Orion Energy Systems was recognized as a 2013 Xcel Energy Efficiency Partner for outstanding efforts to save energy.- SeaRoc, was awarded 2nd place award in the 2014 renewableUK and The Crown Estate Health & Safety Awards for their innovation and delivery of a ‘minimal human intervention’ lattice tower installation methodology, recently deployed at Dogger Bank, alongside Forewind and Universal Foundation.
- The Håkan Frisinger Foundation for Transportation Research has awarded its 2013 scholarship to Professor Lars Nielsen at Linköping University. Nielsen will receive the scholarship of SEK 250,000 for his national and international successes in vehicular systems research as well as hybrid technology, where Nielsen has been a strong contributor to the research development of national hybrid technology within The Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC).
- According to a recent report from Navigant Research, worldwide revenue from electric vehicle supply equipment, or EVSE, sales will grow from $567 million annually in 2013 to $5.8 billion in 2022.
Future Scientists Voice Biodiesel Support in RFS
The future of science is voicing its support for the future of biodiesel. This National Biodiesel Board (NBB) news release says the four student leaders of NBB’s Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel (NGSB) made sure to get in their comments into the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during its recently completed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) comment period.
“We see your support as an investment in our future,” the co-chairs said in their formal comments. “As scientists, we can contribute to the sustainable growth of biodiesel and make it an even more valuable product for the nation’s fuel supply. Cutting the RFS will weaken our career prospects by introducing undue risk into the biodiesel industry.”
The comments went on to say, “Why do we strongly support renewables? Among other reasons, the process of petroleum and natural gas extraction entails drilling far into the ground, using a number of undisclosed chemicals and questionable methods, all the while hoping that the chemicals will not contaminate groundwater and endanger the public. In contrast, biofuels facilities are installed close to their feedstock sources; directly contribute to the growth of the local economies in which they exist; and operate with a much higher degree of environmental safety and responsibility.
“The RFS has been a highly successful piece of legislation thus far and we hope that you will allow it to continue to function as such moving into the future,” the comments concluded. “Our greatest hope is that the United States will remain the top producer of biofuels among any country, consistent with our tradition of excellence, creating opportunities for youth, and leading the world by example.”
The four co-chairs of NGSB include Bernardo del Campo, Iowa State University; Dan Browne, Texas A&M University; Deval Pandya, University of Texas – Arlington; and Morgan Curtis, Dartmouth College.
NJ Biodiesel Pioneer Celebrates 5th Anniversary
Five years ago, a pioneer in biodiesel in New Jersey became the first in that state to offer the green fuel to the public. This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Maplewood’s Woolley Fuel is still going on strong with a blending dispenser is capable of doling out blends 5 to 30 percent biodiesel.
“We are pleased that demand has pushed the blending system to the max,” said [Norman] Woolley. “The public has been asking for higher blends still.” B30 is the maximum ratio blend the computer blending system is currently configured for.
Since the system was opened for public use in 2008, many have adopted using the cleaner burning fuel. Diesel motorists and New Jersey homeowners heating with oilheat are now even closer to having the clean fuel abundantly available.
The anniversary recognizes more than the installation alone, but also a dynamic shift in the customer, business relationship. Since the biodiesel innovation, Woolley has become active in community efforts to educate and create more awareness surrounding renewable energy sources, from providing training to the state weights and measures on biodiesel to leading Kent Place AP Environmental class about biofuels. The fuel has provided a shift in opportunity from fuel supplier to energy and future generations advocate.
“We’ve transitioned to educators in a sense, because our customers are interested in what biodiesel is and what it means to them, and this naturally progressed into becoming a resource for customers and the overall community on energy in general,” Woolley said. “It’s allowed us to stay in front of community concerns as it relates to their home and everyday energy demands.”
The anniversary also comes as the New Jersey legislature is considering legislation that would require all heating oil sold in the state to contain a blend of biodiesel beginning in July 2014.
Despite Record Offshore Wind Projects, Industry Slows
Despite record offshore wind energy projects coming online in 2013, a recent report shows that new projects have slowed. Last year, 418 offshore turbines came online in Europe making a record 1,567 Megawatts (MW) of new capacity. This is one-third more than the capacity installed in 2012.
This makes a new total of 6,562 MW of offshore wind power – enough to provide 0.7 percent of the EU’s electricity.
However, the report finds that when taking a closer look at what happened, there was a slow-down during the year: two-thirds of the new capacity came online in the first six months. With 11 projects now under construction, down from 14 this time last year, market and regulatory stability is critical to bringing forward the 22,000 MW of consented projects across Europe.
“The unclear political support for offshore wind energy – especially in key offshore wind markets like the UK and Germany – has led to delays to planned projects and fewer new projects being launched,” said Justin Wilkes, Deputy CEO at the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). “This means installations are likely to plateau until 2015, followed by a decline as from 2016.”
Wilkes added, “An ambitious decision on a 2030 renewable energy target by the Heads of State in March would be the right signal to send to the offshore wind sector that Europe will develop its massive offshore wind potential for green growth, jobs, industrialisation, technological leadership and CO2 reductions.”
In 2013 Siemens was the leading turbine supplier (69%), DONG Energy the leading developer (48%), and Bladt the leading substructure supplier (37%), as they were in 2012.
Greenercars.org Releases Environmental Ratings
Greenercars.org has released its 17th annual 2014 Environmental Scores with the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive topping the list with the hightest-ever score of 59 out of 100. The vehicle will be rolled out nationally this year. The GreenerCars initiative is part of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
The next two “greenest” cars were the Toyota Prius C and the Nissan Leaf. Toyota’s entire family of Priuses performed exceedingly well, with the regular Prius and the Prius plug-in hybrid nabbing spots #4 and #7. Other top scorers for 2014 include the Honda Civic Hybrid (#5), Lexus CT 200H (#6), Honda Insight (#10), and the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid (#12). Making its return to the “Greenest” list after an absence last year is the Honda Civic Natural Gas vehicle (#9).
“We’ve had such an influx of hybrid and electric vehicles in recent years that the race to earn a spot on the “Greenest” list is more competitive than ever, particularly for conventional vehicles. It’s encouraging to see automakers investing heavily in eco-savvy vehicles on the whole,” said ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan.
New to the list this year is the Mitsubishi Mirage, Mitsubishi’s new subcompact offering for the American market. The gasoline vehicle takes the 8th spot on the list. The only other non-hybrid gasoline model to make the list this year is the Smart ForTwo which placed at #11.
“From the rise in the number of efficient vehicles in car-sharing and car rental fleets to the myriad advanced technology vehicle choices available to consumers, the leading edge of the U.S. auto market is evolving rapidly,” said Steve Nadel, ACEEE’s Executive Director.
In addition to the “greenest” cars, the list also includes “greener choices” and the “meanest” cars as well. The dirtiest vehicle for 2014 is the Class 2B Ram 2500 followed by the Bugatti Veyron and the Ford E-150 FFV Wagon.
Iowa RFA President Steve Bleyl Seeks Advocates
The new Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (Iowa RFA) President Steve Bleyl is seeking advocates for biofuels. 
While giving his remarks to kick off the 8th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit held in Altoona, Iowa, he had people who were driving flex-fuel vehicles, using E15 or mid-level ethanol blends and driving biodiesel vehicles stand up. Most of the 600 plus attendees were still sitting.
Thus, said Bleyl who works for Green Plains Renewable Energy (they have three ethanol production facilities in Iowa), the industry and consumers need to become better advocates for renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
Bleyl noted that Iowa is a motivated state to have higher ethanol blends. The state incentivizes retailers to blend over 10 percent ethanol (E10), and he said you’re starting to see that effect take off. He noted that the IRFA board has given his staff some pretty lofty goals. They want E15 in the state and his goal is to have 100 E15 pumps in Iowa by the end of this year.
I asked Bleyl, so how exactly do we make this goal happen? “I’m in a unique situation. l will actually write someone at a retail gas chain and tell them, hey, I was at your gas station today and your E85 is not competitively priced. I know what the price should be,” answered Bleyl. But he said he’s not doing it in a way to tell them how to price their fuel, but in a way that let’s them know he realizes they want to do more and he wants to help.
He challenged me and all those at the conference as well as in his interview to be better advocates and call retail chains and write letters and ask for E15 and E85 and biodiesel. He stressed that if retailers know consumers want these fuels, then most of them will offer the fuels to their customers.
His last piece of advice, “Fight globally, but act locally.”
Listen to my interview with Bob Dinneen here: Iowa RFA President Steve Bleyl Seeks Advocates
BioEnergy Bytes
- The Clean Energy States Alliance has released a new report titled “Potential RPS Markets for Renewable Energy Generators“. The report, written by Ed Holt of Ed Holt & Associates, provides information regarding where a renewable energy generator in a particular state or Canadian province can possibly sell its renewable energy certificates in order to meet the demand created by a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
- The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has published its 2014 flex-fuel vehicle (FFVs) brochure that explains in detail which makes and models are available as FFVs. There are more than 16 million FFVs on the road today and more than 3,200 stations nationwide that offer E85.
- The Interstate Turbine Advisory Council (ITAC) has added the Osiris 10 and Kestrel e400nb, two fully certified small wind turbines, to its Unified List of wind turbines. The turbines join six others on ITAC’s small wind turbine list; these turbines meet ITAC’s listing requirements, a unique set of eligibility criteria that address both the business practices of manufacturers and the performance and reliability of turbines with a rotor swept area of less than 200m2 (meters squared). The list is used by ITAC-member clean energy programs across the U.S. that have pooled resources to efficiently review and evaluate turbines.
- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC) has released for a 45-day public comment period the EESCC Standardization Roadmap V1.0 draft, which outlines 116 action-oriented recommendations to advance energy efficiency in the built environment through standards and conformance activities. The draft is being issued for public comment to provide an opportunity for review and feedback on the EESCC’s findings and recommendations before final publication in mid-2014.
Animal Fat-to-Biodiesel Plant Going Into Saudi Arabia
A Portuguese company will be building a 40,000 MT/year (about 12 million gallons) biodiesel plant in the Middle East. Engineering company IncBio, which specializes in state-of-the-art fully automated industrial ultrasonic biodiesel plants, announced the deal with Saudi Arabia’s Bio Renewable Energy Factory.
It will incorporate IncBio’s ultrasonic technology to produce Biodiesel from animal fats collected from rendering plants in the Saudi market. The plant will be the first of several projects planned by BREF for the region for the coming years, and the success of the business plan is supported by the selection of one of the most advanced Biodiesel plants in the world, utilizing technology that is both innovative and widely proven in Biodiesel production plants globally. IncBio has been leading the way in developing and implementing the latest technology in Biodiesel production, and this contract’s award is further proof that this is exactly what the market is looking for.
Converting animal fats into Biodiesel is not without challenges, and most plants in the world are unable to process it correctly, but through our extensive experience in this market and the use of ultrasonic technology the reaction times are much shorter than conventional plants, whilst producing the highest quality Biodiesel, with yields that set a benchmark in the industry. Using our multi-feedstock technology, industrial units are able to convert a wide range of raw materials into high quality Biodiesel, exceeding the strict standards of EN14214 and ASTM D6751.
The plant is expected to be finished sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.
School Teaching About Energy with Biodiesel Maker
A school in Mississippi has chosen a biodiesel maker from a company in Florida to teach its students about renewable energy. This news release from Florida Biodiesel, Inc. says it sold a B-60 Biodiesel Processor made by 70centsagallon.com to Oxford High School, Miss.
The Biodiesel production equipment will be used to demonstrate Green Fuel technology for on-campus activities.
Oxford High School has chosen the B-60 Biodiesel processor as a hands-on educational tool to show students how to make renewable energy. The B-60 Biodiesel processor requires 60 minutes of assembly time and will allow students to safely produce 45 gallon batches of Biodiesel. “The students will process the oil they collect from the cafeteria into Biodiesel fuel for use in campus vehicles,” says Victor Garlington, Director of Client Services at 70CentsaGallon.com. “The B-60 is very user friendly and great for students to learn Biodiesel basics.”
Florida Biodiesel, Inc. is known for its innovative contributions to the biodiesel industry, including the safety external heat exchanger, cyclonic mixer, methanol recovery module, and the AUTOBIO biodiesel plant automation system.
First Magma-Enhanced Geothermal System Created
During the Icelandic Deep Drilling (IDDP) project that began in 2009, a borehole drilled at Krafla in northeast Iceland unexpectedly hit magma at 2100 meters with a temperature of 900-1000 Celsius. This borehole was the first of several wells being drilled in search of high-temperature geothermal resources.
Fast forward four years later and the efforts of the IDDP project were reported in the January 2014 issue of the International journal of Geothermics. One paper focusing on this project was co-authored by Wilfred Elders, a professor emeritus of geology at the University of California, Riverside, along with several of his Icelandic colleagues.
“Drilling into magma is a very rare occurrence anywhere in the world and this is only the second known instance, the first one, in 2007, being in Hawaii,” Elders explained. “The IDDP, in cooperation with Iceland’s National Power Company, the operator of the Krafla geothermal power plant, decided to investigate the hole further and bear part of the substantial costs involved.”
Once the magma was hit, the team inserted a steel casing in the bottom section closest to the magma and cemented it into the well. The hole was then allowed to heat slowly and eventually allowed to flow superheated steam for the next two years, until July 2012, when it was shut down in order to replace some of the surface equipment.
“In the future, the success of this drilling and research project could lead to a revolution in the energy efficiency of high-temperature geothermal areas worldwide,” Elders said.Read More