The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has released its annual industry report detailing the impressive growth of the state’s clean energy industry and the impact it is having on jobs and economic activity across Massachusetts. The 2014 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report describes the size, scope, and growth of the Commonwealth’s clean energy industry.- The SunShot Initiative team recently enjoyed a day in the sun on a rooftop in Washington, D.C., where they volunteered to install a solar energy system on a Habitat for Humanity home. The install was organized by GRID Alternatives as part of a two-day event to bring solar power to underserved communities and to celebrate the launch of GRID’s new mid-Atlantic office. GRID has a decade-long track record of successful solar deployment in low-income communities in California, Colorado, New Jersey and New York.
- A new report finds that India’s rapidly growing solar and wind programs are creating enormous economic opportunity, providing significant employment opportunities for India’s workforce, and expanding much-needed energy access for India’s citizens. In just four years, India’s solar market has grown more than a hundred fold and India is now also the world’s fifth largest wind energy producer. Together, the wind and solar industries have already created approximately 70,000 clean energy jobs in India according to new findings by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
- Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association (TREIA) is hosting its Texas Renewables 2014 conference taking place Monday, November 3-6 in Dallas, Texas. The event will explore today’s energy landscape, acknowledge the significant contribution the renewable energy industry is making, and discuss the very real role it will play and challenges it will face in shaping Texas’ energy future.
Abengoa Yield’s Solana Solar Project Wins Award
Abengoa Yield has announced that Solana, its Arizona-based solar power plant, received the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) Innovation Award in the Utility-Scale category. Winners
were announced on October 1st, 2014, at the ESNA Innovation Awards ceremony in San Jose, California. Winners were chosen by the ESNA Advisory Board and votes on social media.
According to the company, Solana is the largest solar parabolic trough plant in the world. Located near Gila Bend, Arizona, it has a total installed capacity of 280 megawatts. With a six-hour molten-salt thermal energy storage capacity, it supplies clean energy to Arizona Public Service (APS), Arizona’s largest utility, meeting peaks of demand before dawn and after dusk.
Intermittency issues are a signficant hurdle with renewable energy such as solar. Using solar thermal energy coupled with molten salt elimates this issue according to the company. The storage component also increases dispatchability in
the power generation process, creating systems which can operate flexibly both with and without solar radiation.
The company explains that Solana’s parabolic trough collectors track the sun and concentrate sunlight onto receiver tubes located at a focal point of each collector. A heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated as it circulates inside the tubes and is then circulated back to a central power plant. The HTF then passes through a series of heat exchangers to produce superheated steam that is used to generate clean electricity in a conventional steam turbine generator.
Clean Tech Will Provide Jobs in Emerging Countries
According to a new report from World Bank Group, there are significant clean tech opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The new report, “Building Competitive Green Industries: the Climate and Clean Technology Opportunity for Developing Countries,” frames responding to climate change as an extraordinary economic opportunity, particularly in developing countries. The report, published by infoDev, recommends actions by the public and private sectors to foster the growing market for SMEs in the clean technology sector.
“Fostering home-grown clean-tech industries in developing countries can create a sustainable and wealth-producing sector of the economy,” said Anabel Gonzalez, senior director for the World Bank’s Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness, “While simultaneously addressing such urgent development priorities as access to clean and affordable energy, clean water and climate-resilient agriculture.”
In just the last decade, clean technology has emerged as a major global market. Over the next 10 years, an estimated $6.4 trillion will be invested in developing countries. Of the total market in developing countries, some $1.6 trillion will be accessible to SMEs, according to the report. China, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa are the top three markets in the developing world for SMEs in clean technology, with expected markets of $415 billion, $349 billion and $235 billion, respectively for sectors such as wastewater treatment, onshore wind, solar panels, electric vehicles, bioenergy, and small hydro.
More can be done to support green entrepreneurship. As sited in the report, clean technology SMEs face daunting challenges, particularly in accessing early and growth stage financing. Countries can help by creating targeted policy incentives to encourage their own clean technology sectors. The report provides policymakers with a range of practical instruments that help support SMEs in clean technology sectors such as innovative finance, entrepreneurship and business acceleration, market development, technology development, and the legal and regulatory framework.
B10 Biodiesel Blend in Minnesota a Success
The first summer of Minnesota running a 10 percent biodiesel (B10) mandate is being called a success. The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) says as the state moves back to a B5 mandate over the winter months, the group is celebrating how well the higher blend made mostly from its soybeans went.
“The implementation of B10 went very well,” said George Goblish, President of the MSGA. “I think we alleviated the concerns of truckers and auto manufacturers.”
Steve Howell, president of MARC-IV Consulting, said Minnesota has proven biodiesel blends can be a high-quality fuel at the retail pump level.
“The stability of the product in Minnesota far exceeded the stability specs, and people in Minnesota can feel good about the fuel they are getting,” he said.
Howell said the high quality of B10 in Minnesota at the pump is because of the quality control measures in place throughout the state.
Officials from the fuel consulting company MEG Corp. say the B10 easily met and exceeded the key quality indicator of oxidative stability, a measure of degradation caused by exposure to oxygen. This means consumers can expect the B10 they buy to be good for at least a year after purchase, allaying fears some automobile groups had that the green fuel would drop in quality by the time it hit fuel tanks.
From now through April 1, 2015, Minnesota goes back to a 5 percent biodiesel blend, with B10 kicking back in after that for the next summer.
Corn Harvest Could Affect Propane Supplies, Prices
A big corn harvest this year could affect the supply and price of propane, a big fuel for drying the crop. This story from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says if the weather allows farmers to dry their crops in the field before harvest, there will be plenty of supply, and prices will be stable … unlike last year’s wet harvest time.
Last year, propane demand in the top five corn-producing states increased in October to levels that rivaled the normal peak demand in January, drawing down propane inventories before the heating season began. Propane inventories in the Midwest were drawn down by 4.1 million barrels (130,000 bbl/d) in October, which was the largest October stock draw since 1985.
As a result, Midwest inventories of propane started the heating season at relatively low levels and remained at the bottom of the five-year range through December. Logistical problems, including the closure for maintenance of the Cochin Pipeline that transported propane from Canada to the Upper Midwest and disruptions of rail transportation, prevented Midwest inventories from being replenished before winter began. With prolonged cold weather in January and February, propane inventories dipped well below the five-year range.
EIA says propane inventories in the Midwest are higher going into this harvest season, and the supplies should be in good shape, despite the fact that the Cochin Pipeline was reversed earlier this year and now moves condensate from the Midwest to Canada. Those supplies going to Canada will be replaced by additional supplies from domestic sources and better rail and storage capacity.
Martifer Solar Closes Contracts
Martifer Solar, a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, has added close to 90 MW of new third party O&M contracts throughout Italy. According to the company, they have been able to distinguish its O&M Service capabilities in Italy by leveraging a resourceful and qualified local O&M staff, the company´s high quality processes and systems integration, such as its award-winning Operation Management System, and its global industry expertise.
Henrique Rodrigues, CEO of Martifer Solar, said, “We are proud when Clients such as DIF and Eland rely on our O&M team to complement their Asset Management services as it demonstrates that the market is recognizing our strength and reliability as a global O&M Service provider.”
With this recent achievement from the Italian team, Martifer Solar´s global solar O&M portfolio has grown to more than 550 MW of plants under supervision across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The portfolio is comprised of both plants completed by third parties and those built by Martifer Solar.
David Lau, Associate Director of DIF who has contracted with Martifer Solar, said, “As our strategy is focused on targeting investments that generate predictable, long-term and stable cash flows, we need to count on a credible and trusted partner like Martifer Solar to provide operation and maintenance services for our assets.”
The recent addition to the Italian portfolio will strengthen Martifer Solar´s pace as the third largest vertically-integrated O&M player in Europe, as named by recognized research firm, Greentech Media Research. “As we have done here in Italy, as well as other European markets such as Spain, France and the UK, we expect to double the capacity of our O&M portfolio in the near future,” added Rodrigues.
USDA Launches Ag Industrial Reports Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has relaunched the formerly defunct Current Agricultural Industrial Reports (CAIR) survey program. NASS will collect and publish vital statistics for the dry and wet alcohol milling and flour milling sectors. Beginning this year, NASS will collect data and publish the industrial reports. In addition to the flour milling, and dry and wet alcohol milling sectors, CAIR surveys will also result in reports on the cotton, and fats and oilseeds industries. This information may be valuable to ethanol and biodiesel producers.
“As soon as the Census Bureau announced they were discontinuing the Current Industrial Reports, we began hearing from agriculture stakeholders around the country about the impact this decision had on the industry,” said NASS Administrator Joseph T. Reilly. “These reports are such an important element of sound economic policy planning and are used for market analysis, forecasting, and decision making that we knew we had to provide the data and I’m glad that beginning this year NASS is able to do just that.”
To prepare for the program launch, NASS conducted extensive work building up baseline profiles for the industries. On the ethanol production side, the agency will work with 200 facilities, with a reported nameplate capacity of 14.792 billion gallons per year. On the flour milling side, NASS plans to survey 183 facilities, which have a reported 24-hour milling capacity of 1,594,755 hundredweight.
NASS has a long history of collecting and publishing agriculture data. As is the case with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential.
Brazil’s GranBio Begins Producing Cellulosic Ethanol
GranBio has begun producing cellulosic ethanol at its first commercial-scale plant for second-generation (2G) ethanol in Brazil. The Bioflex 1 unit located in São Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas, has an initial production capacity of 82 million liters of ethanol per year.
According to GranBio, its 2G ethanol is the cleanest fuel produced on a commercial scale in the world in carbon intensity – 7.55 gCO2/MJ, as confirmed by the
California Air Resources Board (CARB). The calculation takes into account factors starting with the harvest of the raw material, through inputs and energy consumption, transportation and distribution through a port in California.
“When we announced the construction of the plant in Alagoas, in mid-2012, we took the risk of an innovator and pioneer in a project with transformative potential for the biofuels and biochemicals industries,” said GranBio’s president, Bernardo Gradin. “Beyond the inauguration of a plant, this project is proof that Brazil can lead the global biotech industry based on its agricultural potential.”
GranBio cites its 2G ethanol makes it possible to increase Brazilian production capacity per acre by 50 percent using agricultural waste – straw and bagasse, without need of expanding the cane fields. The company developed a system to harvest, store and process 400,000 metric tons of straw per year for Bioflex 1, which places it among the world’s largest and most competitive. GranBio’s facility uses the PROESA pre-treatment technology from the Italian company BetaRenewables enzymes from Novozymes in Denmark and yeast from DSM in Holland.
In addition, GranBio and Caeté created a partnership for the integrated production of steam and electricity. Installed next to Bioflex 1, the cogeneration system is fed by sugarcane bagasse and lignin – a byproduct of producing second-generation ethanol. The boiler of the cogeneration system will remain in operation for eleven months of the year, or eight thousand hours, in the harvest and inter-harvest period at the Caeté plant. As such, beyond meeting the needs of the two plants, the boiler will generate excess electricity on order of 135,000 MWh/year – enough to power a city of 300,000 inhabitants – which will be sold and become a source of revenue for the companies.
UK Supports Ocean Energy Development
Leaders in Europe (UK) are supporting ocean renewable energy and announced their commitment to accelerate the development during the Ocean Energy Europe 2014 that took place in Paris, France this week. Ministers from France, the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Greece all highlighted European collaboration as the key to commercialization. Industrial heavyweights such as DCNS, GDF SUEZ, Alstom and Siemens also fielded senior representatives to outline their plans for ocean energy deployments.
Speaking at the event, Dr Sian George, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, said: “Ocean energy will play a big role in decarbonising and securing Europe’s energy supply. Today showed that European political and industrial leaders will do whatever it takes to turn ocean energy into a fully-fledged commercial sector. The industry will work with the EU and its Member States to get as much kit in the water as possible before 2020, with full commercial roll-out following after.”
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing added of the effort: “Scotland is blessed with a wealth of natural resources and is at the forefront of developing marine energy technology thanks to an abundance of ocean resource and world-leading test facilities at the European Marine Energy Centre. However, to make wave and tidal stream technologies viable and cost effective is going to take the best engineers and the best brains from across Europe. We see a collaborative model as the way forward and the time has come for this industry to unite. The Scottish Government is committed to working with its partners from across the European Union to support the development and commercialisation of the ocean energy industry and allow Europe’s ocean energy sector to stay ahead in the race.”
Next year’s event will be held in Dublin, Ireland as announced by the Irish Energy Minister Alex White. “I very much welcome the opportunity that this Ocean Energy Annual Conference has given for so many key stakeholders to come together. International collaboration is key to understanding and overcoming the challenges the ocean energy sector faces to realising its commercial potential. To that end I am delighted to announce that Ireland will be hosting the 2015 Annual Ocean Energy Europe Conference in Dublin.”
BioEnergy Bytes
- Genescape has released a free white paper about the status of cellulosic biofuels and the availability of, and the policy surrounding, cellulosic Renewable Identification Number (RINs) in 2014 and the near future. The paper highlights history and progress of cellulosic liquids and presents projections for the new cellulosic biogas pathways.
- Dyadic International, Inc. has announced the receipt of a $500,000 licensing payment from Abengoa Bioenergy for commercial scale production of Abengoa’s proprietary cellulase enzymes, used for converting biomass into ethanol, developed under Abengoa’s license agreement with Dyadic.
- GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association (ESA) are entering into a partnership to develop a series of quarterly reports offering analysis on energy storage markets, policy, and technology. This collaboration will combine GTM Research’s experience in developing impactful market intelligence reports for the renewable energy sector with ESA’s depth of knowledge and expertise in the ever-evolving energy storage industry. These reports will provide energy industry professionals, policymakers, government agencies and financiers with consistent, actionable insight into the burgeoning U.S. energy storage market.
- The European Wind Energy Association has elected Dr. Markus Tacke, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Wind Power, as its new chairman. Tacke took the helm at Siemens Wind Power, a division that specialises in turbine manufacturing, on 1 August, 2013. He will succeed current EWEA President Dr. Andrew Garrad, who has served in the post in 2013 and 2014.