Mobile County Public Schools Converts to Propane

Joanna Schroeder

The Mobile County Public Schools will be moving their students this fall with 30 propane autogas buses. The school district is supporting the community outreach campaign, “It Starts With Us” and their first step is the converted Blue Bird Propane Visions buses.

“The deployment of our propane autogas bus fleet is a perfect example of our school system’s initiative, It Starts With Us,” said Pat Mitchell, director of transportation for Mobile County Public Schools. “We are providing dependable and clean student transportation while saving taxpayers money so we can put it back in the classroom where it counts most.”

MCPSS Propane Autogas school busOfficials rolled out the new buses during the MCPSS Transportation Department on International Drive. “Propane is cheaper, cleaner and domestically produced,” said Alabama Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, who took a test ride on one of the new propane buses. “This is an environmental initiative I can get behind.”

“We are pleased to be the very first school system in Alabama to enhance transportation through the use of propane buses,” said Superintendent Martha Peek. “We have taken this step because we understand the advantages are increased fuel efficiency, economic and environmental.”

Each bus will displace about 40,000 gallons of diesel and emit 150,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide over their lifetime and the fuel costs nearly 50 percent less than per gallon than diesel according to Todd Mouw with ROUSH Cleantech.

Before choosing to fuel with propane autogas, the school district’s transportation department performed a comprehensive evaluation. This process included safety research, cost savings analysis, site visits to school systems that operate buses with propane autogas, and phone interviews with transportation directors.

“The schoolchildren and taxpayers of Mobile benefit from this important decision,” said Dale Wendell, Blue Bird’s chief commercial officer. “The adoption of Blue Bird Propane Vision buses further emphasizes Mobile County Public Schools’ forward-thinking leadership and commitment to reduce fuel and maintenance costs, support a domestically produced fuel, and provide cleaner air for the students and the community.”

Alternative energy, Propane

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFThe Court of His Majesty Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, will attend the Grand Opening of POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels’ Project LIBERTY cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa on Wednesday, Sept. 3. The King will take part in the Grand Opening Ceremony to perform the formal opening activity, scheduled for 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m. and tour the plant. POET-DSM is a joint venture between the U.S.-based POET and the Netherlands-based DSM.
  • Neste Jacobs will be speaking at World Bio Markets Brasil 2014 in September. Ahead of this session, they have released a new free report “Biofuels, do they have a future?” The report covers: feedstock – start with finding a feasible feedstock; processing – which one is the right one for your product? and end product – Neste Oil’s renewable diesel NExBTL.
  • DuPont has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against SunEdison and its affiliate NVT LLC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. In its complaint, DuPont alleges that by sourcing and using photovoltaic cells and solar modules containing Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. front side metallization paste, SunEdison infringes DuPont’s patented tellurium paste technology. The complaint also identifies Neo Solar Power of Taiwan as the cell manufacturer and Flextronics as SunEdison’s contract manufacturer.
  • The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that Southern Research Institute has been selected for negotiation for an award of up to $5.9 million to advance production of high performance, low cost carbon fibers from biomass. The DOE award will fund development of a multi-step catalytic process for conversion of sugars from non-food biomass to acrylonitrile – a key precursor in the production of carbon fiber.
Bioenergy Bytes

Prez: Don’t Undermine the RFS

Joanna Schroeder

Fuels America is asking President Obama to not undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) especially as it relates to the development of cellulosic ethanol. The coalition has placed a full page ad in the Martha’s Vineyard Gazette to tell the president how a proposal by his administration — if it is not fixed — will inadvertently cause investment in advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol to shift to China and Brazil, undermining his effort to tackle climate change.

Fuels America Marthas Vineyard RFS adThe advertisement is an open letter focusing on the achievement of a major milestone in the president’s clean energy push as commercial scale cellulosic ethanol production becomes a reality this year as four large advanced biorefineries come online in 2014. While this could be just the beginning of a new American industry, private sector investment in the technology has paused due to a proposal by the EPA to fundamentally alter its approach to implementing the RFS. If the proposal isn’t changed before it is finalized, the letter warns, that investment will likely shift to China and Brazil, depriving the President of a key accomplishment.

The ad ends, “You have always been a strong champion of advanced biofuels and we know it is not your intent to undercut investment. It’s not too late to get the final rule right, so together we can make the United States the leader in producing the cleanest fuels in the world.“

advanced biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Fuels America, RFS

USGC Lists Top 10 Markets for US Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has compiled its top 10 list of potential U.S. ethanol markets for the upcoming 2014/2015 market year, starting September 1.

usgc-ethanol-mkts1

While Brazil and Canada remain the top two, the Council is assessing Japan and Korea, Latin America and Southeast Asia as potential markets for U.S. ethanol exports. In the number three spot, USGC believes Japan has the potential to import 459 million gallons of U.S. ethanol in the year ahead, which would account for 11 percent of global demand for U.S. ethanol. Seventh placed Mexico has the potential to import 236 million gallons of U.S. ethanol and the Philippines at number nine could import 90 million gallons. Those three markets combined could to represent almost 20 percent of global demand for U.S. ethanol.

Rounding out the top ten, USGC puts the United Kingdom in fourth place with nearly 305 million gallons, India and Nigeria ahead of Mexico in 5th and 6th place with 250 and 240 million gallons respectively. Australia is ranked in 8th place with 220 million gallons and the Netherlands completes the top 10 with just over 86 million.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, International, USGC

Colombia has Potential as Distillers Grains Market

Cindy Zimmerman

COLOMBIAExports of U.S.corn to Colombia have soared this year, thanks to bigger crops, lower prices, and a favorable free trade agreement. The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) also sees great potential for increasing exports of the ethanol co-product and livestock feed distillers grains (DDGS).

“We currently see about 90,000 metric tons of distillers grains moving into Colombia,” says USGC Director of Global Strategies Kurt Shultz. “We believe the market has the potential to easily exceed 700,000 tons, so there’s a lot of upward opportunity in Colombia for increased exports of distillers grains.”

Under the free trade agreement, there are no duties on distillers grains, so the Grains Council is actively working to bring technical knowledge on how to use the product to the region. “We had some feeding trials last year with the dairy industry which should good acceptance in the dairy sector,” said Shultz. Now they are looking at doing trials in swine and poultry as well.

This will likely be a topic of discussion at the 2014 Export Exchange coming up October 20-22 in Seattle. The event, co-sponsored by USGC and the Renewable Fuels Association, brings together buyers and sellers of distillers grains in an effort to expand established export markets and develop new markets. Discounted early registration for the event is available now through September 22.

Distillers Grains, Exports, International, RFA, USGC

Canola Genome Could Unlock Biodiesel Potential in Plant

John Davis

PatersonResearchers have unlocked the genome for canola, and their discovery could mean a better plant for biodiesel. The University of Georgia says its scientists are part of the international team that published the genome of Brassica napus, better known as canola, in the journal Science.

“This genome sequence opens new doors to accelerating the improvement of canola,” said Andrew Paterson, Regents Professor, director of UGA’s Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory and co-corresponding author for the study. “We can use this knowledge to tailor the plant’s flowering time, make it more resistant to disease and improve a myriad of other traits that will make it more profitable for production in Georgia and across the country.”

The Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory played prominent roles in the sequencing both B. rapa and B. oleracea in 2011 and 2014, respectively.

“Understanding the genomes of B. rapa and B. oleracea was key to piecing together the canola genome,” Paterson said. “It’s like a genetic love triangle between the three species, with canola sometimes favoring genes from B. rapa or B. oleracea or sometimes both.”

Researchers believe the knowledge will eventually give them a more sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production.

Biodiesel, Research

Funding for Renewable Energy Programs

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-omannThe Energy Title in the 2014 Farm Bill included re-authorization of the Renewable Energy for America Program – or REAP – with funding for renewable energy projects.

USDA Rural Development Energy Coordinator Ron Omann says an additional 50-million dollars of mandatory funding and up to 20-million dollars of discretionary funding have been dedicated to REAP for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, and funding for this year and next are being combined. “We’re going to be putting both ’14 and ’15 monies together which amounts to $100 million total for projects,” said Omann. That includes funding for both the Renewable Energy System and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loan and Grant Program and the Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grant Program.

Omann says they are working to simplify the application process. “Generally, we want to streamline it and make it less of a barrier to get into it,” he said, adding that they are implementing specific changes in the application process for projects of less than $80,000.

For those interested in applying for REAP funding, Omann says each state has its own template to help with the application process, but it helps to keep it small and simple.

Find out more about REAP here.

Government, Renewable Energy, USDA

Iowans Want More Biodiesel and Candidates’ Support for It

John Davis

IowaBiodieselBoardLogoAs one of the nation’s leaders in biodiesel production, it comes as no surprise that Iowans are supportive of the green fuel. But a new survey shows that support is practically through the roof! The Iowa Biodiesel Board says a new survey of registered voters shows that more than three-fourths of those asked not only support biodiesel, but they want the federal requirement for the fuel to increase. And nearly the same amount say a Congressional candidate’s support for the Renewable Fuel Standard was an important factor in their voting decisions.

The 77 percent figure came in response to the question, “Do you support or oppose expanding the national Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires blending some renewable fuels into the nation’s fuel supply, to increase biodiesel use in the United States?”

What’s more, 69 percent said a Congressional candidate’s position on the RFS was “very” or “somewhat” important.

There are four U.S. House seats and one U.S. Senate seat up for election in Iowa.

The survey comes as biodiesel producers are feeling a lot of market pressure because of the Obama Administration’s proposal to slash the RFS biodiesel target far below last year’s production of nearly 1.8 billion gallons. It also comes as candidates are making a big push for that November vote.

Biodiesel, politics

Right to Farm Laws Necessary

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you think of Right to Farm laws?”

This ZimmPoll struck very close to home for me. As a Missouri farmer, I did what I could to help educate everyone I knew on the truths about the Right to Farm amendment that took a narrow victory earlier this month. I was excited to see that the majority of pollers thought laws such as these were needed to ensure the right to farm for generations to come. I believe we will see more and more states taking action to protect farmers. In my opinion it is a necessity.

Here are the poll results:

  • Necessary to save farming – 47%
  • Not necessary – 16%
  • Too dangerous – 14%
  • Maybe some states- 5%
  • Should be federal law – 8%
  • no opinion – 10%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What’s the most important skill set for ag communications?

College campuses across the country are flooded with students heading to class. With that in mind, we want to know what you feel is the most important skill agriculture communications students need to have mastered when they enter the workforce. Is it still the traditional writing/editing skills or more current social media/blogging skills that employees are seeking?

ZimmPoll

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFClean Energy Collective (CEC), a community-owned solar developer, has been named to the 2014 Inc. 500/5000 list, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Ranked number 194 overall, and 11th within the Energy segment, CEC was recognized for its innovative community-owned solar solution being adopted by utilities and communities across the country. Between 2010 and 2013 CEC’s revenue grew 2,217 percent.
  • CBD Energy Limited has, through its Australian Energy Efficiency subsidiary, Parmac, been awarded installation and maintenance contracts in Melbourne, Australia. The total estimated value of the contracts is approximately US$1.7 million. The projects are expected to be commissioned in September and to be completed in December, 2014. As part of the agreements, Parmac will also earn ongoing operations and maintenance fees.
  • Tanzanian Minister of Energy and Minerals, Professor Sospeter Muhongo, disclosed that the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company kick started operations last month as a subsidiary of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO). The company’s goal is to start generating up to 4,000 megawatts of electricity from geothermal energy within two years.
  • Canadian Solar Inc. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., has completed the sale of Good Light, a 10 MW AC solar power plant located in the town of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, valued at over C$66.0 million ($60.3 million) to a BluEarth Renewables Inc. subsidiary. This is the second of four planned solar projects being acquired by BluEarth from Canadian Solar, totalling 38.5 MW AC.
Bioenergy Bytes