Biodiesel Grant Looks to Improve GHG Science

John Davis

NBF1A new grant looks to improve the science and understanding behind greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling to show how biodiesel helps the economy while adding security benefits. This piece from Biodiesel Magazine says the National Biodiesel Foundation (NBF) grant to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) to study the science behind GHG modeling will help quantifying the environmental benefits biodiesel is able to offer to state and federal energy policies that aren’t even in the realm of possibilities for for fossil fuels.

“The greatest potential for improving the accuracy of biodiesel’s GHG score is to improve the quantification of indirect land use change associated with feedstock production,” said Don Scott, director of sustainability at NBB. Under the NBF grant, NBB expects to improve the accuracy of data used in economic and life-cycle models. The biodiesel industry has set responsible goals based on the availability of feedstocks without increasing prices or acres.

Scott further explains, “The current theory of indirect land use change relies on the assumption that feedstock prices will increase, so the models are predicting outcomes nearly the opposite of what is actually happening.” In 2013, record biodiesel production demonstrated that feedstocks could remain in abundant supply. Biodiesel production increased 35 percent while soybean oil prices dropped 25 percent. “If the scientific community continues to improve the modeling, it is likely that model results will converge with reality and show zero indirect land use change emissions attributable to U.S. biodiesel,” Scott said.

NBF works closely with NBB to address national issues regarding biodiesel and hopes this improved understanding of sustainability will improve data inputs to GHG models.

Biodiesel, NBB

FL Researchers Look to Sweet Sorghum for Ethanol

John Davis

sweet_sorghumA partnership between a university and a private company is researching using sweet sorghum for ethanol. This story from Ethanol Producer Magazine says U.S. EnviroFuels LLC and the University of Florida could use the technology in the company’s 30 MMgy advanced ethanol plant under construction in Florida.

A research team from the University of Florida was awarded a four-year, $5.4 million USDA grant to study the crop’s potential as an energy source earlier in May. Multiple varieties will be developed and assessed, looking at water consumption needs, growth in Florida soil, heat tolerance and the tolerance to disease and pests. Cellulosic ethanol will also be produced using a genetically engineered bacteria developed at the University of Florida.

The research project is good news for the proposed ethanol plant, which is behind schedule for construction and startup, said Bradley Krohn, president and chief technical officer of U.S. EnviroFuels, founder and project manager of Highlands EnviroFuels LLC. “Any R&D program that develops commercial sweet sorghum hybrids and improves the performance of sweet sorghum from a tonnage and sugar production standpoint will help the ethanol plant project going forward,” he said.

Sugarcane is the usual feedstock for the plant, but the company wants to use the sweet sorghum during sugarcane’s off season.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research, sorghum

Patriot Hires Leifmark for Cellulosic Ethanol Plant

John Davis

patriot1Patriot Renewable Fuels has hired Leifmark to plan the first stage of its cellulosic ethanol plant in Illinois. This news release from Patriot says the Inbicon Biomass Refinery technology will be the centerpiece of the platform on the site of Patriot’s 130 million gallon per year grain ethanol plant.

“Leifmark’s analysis will give us a clear picture of the overall technical and economic factors,” says [Gene Griffith, Co-Founder & President of Patriot]. “Their study will provide a sound basis for deciding whether Patriot should go ahead with the engineering phase of the project.”

Paul Kamp, Leifmark co-founding partner in Chicago, says, “Patriot has a history of innovation since its Annawan plant opened in 2008. Adding cellulosic ethanol production is a natural next step.”

At the centerpiece of the technology platform is the Inbicon biomass conversion technology, which Denmark’s DONG Energy began developing in the late 1990s and has demonstrated for over 15,000 hours at its Inbicon Biomass Refinery in Kalundborg, where it typically processes 4.4 tons an hour of wheat straw.

About 1320 tons per day of corn stover will be turned into cellulosic ethanol using the Inbicon’s technology.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Patriot Renewable Fuels

Floating Turbine Looks to Change Wind Energy

John Davis

altaeros1A new type of wind turbine that floats a couple of thousand feet above the ground could change the wind energy game. This article from EcoSeed says the Buoyant Air Turbine, or B.A.T., which uses a helium-filled shell and was designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology alums Ben Glass and Adam Rein in wind energy start-up Altaeros, could bring energy to off-grid areas.

Their B.A.T. uses a helium-filled shell – made of the same fabric used in blimps and sails – to hover around 1,000 to 2,000 feet above ground to capture the stronger, steadier winds available at that altitude.

The B.A.T. can produce double the energy of similarly sized tower-mounted turbines. This is because, at the altitude that the B.A.T. hovers, the winds blow five to eight times stronger than winds at tower level (roughly 100 to 300 feet).

According to Mr. Rein, the B.A.T. is not designed to replace conventional tower-mounted turbines but, it will be able to bring wind power to areas where tower-mounted turbines are not practical or economically feasible.

“It’s really about expanding wind energy to all those places in the fringes where it doesn’t really work today, and expanding the amount of wind power that’s able to be deployed globally,” said Mr. Rein.

The article also points out that the autonomous working system will eliminate the need for metal towers and concrete bases, which should please environmentalists working on the clean part of the energy angle.

Wind

U of Washington’s Biodiesel/Electric Hybrid Car

John Davis

washecocar1Talk about the best of both worlds – University of Washington students have designed and re-engineered a car to run on electricity AND biodiesel. This article from the Seattle Times says the team recently showed off the vehicle to a group of local elementary school students, who had lots of questions and seemed thoroughly impressed.

How much could you sell it for? How long did it take to make it? What’s that red button? What if it doesn’t work?

How did you get that big sticker on the car? Why is there a fire extinguisher inside?

What are those wires for?

Could it charge your phone?

“It’s fantastic,” said sixth-grader Asli Edey. “I think it’s going to be my dream car.”

The Malibu hybrid conversion is part of a collegiate competition, EcoCAR 2, sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy. The UW is one of just 15 universities in the U.S. and Canada selected to participate.

The Malibu has two separate engines: the biodiesel engine in the front of the car, which drives the front wheels; and the 250-horsepower electric motor in the rear of the car, powered by an 800-pound battery pack.

The electric motor runs for about 40 to 50 miles, and the biodiesel-powered motor can carry it for longer or pump up the power when needed as it goes 0 mph to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds — about a second faster than a Malibu with a standard gasoline engine.

The car is being shipped to Michigan to be tested even more, and eventually GM will pick a winner in its EcoCAR 2 competition.

Biodiesel, Electric Vehicles, Research

Biodiesel Powers New Season of Cog Railway

John Davis

cograilway1A summer tradition in New England is getting a new, clean power source. This story from New Hampshire Public Radio says Mount Washington’s Cog Railway has a new biodiesel engine to power the unique railway up the highest peak in the Northeast.

The popular tourist attraction is also rolling out a new biodiesel engine during the holiday weekend. The new engine is named Metallak, in honor of the last surviving member of the local Abenaki tribe.

Each 3-hour round trip on the Cog includes an hour spent at the summit, where passengers get free admission to the new summit weather presentation created by the Mount Washington Observatory — titled Extreme Mount Washington.

This is the 145th year for the railway.

Biodiesel

Oil-Rich Texas is Nearly Renewable Energy Leader

John Davis

Texas flagLooks like Texas is taking an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to energy sources. The oil-rich state added nearly 800 clean energy jobs during the first three months of this year, and according to this story in renewablesbiz.com, that puts Texas second only to Idaho and California. But the article also warns those the 5,600 new clean energy and clean transportation jobs added throughout the country are less than half of what was announced a year earlier by Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, the non-partisan business group that compiled the figures.

E2’s executive director, Bob Keefe, suggests more declines could be on the horizon, amid uncertainty about the future of state mandates and federal tax incentives driving renewable energy investments around the country.

The biggest hit at the federal level is the disappearance of the renewable energy production tax credit that allows project owners to reduce tax bills by 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced from renewable sources over 10 years…

Meanwhile, an investment tax credit that has been used to finance solar projects with long lead times is set to expire in 2016.

So far, renewable energy advocates have been prevailing in most of those fights, notably when the Kansas House voted to retain the state’s requirement that utilities draw 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. But a similar battle is under way in Ohio.

Four new big projects in Texas drove the increase: the Barilla Solar project in Pecos County; the Plainview Orchard Wind project in Plainview; the First Wind project in Armstrong and Carson counties; and a biodiesel plant in Temple by Austin-based Thomas Biodiesel.

Miscellaneous

ACE Reminds Drivers that E15 is Fine for Most Cars

John Davis

ACElogoSummer driving season kicked off this past weekend, and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) took the opportunity to remind drivers that most vehicles can be filling up with the higher 15 percent blend of ethanol, E15. ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty says it could save them some money at the pump.

“Once the federal government gave the approval for E15 blends to be sold in retail stations, automakers started building cars designed and warrantied for E15 fuel. For the last two years nearly every new vehicle sold in the US is ‘‘E15 compatible,’’ under even the strictest definition of that term. Along with flex-fuel vehicles and Ford’s earlier switch to E15 according to sales data, about 50 million vehicles on the road today have warranties that include E15. And that number will grow by almost 15 million every year. While ACE continues to encourage drivers of cars and light trucks built in model year 2001 and newer – the vehicles EPA tested safe for E15 use – to try E15, no one can argue about the safety of E15 in this group of newer vehicles.”

ACE also pointed out that more states are passing laws that should lead to more stations offering E15 blends. The group also criticized AAA for being “a very effective pawn in Big Oil’s campaign to smear E15 and maintain the fuel monopoly that has doubled American drivers’ fuel expenditures over the past five years.” Lamberty called on AAA to step up and advocate on behalf of drivers and call for the higher blend.

ACE, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Honor Troops with Renewable Energy

John Davis

arlington1Today is a day when the nation pauses to remember those who have given their all to keep this country free. This opinion piece in the News & Observer from North Carolina features the words of Lt. Gen. Richard Zilmer, who retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 36 years and says if we want to truly honor vets and those who died in wars, do what we can to cut down on the amount of fuel convoys on the battlefield and the amount of fossil fuels consumed at home.

In recent conflicts, fuel convoys have been among our enemies’ favorite targets. Transporting fuel to bases and troops in war zones has become an especially dangerous job.

As a commander in Iraq, I witnessed firsthand the toll in casualties imposed by our battlefield dependence on oil. And with other members of the CNA’s Military Advisory Board, a panel of retired three- and four-star generals and admirals, I have studied the intersection of energy and national security on a wider scale.

CNA’s Military Advisory Board has found that America’s over-dependence on fossil fuels makes us vulnerable on the battlefield. It is a national security threat – economically, militarily and diplomatically. Our oil dependence weakens us, constraining our options for action on the world stage and causing us to send money to regimes whose interests don’t always dovetail with ours.

There are also financial penalties attached to our armed forces’ dependence on fossil fuels. Every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil means a $1.3 billion increase in operating costs for the Pentagon. And the military allocates a tremendous amount of resources to ensuring the freedom of movement of oil shipments – an estimated $8 trillion protecting oil cargoes in the Persian Gulf since 1976, a 2010 study found.

The general goes on to point out that if troops on the battlefields are finding ways of using more renewable energy, then the folks back home should be able to do the same.

If our men and women in uniform can incorporate efficiency and renewable energy into their dangerous jobs, surely the rest of us can do our part on the homefront.

biofuels

Former Ethanol Car Driver Wins Indy 500

Cindy Zimmerman

ryan-indyIt was mid-season in 2007 when Ryan Hunter-Reay burst on the IndyCar Series scene wearing the green and blue ethanol logo for Rahal-Letterman Racing. He finished 6th in his first Indy 500 in 2008 and won Rookie of the Year. This year he came in first.

“I’m a proud American boy, that’s for sure,” said Hunter-Reay, who is the first American since 2006 to win the race. He now races for Andretti Autosport driving the DHL car.

ryan-2014Ryan was not the first ethanol IndyCar driver. He replaced Jeff Simmons, after Simmons replaced the first driver Paul Dana, who was killed during practice in Homestead at the first Indy race to run on 10% ethanol. Ryan was the third and last driver of the car sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), which dissolved in 2008 to become part of Growth Energy.

In his first interview with Domestic Fuel after being named the new driver, Ryan talked about how pleased he was to promote ethanol as the IndyCar Series moved to 100 percent ethanol. “It’s a really neat story that they can make these 700 horsepower, 230 mile an hour cars run on 100 percent ethanol, and the fact that we can use less fuel doing it – with methanol we had to use more,” he said. 2007 Ryan Hunter-Reay Interview

Starting in the 2009 season, Brazil become the new sponsor of the 100 percent ethanol IndyCar Series, but Ryan still raced a few more times under the Team Ethanol banner at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 and has always been a strong advocate for ethanol. Congratulations on winning the big one this year, Ryan!

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, IA Corn Indy, Indy Racing, Racing