Iowa’s Steve King Urges EPA to Follow Law on RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

steve-kingIf the administration wants to make changes in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) they should follow the law, according to Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

“The RFS is in statute and there are waiver provisions in there for the EPA, but they need to comply with the waiver provisions,” said King during an interview.

King notes that EPA used 2011 data in proposing volume requirements for this year under the RFS. “So we’ve asked them in hearings, discussions, pleadings, every way that we can … that we want them to go back and look at the 2013 data and go back and re-read the law,” he said. “If they make those adjustments appropriately, they’ll come back to what the law says.”

King made those comments during an interview at World Pork Expo in Des Moines last week.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) RFS comments
Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFS

Gen 1.5 – Corn Fiber to Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

scott-kohlSomewhere between corn ethanol and cellulosic ethanol is a midpoint that can be found in the corn kernel.

“Generation one is starch to ethanol and generation two is corn stover and grasses but there is cellulose in the corn kernel,” explained ICM, Inc. technical director Scott Kohl during a session last week at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference. “That’s the Generation 1.5 – the fiber in the corn kernel.”

Kohl says ICM is developing processes to separate that fiber from the rest of the kernel to make more ethanol so that the yield from a single bushel of corn will increase. “We’ve run nearly 2,000 hours of pilot runs on that system,” he said. “We are now in the process of getting the financing arranged to have the first plant running by the middle of 2015.” Interview with Scott Kohl, ICM

It was just announced last week that Patriot Renewable Fuels of Annawan, Illinois will be one of the first to use Gen 1.5 with ICM’s patent-pending Fiber Separation Technology (FST). “ICM’s ethanol technology is a logical platform on which to build our business as a bio refinery” said Patriot’s VP/GM Rick Vondra. “There are many new product and growth possibilities using corn as our feedstock, and we have identified these as two high potential processes that we can adopt now.”

2014 CUTC Photo Album

Audio, corn, CUTC, Patriot Renewable Fuels

GENERcoin to Back Renewable Alternative to Coal

Joanna Schroeder

Now this is an interesting concept that I’ve run across – a mix of digital currency with renewable energy. The crypto currency is backed by real Green ENERgy and their product is coined ‘GENERcoin’. The product is being offered through Arterran Renewables and according to the company combines stable value together with economic utility that neither debt-backed or gold-backed currencies offer.

Ok, let’s take a step back. Arterran Renewables is a nextgen biofuel company whose technology converts any waste with a suitable cellulose content into a solid biofuel that can replace coal.  According to the company, the result is a renewable and abundant source of energy that produces significantly more energy than industrial wood pellets, with no off gassing, superior combustion characteristics, and lower handling costs.

“Arterran Renewables is very enthusiastic about the potential from this partnership with members of the crypto currency community. The mutual discovery of the benefits that each of us can offer the world is enormous,” said Arterran’s CEO Lloyd Davis. “Arterran believes both parties have disruptive innovation at the core of our technologies and our innovations will change the World.”

GENERcoinNow back to GENERcoin. The solid biofuel, which is a replacement for coal, is reality thanks in part to GENERcoin, whose currency is in essence backing the technology.

“GENERcoin is simply about one thing: a World with sustainable renewable energy. The world cannot afford to ignore the effects of 150 years of fossil fuel use, nor can it continue down the big energy business as usual path,” said GENERcoin’s lead visionary David Tiessen. “The effects of fossil fuel use will continue to increase the CO2 levels of the planet and negatively affect our climate and the future of thousands of species, including ours.”

“We now have the choice of business as usual and the continued burning of dirty fossil fuels and the polluting of the planet, or renewable and sustainable alternatives like Arterran Renewables,” continued Tiessen. “Mankind now has at our disposal clean, sustainable energy alternatives and Arterran Renewables with their ability to directly replace coal is the latest exciting addition. GENERcoin is the medium to deploy Arterran’s NextGen Renewable Solid Biofuel and we’re excited to get down to the business of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

GENERcoins will be released through a crowdsale taking place on the Master Protocol on June 11, 2014. Each participant will actually be pre-purchasing Arterran’s NextGEN Solid Biofuel at the rate of $0.062 USD per coin, equivalent to 10,000 btu calculated at a significant discount (according to current market prices as reported by Argus Media). Each coin holder then has the option of redeeming their coins for the fuel or exchanging or trading them as they see fit.

bioenergy, biomass, Clean Energy, Electricity, Waste-to-Energy

Prez Michelle Bachelet of Chile Inaugurates Solar Plant

Joanna Schroeder

President Michelle Bachelet of Chile inaugurated the Amanecer Solar CAP plant in Copiapo, Chile. The solar project is the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. The project was developed, built and interconnected by SunEdison under an offtake agreement with CAP Group.

The Amanecer Solar CAP plant has 100 MW of total installed capacity; the amount of energy consumed each year by approximately 125,000 Chilean homes, or equivalent to 10 percent of the renewable energy generation capacity goal established by the Chilean Government for 2014. The project involves an investment of US $250 million and is critical for the future development of renewable energy in Chile and Latin America.

SunEdison 100 MW Amanecer Solar CAP Power PlantAhmad Chatila, President and CEO of SunEdison, noted: “This project has changed the course of renewable energy development not only in Chile and Latin America, but throughout the world. Amanecer Solar CAP has become a benchmark for SunEdison in how to develop photovoltaic solar energy on an international level.”

Located 37 kilometers from Copiapo in the Atacama Desert, the plant has more than 310,000 photovoltaic modules spread over 250 acres. The Amanecer Solar CAP plant was built in six months and all of its energy is injected into the Central Interconnected System, which lowers the net cost of grid electricity.

In its first year of operation it is estimated that the plant will inject 270 GWh (gigawatt hours) of clean energy into the system. To generate the same amount of energy using diesel would require more than 71 million liters of fuel.

Jose Perez, President of SunEdison for Europe, Africa and Latin America, added: “This plant demonstrates that photovoltaic solar energy is an ideal way of diversifying the energy matrix in Chile, reducing costs and contributing towards meeting the demand for clean and sustainable energy. SunEdison has now interconnected 150 MW in the Atacama Desert – the 100 MW Amanecer Solar CAP plant plus a 50 MW power plant in San Andres – and this is just the starting point. We are firmly committed to the future of clean energy production and the development of the energy industry in Chile.”

Clean Energy, Electricity, International, Solar

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFIKEA has completed the installation of South Florida’s largest solar array, which will be plugged-in officially atop the future Miami-Dade IKEA store opening this summer in Sweetwater, FL. Combined with rooftop arrays in Orlando, Tampa and Sunrise, this fourth solar project will keep IKEA as the state’s largest non-utility solar owner. The 178,000-square-foot solar array consists of a 1,178-kW system, built with 4,620 panels, and will produce approximately 1,738,876 kWh of electricity annually for the store. For the development, design and installation of the Miami-Dade store’s customized solar power system, IKEA contracted with REC Solar.
  • Vista Solar has promoted Jaymes Callinan from Vice President to President of the Company. Callinan co-founded Vista Solar in 2007 with his father Pat Callinan (president of global silicon distributor SVM, Inc.). Since the company’s inception, Jaymes has grown Vista Solar from a residential solar startup to a multi-million dollar commercial solar installation firm.
  • Homeowners anywhere in the United States can now purchase Andalay Solar’s high-performing, easy-to-install solar panels online at Amazon.com. With a 60 perfect annual growth of residential solar power system installations in the U.S. in 2013, the move to sell on Amazon particularly targets the do-it-yourself market. Andalay Solar offers grid-tied AC solar system kits either with 4 panels or with 1, making it quick and easy for go-getting DIYers to customize the size of their solar power system by simply purchasing then tying together the amount of kits necessary to fit their roofs. Furthermore, Andalay’s kits allow for DIYers to install a renewable energy system at a lower cost than a third-party installer.
  • China Ming Yang Wind Power has announced its subsidiary, Jiangsu Mingyang Wind Power Technology Limited, has been approved by Rudong Energy Bureau in Jiangsu Province, China, to exclusively develop and operate a 300MW off-shore wind power project off the coast of Rudong in Jiangsu Province, China, subject to certain conditions.
Bioenergy Bytes

Spider ST Solar Roof Mount System Seeing Success

Joanna Schroeder

Patriot Solar Group (PSG) has announced they are seeing success with their recently launched Spider ST roof mount system. The Spider ST is a polypropylene polymer-based roof mount for commercial flat roof applications. Because of its design and ease of use, the company says it offers solar installers unique cost saving features.

Patriot Solar Group Spider STAlthough mounting systems are defined as “hardware costs,” the the company says Spider ST reduces soft costs, which account for a large percentage of installed system costs for roof-top solar projects.

Patriot Solar Group explains its “snap together” design requires no tools for assembly and comes standard with integrated grounding – significantly lowering associated mechanical and electrical labor. The design to build process is shortened due to zero roof penetrations and lighter roof loading because of its airfoil wind deflector design.

“Projects are getting financed quicker and more easily because of our extensive research data, wind tunnel testing and UL 2703 compliance – thus further reducing associated soft costs,” said Jeff Mathie, president of Patriot Solar Group, “Developers, building owners, roof manufacturers and financiers feel very comfortable using the Spider ST and we are seeing a stronger market acceptance towards polymer based materials for racking.”

Alternative energy, Renewable Energy, Solar

Summer Means No E15

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s summer vacation time for 15% ethanol blends but not by choice.

E15 sign“The Environmental Protection Agency’s outdated interpretation of Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) regulations is preventing the sale of E15 in most of the country during the busy summer driving season, adding billions to travelers’ fuel costs,” said American Coalition for Ethanol senior vice president Ron Lamberty. By unnecessarily limiting the sale of E15 to only flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) owners from June 1 to September 15
in areas where most gasoline is used, Lamberty says EPA is effectively requiring drivers to purchase lower octane fuel for 5 to 40 cents.

Iowa leads the nation with 20 registered E15 stations and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Managing Director Lucy Norton says they have to shut down the pumps in the summertime. “If oil refiners chose to ship gasoline with the proper vapor pressure into our state, Iowa motorists could have expanded access to cleaner-burning, lower-cost E15 year-round, instead of it being temporarily restricted to only flex-fuel vehicles during the summer,” said Norton.

The Iowa legislature passed legislation to help ease costs Iowa retailers may incur when obtaining gasoline suitable for blending with 15 percent ethanol during the summer months. Under the legislation, Iowa’s E15 retailer tax credit to 10 cents from June 1 to September 15, up from the three cents it is the rest of the year.

“Ironically, E15 has a lower RVP than the fuel 95% of drivers are using, so EPA’s unwillingness to change a 25 year-old regulation effectively mandates higher evaporative emissions and higher prices during the busiest driving season of the year,” said Lamberty.

ACE, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Best Way to Curb Harmful Emissions? Restore the RFS.

Joanna Schroeder

The renewable fuels industry has not weighed in much on the debate surrounding the recent unveiling of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed regulation: Clean Power Plan. The proposed mandate, that is now open for comment, would reduce power plant emissions by 30 percent by 2030 using 2005 levels. According to Brian Jennings, executive vice president for the American ACElogoCoalition for Ethanol (ACE), while acknowledging the ambitions rule to limit GHG emissions from power plants, it must be noted that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been successfully reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector since 2007 when the legislation was enacted.

Jennings said that in 2013 alone, the use of biofuels cut 38 million metric tons of GHG emissions from the transportation sector – the equivalent of the emissions from removing 8 million cars on the road or permanently parking every motor vehicle in Florida. “In other words, the RFS is the strongest and most successful law ever enacted to reduce dangerous GHG emissions from transportation fuels,” said Jennings.

“If the Administration is serious about using the Clean Air Act to implement a broad-based effort to reduce GHGs across various sectors, the best and most important way to do that is to ensure that the RFS works as intended to drive higher usage of renewable fuels versus how EPA has proposed to reduce the RFS for 2014,” continued Jennings. “EPA’s current RFS proposal sets a dangerous precedent by letting oil companies off the hook when it comes to compliance with Clean Air Act GHG standards for transportation fuel. If the Administration expects power plants to comply with this new proposal by curbing their emissions, how can it let oil companies shirk responsibility for complying with the Clean Air Act RFS provision by refusing to allow consumer access to higher blends of ethanol?”

ACE, biofuels, Carbon, Climate Change, EPA, Ethanol, Renewable Energy, RFS

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFThe Green Power Academy has released a new training course calendar that includes 25 new courses. One popular class is the Renewable Energy Mini-MBA. In addition, there are multiple courses about bioenergy and bioproducts, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal, clean technologies and project business & finance planning. Click here to get details on all the courses.
  • The Fuels America Coalition has sponsored Politico’s Morning Energy for the second week in a row, underscoring that gutting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) would pose an enormous threat to America’s emerging cellulosic ethanol and advanced biofuel industry. “Caving to oil industry pressure and reducing the market for renewable fuels would undercut the industry’s ability to make investments in advanced biofuels,” the advertisement pointed pointed out. “Especially if the administration’s rationale for the reduction is the fact that the oil industry is refusing to provide the infrastructure to sell renewable fuels in spite of a law requiring them to do so.”
  • Royal DSM has announced that it has joined the Solliance CIGS Research program. It has entered into a 3-year agreement to participate in this alliance that focuses on developing new solutions for solar modules. DSM is already developing proprietary innovative materials for the solar industry to increase module efficiencies to lower the cost of the energy produced, allowing for a further penetration of solar energy. Solliance is an alliance of TNO, TU/e, Holst Centre, ECN, imec and Forschungszentrum Jülich for research and development in the field of thin film photovoltaic solar energy (PV) in the ELAT-region (Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle).
  • AMSC, a global solutions provider serving wind and power grid industry leaders, has announced that it has received a $40 million order for wind turbine electrical control systems (ECS) from Inox Wind Limited, part of India’s Inox Group of Companies. AMSC expects to begin shipments under this new order during the second quarter of fiscal 2014 and expects to complete shipments during calendar year 2015. This is the sixth and largest order that AMSC has received from Inox since the company began volume production of its 2 megawatt (MW) wind turbines, which were licensed from AMSC in May 2009.
Bioenergy Bytes

Clean Power Plan Should Give Utility Industry a Boost

Joanna Schroeder

Earlier this week the EPA announced a legacy proposal that would reduce carbon pollution from power plants by 30 percent below 2005 numbers. While much of the response from organizations was positive, may associations believe the proposed Clean Power Plan regulation will harm rural areas, not help.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the reduction in carbon will lead to higher energy prices; but not only would farmers face higher prices for electricity, but any energy-related input such as fertilizer. They also claim rural electric cooperatives that rely on old coal plants for cheap electricity would be hit especially hit hard.

Coal-Fired-Power-Plant“U.S. agriculture will pay more for energy and fertilizer under this plan, but the harm won’t stop there,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said. “Effects will especially hit home in rural America.”

Yet according to Lux Research, the Clean Power Plan have noted that while the proposed regulation has spurred furious debate, what is missing from the conversation it the role of innovation. The firm said these rules can help spur innovation that will make it easier for the world to reduce its emissions.

The new EPA rules are unlikely to have a dramatic impact on global emissions on their own, said Lux Research, given that almost all future growth in carbon emissions will come from developing and underdeveloped countries – most notably China, which became the largest carbon emitter in 2007. Hence, much of the debate about the rules has centered on how likely they are to help induce China and other nations to agree to binding targets of their own.

“The political discussion about climate change misses a critical point; whatever their role in climate negotiations, these new rules will accelerate technology development and deployment, making it more practical and affordable for nations everywhere to reduce emissions,” said Aditya Ranade, Senior Analyst at Lux Research. “Their influence on innovation is where they will need to have the biggest impact for the world to achieve its CO2 reduction goals.”

Lux Research analysts predict that four major technology sectors will get a boost:Read More

Agribusiness, bioenergy, Carbon, Clean Power Plan, Climate Change, Electricity, Renewable Energy