Oily Palms

Joanna Schroeder

According to Americans United for Change (AUC), Iowa Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst has attracted national attention with her stance on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) – that she is not supportive of subsidies. This before the news broke last week that the billionaire oil baron Koch brothers maxed out their contributions to Ernst’s campaign on top of the over $20,000 the Koch donor network has funneled to her campaign coffers. The new breaking news is that ExxonMobil PAC is toasting Ernst at a $1,000 a plate in Washington, D.C. this Wednesday, July 30, 2014.

In response, AUC, a pro biofuels and pro-RFS organization, is hitting the radio waves this week in Des Moines, Iowa calling on Ernst to choose a side: Iowa jobs, or Big Oil profits. However, AUC said Ernst seemed to side with the latter.

The group cites that when Ernst was pressed to take a firm stand on the RFS, Ernst stressed she’s “philosophically opposed” to farm subsidies and that she “want[s] people to choose products that work for them and not have them mandated by the United States government.” Not exactly the ringing endorsement for ethanol that Iowa rural communities may be hoping to hear, said AUC.

Jeremy Funk, Comm. Dir., Americans United for Change, which recently ran full page ads in Iowa urging Ernst to clarify her muddy RFS position, said, “There’s easy choices and there’s hard choices. For someone hoping to represent a state that leads the nation in renewable fuels production, you might think that unconditional support for the Renewable Fuel Standard and 73,000 Iowa jobs would be a no-brainer. But for some reason, it’s a hard choice for Joni Ernst.”

“Big Oil has taken notice of Ernst’s begrudging support for the RFS while remaining ‘philosophically opposed’ to it. What is a telling choice is for Ernst to welcome Big Oil’s support with open arms at a decadent Washington fundraiser this week,” continued Funk. “Big Oil lobbyists would love nothing more than to be able to say, “You see, even a Senator from Iowa thinks the RFS is unnecessary.” Big Oil would love to be able to use Ernst as a poster child in their multi-million smear campaign to drive ethanol out of business. They hate that consumers have a cheaper and cleaner option at the pump thanks to Iowa renewable fuels. They hate that every gallon sold of ethanol produced domestically means one less gallon sold of gas made from dirty crude oil from unstable regions like Iraq.”

Funk noted that the more money Ernst receives from Big Oil interest, the more reluctant her support for renewable fuels.” Ernst needs to get her priorities straight: choosing between Iowa’s economy and the special interests shouldn’t be a choice at all,” Funk concluded.

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Ethanol, Oil, RFS

Grease Still Hot Item in Biodiesel Feedstock Thefts

John Davis

scalesofjustice1We’re still seeing stories pop up about how thieves are targeting the used grease from restaurants for biodiesel production. The latest story comes from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch where police broke up a mutli-state ring of stolen used grease and cooking oil from O’Fallon, Ill. and the surrounding area.

The suspects — Bo Lin, 32, of Fairview Heights; Tuo Li, 25, of Chicago; and Kentvy Wong, 30, of Flushing, N.Y. — were arrested overnight July 16 at a barn here in the 900 block of Talon Drive. The building, police said, contained about 10,000 gallons of filched grease.

[Police detective Lt. Robert] Schmidtke said the suspects had been selling it to rendering and biodiesel plants.

He said estimating the value of the grease was difficult, but that it easily exceeded $10,000. The National Renderers Association has estimated that grease sells nationally for about $3 a gallon.

Grease thefts have increased since biofuels were introduced to a market once dominated by animal feed and soap industries.

Police say most restaurants might not even report grease thefts, because they don’t realize the value of the commodity being stolen. I guess that’s understandable when you figure it wasn’t that many years ago when before biodiesel became so popular that restaurants paid a price (and many still do) to have it hauled away.

Biodiesel

NASCAR Races 6 Million Miles on E15

Joanna Schroeder

On Sunday, July 20, 2014 NASCAR drivers raced at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, Indiana and hit a historic milestone – 6 million miles raced using Sunoco Green E15. The feat was three years in the making and took place at one of the most famous racetracks in the world – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In 2011, NASCAR and American Ethanol partnered to bring E15 to the sport. Since the beginning of the 2011 season, Sunoco Green E15 has fueled every car and every truck in each of NASCAR’s national race series. According to NASCAR, the introduction of Sunoco Green E15 has been a pivotal part of the NASCAR Green initiative, and has successfully increased horsepower and decreased emissions for the sport.

NASCAR 6 Million Miles on E15Brian France, CEO of NASCAR, released a statement in response to the 6 million mile-milestone saying, “NASCAR conducted an exhaustive analysis before making the seamless transition to Sunoco Green E15, a race fuel blended with 15 percent American Ethanol. As we eclipse six million tough competition miles across our three national series, we can definitively say this renewable fuel stands up to our rigorous racing conditions while significantly reducing our impact on the environment. We are proud to celebrate this milestone at Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with our partners at the National Corn Growers Association and Growth Energy.”

The 6 million mile-mark is especially significant because it mirrors the 6 million miles of testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy to initially approve E15 for all light duty cars and trucks, model year 2001 and newer.

“NASCAR validates what a great performance fuel [E15] is, said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “If you meet with the teams and talk with the owners – they’ve got increased horse power, they’ve got higher performance, and, as Richard [Childress] said, it’s cleaner.”

Through NASCAR, Buis said American Ethanol has proven that E15 is a high performance, low cost fuel option that is homegrown and better for our environment. It supports American jobs that will never be outsourced, bolsters rural economies and enhances our nation’s energy and national security.

Listen to the press conference here: NASCAR Races 6 Million Miles on E15

*Special thanks to Meghan Grebner with Brownfield Ag News for providing audio and photo from the press conference.

American Ethanol, Audio, biofuels, E15, NASCAR, Racing

RFA to DOE: Update Your E85 Data!

Joanna Schroeder

Today the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to accurately account for all stations selling E85. According to RFA, the DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center is missing a vast number of E85 stations – nearly 1,000- after comparing the list to the “crowd-sourced” website E85Prices.com that lists 3,449 retail locations offering E85.

RFANewlogo“The AFDC database is way off in its reporting of E85 stations, and this is negatively influencing discussions over the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending requirements. It isn’t just a handful of stations that are missing; we are talking about the exclusion of hundreds of stations nationwide. In fact, they missed 40 percent of the stations that are included in other databases! That’s simply unacceptable,” said Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the RFA.

In a letter sent to the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, the RFA illustrates the central role of the database in crucial policy decisions, stating, “EPA’s mistaken belief that existing E85 refueling infrastructure is insufficient to distribute the 2014 RFS volumes specified in the statute is based in large part on information from the AFDC. As a result, the Agency wrongly proposed to reduce required renewable fuel blending volumes in 2014.”

Dinneen stressed the urgent need for updated, accurate information as the EPA decides the final 2014 RFS blending requirements. He noted, “Accurate data is the foundation of well informed decisions. The so-called ‘blend wall’ — the level at which oil companies claim they can no longer blend ethanol into gasoline — can be scaled through increased use of E85. Therefore, an accurate accounting of E85 stations distributing low-cost, renewable fuels is vital to informing the debate over RFS implementation.”

The letter concludes, “The correctness and completeness of the database has never been more important, as crucial policy and regulatory decisions are being informed by the information. Inadequate data leads to ill-informed policy decisions, which can have significant consequences for affected industries.

biofuels, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFEmerging markets will play a major role in the expansion of global nuclear installed capacity, which will increase from 371 Gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 517 GW by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.5%, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData. According to “Emerging Nuclear Power Countries- Market Forecast, Key Companies and Development Analysis to 2030,” while the world’s nuclear power generation decreased in 2011 and 2012 in the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown, the market is gradually recovering, with large-scale capacity additions expected in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
  • Legislative support is waning for biofuels blending requirements in the European Union (EU) and the United States, according to analysis in a just-released Platts Commodity Pulse video. During the video, Platts Agriculture Editors Tim Worledge, Guilherme Kfouri and Sean Bartlett review biofuels’ role in the global energy supply mix during the past decade and discuss the current legislative challenges in the biodiesel and ethanol markets in the U.S. and EU.
  • According to the report from Juniper Research, “Green Mobile: The Complete Guide to Vendor Strategies & Future Prospects 2014-2019,” charging mobile devices will generate more than 13 megatonnes CO2e (CO2 equivalent) of greenhouse gases per annum globally by 2019, against an anticipated 6.4 megatonnes this year. Nearly 50% of these 2019 emissions –equivalent to annual emissions from 1.1 million cars – will come from coal-fired Asian electricity grids powering growing smartphone use. The report also found there is low consumer awareness of renewable energy and sustainable habits in these markets. It is down to vendors to take the lead in making energy companies provide more green electricity for both industry and consumers.
  • Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene is the latest of NG Advantage’s customers to change its heat source from fuel oil to compressed natural gas (CNG). The Medical Center joins a growing number of large institutions and industrial sites not located on a gas pipeline in New England and northern New York State. These sites were referred to as “stranded properties” by the gas industry. NG Advantage LLC offers a new service of trucking CNG using its “virtual pipeline” – a fleet of high–tech carbon fiber trailers – to very large energy users not located on a pipeline.
Bioenergy Bytes

ACE Announces Final Ethanol Conference Agenda

Joanna Schroeder

The 27th annual Ethanol Conference agenda is set and will include an update on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) from the Environmental Protection Agency. The event is taking place August 4-6, 2014 in Minneapolis. In addition to the RFS update, Paul Machiele, director for fuel programs for the EPA will also be discussing other agency ethanol priorities. Registration is still available.

“As EPA and the White House close-in on a final decision about the 2014 RFS we’re pleased that Paul Machiele will be on hand to meet with our members,” said ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings.

ACElogo“Consistent with our conference theme of ‘Power by People’ we’re pleased that the 2014 conference will feature updates from ACE members and other speakers on the policy, marketing, and innovation initiatives that will help position the industry for future profitability,” Jennings added.

The ACE conference will also feature new findings from an economic study on “Eco-Performance Fuel,” an Innovators panel of four ACE-member ethanol producers who are adding new processes and technologies, a Retailer Roundtable involving gas station owners who are making money and attracting new customers by selling higher blends of ethanol fuel, and panel discussion focusing on international sales opportunities for ethanol and distillers grain.

Three breakout session tracks will be offered for ethanol plant board directors, mangers/CEOs, and operators focused on technology advances. Breakout session topics include risk management, the impact of proposed FDA regulations on plant operations, and technology to speed or increase yeast fermentation rates.

ACE, biofuels, Ethanol, RFS

Kansas Ethanol Plant to Add Renewable Diesel Ops

John Davis

EKAEA Kansas ethanol maker is going to integrate a renewable diesel operation into its facility. East Kansas Agri-Energy LLC (EKAE) says it will soon start building and hopes to complete construction within about a year of the 3 million gallon per year facility at its ethanol plant in Garnett, Kansas that will make renewable diesel from the corn distillers oil (CDO) already produced at the plant.

“This is about maximizing revenue, leveraging activities that we already do every day, and enhancing the value of products we already produce now,” said EKAE President & CEO Jeff Oestmann. “Adding renewable diesel capability aligns perfectly with our business strategy of diversifying our energy portfolio and creating additional enterprises that are sustainable on their own.”

“The main driver is to create greater value for our unit holders,” said EKAE chairman Bill Pracht. “We’ll be taking advantage of our experience and current facilities to create two biofuels out of one kernel of corn. Furthermore, we’ll be adding value to the corn oil we already produce.”

Oestmann said that EKAE already has a receptive market for this new fuel. “We have positive relationships with customers and within the biofuels industry that have come to know EKAE as a reliable and trustworthy supplier,” he said. “By using corn distillers oil we produce as the primary feedstock, we will have quality control that will underscore our reputation for quality in the marketplace.”

Company officials hope to double the 3 million gallon per year capacity sometime after starting operations.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, green diesel

White House Gathers Senate Dems on RFS Proposal

John Davis

nbb-senatorsIn what could be seen as a sign that an unpopular decision is about to be rendered by the Obama Administration on ethanol and biodiesel, a select group of Senate Democrats have met with the White House. The Hill reports White House adviser John Podesta met with the group on Thursday to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

The senators said they wanted to discuss “urgent concerns” with the RFS, which requires that diesel and gasoline refiners mix a certain amount of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol into their traditional fuels each year. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed last year to keep the biodiesel volume in 2014 at least year’s level, despite an increase in biodiesel production, and reduce the ethanol volume.

The EPA has not yet finalized its 2014 volumes for renewables.

[Minnesota Senator Al] Franken and his colleagues took particular issue with the biodiesel mandate.

“Such a decision would not only harm the economic growth surrounding biodiesel production in our states, but would be a setback in our national efforts to continue boosting U.S. energy security while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” they wrote.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) seems concerned about the meeting as well and issued a statement from from Vice President of Federal Affairs Anne Steckel:

“While we are encouraged by these discussions, the biodiesel industry remains concerned that the Administration still appears to be considering a proposal that would backtrack from last year’s proven production and that threatens biodiesel plants around the country. The fact is that biodiesel is the most successful Advanced Biofuel under the RFS, yet it could see its production cut significantly. This meeting, which was originally requested by a diverse group of 14 Democratic senators from across the country, makes clear that there are serious concerns about the impact that the proposal would have on jobs and economic growth nationwide, in states from Rhode Island to Minnesota to Washington state. This is a critical decision, not just for the biodiesel industry but for the future development of clean, American-made renewable fuels that will help us reduce our dangerous dependence on petroleum.”

Many of those senators participating in this week’s meeting were also critical back in May on the Obama Administration’s proposal to cut the amount of biodiesel and ethanol to be mixed into the nation’s fuel supply, with some of the President’s staunchest backers calling it “disastrous” and a miserable failure of policy.

Biodiesel, biofuels, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, NBB

Rwanda Set to Commission Solar Plant

Joanna Schroeder

The first utility-scale solar PV power plant is set to go online in early August 2014 in East Africa. The 8.5 MWp solar farm will be commissioned by the Government of Rwanda and is currently in its testing phase. Today less than one in five households in Rwanda have access to electricity. The new solar project will increase the country’s production capacity by up to 8 percent.

rwanda state flagIn early July, Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, Prof. Silas Lwakabamba led a high-level delegation which visited the Gigawatt Global Rwanda Ltd construction site, the utility-scale solar power plant located near Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwamagana District, eastern Rwanda.

“Generation and provision of electricity to all Rwandans is a priority for the Government of Rwanda. This initiative to produce 8.5 megawatts of clean energy is an important addition towards closing Rwanda’s current energy gap,” said the Minister at the site.

The Norwegian company Scatec Solar is the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company responsible for building the power plant, and Remote Partners is the local management and support firm. The project has been funded by Norfund (Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries) and KLP. The Dutch company Gigwatt Global is the developer of the project. Once the plant is online, Scatec Solar will operate and maintain the plant which will feed electricity directly into the national grid. The price is lower than for electricity generated by diesel oil.

The Government is encouraging private sector involvement and private-public partnerships as part of its development policy. In addition, energy for all is an important goal in the fight against poverty. Energy must be affordable, energy supplies must be reliable, and last but not least, energy is ideally clean and renewable. Solar energy is an important part of the energy mix along with hydropower and other sources of renewable energy in Africa.

Electricity, International, Renewable Energy, Solar

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFCBD Energy Limited has announced that its Westinghouse Solar subsidiary has finalized binding contracts for commercial solar installations in Australia totaling $1.3M. Additionally its bid pipeline has grown to $14.5M. This reflects the increasing price of energy in the Australian market which makes the Westinghouse Solar range of products and services competitive with fossil fuel generation.
  • Broadwind Energy, Inc. has announced $34 million in new tower orders from a U.S. wind turbine manufacturer. Broadwind will produce these towers in its Manitowoc, WI facility.
  • SunEdison, Inc. has announced its acquisition of the 156 megawatt DC Comanche Solar project from renewable energy developer Community Energy. SunEdison is partnering with Community Energy to complete the final development stage of the project by structuring the financing and providing procurement expertise for the project, following which SunEdison will manage the construction, operation, and maintenance of the solar power plant. Construction will begin in 2015 with commercial operation targeted for early 2016.
  • Sungevity, Inc., has announced that its Sungevity.org initiative has now provided more than $1.5 million to nonprofit organizations through a cause marketing program that rewards nonprofit partners and their members for solar installations. The program has added $500,000 to nonprofit coffers in the last year alone while simultaneously driving solar adoption to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. To mark the $1.5 million milestone, Sungevity.org has donated $50,000 to Alameda County Community Food Bank and welcomed the food bank to its partner roster.
Bioenergy Bytes