PERC Names Top Propane Autogas Green Fleet

Cindy Zimmerman

alpha-bakingChicago-based Alpha Baking Company received this year’s Propane Autogas Fleet award from the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) at the annual Green Fleet Conference & Expo in Schaumburg, Illinois this week.

The award honors one public or private fleet every year for leadership in sustainability by switching to clean, American-made propane autogas. Alpha Baking, a national bakery products distributor and home to the iconic S. Rosen’s brand, developed and implemented 22 Ford E-450 bread delivery trucks in 2012 with the help of Roush CleanTech.

“Alpha Baking’s primary reason for adopting propane autogas was because it was the right thing to do. Propane autogas reduces harmful emissions, it’s made in the U.S., it reduces our dependency on foreign oil, it’s efficient, and it keeps our communities clean,” said Bob McGuire, Alpha Baking’s vice president and director of logistics, who accepted the award during the Green Fleet Awards ceremony. “Choosing vehicles that run on American-made propane autogas has also allowed us to lower fuel costs without sacrificing performance.”

Hear more about Alpha Baking’s experience with propane autogas in PERC’s latest Straight Talk video at propanestraighttalk.com.

automotive, PERC, Propane

Virginia to Get New Enymatic Biodiesel Refinery

John Davis

virginiaflagVirginia will soon be home to a new enzymatic biodiesel production facility. In this news release from Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office, Appalachian Biofuels LLC says it will invest $3.5 million in the new production facility that will process multiple waste feedstock material and refine it using an enzyme, developed and manufactured in Haifa, Israel, to produce biodiesel.

“We were introduced to Southwest Virginia and to this new ‘immobilized enzyme’ through the Virginia Israel Advisory Board and its Director, Ralph Robbins,” said Chuck Lessin, President and CEO of Appalachian Biofuels LLC. “This revolutionary process will allow us to use the many tools, information and human resources that the Commonwealth has available. We are proud to be hiring former coal miners in the region who will transfer their significant experience in mining energy underground to our new green energy above ground in beautiful Russell County. We are excited to call Virginia our home, and we hope to grow and expand our business here in Southwest.”

Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor McAuliffe said, “The addition of a new company and job creator in Russell County is tremendous for a region that has been hard hit by economic loss. Appalachian Biofuels has the advantage of locating its headquarters and center of operations in a formerly vacant facility that can be retrofitted to meet its needs, allowing for quick start-up to production. This green energy company processes multiple waste feedstock material and refines it to produce biofuel to be blended with petroleum diesel fuel as mandated by the federal government. My recently released Virginia Energy Plan aims to catalyze the growth of green energy companies in the Commonwealth, and we are proud that Appalachian Biofuels will produce this alternative fuel right here in Virginia. Jobs in the energy industry aid in our efforts to build a new Virginia economy with diverse opportunities for growth, and we look forward to the company’s success in the Commonwealth.”

McAuliffe approved a $200,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Russell County with the project. Another $210,000 for the project came from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.

No timetable was given for when it might open.

Biodiesel

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFExtensive government support and wind turbine technology modernization will assist the continued growth of Denmark’s cumulative offshore wind power installed capacity, from 1.27 Gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 2.24 GW by 2020, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData. The report states that Denmark, excluding Greenland, is one of the leading wind power markets in the world. The country’s cumulative offshore installed capacity witnessed an increase from 0.42 GW in 2006 to 1.27 GW in 2013, at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17%.
  • Marking the two year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Clean Energy Group has released a paper about new financing options for the installation of resilient power projects. Resilient power technologies, such as solar PV with energy storage, could ensure against the devastating consequences of power outages from future disasters. “Financing for Clean, Resilient Power Solutions,” provides an overview of several clean energy finance strategies for low-cost, long-term financing of resilient, clean-energy technologies.
  • Speaking in Singapore on Wednesday, Hanergy Holding Group Chairman and CEO Li Hejun lauded the island country’s sustained commitment to clean energy development. The English version of Li Hejun’s first book, China’s New Energy Revolution, is now available. The book describes how new energy, led by thin-film solar, will revolutionize the way China and the rest of the world generate power.
  • Hertz and Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company announced the completion of two solar power installations at Hertz Rent-a-Car facilities at Denver International and St. Louis International Airports. Additionally, solar installations are underway at Hertz’s Newark Liberty International Airport, to be completed later this year, and construction at Hertz’s John F. Kennedy Airport location is planned to start in 2015. Once completed, the total installed solar capacity at the four Hertz airport locations will reach 1 megawatt of clean energy which will used to power Hertz customer service areas and other nearby Hertz buildings.
Bioenergy Bytes

Promoting American Ethanol Texas Style

Cindy Zimmerman

American-Ethanol-and-NASCAR-LogoThey say that everything is bigger in Texas so it’s appropriate that one of the largest E15 promotions of the year will be held this weekend about the benefits of American Ethanol for NASCAR fans at the Texas Motor Speedway.

“We have done 12 major promotions this year and have exposed millions of NASCAR fans to the performance and environmental benefits of Sunoco Green E15, but there is a lot of excitement surrounding this event,” said Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the National Corn Growers Association’s NASCAR Advisory Committee. “American Ethanol will be everywhere at this race, on the track, on the Midway, in the campgrounds and even on Big Hoss.”

big-hossBig Hoss is the world’s largest, high-definition LED video board, stands 218 feet wide by 94.5 feet tall and features 20,633.64 square feet of high-definition display. The 108 ton beast of a screen will be showing an American Ethanol video throughout the race.

American Ethanol partners Growth Energy and NCGA are joining forces with the Texas Corn Producers to make sure E15 fuel is prominently promoted at this high profile race.

The contest for the NASCAR Championship is now in its third round, and results in Texas and Phoenix will trim the field to only four drivers who will be eligible to win the Sprint Cup Trophy on November 16. As a result, tens of thousands of fans are expected to flock to the full weekend of races, with millions more tuning in on Sunday for the marquis Sprint Cup duel. Every car will be fueled with E15, and will sport the green American Ethanol fuel port as they have all season.

American Ethanol, corn, E15, Ethanol, NASCAR, NCGA

EIA Lowers Energy Content of Gas

Joanna Schroeder

“EIA has adjusted its estimates of the energy content of retail motor gasoline in the Monthly Energy Review (MER) to reflect its changing composition. Ethanol and other oxygenates, which have lower energy content than petroleum-based gasoline components, have seen their share of total gasoline volumes increase from 2% in 1993 to nearly 10% in 2013. As a result, EIA’s estimate of motor gasoline’s average energy content per gallon has declined by about 3% over this 20-year period,” writes the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its latest Monthly Energy Review.

To better understand the changes, a recent “Today in Energy” looked at how higher U.S. ethanol use has cut the average energy content of a gallon of gasoline.

Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 10.44.44 AM

The EIA explains that the adjustment of the average energy content per gallon of motor gasoline reflects changes in response to 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations that split the U.S. gasoline market into three segments: conventional, oxygenated, and reformulated. Oxygenated and reformulated gasoline was required to be blended with compounds that contained oxygen, such as MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) or ethanol. This Act was designed to reduce toxic air emissions in cities and it was successful. However, EIA states that while these additives reduced air pollution, they also resulted in lower heating value compared with conventional gasoline, translating to fewer miles per gallon, because they have lower energy density.

In response to these regulations, EIA began collecting separate data on the production of conventional, oxygenated, and reformulated gasoline in 1994. The gasoline heating value was estimated based on the relative volumes of conventional, oxygenated, and reformulated gasoline in the total motor gasoline product supplied to the United States.Read More

biofuels, Ethanol

PERC Debuts New Videos at World LPG Forum

Cindy Zimmerman

perc-wlpgf-willisThe Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) released a series of online videos with leading U.S. equipment manufacturers highlighting their investment in developing and commercializing new propane technologies. The videos debuted to an international crowd at the 2014 World LP Gas Forum in Miami, where they ran continuously on screens in the PERC showcase at the event.

Companies featured in the series include Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., Generac, Kohler Engines and Power Systems, Marathon, Origin Engines, Power Solutions International, and Roush CleanTech. “These world-class companies continue to build and commercialize new equipment that runs on propane for good reason: Propane is a smart investment. It’s clean, economical, and it performs,” said Roy Willis, PERC president and CEO. “On top of that, these companies stand behind propane because it’s an American-made fuel that supports American jobs and our domestic energy independence.”

At the LPG forum, Willis spoke to members of various industry publications that focus on different sectors where propane is used – from agriculture and on-road, to commercial landscaping, building and residential. PERC is an industry checkoff program which has been in existence since 1998, and Willis explained how they have transitioned in recent years from a focus on marketing and advertising to developing new technologies. “The industry recognized that to grow our industry we needed to expand beyond our existing customer base and to do so we needed propane technology that customer base could use,” said Willis.

Listen to Willis’ comments here: Roy Willis, PERC president and CEO

2014 World LP Gas Forum Photo Album

Audio, Energy, PERC, Propane

Group Wants Same Exemptions for Biodiesel that Oil Gets

John Davis

BRAGA group that advocates for organizations engaged in biobased chemistries wants the government to give biodiesel the same environmental reporting exemptions that petroleum enjoys. The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG) petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking that biodiesel fuel manufacturers be granted the same Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) exemptions that petroleum-based diesel manufacturers already receive.

Specifically, BRAG petitioned EPA to add “biodiesel” as a chemical category for partial exemption for the same reasons as those given for petroleum chemicals already included, which occurred via a rulemaking process based on proposals submitted by the American Petroleum Institute (API). BRAG contends that biodiesel products should be treated similarly to the petroleum products included in the (b)(1) List due to the conditions of manufacture and the properties and uses of the substances.

The second petition, “Petition for Partial Exemption of Biodiesel Products,” was submitted to the CDR Coordinator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). In it, BRAG petitions to add “biodiesel” as a chemical category in the partially exempted chemical list at 40 C.F.R. Section 711.6(b)(2)(iv), referred to as the (b)(2) List. EPA has stated that CDR processing and use information for chemicals on the (b)(2) List is of “low current interest” and has established a petition process to enable stakeholders to add chemicals to the (b)(2) list.

BRAG believes biodiesel belongs on the (b)(1) List but because there is no formal petition process to amend the (b)(1) List, it decided to proceed with the “low current interest” petition process to amend the (b)(2) List as well.

BRAG officials say they just want to level the playing field for biodiesel and petroleum-derived diesel manufacturers, since biodiesel producers are required to spend significant amounts of time and money gathering and providing CDR information to EPA while petroleum-derived producers are not, for chemicals that are very similar, serve the same purpose, and are managed in equivalent ways.

Biodiesel, EPA, Government

Study: Biodiesel in Buses Cuts Pollution

John Davis

MadisonCountybus1A new study shows that biodiesel used in buses cuts down on the amount of air pollution compared to buses using more conventional diesel. This news release from the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium (MNTRC), a coalition of nine university transportation centers led by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University, showed that using biodiesel could effectively reduce the mass of particulate matter released in both hot and cold idle modes.

[Principal co-investigators were Dr. Ashok Kumar] said, “Physical properties of biodiesel blends are very important during engine combustion. Higher viscosity causes reduced fuel leakage during injection, which drives an advance in injection timing and an increase of mass injection rate. Density of the fuels affects the start of injection, injection pressure, fuel spray characteristics, etc. When the fuel temperature changes and enters an engine with different temperatures (hot or cold), fuel acts differently and the emissions are different.”

In sum, it is recommended that governments consider using blends of biodiesel in urban and commercial vehicles to enhance the quality of air and to promote healthy living.Read More

Biodiesel, Research

Solar Goes White

Joanna Schroeder

4af8a17c-1725-4cb0-8b74-93b41ce2a3afWhen people think of solar energy they think of red. Now people will start to think white. Neuchatel, Switzerland -based CSEM has produced what they believe to be the first white solar modules. According to company materials, the technology is attractive to the building industry where solar elements can blend into the building’s design and become a “hidden” renewable energy source.

CSEM’s white solar module technology has no visible cells and connections. It combines a solar cell technology able to convert infrared solar light into electricity and a selective scattering filter, which scatters the whole visible spectrum while transmitting infrared light. Any solar technology based on crystalline silicon can now be used to manufacture white, and colored, modules.

The technology can be applied on top of an existing module or integrated into a new module during assembly, on flat or curved surfaces.Besides its main application in building, CSEM expects other fields such as consumer electronics (laptops), and the car industry to show significant interest.

Electricity, International, Renewable Energy, Solar, technology

GRFA: Biofuels Help Support Rural Africa

Joanna Schroeder

The first African Sustainable Transport Forum is taking place this week in Nairobi, Kenya and the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) called on forum attendees to adopt biofuel friendly policies and regulations that would kick-start the increased use of sustainable biofuels in Africa’s transport sector.

“This Forum is an opportunity that should be grasped by Africa to take a vital step towards more sustainable transportation options. The potential of sustainable biofuels should be at the centre of these talks because they are the best sustainable transport option, both in environmental and economic terms,” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA.

GRFA1Earlier this year the GRFA forecasted that 2014 global ethanol production would reach 90.38 billion litres and its use worldwide would reduce GHG emissions by over 106 million tonnes globally. “106 million tonnes or 21 million cars in GHG reductions is massive, it’s the same as removing all the cars registered in Malaysia off the road, but much more can be achieved if African leaders choose a path towards a more sustainable future for African transport,” said Baker.

While biofuel production in Africa has remained relatively low when compared to other regions, it has grown year on year with ethanol production alone now forecasted to reach 260 million litres in 2014. The domestic use of this ethanol fuel could reduce Africa’s GHG emissions by 325,000 tonnes.

“In addition to the important opportunity to reduce GHG emissions in transport, biofuels also offer African countries a fantastic opportunity to spark much-needed investment in agriculture, and, by creating jobs and boosting household incomes, poverty can be alleviated and food security improved. Sustainable biofuels are an important tool to help enable the revival of Africa’s rural communities, Africa’s political leaders need to promote them,” added Baker.

Baker said that African Sustainable Transport Forum attendees should note that the country’s biofuels opportunity was identified in 2010 by the World Bank when it released “Biofuels in Africa: Opportunities, Prospects and Challenges.” The report found that “a new economic opportunity for sub-Saharan Africa is looming large: biofuel production…Africa is uniquely positioned to produce these new cash crops for both domestic use and export. The region has abundant land resources and preferential access to protected markets with higher-than-world-market prices. The rapid growth in the demand for transport fuels in Africa and high fuel prices create domestic markets for biofuels.

biofuels, Carbon, International