Preview of Advanced Biofuels Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

National Advanced Biofuels ConferenceThe National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo is underway in Minneapolis. Our first panel is moderated by BBI’s Tim Portz, VP of Content. This panel, talking about “Assessing the Health of Federal Biofuels Policy and Its Long Term Prognosis,” includes Joe Jobe, National Biodiesel Board, Mike McAdams, Advanced Biofuels Association and Matt Carr, Algae Biomass Organization. I’ll have more from their comments later.

I spoke with Tim to get a preview of what we’ll be doing here. He says it is an interesting time for the industry with some great successes happening in the advanced biofuels category. However, the industry is still struggling with the on-going uncertainty with the RFS. He is interested to hear from industry members who will be participating on panels and talking about this topic.

You can listen to my interview with Tim to learn more about what’s going on at this year’s conference: Interview with Tim Portz

2014 National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of The Advanced Biofuels Conference and Expo is sponsored by
Coverage of The Advanced Biofuels Conference and Expo is sponsored by New Holland
advanced biofuels, Audio

Ecotech Institute Offers Free Energy e-Books

Joanna Schroeder

Ecotech Institute has released a series of free energy ebooks detailing how to begin a career in wind or solar energy. The guides cover issues from a day in the life of a Ditch the Desk Ecotech Instituterenewable energy technician to potential salaries to required skills and advice form current professionals working in the solar and wind industries.

The wind and solar energy renewable energy industries continue to do well, but according to Ecotech Institute that doesn’t mean getting a green job is easy. The jobs take specialized training, cleantech industry knowledge and passion is a plus.

  • Future solar and wind technicians have one place to access vital information, including:
  • Key industry facts about the renewable energy sector;
  • Tips for job seekers in the energy efficiency field;
  • Expectations and requirements for wind and solar energy green jobs;
  • Cleantech employment trends;
  • And advice from working industry experts and technicians.
  • Learn everything there is to know about “ditching the desk” and landing a green job in the wind or solar industry by downloading the free Wind and Solar Energy eBooks here.

Ecotech Institute is the first and only school in the U.S. that is solely dedicated to sustainable energy. The school currently offers eight associate’s degree programs, including hands-on training for wind and solar energy technology:

Education, Electricity, Solar, Wind

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFThe Ukrainian government has approved a new National Action Plan state decree for the development of wind energy. The ambitious new goals called for by the decree include increasing the wind energy capacity of the country up to 2.28 GW by the year 2020 — which represents a 500% increase on the current figure of 410 MW.
  • Oman plans to build its first major wind farm at a cost of $125 million to generate electricity in its southern governorate of Dhofar, as part of efforts to limit the use of oil and gas in power generation. The wind farm at Harweel will have a capacity of 50 megawatts, enough to meet about 50 per cent of demand in the governorate during the winter, and is expected to begin operating early in 2017. The project will be coordinated by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co (Masdar) and financed by a grant from the Abu Dhabi government. The turbines will be made in a Western nation while local contractors will be given a large share of the construction work, RAEC said without elaborating.
  • Bobby Likis, automotive expert and host of nationally syndicated car-talk program “Bobby Likis Car Clinic“, will shared the microphone with Jeff Oestmann, President and CEO of East Kansas Agri-Energy on the Car Clinic globalcast in a hard-hitting discussion of the local, regional and national issues surrounding ethanol production.
  • During the SXSW Eco conference in Austin, Texas, SolarCity and Honda renewed their partnership with a new fund expected to finance $50 million in solar projects. The new commitment will make solar power more affordable and available to Honda and Acura customers and dealerships in the U.S. The companies have completed or initiated a range of solar projects for homeowners, dealerships and corporate facilities that total more than 12.5 MW of solar generation capacity.
Bioenergy Bytes

Fuels America Is Spilling the ‘Oil’

Joanna Schroeder

Fuels America is spilling the oil detailing the amount of money Big Oil has spent to “rig the political system” with lobbyists and campaign cash since 2008. Using data from opensecrets.org, the oil industry has spent more than $1.1 billion, $961 million lobbying Congress and $146 million in campaign contributions. This equates to more than $2 million for each member of Congress. The coalition said a significant amount of the funds were used to “block renewable fuels” and to “rig Congress and campaigns” across the U.S.

The oil industry reaped $93 billion in profits last year and continually receives sweetheart tax breaks upwards of $470 billion and counting, while renewable fuels generate $14.5 billion in tax revenue every year.

Meanwhile, said Fuels America, the oil lobby has continued to fight to kill the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which would permanently outsource thousands of American jobs and increase our reliance on foreign oil from hostile and unstable regions. The coalition has urged President Obama to resist pressure from the oil lobby and reject an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to gut the RFS.

Rigging the Tax Code ad

The ads, which will run for the next week, link to a page that breaks down the numbers and invites Americans to join the fight against oil industry efforts to rig the system and block competition from renewable fuels. They can be seen on sites such as POLITICO.com, RollCall.com and TheHill.com.

EPA, Ethanol, Fuels America, Oil, RFS

Argentina Biodiesel Exports on the Rise Again

John Davis

argentinaflagAfter falling off the last couple of years, biodiesel exports from Argentina are on the rise again. This article from the Business Recorder credits the country’s cut in sales taxes last May that look to allow biodiesel exports to double this year compared to last.

Under pressure to jumpstart activity in the sector, the government cut biodiesel export taxes to 11 percent from 21 percent in May. Now the South American grains powerhouse is on track to double exports of the fuel this year to 1.4 million tonnes versus 700,000 tonnes in 2013, said Luis Zubizarreta, president of Carbio, the chamber of biodiesel producers and exporters.

“In the first four months of this year exports remained very low. Then the tax cut allowed us to become internationally competitive again and we’ve been able ship a good amount of our product,” Zubizarreta said in an interview earlier this week. Carbio expects Argentina to produce 2.35 million tonnes of biodiesel this year, well above the 1.8 million tonnes projected by the chamber at the start of the year. “We are still not at 100 percent capacity,” Zubizarreta said, “but the industry has started functioning well again.”

The article says the Argentine exports have been hurt by Europe’s increased tariffs on biodiesel from the South American country. Argentina used to be the world’s biggest biodiesel exporter before those tariffs stopped much of that business. Argentina is fighting the tariffs at the World Trade Organisation.

Biodiesel, International

Study: 20% Biodiesel Fine for Heating Homes

John Davis

nora1A new study shows that a 20 percent biodiesel blend is fine for home heating use. The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) says they tested blends of ASTM D6751 biodiesel with both standard and low sulfur heating oil and found that the 20 percent blend can be used in heating oil without incident.

Field experience with Bioheat® fuel (blended heating oil and biodiesel) has been overwhelmingly positive. A recent service organization survey conducted by NORA and Brookhaven National Laboratory observed that some 35,000 buildings are currently using Bioheat® containing more than 5% biodiesel with no issues…

Winter operability is essential in serving oilheat’s customers. Biodiesel blends can have a significant impact as the feedstock affects its winter characteristics. Wholesale suppliers and retail marketers need to be sure the product they sell is right for the temperatures at which it will be stored at and used. An outside tank in Maine may need a different product than an indoor tank.

NORA says it has been working with the National Biodiesel Board and the oil heating industry state leadership groups to make sure biodiesel used in home heating oil is of the highest quality to eliminate any issues, especially during the coldest weather when homes need to be heated most.

Biodiesel

Ready for National Advanced Biofuels Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

National Advanced Biofuels Conference & ExpoThe National Advanced Biofuels Conference and Expo is about to kick off in Minneapolis, MN and I’m on the scene courtesy of event Platinum sponsor New Holland. I thought I’d wear a somewhat retro New Holland Biodiesel/Clean Energy Leader shirt to the opening reception this evening. I haven’t worn denim in a while!

The next couple days I’ll be collecting interviews and photos to share with you as we explore some of the hot topics in the renewable energy industry.

I’ll be sharing photos from throughout the conference here: 2014 National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo Photo Album

Coverage of The Advanced Biofuels Conference and Expo is sponsored by
Coverage of The Advanced Biofuels Conference and Expo is sponsored by New Holland
advanced biofuels

RFA Brings Ethanol Safety Program to Canada

Joanna Schroeder

Ethanol safety has been shared with the Canadians. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) met with Transport Canada’s Emergency Response Action Plan (ERAP) Task Force to educated them on emergency preparedness.

Ethanol Safety SeminarRFA’s Vice President of Technical Services, Kristy Moore, spoke remotely to Transport Canada’s ERAP Task Force and detailed current RFA safety initiatives, outlined transportation methods available for ethanol distribution specifically focusing on rail, and delivered an overview of the U.S. ethanol industry.

“A solid emergency response program is vital to everyone — no matter the country — and I applaud Transport Canada for having the foresight to get ahead of the game and formulate a national emergency response program,” said Moore. “We are excited to begin working with them to translate RFA safety materials into French and help them develop an ethanol safety seminar program similar to the very successful RFA program here in the States.”

RFA has been involved in ethanol education around transportation safety and emergency response for many years. The Association is a founding member of the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC) and joined TRANSCAER — a transportation safety initiative that focuses on community emergency response — in 2007. RFA worked with the EERC to establish an ethanol safety seminar program that goes around the country educating local firefighters and first responders on the best way to respond to a potential emergency situation. The seminars utilize the RFA’s “Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response”. Nearly 150 safety seminars have been held in 27 states.

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, safety

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFA new analysis identifies many real-world examples where government policies and sustained technological progress in the U.S. are creating opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while delivering net economic benefits. Emerging technologies could help the country achieve deeper reductions even faster with targeted policy support, according to “Seeing Is Believing: Creating a New Climate Economy in the United States,” a study by World Resources Institute.
  • ISM Solar Solutions has partnered with WatershedGeo, a company offering permanent closures for landfills and brownfields using their patented products, including ClosureTurf to design, develop and construct utility scale solar arrays on existing and new ClosureTurf installations. This joint venture will provide innovative solutions specific to landfill closures, while creating opportunities to develop renewable energy across North America.
  • Brazilian electricity utility Light has announced the formal agreement of the largest smart grid project in South American history, in partnership with global energy management company Landis+Gyr. Valued at approximately $313 million US, the five year contract covers the supply, implementation, operation and maintenance of Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream smart grid solution. The collaboration also includes deployment of 1.1 million endpoints, comprised of advance SGP+M anti-tampering meters and automation of power vaults and reclosers.
  • Enovos Luxembourg SA inaugurated its first photovoltaic power plant in Portugal. Located in the Alcoutim region in the south of Portugal, this photovoltaic power plant is comprised of 13,774 concentrator modules with a combined power of 1.29 MWp. The modules are made up of lenses capable of concentrating sunlight 500 times and focus it into small highly efficient, multi-junction solar cells.
Bioenergy Bytes

Will You Use New MyFarmRadio.com App?

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is your favorite type of cheese?”

It is obvious we all have different tastes when it comes to cheese. It is such a staple in many meals nationwide and there are an endless amount of varieties. Cheddar seems to rise to the top slightly. However, like myself, many like them all.

Here are the poll results:

  • A simple American – 5%
  • Any type of Cheddar – 24%
  • Something soft, like Gouda – 19%
  • Artisan all the way – 19%
  • I like them all – 19%
  • Other – 14%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, Are you ready for MyFarmRadio on your mobile device?

On November 3rd the new platform MyFarmRadio will launch. The 24/7 digital mobile radio channel will focus on a mix of best-in-class news, weather and markets along with entertaining and informative conversation for America’s farmers and ranchers. The app will allow listeners to pick and choose what they want to hear – and when they want to hear it. What do you think about this new way to get farm news? Will you be one of the first to check it out? Learn more about it in our latest ZimmCast.

ZimmPoll