RFA to Oregon: Treat Ethanol Same as All Clean Fuels

John Davis

RFANewlogoA group representing ethanol interests is calling on Oregon to treat ethanol the same as other clean fuels in the state. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) sent in comments to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) detailing a number of requested changes to the proposed rule for Phase 2 of the Oregon Clean Fuels Program (CFP), including the recommendation that indirect effects be withheld from the program’s lifecycle carbon intensity analyses for various fuel pathways.

Phase 1 of the Oregon CFP, which is structured similarly to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), included carbon intensity scores for ethanol and all other fuel pathways that were based strictly on verifiable direct emissions. However, for Phase 2 of the program, Oregon DEQ is proposing to introduce subjective and uncertain penalty factors for hypothetical indirect land use changes (ILUC) for select biofuels, but no indirect effect penalty factors for any other fuel types. RFA’s comments underscore the fact that “Inclusion of highly uncertain and prescriptive ILUC factors creates an asymmetrical and discriminatory framework for the CFP.”

RFA urged that DEQ remove ILUC from the proposed rule “…until such time as there is broad scientific agreement on the best methodology for estimating the indirect effects for all fuels” and that “If DEQ includes ILUC for biofuels, it must also include indirect emissions associated with all other regulated fuels (including baseline petroleum).”

Even if DEQ’s proposal to include ILUC was justified, the letter points out that “…DEQ is proposing to use factors that have been shown to be grossly exaggerated and based on outdated information and data.” In fact, DEQ is planning to adopt ILUC penalties developed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2009 for that state’s LCFS. Even CARB has recognized that its 2009 ILUC factors are flawed and is planning to propose revisions to those values.

RFA added that it will support “performance-based low carbon fuel programs that are grounded in the principles of fairness, sound science, and consistent analytical boundaries.” The group continued that introducing into the regulatory framework concepts without scientific integrity and balance “only creates stakeholder division and controversy.”

biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Ag Groups Urge President to Reject Biofuels Cuts

Cindy Zimmerman

mess-rfsThe National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and several other agricultural sent a letter to President Obama this week asking him to intervene with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its proposed cuts in the 2014 volume obligations for the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“The blending targets and the methodology in your administration’s proposed rule are already causing significant harm to the biofuel sector,” the letter states. “These impacts are reverberating throughout the U.S. agriculture economy, and we expect this trend to continue if the targets and the methodology in the rule are not corrected.”

The letter discusses how the ag sector has met its responsibility in growing sufficient feedstock for biofuels, but is also working with the ethanol industry on infrastructure and advanced fuels. The letter concludes: “The EPA’s proposed policy decision is driving one of our key economic engines – the biofuel sector -¬‐ overseas. We have invested in response to the signals in the RFS and are poised to deliver the very low carbon fuels you have sought for so long. Instead of reaping the economic benefits of this investment with a build-¬‐out of a domestic biofuel industry, the methodology proposed by EPA is offshoring the industry – and our market. This is a decision we cannot afford in America’s heartland.”

In addition to NCGA, organizations sending the letter included the Agricultural Retailers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Farmers Union and National Sorghum Producers.

Biodiesel, biofuels, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farming, Government, NCGA, RFS

GSA On Track to Meet Admin’s Renewable Goals

Joanna Schroeder

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) says they are on tract to meet President Obama’s 2020 renewable energy goal. The organization has awarded a ten-year competitive power supply contract to MG2 Tribal Energy, a joint venture between the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians and Geronimo Energy. This marks the largest wind energy purchase from a single source in federal contracting history.

The contract will purchase 140 MW of wind energy from the Walnut Ridge Wind Farm, in development in northwest Illinois. When complete, the wind farm will add 500,000 MW hours of electricity to the grid each year.

MG2 Tribal Energy“As part of GSA’s commitment to greening the federal government, we are working to ensure that we don’t just use energy but create it as well,” said Dan Tangherlini, GSA Administrator. “This project will add to the power grid in a sustainable way and ensure that we become less dependent on fossil fuels. We are proud of our progress toward meeting the federal government’s renewable energy goals, and look forward to taking advantage of future opportunities that will help us with this effort.”

Mesa Grande Band Chairman and MG2 President Mark Romero added, “The Mesa Grande Band is excited about our partnership with both Geronimo Energy and the GSA. This contract represents an important step forward in the history of the Mesa Grande Band because it is entirely consistent with our historic concern for Mother Earth and the continued availability of clean water, land, and air for future generations. Few other economic development opportunities enable us to remain so true to our cultural and spiritual values.”

Electricity, Renewable Energy, Wind

Clarkson University Campus Goes Solar

Joanna Schroeder

Clarkson University, located in Potsdam, New York, has nearly completed its 12 acre solar farm that will generate nearly 10 percent of the University’s electricity. Community Solar Energy is the project partner and the company designed the 2 MW solar array. Community Energy will own and operate the solar photovoltaic (P)V array. Clarkson will be the sole beneficiary of the power, which it will buy from Community Energy at approximately the same price it is buying power for right now. Support for this project came from New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s NY-Sun initiative.

Clarkson University solar array“We are doing this to be green, because we are committed to sustainability, and to showcase this state-of-the-art technology,” said Clarkson’s chief financial officer, James D. Fish. “Our students will benefit greatly from this project, as the array will serve as a living laboratory, where they can study real-world solar energy generation.”

In April, Clarkson became a signatory of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, agreeing to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from specified campus operations and to promote the research and educational efforts of higher education to better equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.

The 7,704 modules of the array will generate approximately 2.8 million kilowatt hours per year. The solar farm is located on Route 11 adjacent to the Potsdam airport, Damon Field and Clarkson and Community Energy worked closely with the Village of Potsdam and the FAA to ensure the solar array did not affect airport operations.

“We have partnered with some 50 colleges and universities over the last decade to supply them with wind and solar energy,” said Community Energy Solar Vice President of Development Operations Thomas J. Tuffey. “Clarkson is now in the point position with on-site generation of solar power at a meaningful scale to both meet the challenge of climate change and educate tomorrow’s leaders. We have had a great experience partnering with Clarkson to develop and build this project and are happy to have it in our portfolio of over 1000 megawatts (MW) of developed renewable energy.”

Activation of the solar array is planned for this November.

Education, Electricity, Renewable Energy, Solar

Clean Energy Jobs on Rise in Q3 2014

Joanna Schroeder

A new report from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) found more than 18,000 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced in more than 20 states in the Q3 2014. In the previous quarter, E2 tracked more than 12,000 announced jobs, while in the Q3 2013 almost 15,000 jobs were announced.

Tesla Motors’ announcement of its massive new “gigafactory” for the production of electric car batteries near Reno, Nevada propelled the state to the top spot in the state rankings E2 Q32014 Clean Energy Jobs Reportfor the first time with more than 6,500 jobs announced. Rounding out the Top 10 states were: New York, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Connecticut, Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois and Maryland (tied).

The report was released just two days after the midterm elections and found that both Republican and Democratic congressional districts benefitted almost equally from clean energy job announcements in the quarter. At least 9,095 jobs were announced in Republican congressional districts, compared with 7,690 jobs announced in districts represented by Democrats. About 1,250 job announcements spanned both Republican and Democratic districts.

“The election is over. Now it’s time to live up to the stump-speech promises. One easy way to create jobs and drive economic growth in both red and blue states alike is by moving quickly to extend clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives and other smart policies,” said E2 Executive Director Bob Keefe. “We’ve learned what happens when our elected officials do nothing: American workers get kicked to the street, at a time when every job counts.”

E2’s said its Clean Energy Works for Us Jobs report shows the power and the potential Congress has for creating clean energy jobs through smart policies. The expiration of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for the wind industry, for example, dealt a major blow to wind industry employment. To avoid more massive job losses, Congress can quickly move forward in a bipartisan fashion to extend the PTC and other tax policies driving growth in renewable energy and energy efficiency. These incentives have been critical to creating good jobs in both red and blue states. If Congress fails to renew these policies, there could be a negative impact on clean energy jobs in America.Read More

Clean Energy, Research

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFOlympian High School and Sweetwater Union High School District, located in Chula Vista, California along with SunPower Corp. are celebrating the installation of 9.3 megawatts of high efficiency SunPower solar power systems at 21 district schools. The district estimates that the systems may offset about 60 percent of its utility grid demand.
  • EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp. announced that its joint venture company Maple Leaf Energy S.A., has signed a MOU with the National Agency for Renewable Energy (owned by Gov’t of Senegal) to install EHT’s proprietary hybrid energy systemsand supply power to 125,000 private residences in the Republic of Senegal in West Africa. The company will to pand install 125,000 of its hybrid solar and wind systems over the next 5 years. The systems will incorporate Smart Box Technology allowing each residence to produce electricity for consumption in that residence (and store a reserve) and distribute surplus energy into the power grid.
  • NedPower LLC, a buyer and developer of hydroelectric power plants, has enlisted Marathon Capital to secure development and project capital to fund NedPower’s acquisition of operating hydroelectric facilities and late stage development. Marathon Capital’s role will also include providing assistance in formulating financing for NedPower’s projects and identifying and securing prospective third party investors.
  • The Export-Import Bank announced today that it authorized approximately $200 million to finance U.S. renewable energy exports in FY 2014, bringing its total support to nearly $2 billion since 2009. Backed by a congressional mandate to support environmentally beneficial U.S. exports, Ex-Im is committed to empowering American companies to sell their renewable energy goods and services in overseas markets, which results in more highly skilled jobs for U.S. workers.
Bioenergy Bytes

Video Contest Looks to ‘Fuel the Future’ of Ethanol, Biodiesel

John Davis

IRFA2015VideoContestIowa high school students will once again compete to see who can produce the best video to promote the future of biodiesel, ethanol and E15. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) launched the 5th Annual “Fuel the Future” Video Contest for Iowa high school students with the top three video entries receiving prizes in the amounts of $1,000, $600 and $400 respectively; airing at the 2015 Iowa Renewable Fuel Summit on January 27; and being featured on IRFA’s YouTube® channel.

“The IRFA video contest is now open, and we’re excited to see the creative ways Iowa high school students promote ethanol and biodiesel this year,” stated IRFA Communications Director T.J. Page. “With attacks from ethanol and biodiesel opponents ramping up, we can’t wait to see how Iowa high school students set the record straight on renewable fuels through their highly entertaining and informative videos.”

The Fuel the Future contest is limited to students currently attending high school in Iowa (grades 9-12 in a public, private or home school). Video entries may not exceed two minutes in length and must be submitted to IRFA via DVD, flash drive, or secure web link. To be considered for the contest, all completed video entries must be received in the IRFA office by January 16, 2015. For more information, including the official entry form and contest rules, please visit www.iowarfa.org/FueltheFuture.php. For additional questions, please contact T.J. Page at (515) 252-6249 or tpage@IowaRFA.org.

To get some ideas, check out last year’s winner, produced by John Low of Marion and titled “E15: The Fuel of the Future,” here.

Biodiesel, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Biodiesel to Play Role in Lower Heating Oil Prices

John Davis

nora1Biodiesel is expected to play a role in lower home heating oil prices this winter. The National Oilheat Research Allianace (NORA) cites a conference from last month where the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted the lower prices for consumers.

John Huber, President of [NORA], described the efforts of the heating oil industry to improve its product. He reported on the efforts of the Northeastern states to move to a low-sulfur heating oil product which improves efficiency and dramatically reduces emissions. He said that this step would also lead to long-term improvements in heating equipment as it is offered to consumers.

Additionally, Mr. Huber described the efforts of the Oilheating industry to move to ever-increasing blends of heating oil and renewable biodiesel. These steps will reduced greenhouse gas emissions and position the industry to be a long-term solution as a renewable fuel for millions of American customers.

NORA says that EIA predicts homeowners will spend, on average, 15 percent less, on average, than last year if long-term weather forecasts hold. Other factors cited for expected overall lower energy prices this winter include pipeline and other infrastructure developments in the U.S., more shale oil coming onto the market, and speculators trading crude oil for less.

Biodiesel

Propane Power for UPS

Cindy Zimmerman

2014 World LP Gas Forum Photo Album

perc-wlpgf14-upsEarlier this year, the delivery giant UPS expanded commitment to propane by adding 1,000 propane delivery trucks and 50 fueling stations at UPS locations.

“It was the easiest alternative fuel they’ve ever transitioned into their fleet…the easiest installation of infrastructure of any alternative fuel,” said Michael Taylor, Autogas Business Director for the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC). The only complaint was that drivers said the new vehicles are “too quiet.”

perc-wlpgf-pachlaPowertrain Integration (PI) was the company that designed the propane autogas V8 packages that are being used in the new brown trucks and president Bob Pachla says UPS adopted the new propane technology very quickly. “Typically what they’ll do is put units into a fleet and test it and you’ll hear from them two or three years later,” said Pachla. “In this case, we put the fleet into production, 20 units, the fall of last year and they made the announcement this year to build a thousand UPS step vans.”

Taylor and Pachla discussed UPS and the propane powered engines at the recent World LP Gas Forum in Miami. Listen to them here and watch the video below: Propane Power for UPS

Audio, Fleet, PERC, Propane, Video

Forum to Address Ag’s Challenges in Transportation

John Davis

farmfoundationlogo3News of too few rail cars to move this year’s grain harvest from farming areas to consumers has grabbed the headlines most recently, but agriculture and rural America are facing several other transportation issues this year. Farm Foundation will look to address some key issues, including the nation’s aging transportation infrastructure, which is also important to the movement of biofuels – roads, bridges and waterways – during its next free forum, Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 9 to 11 a.m. EST at the National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C. with a live audiocast being made available for those unable to attend in person.

The Forum will begin with presentations by four industry leaders:

Eric Jessup, Vice President, Transportation, Industrials & Energy Services, Informa Economics;
John H. Miller, Group Vice President, Agricultural Products, BNSF Railroad;
Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director, Soy Transportation Coalition; and
Jon Samson, Executive Director of the American Trucking Associations’ Agriculture and Food Transporters Conference.

Moderating the session will be grain farmer Mark Scholl of J&M Scholl, Inc. Mr. Scholl and Mr. Miller are both Trustees of Farm Foundation.

More information and sign-up is available here.

Farm Foundation, Farming, transportation