The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman has announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 to take place in the Orange County Great Park. The 20 worldwide teams will now begin the nearly two-year process of building solar-powered houses that are affordable, innovative and highly energy-efficient.- The Commercial Algae Cultivation, Harvesting, Extraction Technologies and Networking Workshop is taking place February 28, 2014 at Kessil Lighting located at 1689 Regatta Blvd in Richmond, CA 94804. Speakers include Barry Cohen, executive director of the National Algae Association; Will Thurmond, CEO of Emerging Markets Online; Robert Henrikson, CEO, Smart MicroFarms; Jose Sanchez, VP Quality Control and Assurance, OriginOil; and more. Registration is still open.
- Juhl Energy, a provider of Clean Energy Solutions and a Leader in Community Wind Power, today announced that they have acquired PV Power, Inc., a leading online distributor of solar power systems and solar components to industry professionals, contractors and consumers across the country.
- EnerNOC, Inc., a provider of energy intelligence software (EIS), has announced that it has acquired Entelios AG, a leading provider of demand response in Europe. This acquisition accelerates EnerNOC’s entry into continental Europe with Entelios’ strong team and existing relationships with leading grid operators, utilities, retailers, and commercial, institutional, and industrial customers.
Growth Energy is Taking it to the Streets
Growth Energy is holding its fifth annual executive leadership conference at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona, from February 27, 2014 through March 2, 2014.
The conference will open on Thursday at 7:00 am and will showcase a number of speakers, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
During the opening day of the conference, there will be key addresses, including a “Chairman’s Report” from Growth Energy Board of Directors Co-Chair and Executive Chairman of POET, Jeff Broin and a “State of the Industry” address from Growth Energy CEO, Tom Buis.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Taking it to the Streets,” and a major focus will be on building out the necessary infrastructure so higher blends of renewables, such as E15, will be available to retailers and consumers. Another important topic will be the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), its future and how this policy has successfully helped drive innovation, investment and growth within the biofuels industry.
Guests will also hear unique global perspectives on the future of agriculture, the future of energy, NASCAR and the political landscape from speakers including: Harry Stine of the Stine Seed Company; Richard Childress and Austin Dillon from Richard Childress Racing; noted political analyst, Charlie Cook; and several others.
To cap off the conference, all attendees are invited to join Growth Energy at the Phoenix International Raceway during the Sprint Cup race on Sunday to cheer on American Ethanol, one of NASCAR’s official sponsors.
Growth Energy will be live streaming much of the conference at for those unable to attend.
Biodiesel Maker BIOX Posts Strong 1st Quarter
The owner of Canada’s largest biodiesel refinery had an encouraging first quarter of the fiscal year. The Wall Street Journal reports that BIOX nearly doubled sales of the green fuel from October to December of 2013 compared with the same period a year earlier, thanks to improving fundamentals in the biodiesel market north of the border and a Canadian province’s own biodiesel mandate about to kick in.
“The fundamentals of the Canadian biodiesel market are becoming a key component of our addressable market. The inter-terminal pipeline together with the supply agreement with Shell Canada Limited and the proposed 2 percent greener diesel mandate in Ontario provide a greater level of market certainty than the U.S. market,” said Kevin Norton, Chief Executive Officer of BIOX. “With the proposed Ontario mandate expected to take effect April 1, 2014 and our established supply agreement with Shell we are in a strong position to take advantage of growing demand in our local market.”
Financial Highlights
Sales were $17.3 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2013, compared with $9.5 million for the corresponding period last year. The 82 percent increase in sales was primarily the result of the 175 percent increase in litres of biodiesel sold due to the temporary shutdown of the Hamilton facility during the same period last year, partially offset by lower sales of separated RINs during the quarter.
And while U.S. biodiesel producers are worrying about the government’s proposal to slash the amount of biodiesel to be blended into the country’s fuel supply and the expiration of the $1-a-gallon federal biodiesel tax credit, BIOX officials believe the changing regulations in Canada will prompt them to sell more of their biodiesel at home (in the past, they have sold a majority of their biodiesel to the U.S.) and avoid some of the pitfalls their American cousins are now facing.
London Coffee Shops to be Next Biodiesel Source
Not too long ago, we told you how researchers at the University of Cincinnati had figured out how to get oil from coffee grounds to make into biodiesel. It looks like that good idea has caught on overseas, as this article from the UK’s Guardian tells how a London entrepreneur is going great guns with the same idea in a venture that’s being called Bio-bean.
“After working on this for a couple of weeks I entered the Mayor’s Low Carbon Prize and was lucky enough to be among the winners”, says [Arthur] Kay. This gave him the impetus to take it forward and team up with business partner Benjamin Harrison. They have since attracted over £100,000 in grants and funding. The idea is not to start small and grow bigger; it’s to start big.
“People think of us in a tiny little van or bicycle going round and collecting 10 kilos from each coffee shop,” says Kay. “We are instead focusing on the [waste streams] of large-scale coffee producing factories in or around London. We’re currently in conversation with a couple of major coffee shop chains too, who are really interested. Our processing plant isn’t operational yet but we’re looking at a six to eight-month timeframe to set up a large-scale waste-processing site in Edmonton, North London, capable of processing 30,000 tonnes a year.”
The technology Bio-bean is using to do this is a mixture of old and new. “Imagine you have a pile of coffee grounds,” says Kay. “You dry them, then we have the patent for the bit in the middle that allows us to extract oil from it. It’s a biochemical process, a solvent that you evaporate through what’s called ‘hexane extraction’. By weight it is about 15-20% oil. The remaining 80-85% is then turned into bio-mass pellets used to be burned in boilers.” The solvent is also 99.9% recyclable, meaning it can be used over and over.
The article goes on to say that the developers see London’s public transport system as a natural customer for the coffee-based biodiesel, maybe even a Bio-bean bus, as many buses in the city are already running on biodiesel. They hope to have a large refinery going soon.
Farm Economy Vs. Overall Economy
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s best in the new farm bill?” More than a third of our respondents agree that crop insurance tops the charts, along with nothing. We see a bit of an oxymoron there!
Our poll results:
- Crop insurance – 31.25%
- None – 31.25%
- Conservation – 9.38%
- Rural Development – 9.38%
- Energy – 6.25%
- Specialty Crops – 6.25%
- Forestry – 3.13%
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “ How does farm economy compare to general U.S.?”
USDA is predicting lower net farm income this year after big gains in 2013 and overall the U.S. economy still appears to be sluggish. But as the farm show season is in full swing and farmers are looking ahead to spring planting, optimism is in the air. How do you think the farm economy looks compared to the general U.S. economy overall? Let us know.
Senators Introduce Bill to Reinstate Biodiesel Tax Incentive
Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have introduced a bill to extend the expired biodiesel tax incentive for three years. The bill, S. 2021, would extend the tax incentive until 2017.
In response to the bill’s introduction, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) called on Congress to move swiftly on the tax legislation.
“On behalf of biodiesel producers across the country, we want to thank Sens. Cantwell and Grassley for their leadership on this issue,” said NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs Anne Steckel. “The biodiesel tax incentive has expired three times over the past five years, and each time it has severely disrupted production. By comparison, we know that at least $4 billion in incentives encouraging domestic petroleum production are built into the tax code. We need that same kind of stability for younger, cleaner industries like biodiesel and renewable diesel to compete.”
“This incentive clearly stimulates production and creates jobs at biodiesel plants across the country, and we urge the leadership of both parties to quickly take up this bill to ensure that we can continue the momentum that the biodiesel industry built last year with record production of almost 1.8 billion gallons,” Steckel added.
The $1-per-gallon incentive covers biodiesel, renewable diesel – a similar diesel alternative made with a different technology – and renewable aviation fuel. First implemented in 2005, it expired on Dec. 31, 2013. It also was allowed to lapse in 2012 and 2010. The bill would extend the tax incentive until 2017, providing the tax certainty the industry needs to gain access to capital and plan for production expansions and additional hiring.
Crescent Solar Energy Project Commissioned
SolarReserve has confirmed that the 110 megawatt (MW) Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project located near Tonopah, Nevada, has entered the plant commissioning phase. According to the company, Crescent Dunes is the first utility-scale facility in the world to feature advanced molten salt power tower energy storage capabilities. The Crescent Dunes Project is more than five times the capacity output of pilot projects that have previously tested this technology.
Due to the result of the advanced energy storage technology, the 110 MW project will generate more than 500,000 megawatt-hours per year, enough to power 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods. This annual output, says the company, is more than twice that of other technologies per MW of capacity, such as photovoltaics (PV) or direct steam solar thermal. The storage technology also eliminates the need for any backup fossil fuels, such as natural gas, which are needed with other technologies to keep the system going during times of no or low solar resource. Nevada’s largest electric utility, NV Energy, will purchase 100 percent of the electricity generated, under a 25-year power purchase agreemen
t. Full commercial operation is scheduled for later in 2014.
Commissioning is the initial stage of bringing the project into operations and includes system-by-system verification and startup, as well as equipment calibration and testing. Commissioning activities underway at Crescent Dunes include energization of the utility interconnection system and other electrical systems, as well as the first stages of testing and calibration of the heliostat field. This heliostat field is comprised of more than 10,000 “billboard-sized” mirrors that track the sun and total more than 1 million square meters of glass.
“Start of commissioning of the Crescent Dunes solar power plant marks a critical milestone for the project as well as the solar industry. We are now able to build utility-scale power plants, fueled only by the sun, which operate on-demand, day and night, just like traditional fossil fuel or nuclear power plants,” said SolarReserve’s CEO Kevin Smith. “SolarReserve’s industry-leading solar thermal energy storage technology solves the intermittency issue that limits the use of other renewable energy projects and thus enables firm, reliable delivery of electricity whether or not the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.”
SolarReserve’s energy storage technology at the Crescent Dunes plant is their techology showcase. They say it is a realistic solar energy solution that operates day and night like coal, natural gas, oil, diesel and nuclear plants, but without the harmful emissions or hazardous wastes associated those traditional plants. Additionally, Crescent Dunes includes the capability to dry cool the steam cycle, an environmentally friendly low water use feature that will saves millions of gallons of water each year. Once operational, the 110 MW Crescent Dunes plant will be the world’s largest solar thermal plant with fully integrated energy storage.
BioEnergy Bytes
- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. has announced that it has supplied solar PV modules to CSEM-uae, an independent, non-profit Swiss-UAE joint venture company for applied research. The modules will be used for CSEM’s Solar Outdoor Laboratory, an R&D and innovation center for renewable energy in Ras al-Khaimah, UAE. Located in the northern Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah and built to develop and test competitive solar energy solutions for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf market, the project has been operating since September, 2013.
- Lignol Energy Corporation has announced the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding between Milio International and LEC’s subsidiary, Territory Biofuels Limited, for the development of a joint venture. Under the terms of the planned JV, it is anticipated that Milio will fund up to 120,000 tons of feedstock per year as well as facilitate the marketing and sales of the production from TBF’s 140 million litre per year biodiesel plant located in Darwin, Australia. At full production capacity this funding is expected to provide working capital funding of approximately US$25 million.
- FirstEnergy Corp. has completed the sale of 11 hydroelectric power stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power Equity Partners II, LP, for approximately $395 million. The two companies originally announced the sales agreement in September 2013.
- Results of a third-party peer-reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA), Greenhouse Gas and Energy Life Cycle Assessment of Pine Chemicals Derived from Crude Tall Oil and Their Substitutes, found that diverting Crude Tall Oil (CTO) into biofuel production in Europe will not have a significant effect in either reducing carbon emissions nor fossil fuel consumption. CTO is a sustainable raw material that has been used in biorefining to produce pine chemicals for decades.
U.S. Utlility-Scale Solar 60% to Goal
The U.S. solar industry is more than 60 percent of the way to achieving cost-competitive utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity – only three years into the Department’s decade-long SunShot Initiative, reports the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). To help continue this progress, the DOE announced $25 million in new funding to strengthen U.S. solar manufacturing for photovoltaic and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies and to maintain a strong domestic solar industry – supporting the Department’s broader Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative.
The U.S. is playing a growing role as a global leader in solar as demonstrated in a new industry report which recently found that U.S. utility-scale solar set a record with 2.3 gigawatts installed in 2013. As a direct result of increased solar generation, over the last three years, the cost of a solar energy system has dropped by more than 50 percent, helping to give more and more American families and businesses access to affordable, clean energy.
“In just the last few years, the U.S. has seen remarkable increases in clean and renewable energy – doubling the amount of energy that we produce from solar and wind and supporting a strong, competitive solar supply chain that employs American workers in every state,” said Energy Secretary Moniz. “To continue this growth and position the U.S. as a global leader in clean energy innovation, the Energy Department is helping to advance new technologies that further reduce costs, improve performance and support new jobs and businesses across the country.”
In 2011, DOE launched its SunShot Initiative to make solar energy cost-competitive with traditional energy sources by the end of the decade. As a result of the program, today, the utility-scale PV industry is more than 60 percent of the way to achieving SunShot’s target of $0.06 per kilowatt-hour. In the United States, the average price for a utility-scale PV project has dropped from about $0.21 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to $0.11 per kilowatt-hour at the end of 2013. According to the Energy Information Administration, the average U.S. electricity price is about $0.12 per kilowatt-hour.
Reductions in the cost of electricity are based on estimates of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The LCOE is a measure of the national average of electricity cost based on certain assumptions regarding financing costs and generation availability projected over the life of a generating asset. The LCOE model provides a benchmark for measuring relative changes in electricity costs.
Clean Energy for Resilient Communities
“Resilient communities need resilient power. Without dependable power, a community can be brought to its knees, and the most vulnerable will suffer the most,” was written in a new report, Clean Energy for Resilient Communities. Based on the success of Baltimore, the report is a blueprint for how a city could become more “power resilient” and details how cities use clean energy to create a more reliable electric system – especially during severe weather events.
To way to achieve this, finds the report commission by the Clean Energy Group (CEG), is to rely on proven distributed energy technologies like solar with energy storage to protect consumers during power outages.
“We have entered a new “normal” after Hurricane Sandy, where severe weather events are more frequent, leading to more power outages and increased risk to people and businesses,” said Lewis Milford, President of CEG and co-author of the report. “Last week over a million people in the U.S. lost power during damaging ice storms. Today, due to a record ice storm developing in the Southeastern U.S., hundreds of thousands of people have already lost power, with those numbers expected to rise. We need new strategies like distributed solar with energy storage to protect communities against the harmful effects of power outages. Relying only on the utilities to do the job is no longer safe or dependable.”
CEG said the report is the first in-depth review of national policies and finance strategies to use solar and energy storage to provide more power protection in an urban setting. The report finds that critical public facilities like hospitals, fire stations, gas stations, community shelters and schools should use more resilient power technologies to protect people during power outages. The report also recommends new business models and highlights the emergence of companies that now sell solar with battery storage services to customers– to address the overlooked problem of stand-alone PV systems not working during power outages.
The report recommends:
- Deploy solar with storage at critical community and government facilities that serve low-income, disabled and elderly communities during emergencies.
- Promote targeted public funds to increase the use of clean energy in those communities.
- Use existing bond financing tools to finance solar projects in public and community facilities like schools, community centers and senior housing.
- Address the existing legal obligations of government agencies under the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide electricity so the elderly and the disabled can fully access emergency services during power outages.