homegrown renewable fuels would result in significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The 15 Clean Air Ordinance — which would give consumers a choice of higher-blend motor fuels — would create a better future for our climate while protecting American jobs and our energy security.
The group points out that because it improves engine performance and burns with fewer emissions, E15 has been adopted throughout professional auto racing, as well as creating jobs and lowering dependence on foreign oil.