Gladstein, Neandross and Associates, organizers of the 2014 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo taking place May 5-8, 2014, have announced that the expo will take place in tandem with multiple alternative fuel and advanced vehicle technology events. Additional industry events include: NGV Global 2014: 14th Biennial Conference & Expo; Lead the Way Propane Autogas Summit by the Propane Education & Research Council; Trucking Efficiency Workshop by North American Council for Freight Efficiency & Carbon War Room; California Hydrogen Business Council Spring Summit; Women in ACT Summit; and the Alternative Fuel Toolkit for Local Governments, Fleet Managers, and Employers Workshop by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.- The Ethanol 2014 Emerging Issues Forum taking place in Omaha, Nebraska on April 10-11, 2014 has announced several additional speakers including: Scott Hornafius, President & CEO of Elk Petroleum; Dan Olson, Partner, Skytrain Fund Management; and Chris Bender, Head of Public Affairs and Communications for Novozymes.
- Royal DSM’s advanced cellulosic yeast product was named the ‘Breakthrough Technology of the Year’ by Green Power Conferences. The award recognizes a breakthrough technology platform “for the technology that reset the goal for bio-based production.” Green Power announced the honor, which focuses on sustainability criteria throughout the bio-based value chain, during its Sustainable Bio Awards, presented at the World Bio Markets 2014 conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Congress has passed the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 (HR 2126), sponsored by Representatives David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter Welch (D-VT). The bill includes several provisions to save energy in buildings.
UPS Expands Propane Commitment
Delivery giant UPS is expanding its commitment to propane. The company has announced plans to purchase 1,000 propane delivery trucks and will also install 50 fueling stations at UPS locations. The investment in propane vehicles and infrastructure is nearly $70 million.
The expanded propane fleet will replace gasoline and diesel fueled vehicles in many rural areas in Louisiana and Oklahoma. The company says trucks along these rural routes can travel up to 200 miles on a tank of propane. The trucks will beginning hitting the roads my mid-year. UPS is considering adding propane trucks to other states.
“The UPS alternative fuel strategy is to invest in the most environmentally friendly and economical energy sources,” said David Abney, UPS chief operating officer. “Propane meets those criteria as a clean-burning fuel that lowers operating costs and is readily accessible, especially on rural routes in the United States. States that attract this type of investment with tax incentives and grants will factor into the UPS deployment strategy.”
UPS tested 20 propane-powered brown delivery trucks this past winter in Gainesville, Georgia, and expanded its order with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. UPS uses a “rolling laboratory” approach to test different fuel sources and technologies according to their route characteristics. The new propane fleet is expected to travel more than 25 million miles and to displace approximately 3.5 million gallons of conventional gasoline and diesel per year.
“The opportunity to road test new propane vehicles and fueling equipment with one of the most sophisticated fleets in the country is a major milestone for the propane industry,” said Roy Willis, president and CEO of Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). UPS and PERC worked with equipment manufacturers to secure certifications with the EPA and California Air Resources Board. “This announcement is the culmination of many entities bringing together the best in propane technology to achieve the greatest economic and environmental results.”
UPS has one of the largest alternative fuel fleets in the country.
5th Anniversary of E15 Waiver
Growth Energy is marking the 5th Anniversary of the Green Jobs Waiver – the waiver that brought the choice of E15 to consumers. The waiver was filed on March 6, 2009 with the Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to get higher ethanol blends approved for commercial use.
“We recognized five years ago that increased blends, such as E15 would be necessary to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and create jobs right here at home all while providing consumers with a choice and savings at the pump,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy about the anniversary. “Additionally, for the biofuels industry to grow, higher blends in the commercial marketplace are necessary to foster development and innovation in next generation fuels.
Five years later, noted Buis, they consider their efforts to be successful even though challenges from Big Oil and special interests continue to arise. “We have faced every possible legal, regulatory and PR hurdle our opponents could throw at us, but our industry and members have been resilient,” said Buis.
Today, E15 can be found in 14 states and each week additional retailers are offering the fuel blend. Buis said retailers are beginning to recognize the economic benefits of offering a “less expensive, home-grown, high performance fuel. All of NASCAR runs on E15 and combined, race car drivers have driven more than 5 million miles on the ethanol blend.
Buis concluded, “E15 is the most tested fuel in our nation’s history. More than six million miles of testing on 86 vehicles without any engine problems or durability issues. One thing is clear; E15 is a safe, reliable fuel that more and more Americans are choosing.”
Ethanol’s Voice Heard at Commodity Classic
It might not be a biofuels convention per se, but the recently completed Commodity Classic in San Antonio attracted lots of producers and advocates for the green fuels. Previously, I talked to Joe Jobe from the National Biodiesel Board about his group’s participation in the annual meeting of corn, wheat, soybean and sorghum growers. At the booth next door was another group in the biofuels game, the Renewable Fuels Association, representing the ethanol industry. RFA’s Director of Market Development Robert White said that they’re glad to come out and talk with the thousands of corn farmers attending who are a big part of the main feedstock for ethanol and invest heavily themselves in the industry.
“It’s a good place for us to be. It’s actually nice to go into a friendly environment every once in a while,” he said.
Of course, the biggest thing they heard at the event was the concerns over the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to cut a billion gallons of ethanol from the Renewable Volume Obligations, the amount of ethanol required to be blended into the Nation’s fuel supply. Robert said they need to counter some of the myths that petroleum companies are trying to spread with fact-based arguments in favor of ethanol.
“And it has to be strategic, because if the opposition to the [Renewable Fuels Standard] is a fire hose, we’re a dripping faucet, and we have to make sure it’s a strategic approach and it’s fact-based because if we got caught stretching the truth, they’d never forget it,” he said.
Robert went on to say that despite the comment period for the EPA being over, it’s important to keep letting Washington know where ethanol and all biofuels proponents stand.
“Don’t become complacent. Keep reaching out to elected officials, EPA and the White House to make sure they know how important this is to individual farming operations and rural America.”
Listen to my interview with Robert here: Robert White, RFA
2014 Commodity Classic Photos
State Grant Leads to Biodiesel Buyers Club
A state grant is helping a small-scale biodiesel processor manufacturer start a local biodiesel buyers club. Springboard Biodiesel, which was a recent recipient of a grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC), is using that money to build a new and larger biodiesel production facility in Chico, Calif. and sell the fuel to local buyers.
“With the help of the CEC and countless organizations in and around Butte County, Springboard is ready to produce ASTM-grade biodiesel in its new, state-of-the-art facility and enable businesses and individuals to enjoy the many benefits of burning biodiesel,” said Springboard CEO Mark Roberts. “While our target market will remain primarily local, corporate and municipal consumers of diesel, who want to incorporate biodiesel into their fleets, we wanted to compliment that with a local buyers club.”
Springboard will not have a traditional pump and go system, per the filling-station model, but will offer biodiesel club members the opportunity to buy quality biodiesel at competitive prices in prepared volumes of 10, 55 and 275 gallons.
The Company has long been recognized as a leader in the small-scale biodiesel production market, having sold almost 1,000 automated BioPro™ systems (50-100 gallon batch processors) throughout the US and internationally. Springboard intends this new, larger production system to create a complimentary market opportunity. “We believe that producing locally and consuming locally is a sustainable and profitable energy model that will benefit the local communities where our systems are located,” says Roberts. “Ultimately, we plan to build a broad network of these ‘micro-facilities’, all of which are designed to provide competitively priced, cleaner burning biodiesel to local communities that have a natural and more easily accessible feedstock”
The new facility in Chico will be able to produce up to 350,000 gallons a year. Check out their website, www.springboardbiodiesel.com/buyers-club, for more information.
Biodiesel By-Product Getting More Attention
It used to be, biodiesel producers were not that concerned about the quality of the glycerin they produced. But these days the by-product of the biodiesel process is getting more attention in the quality level and where it will be marketed. This article from Biodiesel Magazine outlines some of the aspects of glycerin quality and offers three examples of how the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel scientists are producing glycerin.
There are many grades of glycerin beyond crude, including technical- and pharmaceutical-grade (USP). USP Glycerin is 99 percent minimum with very tight limits on a multitude of potential contaminants, [Darol Brown, president of Portland, Ore.-based Sego International Inc.] says, and each shipment of USP requires a certificate of analysis. The applications for USP glycerin are endless. It’s used in an almost unlimited number of products. USP-grade glycerin is found in pharmaceuticals, food materials, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and personal care items. Some are less known applications, such as its use on raisins to keep them chewy, or as a cleanser for dairy cow udders to ward off infection.
There really is no set specification for crude glycerin, Brown says. “But each potential buyer has his own limits,” he explains. “Crude sellers must supply a lab test showing the assay of glycerin, the amount of methanol, ash, salts, and water and, in some cases, the amount of fatty acids. In general, unless you have changed the raw materials used, the plant will produce a consistent product and, if you know the producer, you can have some surety that the product will not vary, although most still require the test results to come with the shipment.” Some of the more common applications for crude glycerin include propylene glycol (anti-freeze), dust control and use an animal feed ingredient. “Crude glycerin is a cheap source of carbon and can be used in place of corn, grains or molasses in cattle feed, but it’s the lowest price and gives the least return to the producer,” Brown says. “Dust control is a major user of crude glycerin, but it is formulated with many other additives and is a rather cheap net back to the producer of the glycerin.” Brown says other applications are somewhat small and dependent on low-cost product.
The article goes on to look at the research Karthik Gopalakrishnan from Clemson University, Derek Pickett at the University of Kansas, and Michael Morgan from Utah State University are doing on glycerin.
Majority in Ag Boycott Chipotle
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you think about Chipotle’s Farmed & Dangerous?”
An overwhelming majority said they have boycotted Chipotle and I am proud to say I fit into that majority. I also believe Chipotle should be ashamed and have decided I don’t need to watch their recent stunt to know they are bad news. Thank you to those in the agricultural community who have made a stand against this restaurant giant and joined the fight to tell agriculture’s story.
Our poll results:
- Chipotle should be ashamed – 25%
- Hilarious – Lighten up! – 6%
- Thought provoking – 4%
- Refuse to see it – 6%
- Will never eat at Chipotle – 47%
- Never heard of it – 12%
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s your favorite fish?”
Today is Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent. Many across the country are giving up something beloved to them in the 40 days leading up to Easter and reframing from meat on Friday’s. In honor of that we want to know what’s your favorite way to prepare fish.
Farm Bill Boosts Biodiesel-based Bioheat
One of the big winners in the recent passage of the $1 trillion Farm Bill was the reauthorization of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) and the biodiesel-based heating fuel, Bioheat. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says the five-year extension of the program will boost Bioheat in this country.
The new bill encourages greater research on Bioheat with the goal of moving up the percentages of biodiesel in heating oil.
“When NORA was founded in 2000, the product was almost nonexistent,” said John Huber, NORA CEO. “But through a partnership between NORA and the National Biodiesel Board, we have moved this into a product used by nearly every heating oil retailer at concentrations between 5 and 20 percent. We expect those percentages to continue to grow as the biodiesel industry continues to provide a compelling product to our industry.”
The organization’s executive committee and board of directors will work diligently to integrate those changes into the program. Most importantly, there will be an increased emphasis on research and development. This additional research will pave the way for a better product for the heating oil consumer—a product that will be more efficient and more dependable.
The article goes on to say that NORA and the biodiesel industry have worked closely to expand the use of Bioheat in home heating oil markets.
IRFA: Obama Misses Chance to Help Biodiesel
As President Obama unveiled his FY 2015 Budget Proposal, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says he missed his chance to level the playing field for biodiesel. IRFA Policy Director Grant Menke points out that while the President included the reinstatements of several currently expired tax provisions, such as tax credits for cellulosic biofuel and wind energy production, he seemed to forget about the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit, which expired at the end of 2013.
“While we are pleased the President seeks to reinstate the cellulosic biofuel tax credit and several other important tax incentives, we are disappointed he did not include the biodiesel tax credit among these extensions. As America’s leading advanced biofuel, biodiesel has made great strides in production, distribution, and use. However, faced with the enduring effects of the petroleum industry’s continuous Century of Subsidies, reinstating the biodiesel tax incentive is a vital part of leveling the energy playing field and allowing true consumer fuel choice.”
IRFA points out that the Hawkeye State is a leader in renewable fuels production, with 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing over 3.8 billion gallons annually, three cellulosic ethanol facilities currently under construction, and a dozen biodiesel facilities able to produce nearly 315 million gallons each year.
EPA Biodiesel Proposal, Tax Credit Priorities for ASA
Soybean growers attending the recent Commodity Classic see the government’s proposal to cut biodiesel and the expiration of the federal biodiesel tax credit as their top priorities to take on this year. At a news conference at the annual meeting of corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers in San Antonio, American Soybean Association (ASA) Chairman Danny Murphy, a grower from Mississippi, said their first priority is to get the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reverse its proposal that would effectively cut in half the amount of biodiesel to be required to be blended into the Nation’s fuel supply.
“We have asked our soybean farmers to make comments, and we’ve had hundreds of farmers express their concern to EPA about the proposed level and what it would do to the capability and potential of the biodiesel industry,” he said. “These proposed regulations would reduce the production over the next year or two and really stifle the growth in a really valuable market for soybean farmers.”
In a separate interview with Cindy, Danny said, based on what he’s heard from EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, the folks at EPA might be having some second thoughts about their own proposal. “So we hope that means they’ll make some changes and allow this biodiesel industry to grow,” he said.
He added ASA supports the extension of the $1-a-gallon federal tax credit for biodiesel, which expired at the end of December. He believes it could be reinstated as part of a tax extenders package, but he would also be happy to see the stand-alone legislation proposed by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) get passed.
Listen to Danny’s portion of the ASA news conference here: American Soybean Association Chairman Danny Murphy
2014 Commodity Classic Photos