Healthy Planet Partners, LLC (HPP), a Clean Energy Solutions Fund and Kyocera Solar, Inc. have announced the completion of a solar rooftop and carport system at the Seattle Mariners Spring Training facility in Peoria, AZ. HPP developed and financed the project with partner Kyocera Solar which provided engineering and project management support as well as acting as a finance partner. The 345kW solar array will generate approximately 529MWh of clean electricity annually.- Mosaic, a peer-to-peer solar finance company, has announced that an affiliate of global reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd. will provide up to $100 million in financing for Mosaic’s home solar loan program. Under the terms of the facility, PartnerRe will finance the purchase of loans originated by Mosaic. The company also expects to continue to grow its successful peer-to-peer lending platform, which has already seen thousands of investors join the Mosaic community.
- Borrego Solar Systems Inc., a leading designer, developer, installer and financier of grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and sPower (Sustainable Power Group), announced that they are commencing construction on a solar project located in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Upon completion, the facility, located on sPower-owned land in the Town of Riverhead, will have the capacity to produce 6.3MWac (9.1MWdc) of solar energy.
- ET Solar Energy Corp. has announced that it has supplied 5 MW polycrystalline photovoltaic modules to a leading mining operation in Suriname. Upon completion, this solar power plant will substantially meet the demand for electricity of the facilities.
Pacific Biodiesel Once Again Fueling Boats
After the last couple of years filling up vehicles for dry land transportation, Hawaii-based Pacific Biodiesel is once again topping off boat tanks. This article from Pacific Business News says Pacific Biodiesel got a new permit and has expanded its production of the green fuel so everyone can enjoy clean-burning biodiesel.
“Now that we have the larger capacity, and advanced technology that produces the highest quality biodiesel in America, we are expanding into high-value tourism markets with customers who care about the environment and want to attract eco-conscious visitors to their activities,” Bob King, president and founder of Pacific Biodiesel, said in a statement. “The marine industry should be first and foremost about protecting the ocean and delivering a healthier experience for ocean-goers.”
Biodiesel, a cleaner-burning, renewable alternative fuel produced in Hawaii from recycled waste vegetable oil, is safe for all diesel engines and has been registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a fuel and a fuel additive.
In April, Pacific Biodiesel said it closed its facility at the Central Maui Landfill after being open since 1996 because it couldn’t justify the costly site improvements that were required to meet the county’s demands.
The article says Aqua Adventures Maui, a customer of Pacific Biodiesel from more than a decade ago, is the first boat company to fuel under the new permit.
Loyola Students Get Hands-On Biodiesel Experience
Even in the pristine halls of academia, you can learn a lot by getting your hands dirty, especially when it comes to biodiesel. This article from Loyola University Chicago explains how the school’s Clean Energy Lab, the first and only school with an operation license to sell biodiesel in the U.S., is providing a student-run initiative that’s also a certified green business by the Illinois Green Business Association
“The Biodiesel lab is a good experience for students because it gets students involved hands-on in the field they might be interested in,” sophomore Biology major Najla Zayed said. “It helps us realize that sustainability is a practical thing and we can use the knowledge we gain from our labs and classes and project it out in the world, mainly in Chicago.”
Students involved in these course look at the inputs — such as what energy might go into the process — and the outputs such as productivity and byproducts of the process.
“[The students] identified glycerin as byproduct,” said Loyola’s Director of Sustainability Aaron Durnbaugh said while giving a tour Oct. 9. “So they used that to create BioSoap, in which they marketed, and tested.” The BioSoap is used in main bathrooms around the Lake Shore and Water Towers campuses. It is now fully certified as green chemistry by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Loyola’s Clean Energy Lab has several other biodiesel-related projects going on, including Bio-Soap, methanol recovery, production efficiency and the creation of household cleaning products.
Ethanol Industry Applauds Abengoa
Members of the ethanol industry joined with government leaders in applauding Abengoa at the opening of its $500 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas last week.
Among those on hand for the celebration was Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White who says Americans should be proud of the new plant “because this phantom fuel, as the naysayers like to call it, is here and it’s here to stay.”
However, White says they are concerned that this third cellulosic plant opening this year could be the last if EPA fails to continue implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as Congress intended. “There may never be another celebration like this and it’s sad but true,” he said. “This promise was made years ago and (the administration) needs to stick to it.”
Interview with RFA's Robert White at Abengoa OpeningPositive Energy Trends Bode Well for US
According to a new report, “Positive Energy Trends Bode Well for U.S. Security and the Economy,” smarter use of energy is the biggest contributor to three positive trends: reducing of oil dependence, slowing the growth of electricity needs and making energy services more affordable to Americans.
“Despite what you may be hearing from a final onslaught of negative campaign ads, the security and affordability of America’s energy services has never been better, and energy efficiency is the most important reason why,” said Ralph Cavanagh, co-director of the Natural 
Resources Defense Council (NRDC) energy program, who commissioned the study. “The latest data confirms that our consumption of energy, including oil and coal, remains well below its peak levels from a decade ago. However, we can and should do more.”
NRDC’s Second Annual Energy Report is an analysis of new government data on 2013 U.S. energy use that shows optimizing energy use through efficiency continues to contribute more to meeting U.S. energy needs than any other resource, from oil and coal to natural gas and nuclear power.
“Efficiency helps America get more work out of less oil, natural gas, and electricity while pushing our economy forward and cutting residential, business, and industrial customers’ bills,” added Cavanagh. “Far less costly than adding other energy resources like fossil fuels that also create climate-changing pollution, efficiency saves the nation hundreds of billions of dollars annually, prevents millions of tons of carbon emissions, helps U.S. workers and companies compete worldwide, and increases our energy security.”
The report notes the nation is already two-thirds of the way toward meeting President Obama’s goal of cutting 3 billion tons of carbon pollution by 2030 through his administration’s efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings, which also will lower customer energy bills by more than $4 billion. Meanwhile, the government’s proposed emissions standards for existing power plants would keep over 5.3 billion additional tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. But based on the nation’s positive energy trends, the report says even larger reductions are feasible and cost-effective.
BioEnergy Bytes
PlanET Biogas UK Ltd. has commissioned their fifth Biogas plant into service. The 1.5 MW plant is situated on Singleton Birch’s Ltd. site at Melton Ross, Barnetby, North Lincolnshire. The biogas will produce 40% of their onsite power requirements. Four local farmers are providing 30,000 tonnes of feedstock every year.- Join Growth Energy and New Holland Agriculture announced the 2014 Growth Energy Individual Membership Sweepstakes winner of 200 hours of usage of a CR8090 combine with a New Holland Twin Rotor® CR8090 combine corn head during the 2014 harvest season is Robert Baker from La Plata, Missouri. The total prize package is valued at $35,584.
- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced $1.4 billion in USDA loan guarantees to improve the delivery of electric power to rural communities in 21 states. The announcement includes $106 million for smart grid technologies and $3 million for renewable energy programs and systems. The funding will help diversify energy portfolios and decrease our nation’s reliance on carbon-based fuel sources.
- First Environment Inc. and Genscape have created a new strategic partnership to provide RFS2 QAP services for bio-methane related pathways. Both companies have been at the forefront of providing quality assurance to environmental markets, and now both companies can leverage a greater wealth of experience and resources for RFS compliance in the bio-methane industry.
DOE’s Moniz Congrats Abengoa on Cellulosic Plant
Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz was on hand to help Abengoa Bioenergy celebrate the grand opening of its cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas. With a beautiful day and a full house, excitement was high as Moniz took the stage to congratulate Abengoa’s achievement.
The $500 million biorefinery was supported, in part, by a DOE loan guarantee. Moniz began his remarks by putting the bioenergy plant in perspective of the larger picture and that is as part of President Obama’s “all of the above” energy strategy.
Moniz said the cellulosic ethanol plant serves three major objectives:
- Growing the economy – creating jobs.
- Advancing our energy security interests. No only for the United States alone, but also for our allies and friends.
- Moving towards the low carbon economy- addressing climate change.
Moniz also noted the importance of the innovation chain, “…and what we’re seeing to today is part of that…But if we’re going to kick start this, we have to work with the private sector with state and local governments with our research institutions and laboratories to get these technologies deployed and drive those costs down to be competitive continued Moniz. So this plant shows all of these features.”
He said that while there will be a few rough spots along the road, what the country is seeing today is the beginning of a new industry.
Listen to Energy Secretary Moniz’s complete comments here:
Listen to Energy Secretary Moniz’s remarks: Energy Secretary Moniz Remarks
Check out the Abengoa Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Grand Opening photo album.
PERC: Winter Propane Supplies Looking Good
Propane supplies going into the winter are looking good this year. The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is citing U.S. Energy Information Administration information that expects a warmer winter and a propane stocks up 17 percent from a year ago in the Gulf Coast and Midwest, along with a 12 percent increase in production from 2013.
“These are positive signs,” said Roy Willis, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council, “but our industry is working hard to ensure our customers are prepared. Propane retailers across the country remain focused on safety and encouraging customers to consider early fills, automatic refills, and payment programs now before cold weather hits.”
PERC launched a $5.5 million consumer safety and preparedness campaign in early September directing residential heating customers and agribusiness operators, among others, to propanecomfort.com. On the site, propane customers can take a quiz to determine if they are prepared for winter and review energy efficiency tips. Visitors can also sign up for news updates from PERC.
“Preliminary numbers for the campaign show that nearly 20,000 customers have already taken advantage of our online resources and we expect to see continued engagement as we get closer to winter,” said Willis.
PERC will TV ads through Thanksgiving in 30 states most affected by deliverability challenges and temporary price increases last winter.
EPA Fools Ethanol Advocates – Merle Anderson
The following is a guest editorial by American Coalition for Ethanol founder Merle Anderson.
I just want to remind EPA and Big Oil that I am still around. Since organizing the American Coalition for Ethanol nearly 30 years ago I have just celebrated my 93rd birthday.
I am damn mad because I think we’ve let EPA fool us into letting the fraudulent 10 percent ethanol blend wall stand. It has collapsed grain markets by dishonestly ending ethanol’s growing demand for corn and they call that free enterprise. I call it stealing many, many billions of dollars from agricultural economies.
That blend wall exists because EPA fooled people into thinking it is legitimate because fueling standard cars with E30 illegally increases gasoline’s hazardous emissions. Ever try drinking gasoline? My friend Orrie Swayze’s research agrees that E30 reduces gasoline’s hazardous emissions by 30% because, unlike gasoline, ethanol does not produce known human carcinogenic tailpipe emissions.
I also find it laughable that EPA claims E30 can harm standard auto engines. Show me a legitimate warranty denial. I have never owned a flexible fuel vehicle and fueled my last 7 vehicles with half E85 or used E30 through blender pumps to travel over 600,000 miles. When I traded in the vehicles, the engines were still in top condition.
When blender pumps were installed for the first time, I started hearing many positive remarks about ethanol’s engine performance. EPA tries to deny that standard auto owners have successfully driven millions of miles annually on popular, high octane E30 since blender pumps were installed five years ago. Our typical report still is “more power and can’t tell any difference in mileage compared to E10.”
I challenge agricultural and ethanol leaders to dare and expose EPA’s lies that built the blend wall. I also urge that you use E30 in standard vehicles and openly endorse premium E30 as the legal, safest, best, lowest cost fuel choice on the market today for standard vehicle owners.
Merle Anderson
Climax, MN
USDA Researchers Advance Advanced Ethanol
Researchers for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are making advancements on an advanced biofuel, cellulosic ethanol. This article from the USDA says the scientists at the Bioenergy Research Unit in Peoria, Illinois, have recently completed studies on multiple approaches that could help streamline cellulosic ethanol production.
In one study, a team led by ARS chemical engineer Bruce Dien looked at using switchgrass, a perennial grass native to the prairie, for ethanol production. The team concluded that biomass producers could optimize cellulosic ethanol production by planting Kanlow variety—a lowland ecotype—and harvesting at either mid-season or post frost. Results from this study were published in Environmental Technology in 2013.
ARS chemist Michael Bowman led another study of switchgrass xylans, which is challenging to convert to sugars with enzymes because of its complex chemical structure. Bowman determined that structural features of xylan remained the same as the plant matures, even though the amount of xylan changed with maturity. This is good news for biorefiners, because it suggests that they can use the same biomass hydrolyzing enzymes to break down xylans in all switchgrass biomass, no matter when the crop is harvested. Results from this study were published in Metabolites in 2012.
The article also gives progress reports on work with microorganisms needed to ferment xylose—molecules that make up xylans—into ethanol and promising field trials with a yeast strain that grew almost four times faster than other strains that contained XI enzymes and one that could produce ethanol at significantly greater yields than other yeasts engineered to ferment xylose to ethanol.