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Symposium Examines Critical Energy Infrastructure

Joanna Schroeder

The Midwest Energy International Symposium will look at how the U.S. will confront a host of energy environment and infrastructure challenges over the next two years. The event will take place on Thursday, October 9, 2014 at the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center located in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Speakers and panelists will provide valuable information and insights regarding energy Midwest Energy Natl Symposiumexports including ethanol, biodiesel, biojet fuels and the supply chains and logistics for fuel transport systems including the trucking, railroad and water transport industries.

The featured keynote speaker is Dr. Gong Ping Yeh, Fermilab with the United States Department of Energy (DOE). His research and interests in sustainable energy include wind, solar, biofuels, electric vehicles and improving energy efficiencies. In recent years, he has focused on Accelerator Driven System and Thorium energy as a new source of energy. Dr. Yeh has been serving internationally as an advisor for sustainable energy in many countries.

Other keynote speakers include:

  • Lt. General Wallace “Chip” Gregson, Jr. (Ret.) will address United States Department of Defense Sustainable Energy Projects.
  • The Rock Island Arsenal, United States Army, will present energy program models for hydroelectricity.
  • Mexico: Creating an Energy Self Sufficient Region in NAFTA, Mexico Energy Ministry
  • Korea: Korea’s Energy Future, Global America Business Institute
  • Germany: Germany’s Current Energy Transition and Use of Biogas as a Fuel, German American Chamber of Commerce, Chicago.

More information about the event along with registration information can be found here.

advanced biofuels, Alternative Vehicles, aviation biofuels, bioenergy, conferences, Renewable Energy

California Surpasses 100K Plug-In Car Sales

Joanna Schroeder

California is leading the country on plug-in electric vehicle sales and has surpassed the 100,000 sales mark since the market started in 2010 according to the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative. California Governor Brown has set a goal to have 1.5 million EVs on state roads by 2025.

“California’s plug-in electric vehicle market is ramping up, and we expect to see significant growth over the next ten years as customers realize how economical and convenient they are,” said California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative Executive Director Christine Kehoe.

P90138766_lowResAccording to data collected by the California Air Resources Board, new sales figures released this week from hybridcars.com and Baum & Associates, a Michigan-based market research firm, Californians bought 102,440 PEVs from December 2010 through August 2014 accounting for nearly 40 percent of all PEVs sold in the U.S.

In addition to automakers rolling out dozens of plug-in electric vehicle models for consumers over the next couple of years, utilities are working to provide a clean, reliable and affordable fuel source for plug-in car owners. Drivers also have increasing options to refuel at home overnight or charge at workplaces across the state.

“Electric vehicles are an integral part of California’s cleaner future. With more than 10,000 electric vehicles on the road in the San Diego Gas & Electric service territory today, it is evident that our customers are embracing the benefits of clean electric transportation,” said James P. Avery, SDG&E senior vice president of power supply. “SDG&E is committed to providing our customers with the clean energy, attractive electric rates and resources needed to support their electric vehicle needs.”

According to California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative driving on electricity is the equivalent of driving for $1 per gallon of gasoline while a gallon of gasoline hovers around the $4 mark in some areas.

Richard Lowenthal, founder and chief technical officer of ChargePoint, a leading company installing EV charging stations at a myriad of public locations throughout the state said of the announcement, “We’re pleased to be providing clean, affordable fuel for a growing number of drivers across the country. Gasoline is 4 dollars a gallon in California and rising. Consumers want alternatives and we’re here to help make the best alternative – electricity — more accessible, and to make electric vehicles more appealing.”

Alternative Vehicles, Electric Vehicles

Michigan Next Stop for Ethanol Safety Seminars

Joanna Schroeder

Michigan is the next stop for the Ethanol Safety Seminars. Led by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Agriculture, there will be five training stops with the first on September 17 in Albion. Additional seminars will take place on September 18 in Lansing, September 19 in Grand Rapids, September 22 in Saginaw and September 24 in Warren. Each seminar is funded by a Promotion and Alternative Fuels Education grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Ethanol Safety SeminarAll seminars are free and feature a morning session from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and an evening session from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. Certificates will be awarded to attendees at the completion of the course. While primarily targeting first responders, hazmat teams, safety managers, and local emergency planning committees, seminars are also open to the general public.

Ethanol Safety Seminars focus on numerous areas including an introduction to ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels, chemical and physical characteristics of ethanol and hydrocarbon fuels, transportation and transfer of ethanol-blended fuels, storage and dispensing locations, firefighting foam principles and ethanol-blended fuel, health and safety considerations for ethanol-blended fuel emergencies and tank farm and bulk storage fire incidents.

“With nearly 14 billion gallons of ethanol flowing across our country via railroads, highway cargo tank trucks, and barges, it’s vital that our first responders know how to safely and effectively handle the situation should a spill occur,” said Craig VanBuren, consumer protection section director at the Michigan Department of Agriculture. “This grant allows the Renewable Fuels Association the opportunity to provide boots-on-the-ground training for our emergency responders if an ethanol spill were to happen.”

In addition to the seminars, RFA will also host five free retailer workshops throughout the state on how to market ethanol-blended fuels, including E15, E85, and all mid-level blends in between. The workshops will discuss economics, the process of capturing RINs, equipment options, buying fuel locally, and available incentives to offset investment. Workshops will take place on Sept. 16 in Warren and Flint, Sept. 17 in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, and Sept. 18 in Ann Arbor.

biofuels, Education, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, safety

Energy Management Solutions Signs New Agreements

Joanna Schroeder

Energy Management Solutions, Inc. (EMS), a subsidiary of ICM ,has signed two new plant management agreements with Red River Energy LLC, located in Rosholt, South Dakota and Midwest Renewable Energy LLC, located in Sutherland, Nebraska.

ICMlogo1The Red River Energy ethanol plant will come back online and into full production this week after sitting idle for the past 18 months. The plant has an operating capacity of 25 million gallons of ethanol per year. The Midwest Renewable Energy plant is currently operating at a capacity of 22 million gallons of ethanol per year.

Dave VanderGriend, CEO of ICM said, “We are excited about expanding our plant management efforts with the addition of these two facilities. We’re proud to be their operator of choice and we look forward to helping each plant run as efficiently as possible.”

In addition to these newly signed contracts, EMS provides plant management services for Tharaldson Ethanol, Casselton, North Dakota and Noble Americas South Bend Ethanol LLC, South Bend, Indiana., which is scheduled to come online in the 4th quarter of this year.

biofuels, Ethanol

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFJeremy Leggett, a prominent international solar thought leader, entrepreneur, business leader and author, will provide one of the keynote speeches at the second edition of the solar energy conference “Desert Solar in Saudi Arabia“, September 17-18, 2014 in Riyadh. The conference will discuss opportunities for solar energy in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region.
  • San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) announced it is seeking between 500 and 800 megawatts (MW) of new, local resources to help replace the power previously provided by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station as well as the retirement of older, coastal power plants that use once-through-cooling technology. The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Energy Division approved SDG&E’s procurement plans earlier this year outlining the company’s approach to procuring 500 to 800 MW of new resources by 2022, with a minimum of 200 MW coming from “preferred resources.”
  • Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. announced it has signed its second supply agreement with Baotou Shansheng New Energy Co., Ltd. for delivery of 50 MW of Hanwha SolarOne’s PV modules. Deliveries will begin in October and are scheduled for completion by the end of November. The modules will be used in ground-mounted projects in Hohhot and Baotou, Inner Mongolia.
  • Amyris, Braskem and Michelin announced that Braskem is joining the ongoing collaboration between Michelin and Amyris. This collaboration was initiated to develop and commercialize renewable isoprene, sourced from various biomass as an additional sustainable pathway to produce isoprene. Under the terms of the agreement, Braskem, Michelin and Amyris will work together to develop a technology to utilize plant sugars, such as those found in Brazilian sugarcane or cellulosic feedstocks, to produce renewable isoprene.
Bioenergy Bytes

Spanish Biodiesel Plants Get Boost from Foreigners

John Davis

300px-Flag_of_Spain.svgBiodiesel plants in Spain have hit records in output and exports, thanks to foreigners who have come in a re-opened many idled facilities. This article from Argus says in May, biodiesel production in Spain hit 140,000 metric tonnes – a record and 50 percent higher than a year ago. And through May, biodiesel production in the country was 400,000 metric tonnes for 2014, up nearly 40 percent from a year earlier and close to the previous record high output in 2011.

Rising Spanish production has followed the first-quarter restart of the country’s largest biodiesel plant, the 600,000 t/yr Infinita unit at the Mediterranean port of Castellon. Plant operator Indonesian palm oil and biodiesel producer Musim Mas has struck deals to buy or operate 1.1mn t/yr of Spanish biodiesel production capacity and avoided the EU’s 2013 Europe-wide tariffs on biodiesel imports from Indonesia and Argentina, under anti-dumping legislation.

Instead, Musim importing and refining palm oil at Castellon to supply domestic demand, as well as eyeing exports.

And other foreign firms are buying cheap Spanish biodiesel capacity. Singapore based producer Ennovor has taken over a 60,000 t/yr facility at Huesca, north of Zaragoza. The company specialises biodiesel production from used cooking oil and waste animal fats.

The rise in production is obviously helping Spain’s biodiesel export market, setting a record 115,000 metric tonnes in March and another near-record 111,000 metric tonnes exported in May. For the first five months of 2014, Spain has licensed 488,000 metric tonnes of biodiesel for export, nearly doubling the amount from a year earlier.

The article also cites European Union tariffs on Argentinian and Indonesian biodiesel imports for the growth in Spain’s outputs and exports.

Biodiesel, International

Food, Water Security Focus of Water for Food Event

Joanna Schroeder

The role of data in wWFF_cvent_banner_670px_nogates2ater and food security will be explored in the upcoming Water for Food Global Conference taking place in Seattle, Washington October 19-22, 2014.

Global food demand is growing. With a changing climate and increased competition for scarce water resources, people are now faced with the complex challenge of needing to double agricultural production by 2050 with less water than is used today. A topic of interest is how to use the tremendous amount of data we now have—from technology ranging from remote sensing to smart mobile devices—to effectively address this problem.

Water for food logoHosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska in association with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “Harnessing the Data Revolution: Ensuring Water and Food Security from Field to Global Scales,” will bring together international experts in the fields of science, technology, policy and practice to discuss potential solutions to achieve a more water and food secure world. The conference will focus specifically on how data can improve the productivity and sustainability of small and large farmers.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this important discussion. The early registration discount ends September 18, 2014. For more details, visit waterforfood.nebraska.edu/wff2014/.

Agribusiness, Climate Change, conferences, water

RFA Releases Report to Debunk ‘Food v Fuel’

Joanna Schroeder

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has released a new report today in an effort to “debunk” what they call the “fictional” food versus fuel debate. The report finds that while corn prices have dropped dramatically over the past two years, retail food prices of key foods including eggs, beef, poultry and pork have remained steady or continue to increase. The report concludes, “… fluctuations in corn prices do not significantly affect consumer food prices.”

RFA Corn Prices are plungingThe report examined a number of factors that contribute to food prices including the cost of food production, pointing to Citibank’s Sterling Smith who stated, “Corn prices may have come down 50% (from their highs), but that doesn’t mean a box of corn flakes will fall 50% in price. Much of the price of food comes from the processing and movement of food…” Additionally, the report also highlighted the role of crude oil in retail food prices, finding that “…every step in the food supply chain is significantly affected by energy costs—especially crude oil.”

The report also compared corn prices to the price of dairy products, pork products, beef products poultry products and egg products from January 2007 – July 2014. Report findings include:

Retail prices for key dairy items like milk and cheese have been largely unresponsive to changes in corn prices. In fact, since January 2011, milk and cheese prices have been negatively correlated to corn prices, meaning retail milk and cheese prices have tended to move in the opposite direction of movements in corn prices.

  • Retail prices for items (like chicken legs, frozen whole turkey, fresh whole chicken) have risen steadily and smoothly since 2007. Wide swings in corn prices did not interrupt or affect the gradual trend toward higher prices for these items.
  • Retail prices for pork products have not shown any meaningful relationship to corn prices over the past seven years. It is well documented that the recent acceleration in pork and bacon prices has been driven by piglet casualties resulting from Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv). These retail price increases have occurred at a time when corn prices have been plunging.
  • Retail ground beef prices have steadily and smoothly trended higher over the past seven years, showing no obvious response to wide swings in corn prices.

“The food vs. fuel folks screamed to high heaven when the price of corn rose during the drought and immediately blamed high corn prices and ethanol for food price increases,” said Bob Dinneen, RFA president and CEO. “However, these same critics remain suspiciously quiet now that corn prices have dropped, but retail food prices aren’t dropping along with them. The food vs. fuel argument is just another misguided attack on biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard, which is reducing foreign oil dependence, lowering gas prices for consumers, and revitalizing rural America.”

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, food and fuel, RFA, RFS

Western US Slowly Adopts Geothermal Energy

Joanna Schroeder

EIA operational geothermal plants in USCalifornia has been the leading geothermal energy state in the U.S. but according to a recent Today in Energy published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) other western states are slowing adopting geothermal energy.

There are currently 64 operating conventional geothermal power plants in the U.S., accounting for nearly 2,700 megawatts (MW) of total capacity at the end of 2013 or 0.4 percent of total U.S. generation. Over three-fourths of U.S. geothermal power generation in 2013 was in California, largely because of favorable geothermal resources, policy, and market conditions in the state, according to Today in Energy. The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world, a complex called the Geysers, located in Northern California, has more than 700 MW of capacity.

Since 2001, only 7 of 30 new plants exceeding 1 MW have been built in California, where most available low-cost geothermal resources have previously been developed. Sixteen of those 30 plants built after 2001 are in Nevada, with the remainder in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Hawaii. Most of the newer plants are relatively small, and while geothermal generation rose 11% between 2008 and 2013, the geothermal share of total U.S. electricity generation has remained consistently around 0.4% since 2001.

Geothermal plants are virtually emissions free, and unlike renewable sources such as wind and solar, they provide an available, dispatchable source of baseload power that is able to operate at a relatively high capacity factor. EIA projects that geothermal electricity generation could more than quadruple between 2012 and 2040 (increasing to over 67,000 GWh), helping California and other states with renewable portfolio standards satisfy their mandated renewable generation requirements.

Electricity, Geothermal, Renewable Energy

Yelo- A Solar Powered Desk in a Bag

Joanna Schroeder

Students in need of electricity in rural schools have a new way to learn: YELO. Designed by Prayas Innovation the bag converts into a school desk. It comes equipped with a LED light that is powered by solar energy kit. The rechargeable battery in the solar kit can be charged through solar energy as well as supports AC charging. YELO is made up of corrugated sheet is durable and has strength to carry belongings worth more than 5 kg and is the outcome of several months of research and user trails.

With millions of stEmpowering Rural Education - 'YELO' an Innovative Solar Powered School Bag that Converts into a Deskudents out of school world-wide, India ranks highest amongst countries with students not attending school. Students in rural areas lack access to basic educational infrastructure. Sitting on the floor in incorrect posture for long working hours results in back pain, bad eyesight and inability to concentrate and study.

YELO addresses these needs by helping children carry their books and belongings irrespective of weather conditions. The same bag with a single fold technique smartly transforms into a school desk. The desk offers an angle of 30-35 degrees for students to write and read, thus ensuring they maintain an ergonomic posture while studying at school or at home.

“We look forward to collaborate with corporates, NGO’s and other social organizations who share similar vision for working towards this cause,” said Manish Mathur, managing director of Prayas Innovation.

Education, Electricity, International, Renewable Energy, Solar