Growth Energy Celebrates Earth Day

Joanna Schroeder

Today is Earth Day and people from all over the country are doing “green” things to celebrate Mother Earth. Growth Energy is taking today to discuss how the ethanol industry is committed earth_day_2014_wallpaperto improving the environment through the development of biofuels that reduce greenhouse gases.

“Our industry is committed to taking steps to mitigate harmful greenhouse gas emissions that have been shown to be a driving force in environmental damage,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “That is why we are committed to producing clean, green, renewable and biodegradable fuels that are reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and are better for our environment.”

Buis notes that the benefits of using renewable fuels such as ethanol are tremendous.

For example, here are some facts about renewable fuels and the policy that promotes them: the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS):

  • As a result of the RFS, ethanol is reducing greenhouse gases by an average of 34 percent compared to gasoline, according to the Argonne National Laboratory.
  • In fact, in 2013, the 13.2 billion gallons of ethanol blended into gasoline in the United States helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from on-road vehicles by approximately 38 million metric tons, which is the equivalent of removing roughly 8 million automobiles from the road.
  • A main source of air pollution is automobile exhaust. A solution is to add oxygenates like ethanol to fuel. By increasing the amount of oxygen in the fuel, ethanol enhances engine combustion and reduces harmful tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen and other ozone pollutants.
  • Just a 10 percent blend of ethanol in fuel reduces tailpipe fine particulate matter emissions by 50 percent, while also reducing secondary particulate matter formation by diluting the aromatics contained in gasoline. This blend also reduces carbon monoxide emissions by up to 30 percent.

“As you can see, homegrown American fuels are truly making a difference when it comes to improving our environment. That is why it is imperative on this Earth Day to impress upon lawmakers the importance of the RFS and ensure they continue to support this successful energy policy,” added Buis.  “We need to continue on the path of innovation, and the partnership between first and next generation clean burning, biodegradable, environmentally friendly fuels, and the RFS is doing just that. We have come so far. Now is the time to move forward, not backward.”

biofuels, Environment, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Ethanol Groups Fight Back with “Oil Rigged”

Cindy Zimmerman

fuels-americaA coalition of biofuels organizations is fighting back against the oil industry by launching a new campaign called “Oil Rigged.”

Members of Fuels America today unveiled the details of its new “Oil Rigged” television and digital ad campaign and OilRigged.com designed to “expose the many ways the oil industry is rigging the system to protect their profits and block the transition to clean, American renewable fuels.” The announcement included representatives of member organizations Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Growth Energy, and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

“They’ve rigged Washington,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, noting the oil industry has spent $855 million on lobbyists and campaign contributions over the past five years “more than a million dollars for every member of the House and Senate.” He added that the oil industry has also rigged the market “by refusing to invest in the infrastructure” to sell higher blends of ethanol, rigged the tax code and rigged the debate over renewable fuels.

oil-rigged“They are trying to rig the debate with misinformation, junk science and misleading ads all designed to scare consumers and Congress about ethanol to protect their market share,” said RFA president Bob Dinneen.

The group chose Earth Day for starting the campaign to make the point that biofuels are making a positive difference for the environment. “What we’re really talking about here is doing the right thing for the planet,” said Brent Erickson, BIO Executive Vice President. “Of everything the United States is doing from a policy standpoint to reduce carbon pollution, the Renewable Fuel Standard is making the biggest impact by far.”

Listen to all the comments from Buis, Dinneen and Erickson here: Fuels America Oil Rigged Campaign

Audio, biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, Oil, RFA

Forest Service Seeks Wood Energy Applications

John Davis

forestserviceIn honor of Earth Day today, the U.S. Forest Service is seeking proposals that expand wood energy use and support responsible forest management. This news release says the service is also offering a Wood Energy Financial App to help business leaders see a positive bottom line for these efforts.

“USDA through the Forest Service is supporting development of wood energy projects that promote sound forest management, expand regional economies, and create new jobs,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These efforts, part of the Obama Administration’s ‘all of the above’ energy strategy, create opportunities for wood energy products to enter the marketplace.”

“Building stronger markets for innovative wood products supports sustainable forestry, reduces wildfire risk, and creates energy savings for rural America,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.

Under the Forest Service’s Wood-to-Energy Grant program, about $2.8 million will be made available to help successful applicants complete the engineering design work needed to apply for public or private loans for construction and long-term financing of wood energy facilities. Another $1.7 million from the Statewide Wood Energy Team cooperative agreement program will help public-private teams make advancements in wood energy.

The Wood Energy Financial App that allows users to do a simple and quick analysis to see if wood energy is a viable alternative for their community or small business. You can dowmload the app here.

Government, Miscellaneous, USDA

Green Gadgets for Earth Day

Cindy Zimmerman

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with some new gadgets?

Got an email this morning from an industrious PR person touting a book called “Fool’s Return” by Lynda Chervil, “a thought leader and green technology advocate.”

Chervil, who studies the science behind green technology, says environmental awareness has ramped up production of affordable goods that can shrink individuals’ carbon footprints. She shares four devices she says would make a nice gift for Mother Earth on her day.

hybrid-lightAmong her suggestions is the HybridLight Solar Flashlight that never needs batteries, “can be charged from any light source, and they always work.”

There’s also the Bedol Water Alarm Clock. “Imagine a water-powered alarm clock that’s loud enough to scare you out of bed! Bedol’s water clocks run strictly on tap water – no batteries, no nothing else.” And the Pama Eco Navigator Satellite Navigation system that helps save gasoline by providing you with the most energy-efficient routes to your destinations, and feedback on your car’s performance.

Last but not least, the iGo Green Power Smart Wall that helps “cut the suck” of the power “vampires” that use electricity whether we’re using them or not – everything from coffee pots to laptops.

Go on – give your Mother Earth a hug today and get a green gadget!

Energy, Environment, Solar

Ethanol First Spotlight Topic for MyNewHolland.com

Chuck Zimmerman

MyNewHolland.comToday is the launch of MyNewHolland.com. This new virtual community is set up to provide a meeting place to share information, contribute to farming related discussions and access premium contents and services. It is very simple to create your account by visiting MyNewHolland.com. Then you’ll have access to the features currently active.

A list of features includes:

  • My New Holland: a new online community for all
  • The Spotlight: discussions on a variety of topical subjects in the farming world
  • The first Spotlight: ethanol and renewable energy
  • Valuable information resources: instructional videos, white papers and more
  • Premium content: owners of New Holland equipment and Precision Land Management products gain access to useful materials that will help them get the most from their machines
  • Easy registration and log in through social networks

The Spotlight discussion is a key feature of MyNewHolland.com. Each discussion will feature a guest farmer or industry expert who supports a farming-related topic. All My New Holland members are invited to contribute their comments, opinions, material or images, driving the conversation forward. Each discussion will be open for a number of weeks; subsequently a white paper will be produced and made available for downloading.

Ron Clauson MyNewHolland.comThe first Spotlight discussion topic is “Ethanol: Renewable Energy for America – Profit for American Farmers.” Our guest is Indiana farmer Ron Clauson. His farm has produced corn for ethanol production for the last eight years and he’s passionate about it.

“One hundred percent of the corn and soybeans we produce go into ethanol and biodiesel,” Clauson says. “It makes me proud to be able to say we market our crops to produce fuel that reduces dependence on imports.”

There are several questions being posed in this first Spotlight discussion for you to respond to and your feedback is highly appreciated.

  • Are you producing a crop for ethanol production? If so, what type and why?
  • How would a change in the Renewable Fuel Standard impact your community and you personally?
  • What do you think about the misleading claims against ethanol by critics and what can farmers do about it?

I am very proud to be assisting our long time sponsor in the daily management of MyNewHolland.com in this startup phase. To get some more perspective on it I spoke with New Holland Director of Marketing for North America, Mark Hooper, while visiting headquarters in Pennsylvania recently. He says there are many more features planned for MyNewHolland.com as the community grows and develops.

You can listen to Mark talk about MyNewHolland.com here: Interview with Mark Hooper

So there you have it. The website is live and available for you to create your personal login and let New Holland know what you think, especially about the first Spotlight discussion. See you there.

Agribusiness, Audio, biofuels, Energy, Ethanol, Ethanol News, New Holland

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFAustin, Minnesota’s high school Go Green Club has dedicated the month of April to raise money for solar panels for the school. The students goal is to make their school a more environmentally-friendly place. This year, the Go Green Club’s goal is to install solar panels near their green roof. The club is nearly half way to its goal of raising $10,000. Click here to see their fundraising video and to donate to their Earth-friendly cause.
  • In conjunction with Washington State University Extension, USDA is co-hosting the Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels/Co-Products Conference. The conference will be April 28-30, 2014 in Seattle, Wash. The goal of the conference is to bring together the community of researchers, business leaders, government agencies, and economic development personnel to share and exchange research findings, ideas, and strategies for the common goal of sustainable development of wood-based bio-refineries for production of biofuels and co-products in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Yingli Green Energy has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yingli Energy (China) Company Limited has signed a cooperation agreement with Shanghai Sailing Capital Management Co., Ltd. to jointly form a renewable energy fund in Shanghai with an aim to invest in downstream solar energy projects in China. The Fund will have an initial size of approximately RMB1 billion. The fund is expected to invest primarily in Yingli Green Energy’s solar PV projects through various portfolios.
  • Crius Energy LLC has announced the launch of a new stand alone solar brand, Citra Solar, to focus on capturing value in the fast-growing solar sector and complement the company’s portfolio of energy brands, product offerings and distribution channels. Initially, Citra Solar services will be offered to customers of Frontier Communications, a strategic marketing partner of Crius Energy.
Bioenergy Bytes

Renewable Electricity Could Reach 16% In Five Years

Joanna Schroeder

According to an early release review of the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (the final report is slated for release on April 30th) published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), renewable energy could hit 16 percent of the net U.S. electrical generation by the year 2040. This includes biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind. But the SUN DAY Campaign challenges these predictions by asserting this could happen in the next five years.

When reviewing EIA’s own published data for the 11-year period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2013 revealed that the percentage of the nation’s net electrical generation Biomass pelletsrepresented by renewable energy has expanded from less than 9 percent in 2004 to nearly 13 percent in 2013. Given the relatively consistent growth trends of the past decade or longer for most renewable energy sources and their rapidly declining costs, it seems improbable that it will require another 27 years to grow from 13 percent to 16 percent according to SUN DAY Campaign. Thus, EIA’s forecast is not just unduly conservative; almost certainly, it is simply wrong.

If the trends reflected in EIA data from the past decade continue, cite the SUN DAY campaign, renewable energy sources could increase to as much as 13.5 percent of net U.S. electrical generation in 2014, to 14.4 percent in 2015, to 15.3 percent in 2016, and reach or exceed 16.0 percent no later than 2018 — i.e., within five years and not the 27 years forecast by EIA. At worst, they would reach 16 percent by 2020.

“Inasmuch as policy makers in both the public and private sectors – as well as the media and others – rely heavily upon EIA data when making legislative, regulatory, investment, and other decisions, underestimation can have multiple adverse impacts on the renewable energy industry and, more broadly, on the nation’s environmental and energy future,” noted Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “Consequently, EIA is doing a serious disservice to the public by publishing analyses that are inherently inconsistent with its own historical data and near-term projections.”

The SUN DAY Campaign has published its own full 32-page report that includes the assumptions and projections made, on a technology-by-technology basis, using EIA data. In addition, following the projections provided for each technology is a listing of recent studies and news reports that offer alternative or complementary scenarios – many of which are more aggressive than those provided by the SUN DAY Campaign. These additional studies suggest that even SUN DAY’s analysis may prove to be unduly conservative.

Alternative energy, bioenergy, biomass, Geothermal, Hydro, Solar, Wind

May the Force (of Biodiesel) Be With You

John Davis

milleniumfalcon1Not so long, long ago, in a galaxy not very far, far away, a man dreamed of a owning a Millenium Falcon… powered by biodiesel! You can help make this Star Wars-themed dream come true, as author and filmmaker Luis Aponte has launched a crowd funding project on Indiegogo to build a Millennium Falcon Spaceship Car and have it run on the green fuel.

During an Earth Day presentation about creative alternative fuels at Okeeheelee Nature Center in West Palm Beach, FL, Aponte said of the project, “The United States currently consumes one out of every five barrels of oil produced in the world. In order to establish and protect our energy independence, what better way to inspire kids to think about the future of cars and alternative fuels than by building a Millennium Falcon Spaceship Car that will run on biodiesel?” Crowd funding support will allow Aponte to have the Star Wars-influenced car built in nine months and ready to travel when his children’s book is published next year.

In addition to helping promote biodiesel, fans will be able to pick the book tour locations, as well as what chapters will be included in the children’s book. The goal is to inspire children to think about the future of alternative cars and fuels by touring the Star Wars Millennium Falcon spaceship car and his children’s book across the country. If you want to contribute and be part of the project, you can either donate to your local droid (although these are NOT the droids you’re looking for), or, better yet, click here.

No word if it will be free of Chewbacca hair.

Biodiesel

REG Sells One Billion Gallons of Biodiesel

John Davis

REG LogoCongratulations to our friends at Renewable Energy Group, Inc., as they have sold one billion gallons of biodiesel! The Iowa-based biodiesel behemoth thanked a lot of people who helped them reach this milestone of the company’s 17-year history.

“On behalf of the board of directors and employees of REG, I want to say thank you to all of our customers; vendors; investors; federal, state and local supporters; partners; and team members over the years without whom we could never have met this milestone,” said Daniel J. Oh, REG President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Since our inception we have endeavored to provide customers with a reliable and durable product that helps diversify the energy complex and increases energy security, improves our environment, and supports agriculture,” Oh said. “Our desire to continuously deliver quality products is a driving force behind REG reaching the billion gallon mark.”

REG officials credit their fully integrated value chain including manufacturing, sales & marketing, and supply chain management capabilities for the success, as well as a commitment to research and development and continuous improvement.

For those who might not know, REG’s roots come from its days when it was producing biodiesel as the West Central Coop in Ralston, Iowa. As a grad of good ol’ Glidden-Ralston (probably the BEST school in all of Western Iowa), I can tell you it’s no surprise of the success REG has become. Congrats, guys!

Biodiesel, REG

CSR Looks to Convert Used Railroad Ties to Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

The Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR) has announced a new initiative to review the feasibility of “upcycling” used railroad ties into advanced biofuels. The research project is funded by a grant from the Indiana Rail Road (INRD). Working with the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) of the University of Minnesota – Duluth, CSR aims to determine the viability of converting some of the 15 million ties replaced by U.S. railroads each year into a clean-burning coal alternative.

railroad ties“CSR is thrilled to have the support of the Indiana Rail Road on this important, potentially historic opportunity,” said CSR President, Davidson Ward. “INRD is dedicated to innovation and technology, and its investment in our primary research is an inspiration to the entire team.”

Using a biomass processing technique known as torrefaction, the researchers at NRRI and CSR will convert the structure of used railroad ties, primarily made from hardwood species, into a clean, renewable, homogeneous, and densifiable biofuel. The final result is anticipated to be a pelletized biofuel that can be used in power plants. However, the biofuel will first powe CSR’s test bed steam locomotive, the Santa Fe Railway’s 1937-built No. 3463.

“As the son of a Santa Fe dispatcher and a lifelong student of that railway, I’m intrigued in CSR’s desire to rebuild and modernize such an innovative piece of technology as the 3463, and especially NRRI and CSR’s pursuit of energy, fuel and transportation development,” said INRD President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas G. Hoback. “This important research impacts not only the future of energy in the U.S., but it honors the tradition of American innovation, from the reconstruction and modernization of an iconic steam locomotive to the biofuel development associated with our donation.”

This initial investigation aims to identify any hurdles involved with the conversion of railroad ties to fuel, including the handling of wood preservatives found in railroad ties. CSR will make results of the research known through its “White Paper Program“.

Hoback concluded, “This is something that I believe could lead to a key development in the future of the railroad industry. It is important to take pride in the history of where we’ve been, and the unique melding of research with preserving history, as championed by CSR, is a great way to honor the legacy of the Santa Fe.”

advanced biofuels, bioenergy, biomass, feedstocks