Arizona Pellet Fuel Maker Gains Quality Standard

John Davis

forestenergyproductsAn Arizona company that makes wood pellets and biomass into residential and commercial-grade pellet fuel gained an important quality acccreditation. Show Low, Arizona’s Forest Energy Corporation is the sixth company to qualify for the Pellet Fuels Institute’s (PFI) Standards Program, a third-party accreditation program providing specifications for those types of fuels.

“We are thrilled to welcome Forest Energy Corporation into the PFI Standards Program,” said Jennifer Hedrick, Executive Director of the Pellet Fuels Institute. “It takes time, effort and dedication to qualify for the program and we are proud to see how much the Standards Program has grown in a year and a half. We thank these companies for leading the way and we look forward to many more program members.”

To meet the criteria of the PFI Standards Program, participants work with an independent accredited auditing agency and testing laboratory. Random monthly audits are performed at production facilities to ensure qualified companies are following a quality assurance and quality control program. Pellets are tested according to the program specifications, also on a monthly basis. By taking these steps, participants ensure that their pellet quality remains consistent.

Forest Energy Corporation joins existing program members New England Wood Pellet, Curran Renewable Energy, American Wood Fibers, Lignetics Inc., and Marth Peshtigo Pellet Co. meeting the standard that now covers nearly half of the pellets manufactured for residential heat consumption within the United States. Those qualifying are able to display the PFI Quality Mark on their pellet bags, showing consumers their qualification to the program requirements.

biomass

U of Wyoming Gets $4.25 Mil for Wind Research

John Davis

windfarm1The University of Wyoming receives $4.25 million for the federal government for wind energy research. This school news release says the three-year, Department of Energy-EPSCoR grant will fund wind farm modeling, transmission grid monitoring and the economics derived from wind-generated power.

The grant will support 12 researchers from those five UW departments as well as researchers from Montana Tech. Researchers from other academic institutions, Cornell University and Western Ontario University, and four national government labs — the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden and Boulder, Colo.; Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif.; and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. — are expected to be involved in the work.

naughton“The grant will be used to look at barriers for penetration of renewables into the electrical grid,” says Jonathan Naughton, a UW professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of UW’s Wind Energy Research Center. Naughton is the principal investigator of the grant. “Our focus is on wind. Obviously, for Wyoming, that’s most prevalent. This is work relevant to the state’s economy.”

Potential impacts of the project include: improved location placement of wind farms; better control and efficiency of wind farm generation; more reliable integration of wind generation with the power grid; and a better understanding of the economic benefits of wind farms and grid optimization.

The release goes on to say rthe project will focus on three interdependent areas: 1. Development of and optimization of wind plant performance, 2. Development of a measurement-based transmission grid modeling capability, and 3. Development of fully integrated economic models for more diverse and variable energy generation and transmission scenarios.

Research, University, Wind

RFA Updates Ethanol Quality Control Program

John Davis

RFANewlogoThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has updated its guidelines for quality control for ethanol plants. The group says the guidelines are an educational tool and information resource to help refiners make sure they turn out denatured fuel ethanol, distillers dried grains, carbon dioxide and corn distiller’s oil that meet customers’ expectations.

“This document underscores the commitment of the Renewable Fuels Association to help ethanol producers provide the highest product quality with the highest product integrity,” said Kristy Moore, RFA’s vice president of technical services.

The document details the basic principles for quality assurance and quality control including testing frequency, sampling, and record keeping. It also includes an expanded discussion on all of the major products being produced at an ethanol manufacturing site: denatured fuel ethanol, distillers dried grains, corn distillers oil, and carbon dioxide.

You can see the full document here.

Ethanol, RFA

ABO Petitions White House on CO2 Recycling

John Davis

ABOA group advocating for algae-based renewable fuels and other products is petitioning the White House to approve carbon dioxide (CO2) recycling as part of the country’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) kicked off its 8th annual Algae Biomass Summit kicked off today with the group’s Executive Director Matt Carr challenging the algae industry to think:

Forest fires, flooding, shrinking ice caps and other environmental disasters are becoming more prevalent and severe due to climate change. Food pressures, energy supplies and water shortages are become more serious economic and security challenges the world over. Matt reminded the hundreds of Summit attendees that they have gathered in San Diego this week because the algae industry is part of the solution.

As a member of the algae community, you too can take action by signing ABO’s We the People petition to the White House.

The petition asks the White House to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permits states to use carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies as they work to meet emissions reductions targets set by the agency.

ABO points out that farming algae requires large quantities of CO2, and using the waste CO2 from power generation to grow algal biomass that can be converted in to fuel, chemicals and other valuable products can flip the cost-equation that is traditionally associated with carbon capture. Recycling CO2 can simultaneously reduce emissions and stimulate economic growth.

You can sign the petition here.

algae

Algae-based Biofuels to Get $25 Mil from Feds

John Davis

US DOE Energy logoAlgae-based biofuels will be the beneficiaries of a government-backed effort to get the fuels made from microbes down to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019. The U.S. Department of Energy announced $25 million to reduce those production costs, hopefully down to an eventual goal of $3 gge by 2030.

The funding announced today will support projects in two topic areas: Topic Area 1 awards (anticipated at 1–3 selections) will range from $5–10 million and focus on the development of algae cultures that, in addition to biofuels, produce valuable bioproducts that increase the overall value of the biomass. Topic Area 2 awards (anticipated at 3–7 selections) will range from $0.5–1 million and will focus on the development of crop protection or carbon dioxide utilization technologies to boost biomass productivity in ways that lead to higher yields of algae.

You can learn more about this funding opportunity here, including signing up for an informational webinar to be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2014.

algae, Biodiesel, biofuels, Government

Biodiesel Board Calls for End of European Tariffs

John Davis

nbb-logoThe National Biodiesel Board has called for the end of duties on the green fuel being sent to Europe. NBB says it’s time to let expire what the group calls unfair European Commission biodiesel tariffs in place for the past five years.

“We have presented a strong case for ending these protectionist barriers that are unfairly hurting U.S. biodiesel producers even as European producers are taking advantage of the U.S. market,” said Anne Steckel, NBB’s vice president of federal affairs. “As we speak, European biodiesel producers are sending biodiesel to the U.S., with significant policy support, while at the same time the European market has been cut off from U.S. producers.”

“Eliminating these duties will level the playing field and allow U.S. producers to fairly compete in accordance with international law – just as we are allowing European producers to do in the U.S. market,” [Steckel said].

Among the points highlighted in NBB’s filing Tuesday:

– U.S. imports of biodiesel from the EU have grown in recent years while EU imports of U.S. biodiesel have been virtually eliminated.
– The U.S. biodiesel tax incentive, which was the primary basis for the EU’s initial trade duties, is currently not in effect and hasn’t been in effect for three of the past five years.
– Because it is structured as a blender’s incentive, the U.S. biodiesel tax incentive is available to European producers, when it is in effect, in the same way it is available to U.S. producers. Additionally, European imports to the U.S. can qualify for the RFS, the policy that requires specific volumes of renewable fuels to be blended into the U.S. fuel supply.
– The U.S. biodiesel market has evolved significantly since 2009 and, with required volumes under the RFS creating a strong and growing domestic market, it is unlikely that eliminating the trade barriers would lead to a flood of U.S. biodiesel exports to Europe.

While the original biodiesel trade duties were set to expire this year, the European Commission, at the request of the European biodiesel industry, has been delaying the expiration by conducting an “expiry review” expected to last 12 to 15 months.

Biodiesel, International, NBB

More Corn in the Bins

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-logoThere’s more corn in the bins than there was a year ago at this time. USDA’s newest Grain Stocks report shows 1.24 billion bushels of old crop corn in all positions as of September 1, up 50 percent from the same time last year. Of the total stocks, 462 million bushels of corn were stored on farms and 774 million bushels were stored off the farm, up 68 and 42 percent from the prior year, respectively. The U.S. corn disappearance totaled 2.62 billion bushels during June-August, up from 1.95 billion bushels during the same period last year.

il-harvest-14Meanwhile, the corn harvest nationwide is running behind average for this time of year and just a bit ahead of last year, but the crop continues to look good.

According to USDA, the condition of the corn crop remains 74% good to excellent, 60% of the crop is mature, and 12% was harvested as of Sunday. All states are behind normal pace in the harvest.

The Illinois Corn Growers Facebook page has been showcasing harvest photos from around the state, including this one here submitted by Jordan Miles.

corn, USDA

Renewables Outpacing Nuclear

Joanna Schroeder

According to a recent Vital Signs, renewable energy is outpacing nuclear electricity expansion even though renewables still have a long way to go to catch up with fossil fuel power plants. Michael Renner, senior researcher with Worldwatch Institute writes that nuclear energy’s share of global power production has declined steadily from a peak of 17.6 percent in 1996 to 10.8 percent in 2013. Renewables increased their share from 18.7 percent in 2000 to 22.7 percent in 2012.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, following a rapid rise from its beginnings in the mid-1950s, global nuclear power generating capacity peaked at 375.3 gigawatts (GW) in 2010. Capacity has since declined to 371.8 GW in 2013. Adverse economics, concern about reactor safety and proliferation and the unresolved question of what to do with nuclear waste have put the brakes on the industry according to Renner.

Vital Signs - NuclearIn contrast, wind and solar power generating capacities are now on the same soaring trajectory that nuclear power was on in the 1970s and 1980s. Wind capacity of 320 GW in 2013 is equivalent to nuclear capacity in 1990. The 140 GW in solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is still considerably smaller, but growing rapidly.

In recent years, renewable energy has attracted far greater investments than nuclear power. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), nuclear investments averaged US$8 billion per year between 2000 and 2013, compared with $37 billion for solar PV and $43 billion for wind. Individual countries, of course, set diverging priorities, but nowhere did nuclear have a major role in power generation investments.

In contrast with investment priorities, research budgets still favor nuclear technologies. Nuclear energy attracted $295 billion, or 51 percent, of total energy R&D spending between 1974 and 2012. But this number has declined over time, from a high of 73.6 percent in 1974 to 26 percent today. Renewable energy received a cumulative total of $59 billion during the same period (10.2 percent), but its share has risen year after year. Because wind and solar power can be deployed at variable scales, and their facilities constructed in less time, these technologies are far more practical and affordable for most countries than nuclear power reactors. Worldwide, 31 countries are operating nuclear reactors on their territories. This compares to at least 85 countries that have commercial wind turbine installations.

The chances of a nuclear revival seem slim writes Renner. Renewable energy, by contrast, appears to be on the right track. But it is clear that renewables have a long way to go before they can hope to supplant fossil fuels as the planet’s principal electricity source.

Electricity, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy, Solar, Wind

Largest Vermont Solar Farm Completed

Joanna Schroeder

AllEarth Renewables and Claire Solar Partners have announced the completion of a 2.2MW solar tracker farm in South Burlington, Vt. According to the companies, it’s the largest solar project in North America to feature distributed inverters and dual-axis trackers to maximize production.

AllSun TrackersJA Solar provided multi-crystalline 260 watt PID resistant modules for the project. Claire Solar utilized 366 AllSun Trackers and highly efficient modules from JA Solar, to further maximize the farm’s output. The ground-mounted pre-engineered solar trackers, which track the sun throughout the day, produce up to 30 percent more energy than fix ground-mounted systems per JA Solar. The company also says its multi-crystalline 260 watt modules outperform the peers’ modules by 5-10 watts in terms of power rating.

The project was constructed under Vermont’s Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development (SPEED) standard-offer program and will produce over 3 million kilowatt hours of emissions-free energy a year. AllEarth Renewables also served as the EPC for the project. In 2011, AllEarth Renewables utilized their solar trackers for a 2.1MW solar farm across the road from the Claire Solar site.

Electricity, Renewable Energy, Solar

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFDuring the United Nations Climate Summit in New York last week, a Global Geothermal Alliance was created. Partners include: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Fiji, Iceland, Kenya, Nicaragua, the Philippines; The Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank Group; and The International Renewable Energy Agency. The Global Geothermal Alliance Action Statement (PDF) states it is “a platform for dialogue and knowledge-sharing among partners as well as a coalition for action to increase the share of installed geothermal electricity and heat generation worldwide.” The partnership plans to develop and adopt a detailed Work Plan for the Alliance by January 2015.
  • The Illinois Farm Bureau RFD Radio Broadcast featured the Midwest Energy International Symposium tomorrow on September 30, 2014. Patriot Renewable Fuels Judd Hulting joined event organizer Sheri Fieweger. You can listen online at rfdradio.com.
  • AcuComm has announced that its Biomass Business Finder Worldwide sales support database now provides access to more than 1,403 biomass plant developments in 106 countries worldwide. Biomass Business Finder Worldwide is the most comprehensive monitor of biomass plant development and upgrade available.
  • Energy companies from 26 countries have been selected as finalists for the Platts Global Energy Awards, an annual program recognizing exemplary industry leadership. The 2014 finalists, chosen from nearly 250 nominees from three dozen nominating countries and representing 6 continents, were announced today by program host Platts, a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information. Established in 1999 and often described as “the Oscars of the energy industry,” the Platts Global Energy Awards highlight corporate and individual innovation, leadership and superior performance in 18 categories that span the entire energy complex.
Bioenergy Bytes