How Do You Show Food Thanks?

Talia Goes

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ”Which vehicle do you prefer for hunting?”

Our poll results:
· None – 37%
· UTV – Utility Terrain Vehicle – 26%
· Other – 21%
· ATV – All Terrain Vehicle – 16%

Although off-road vehicles have become popular on farm and ranch settings there is nothing like putting some miles on your hunting boots. Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How do you show food thanks?” Do you extend your thanks to farmers or donate to the local food bank to show appreciation? Let us know.

ZimmPoll

Avantec Bringing Ethanol Producers Results

Joanna Schroeder

According to Niels Miles Frandsen, Marketing Director, Biofuel, with global biocompany Novozymes, their company’s enzyme Avantec is now used to produce over 20 percent of the U.S. corn ethanol after only being on the market for just over one year. He said that both Avantec, that was released in October of 2012 and Spirazyme Achieve that was released in June of 2013, and now has 10 percent of the market, are doing better than they even hoped.

corn field near ethanol plant“Right now ethanol producers are running really tight operations and are constantly looking for ways to improve their production,” said Frandsen. “This technology we have today called Avantec and Spirazyme Achieve actually allows customers to save a lot of corn and still produce the same amount of ethanol.”

Avantec is used in the first part of the production process called liquefaction; whereas Achieve is used in the subsequent process called Saccharification Fermentation. While the two enzymes can work independently of each other, Frandsen said when used together, the enzymes enable producers to squeeze more ethanol out of the corn while saving on energy and chemicals, improving profit margins and efficiency, and reducing their environmental footprint.

When the enzymes are paired together along with Olexa, Frandsen said they are seeing ethanol yield increases of up to 5 percent and corn oil extraction increases by to 13 percent, while saving 8 percent energy. “And all of these things together are big drivers for ethanol producers in the market today.”

To look the savings another way, a typical U.S. ethanol plant uses around 900,000 tons of feed-grade corn per year to produce 100 million gallons of fuel ethanol, 300,000 tons of animal feed and 8,500 tons of corn oil. With Avantec and Spirizyme Achieve, such a plant can either save 36,000 tons of corn while maintaining the same ethanol output or produce an additional 4 million gallons of ethanol without increasing input costs. Either way, profits improve substantially.

Frandsen also gives ethanol producers tips on how to transition their plants to the next generation enzyme technologies.

Learn more about Avantec and Spirazyme Achieve in my interview with Niels Miles Frandsen. Avantec Bringing Ethanol Producers Results

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels, corn, enzymes, Ethanol, Novozymes

McGinness Hills Geothermal Project Expands

Joanna Schroeder

Ormat Technologies has announced that a key milestone was reached in the 30MW expansion of the McGinness Hills geothermal plant complex located in Lander County, Nevada. NV Energy and Ormat signed an amendment to the existing McGinness Hills power purchase agreement (PPA) allowing Ormat to sell 63.7 MW (net average annual capacity) from the complex. Under the amendment, a new energy rate of $85.58/MWh with a 1 percent annual escalator will be set for the entire complex once Phase II enters commercial operation. The amendment is subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

Ormat's McGinness Hill geothermal plant“The favorable performance of the reservoir and the PPA amendment give Ormat the ability to further expand this geothermal site,” explained Yoram Bronicki, president and chief operating officer at Ormat.

“Phase I of our McGinness Hills geothermal power plant has been in commercial operation since June 2012 and the strength of the reservoir allowed the power plant to consistently produce more energy than what was contracted in the original PPA. We are eager to continue development at the site which we hope to complete in mid-2015, as wellas our work with NV Energy to deliver more clean, renewable power to Nevada,” concluded Bronicki.

The McGinness Hills power plant received favorable project financing terms from the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program under section 1705. The proposed expansion was approved by the lenders, John Hancock Life Insurance Company and the U.S. Department of Energy, and is covered under the existing financing structure. The economics of the expanded power plant and the potential availability of government incentives for projects that start construction before the end of 2013 enabled Ormat to provide a reduced power price to electricity customers in Nevada.

Geothermal, Renewable Energy

Repub. & Dem. Senators Call for Biodiesel Support

John Davis

us-capitol-fiscal-cliff-voteNearly a third of the U.S. Senate, with lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle, calls for support from the Obama Administration regarding biodiesel and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The National Biodiesel Board says the group represents people from Washington state to Minnesota to Maine and calls for a volume requirement of at least 1.7 billion gallons next year.

The letter … was led by Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Al Franken (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). It warned that a weakened RFS could lead to plant closures and thousands of lost jobs while threatening future investment.

“Biodiesel has exceeded RFS targets in each year and is clearly poised to do so again in 2013,” the senators wrote. “Biodiesel is improving our energy security by reducing our dependence on imported petroleum diesel, diversifying fuel supplies and creating competition in the fuels market. Setting the 2014 biodiesel volume requirement at reduced levels could have severe impacts on the domestic biodiesel industry.”

Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board, thanked the senators for their support.

“This strong showing of bipartisan support represents the very real impact that biodiesel is having in communities across the country,” Steckel said. “It is creating jobs, reducing emissions and diversifying our fuel supplies so that consumers and our economy are not so vulnerable to volatile global oil markets.”

“Biodiesel is an RFS success story,” she said, “and we are urging the Administration to continue the momentum.”

Just for the record, here are the names of those signing on: Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Angus King (I-ME), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Jon Tester (D-MT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mark Kirk (R-IL. ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kay Hagan (D-NC).

You can read the full text of their letter here.

Biodiesel, Government, Legislation, NBB, RFS

Boston Parks & Rec Gets Biodiesel Heating Oil Tank

John Davis

bostonparksrecThe City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department recently installed new oil tanks that will hold biodiesel heating oil, more commonly known as Bioheat. Biodiesel Magazine reports the change was made possible through CBS EcoMedia’s innovative EcoAd program.

With Bioheat’s support, an aging, 1,000 gallon oil tank located in the maintenance building was replaced. The decades-old tank needed an upgrade to eliminate the potential for operational performance issues that might otherwise plague ratable operational performance. The new tanks will substantially provide a cleaner environment to store Bioheat, and through this collaboration with the EcoAd program, the tanks were resupplied with Bioheat, a cleaner and renewable home heating oil.

The upgrade and transition to Bioheat falls within the Greenovate Boston Initiative, a community-driven movement to get all Bostonians involved in reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050. This initiative was outlined in Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Climate Action Plan and will enable people to take simple steps that will make the city a better, greener place to live and work.

“Being able to support this exciting project to transition this location to a 21st century heating fuel is what the Bioheat education project is all about,” said Paul Nazzaro, the National Biodiesel Board’s petroleum liaison. “It is my hope that the city continues to learn more about Bioheat and the positive benefits derived from its use.”

City officials see the move as significantly improving the quality of life in Boston.

Biodiesel, Government

LNG To Fuel Locomotives

Joanna Schroeder

CSX Corporation and GE Transportation, a division of GE, has announced an agreement to explore emissions-cutting and efficiency breakthroughs in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) technology for locomotives beginning with a pilot program in 2014.

“LNG technology has the potential to offer one of the most significant developments in railroading since the transition from steam to diesel in the 1950s,” said Oscar Munoz, executive vice president and chief operating officer, CSX Corporation. “That change took many years to complete and began with a lot of unknowns, and this one is no different. csx_railroad_2 Photo Andrew MooreBut aggressively exploring this technology is consistent with CSX’s focus on tomorrow, its longstanding commitment to efficient and environmentally friendly transportation, and its role in helping to promote U.S. energy independence. GE Transportation has the know-how to provide the right LNG solution for our locomotive fleet and help us better understand the feasibility of LNG technology from a safety, operations and economic perspective.”

According to the two partners, natural gas-fueled locomotives can travel longer distances without refueling stops, as well as provide environmental and economic benefits. Adoption of natural gas-fueled locomotives will make freight rail an even more attractive transportation solution and furthers the industry’s ability to absorb traffic from the nation’s highways in an environmentally efficient way.

“Locomotives are at an inflection point in balancing engine performance with efficiency and adherence to emissions standards,” said Russell Stokes, chief executive officer, GE Transportation. “As we enter a new era of energy sources and what’s possible for rail transport, we are excited to partner with CSX and lead the LNG transformation for the industry.”

GE has been testing low-pressure natural gas technology since spring of 2013, and is working closely with CSX and other Class 1 partners. Field tests are expected to begin in 2014. GE’s NextFuel kits allow railroads to use natural gas as a fuel source, reducing emissions and potentially reducing fuel costs while not compromising performance. An Evolution Series locomotive equipped with the NextFuel Natural Gas Retrofit Kit meets US EPA Tier 3 emission standards.

CSX will be working over the next few months to develop a test plan and secure regulatory concurrence. For CSX, GE Transportation will deploy its new NextFuel Natural Gas Retrofit Kits that enable existing Evolution Series locomotives to operate with dual fuel capabilities. CSX and GE will also work on the continued development of LNG technology for other classes of locomotives to promote gains across a larger portion of the CSX locomotive fleet, and will work closely with key stakeholders and agencies across government to ensure safety, realize environmental and other benefits, and advance LNG deployment.

Natural Gas

Ethanol – The Complete Fuel Wins Awards

Joanna Schroeder

The Union of the Industry of Cane Sugar Association’s (UNICA) “Ethanol – The Complete Fuel” has won four awards including the Sponsor of the Year for 2013 during the 17th Annual Brazilian Association Rural Marketing and Agribusiness. The country-wide campaign was designed to educate consumers about the benefits of ethanol. The association has also called upon the government to assist with this educational campaign.

We want to recognize the effort made ​​by the entire sugarcane industry, who made this campaign a reality and achieved significant results. The campaign was spearheaded by UNICA with strong engagement with its affiliates, but had important additional support from several plants that are not our affiliates and entities that helped expand the reach of the campaign said UNICA President Elizabeth Farina. Three associations – the Alcopar, Paraná; the Sifaeg; and Siamig Goiás, Minas Gerais – invested its own funds in the campaign and rolled it out in their respective states.

In addition to receiving the award for the UNICA Advertiser of the Year for 2013 in agribusiness, Farina delivered a special tribute for ABMR & A to honor former Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues. He was recognized for his leading role in building the movement Am Agro, which among other elements, conducted an advertising campaign in 2011 in favor of agribusiness, which had as protagonists actors Lima Duarte and Giovanna Antonelli. UNICA was the main supporter of the Movement am Agro.

The Borghi/Low , the agency that developed the campaign “Ethanol, Complete Fuel,” also received several achievements during the awards, including the Agency of the Year in agribusiness in 2013, for their work on behalf of UNICA and the Box Economica Federal, another client of the agency.

We want to give our appreciation for the efforts of all UNICA professionals, Borghi/Lowe and other service providers, which directly contributed to the success of the campaign. It was an intense job that lasted over a year and is now getting due recognition added Farina. And we can not forget the excellent work of Lúcio Mauro Filho, who is a true ally of ethanol.

advanced biofuels, Brazil, Ethanol, UNICA, Video

Consumers Like ‘Green’ Car Options

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), consumers like ‘green’ car options as long as green means money. Consumers want to see more alternative-fueled vehicles emerge over the next decade, and are willing to consider purchasing one of these vehicles.

Three in five (62%) consumers want to see more hybrid-electric vehicles over the next decade, two in five (43%) want to see more battery electric vehicles and one in three want to see more fuel cell (34%), natural gas, (31%) or flex fuel vehicles (30%), according to the nationwide survey conducted in partnership with Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates LLC.

Consumers don’t simply want to see more alternative-fueled vehicle options — they are quite willing to consider buying them within the decade. Three in four (74%) would consider buying a hybrid electric, and three in five would consider purchasing a flex fuel (62%), fuel cell (58%) or battery electric vehicle (58%). Half of consumers would consider a natural gas powered vehicle (53%).

A relatively small 38% of all consumers would consider buying a diesel fuel-powered vehicle over the next decade. However, consumer willingness to consider diesel vehicles has significantly increaserapid-charging-station-tennessee-gas-station_100364801_md since May 2013. Only 31 percent of consumers who plan to purchase a vehicle in the next two years said that they would consider a diesel vehicle in May, whereas 50 percent of those consumers today are likely to consider a diesel vehicle.

Interestingly, consumers who say they are open to purchasing these “green” vehicles are heavily motivated by an economic incentive. Two in three consumers say the switch to an alternative fuel would be driven primarily by economic enticements, rather than environmentalism. Economic factors such as increased fuel efficiency or tax breaks are more important than environmental factors for those considering diesel, flex fuel, hybrid electric, propane, fuel cell, natural gas and battery electric vehicles (79%, 75%, 73%, 71%, 68%, 67%, 65%, respectively).

“This consumer survey reinforces what we have long thought: consumers are willing to embrace new fuels and vehicles but it must make sense for them financially,” said NACS Vice President of Government Relations John Eichberger. “Consumers are just as wary as fuels retailers about moving toward future fuels if they don’t have financial certainty.”

Next week, the Fuels Institute, of which NACS is a founding organization, will release “Tomorrow’s Vehicles,” a report looking at the vehicle market in 2023. In addition, every month, NACS conducts a nationwide survey to measure consumer perceptions about gas prices and how they relate to broader economic conditions. Earlier this week, NACS released its latest consumer sentiment survey that found that recent gas price decreases have helped lead to an increase in consumer optimism.

Alternative Vehicles, Electric Vehicles

November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook

Joanna Schroeder

2013 STEO RenewableThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook and Winter Fuels Outlook. The report comes at the same time the 2013 World Energy Outlook was released by the International Energy Agency.

Here are some highlights from the report:

  • The weekly U.S. average regular gasoline retail price has fallen by more than 40 cents per gallon since the beginning of September. EIA’s forecast for the regular gasoline retail price averages $3.24 per gallon in the fourth quarter of 2013, $0.10 per gallon less than forecast in last month’s STEO. The annual average regular gasoline retail price, which was $3.63 per gallon in 2012, is expected to average $3.50 per gallon in 2013 and $3.39 per gallon in 2014.
  • The North Sea Brent crude oil spot price averaged nearly $110 per barrel for the fourth consecutive month in October. EIA expects the Brent crude oil price to decline gradually, averaging $106 per barrel in December and $103 per barrel in 2014. Projected West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices average $95 per barrel during 2014.
  • The projected discount of the WTI crude oil spot price to Brent, which averaged more than $20 per barrel in February 2013 and fell below $4 per barrel in July, increased to an average of $9 per barrel in October, driven in part by the seasonal decline in U.S. demand and the resulting increase in crude oil inventories. EIA expects the WTI discount to average $10 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2013 and $8 per barrel in 2014.
  • U.S. crude oil production averaged 7.7 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in October. Monthly estimated domestic crude oil production exceeded crude oil imports in October for the first time since February 1995, while total petroleum net imports were the lowest since February 1991. EIA forecasts U.S. crude oil production will average 7.5 million bbl/d in 2013 and 8.5 million bbl/d in 2014.
  • Natural gas working inventories ended October at an estimated 3.81 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), 0.12 Tcf below the level at the same time a year ago but 0.05 Tcf above the previous five-year average (2008-12). EIA expects that the Henry Hub natural gas spot price, which averaged $2.75 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2012, will average $3.68 per MMBtu in 2013 and $3.84 per MMBtu in 2014.

EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski issued the following comments about the findings.

Renewables: “Wind power generation is forecast to grow by 17% this year and by nearly 4% in 2014, accounting for more than 4% of total U.S. electricity generation next year. EIA expects continued robust growth in solar power, with solar generation by the U.S. electric power sector increasing 82% this year and jumping another 84% in 2014. However, utility-scale solar power will continue to be a small share of total U.S. electric generation at less than 1%.”

U.S. Liquid Biofuels: “U.S. ethanol production has recovered from last year’s drought. Ethanol production increased from an average of 806,000 barrels per day in October 2012 to 892,000 barrels per day this October, and is forecast to grow to 900,000 barrels per day during 2014.“Read More

biofuels, Electricity, Energy, Natural Gas, Oil, Renewable Energy, Solar, Wind

Call for EU Climate & Energy Framework

Joanna Schroeder

Eight European companies are calling for a strong 2030 EU climate and energy framework based on mutually reinforcing tools and targets, including an ambitious and legally binding target for the share of renewable energy in the energy mix of more than 30 percent. Collectively, the group represents 176,000 jobs and over EUR250 billion annual turnover and is providing cleaner generation technologies, equipment and energy to more than 70 countries worldwide.

According to the group, Europe must remain on the path it has chosen. The energy sector has long investment cycles, and investment decisions in the EU’s liberalised energy Screen Shot 2013-11-14 at 9.43.18 AMmarkets need as much policy certainty as possible. The group also says the key to minimizing costs is a stand-alone, stable and predictable 2030 framework with an ambitious binding renewables target alongside an ambitious binding greenhouse gas reduction target and a robust CO2 price.

“Mutually reinforcing and coordinated targets will significantly minimise uncertainty, lower investment risk, reduce the costs of capital and hence the level of additional financial support needed,” the group writes in a statement. “This framework will help Europe’s competitiveness by driving innovation and technological leadership, and job creation. It will bring down our energy and electricity bills, and help remove the need for renewable energy support in future. It will help ensure a reliable, low-cost supply of clean energy for Europe’s citizens and industry.”

In addition, the group call for a need to reduce energy prices and risks, a fair market, and the need for a coherent overall energy system. Finally, they say, this change will not be possible without a true European market.

“The European single energy market must be rolled out and all efforts should be made to finalise the deployment of vital transnational networks and power exchange mechanisms whilst ensuring the viability of the other parts of the energy system. In this way Europe will maximise its consumption of clean renewable energy, reduce its enormous energy dependence and reduce energy prices for Europe’s citizens,” the statement concludes.

International, Renewable Energy, Wind