Renewable Energy Project in NC Begins

Joanna Schroeder November 25, 2013

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held by Revolution Energy Solutions (RES), a company focused on waste-to-electricity projects, for its inaugural North Carolina anaerobic digestion project, coined NC-1. The project is currently one of the largest and most progressive farm-based biogas projects in the state.

The event included representatives from RES along with farm hosts Murphy Family Ventures, as well as Lloyd Yates, Duke Energy executive vice president of Regulated Utilities. The nexus of energy, agriculture and the environment, RES says NC-1 marks the beginning of a new era in renewable energy production, rural economic development, community-wide environmental benefits and swine industry waste enhancements for North Carolina.

As the second largest pork producing state in the country, North Carolina generates 40 million gallons of swine manure daily. North Carolina has created a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) that establishes the amount of energy demand in the state that must come from renewable sources. The REPS also includes a specific set-aside for swine waste-to-energy projects, which serves as a catalyst for deploying this type of technology and capital in North Carolina, and Duke University estimates that the REPS requirement could be met with as few as 127 state farms.

“Projects such as NC-1 are a gateway to rural economic development and renewable energy production. Not only are we generating significant electricity and employment opportunities, we are greatly enhancing the farm’s existing waste management system to improve processing and create previously unachievable environmental benefits,” said Alan Tank, co-founder and CEO of Revolution Energy Solutions. “North Carolina already has the requisite quality and quantity of feedstock to sustain these types of projects. We’re confident that additional states will embrace this example and NC-1 will be the first of many such waste-to-energy projects in the United States.”

RES says it brings both the patented, proprietary technology and proven project success to transform these swine waste streams into a meaningful source of energy. By processing waste streams generated by livestock on farms, as well as other organic feedstock materials such as food waste, fats, greases and oils and municipal waste streams, RES projects can create renewable energy, improve the environment and drive local economic development. These projects generate measurable air and water quality benefits, including greenhouse gas emission reductions, pathogen destruction, hydrogen sulfide emission reductions, and enhanced nutrient management and waste stream utilization.

Agribusiness, Alternative energy, biogas, Electricity, Waste-to-Energy

Patriot to Build Biodiesel Production Facility

Joanna Schroeder November 25, 2013

Patriot Holdings, LLC has announced that Patriot’s Board of Directors approved the formation of a new subsidiary (Patriot Fuels, Biodiesel, LLC) to build a five million gallon biodiesel production facility adjacent to the Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC (“PRF”) ethanol plant in Annawan, Illinois. The plant will utilize corn oil extracted from the 40 million bushels of corn that PRF processes annually. The funding and development of this project is helped by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) New Generation Biofuels Production Program.

Vice President and General Manager Rick Vondra said, “Patriot Renewable Fuels began corn oil extraction in 2011 and this is a natural extension of that business. We have been extracting increasing volumes of corn oil and selling it to other biodiesel producers, or for inclusion into livestock feed. By processing corn oil onsite we can reduce transportation, and marketing costs making Patriot’s biodiesel one of the most cost competitive producers in the biodiesel industry today”.

Biodiesel blends have been found to significantly reduce the amount of toxic carbon-based emissions, and for this reason are considered an advanced biofuel by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). By adding this process, Patriot will produce two fuels from the same amount of corn: ethanol for the automotive industry, and biodiesel for agriculture and the trucking industry. At the same time Patriot will continue to produce dried distillers grain and soluble (DDGS), the high quality livestock feed which is exported to China and other Pacific Rim countries for their growing livestock industry.

Concrete and foundation work will begin in December 2013 and the plant is scheduled to begin operation by the third quarter of 2014. The plant will utilize the SUPERTM Process production system designed by Jatro Diesel. The new technology being offered is a single stage, catalyst free, super critical process technology that will process feedstock with Free Fatty Acids (FFAs) up to 100 percent with minimal or no loss in yield. It will completely eliminate the use of a homogenous catalyst such as Sodium Methylate or a heterogenous catalyst, providing a substantial savings.

Rahul Bobbili, Jatro’s Vice President said, “Jatro has built more than 15 biodiesel plants and is excited that Patriot will use this new technology.”

Patriot’s General Manager Rick Vondra added, “Today, we are a producer of 120 million gallons of ethanol per year. With the previously announced addition of ICM, Inc’s. Selective Milling Technology. Patriot will see increased ethanol and corn oil recovery yields, resulting in higher revenues. Five million gallons of biodiesel will further increase our revenues. Our plant in Annawan has created jobs and stimulated economic growth in our community and beyond. With strength of our 200 local and Midwestern investors, we’ll harness the strength of a diversified product line and continue to make a positive impact on agriculture and economic development.”

advanced biofuels, Biodiesel, biofuels, corn

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder November 25, 2013

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. has announced that it completed the previously-announced acquisition of two ethanol plants, located in Wood River, NE and Fairmont, MN, from Ethanol Holding Company, LLC, an entity composed of the predecessor owners’ lender group. The acquisition increases Green Plains’ production capacity to over one billion gallons of ethanol per year.
Research and Markets has announced the release of “Battery Chargers – Global Strategic Business Report” report. The report analyzes the worldwide markets for Battery Chargers in US$ Million by the following End-Use Segments: Automotive Chargers, Industrial Chargers, Information Technology (IT) Chargers, Telecommunications Chargers, and Consumer Product Chargers. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Rest of World. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2010 through 2018. A six-year historic analysis is also provided for these markets.
Twenty-seven former campaign and administration staffers of Gov. Brown released a letter today urging him to impose a moratorium on fracking in California. The former staffers are calling on Gov. Brown to impose an immediate moratorium on fracking until independent scientific studies prove that fracking for oil in the Monterey Shale will not accelerate climate change, poison California’s water and pollute the air. Gov. Brown signed SB 4 into law, essentially giving oil and gas companies the green light to frack California until 2015.
SolarCity Corp. has announced that it has completed what is reported to be the first securitization of distributed solar energy assets. SolarCity completed a private placement in the amount of $54,425,000 with an interest rate of 4.80% and a scheduled maturity date of December 2026. SolarCity’s pool of solar contracts received an investment grade rating of BBB+ from Standard & Poor’s. The rating reflects the predictability and quality of the cash flows and the minimal operation and production risk of solar assets. Distributed solar is one of the first new asset classes to achieve an investment grade rating in the asset back securities markets in the past several years.

Bioenergy Bytes

Big Oil Reaps $23 Billion In One Day

Joanna Schroeder November 25, 2013

Americans United for Change said that the oil industry scored a big victory on Friday, November 15, 2013 when the U.S. EPA released a draft rule that – if allowed to stand – rolls back the highly successful Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Following the announcement that calls for gasoline to include more oil and less biofuel next year, stock values surged for four of the “Big Five” oil companies – representing a $23 billion windfall in just one day.

“Big Oil’s big win on the draft rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard led to an instant windfall for oil companies while consumers, American farmers and our troops are left holding the bag,” said Brad Woodhouse, President of Americans United for Change. “Big Oil hit the jackpot, but we are risking a huge slowdown in the development of next generation biofuels that are our best hope for reducing America’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil.”

The Big Five oil companies reaped a combined $23 billion windfall, and the value of their outstanding shares increased by an average of more than 2 percent in a single day. This increase was about four times better than the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 over the same period between the closing bell the day before the announcement (November 14) and the opening bell on the next day of trading after the announcement (November 18).

Meanwhile, an independent index of ethanol and biofuel stocks has fallen by more than 6 percent following the release of the draft rule. According to Americans United for Change, this is a very bad sign for the future of American leadership in clean, renewable biofuel, but it is a predictable market response to the draft proposal. If Big Oil gets its way, the steady rise in American biofuel use will be reversed next year, with less biofuel used in 2014 than in 2013.

Even though wholesale prices of ethanol are 60-80 cents cheaper than wholesale gasoline prices, Big Oil, said Americans United for Change, continues to falsely claim that the RFS requirement to use more of the inexpensive, clean, American made ethanol raises gasoline prices. Contrary to their argument, however, the announcement hasn’t brought any relief to American consumers at the gas pump – gas prices are actually slightly higher than before the announcement. The only winners are the oil companies who just reaped $23 billion while putting a choke hold on their only potential competition.

One Day Windfall Tally:

Exxon: $12,061,200,000
Chevron: $2,188,800,000
Shell: $6,876,600,000
BP: $2,065,800,000
Conoco Phillips -$258,300,000
Total: $22.9 Billion

biofuels, Oil, RFS

Idled Biodiesel Plant Gets New Tenant

John Davis November 25, 2013

A biodiesel plant idled by bankruptcy last year will get new life as a new tenant moves in. This article from Capital Press says TransMessis Columbia Plateau has moved into the former Inland Empire Oilseeds, LLC refinery in Odessa, Wash., and could be operating in the next few days and at full capacity early next year.

TransMessis Columbia Plateau (TCP) will produce biodiesel from canola, said CEO Damon Pistulka. The company is newly formed and backed by an investment group based in Houston, Texas, and several investors in Washington.

TCP is leasing the building from the Odessa Public Development Authority, with an option to purchase.

Pistulka said the company plans to produce 8 million gallons of biodiesel annually, and hopes the feedstock will eventually be locally sourced.

“We’ll use well over 50,000 tons (of canola) next year,” he said.

The facility is being cleaned and readied for production, he said. Pistulka expects to begin production by the end of November, and reach full capacity in the first quarter of 2014.

The opening of this facility along with a Pacific Coast Canola plant in Warden, Wash., should create a good market for canola in that region.

Biodiesel

What Will We Drive in 2023?

Joanna Schroeder November 25, 2013

According to a new study, “Tomorrow’s Vehicles: What Will We Drive in 2023?” released by the Fuels Institute, the growth of vehicles running on alternative fuels will accelerate over the next decade but diesel-fuel and gasoline-powered vehicles will continue to dominate the market.

For light-duty vehicles (passenger vehicles and light trucks), gasoline-powered vehicles will continue to dominate the market, although overall market share could decline from 93 percent in 2012 to as low as 82 percent of vehicle inventories in 2023. Diesel-powered vehicles will potentially comprise nearly 7 percent of the market while flexible-fuel vehicles capable of using E85 could grow to more than 9 percent of the market.

Meanwhile, for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (commercial vehicles like trucks and buses), diesel-powered vehicles will prevail, representing at least 94 percent of the vehicle fleet in 2023.

“On the surface, it may not seem that significant change is occurring, because gasoline and diesel fuel-powered vehicles will continue to dominate the vehicle fleet in 2023, but alternatives are gaining traction,” said John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute. “Consumers appear to be more open to alternatives than ever before and vehicle manufacturers are offering a wider variety.”

Given that there are more than 250 million vehicles on the road today, the report finds it will take years of strong sales of alternative fuel vehicles to reshape the country’s vehicle fleet. In addition, a variety of developments — including cost reductions for alternative-fuel vehicles, conveniently available refueling options, expanded vehicle range and overall consumer familiarity and confidence with new fueling options — will need to occur before alternative-fueled vehicles can capture significant market share.

“We need to ask — and answer — some tough questions so that the vehicles and fueling markets can develop together and convert consumers to new type of vehicles,” said Eichberger.

The report forecast the makeup of the vehicle fleet in 2023 based on two scenarios: a “base case” that incorporates current forecasts and an “aggressive case” that assumes more robust world economic conditions that further spurs demand and prices for petroleum products. In both projections, gasoline-powered vehicles will continue to dominate the LDV market but lose significant market share, dropping from 93.2 percent of LDVs on the road in 2012 to between 82.6 percent to 86.0 percent in 2023. This decline in market share is driven by a shift in the sale of new vehicles, with gasoline-powered vehicles’ share of sales falling from 83.4 percent in 2012 to between 67.6 percent to 78.9 percent in 2023, a potentially dramatic change in consumer purchasing behavior.Read More

Alternative Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Research

Ethanol By-Product as Biodegradable Kitty Litter

John Davis November 25, 2013

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have found a way to turn a by-product of ethanol production into a biodegradable form of kitty litter. This news release from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says USDA plant physiologist Steven Vaughn and his colleagues are using dried distiller’s grains, DDGs, as a starting material for a more environmentally friendly alternative to nonbiodegradable clay-based litters.

In preliminary studies, Vaughn’s group tested “x-DDGs.” These are DDGs that, after being used for ethanol production, are treated with one or more solvents to extract any remaining, potentially useful natural compounds.

The team’s laboratory experiments yielded a suggested formulation composed of the x-DDGs and three other compounds: glycerol, to prevent the litter from forming dust particles when poured or pawed; guar gum, to help the litter clump easily when wet; and a very small amount of copper sulfate, for odor control.

The resulting litter is highly absorbent, forms strong clumps that don’t crumble when scooped from the litter box, and provides significant odor control, according to Vaughn. He’s based at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

This isn’t the first time corn or grains have been looked at to use for environmentally friendly cat litter. But this is the first time DDGs have been thoroughly examined for this purpose.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, USDA

Today in Energy Looks at RFS

Joanna Schroeder November 24, 2013

A recent Today in Energy published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule for the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS program, established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA07), requires EPA to set annual requirements for the renewable content of liquid fuels that may differ from a set of targets specified by law.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is required by the RFS provisions in EISA07 to provide EPA with information related to the projected use of motor gasoline and diesel fuel and the supply of various categories of biofuels in the month prior to issuance of EPA’s final RFS rulemaking for each program year.

While EPA has set requirements for cellulosic biofuels well below the legislated volume targets for such fuels in past RFS program years, the proposed rule for the 2014 RFS program is the first time that the agency is seeking to set the total renewable fuel and advanced biofuel requirements below the legislated targets.

According to This Week in Petroleum, the pool of gasoline available for ethanol blending is significantly smaller than it was projected to be before enactment of EISA07, which in addition to updating RFS program requirements also mandated significant increases in vehicle fuel economy standards. The total demand for gasoline has been flat or decreasing since 2007 because of greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for vehicles, fuel prices, and a sharp economic downturn followed by a slow recovery. In summer 2006, when the reference case for EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2007 (AEO2007) was developed, the projected 2014 total gasoline energy demand (including ethanol) was 153.9 billion gallons. This gasoline pool could have absorbed 15.4 billion gallons of ethanol if all gasoline was E10. By summer 2012, when the AEO2013 reference case was developed, the comparable estimated total gasoline energy demand was 131.9 billion gallons. This gasoline pool could absorb 13.1 billion gallons ethanol if all gasoline was E10.

The forecast of 2014 motor fuel use that EIA will provide to EPA for use in translating the RFS requirements it decides upon into renewable volume obligation percentages for obligated parties under the RFS program will be based on the latest available STEO forecast at the time EIA provides its input. The November 2013 STEO projects gasoline energy demand of 133.2 billion in 2014, including 13.35 billion gallons of ethanol by volume. This estimate is about 1.0% higher than the AEO2013 reference case projection for 2014. The November 2013 STEO projects petroleum diesel consumption of 55.3 billion gallons in 2014.

Forecasts of motor fuels use over the coming year generally move with the outlook for economic conditions, prices, and any changes in regulations. However, as noted in EIA’s May 2013 letter to EPA providing input in advance of the 2013 RFS final rule, forecasting cellulosic ethanol supply can be quite challenging. While cellulosic biofuel production estimates are subject to much smaller absolute uncertainty than production or consumption estimates for other transportation fuels, the percentage uncertainty surrounding forecasts of cellulosic fuels is very large. This reflects both the very low volume of total cellulosic biofuel production and the very small number of facilities that have begun to enter into service. Small changes in the startup date or projected utilization rate at just one facility can therefore have a large effect on the total amount of cellulosic biofuel production that is achieved. This is different from many other EIA production forecasts where production occurs from a very large number of plants, which allows for averaging of outage rates at individual facilities, and for which start-up of a new facility has very little impact on the total production.

An additional challenge for forecasts of cellulosic supply during 2014 is that EPA is currently considering the approval of several new pathways (the combination of feedstocks and conversion methodology) for fuels that could affect the availability of certain types of biofuels. As it prepares to provide its input to EPA ahead of the final RFS rule for 2014, EIA will be carefully watching for new information regarding the situation with respect to individual facilities and possible action by EPA regarding new pathways over the coming months.

advanced biofuels, biofuels, Cellulosic, RFS

EPA to Hold Hearing on RFS Proposal

Cindy Zimmerman November 24, 2013

The Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a public hearing on its proposal to lower the volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2014. According to a notice in the Federal Register, the hearing will be held December 5 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia.

The event will begin at 9:00 in the morning and “end when all parties present who wish to speak have had the opportunity to do so.” Those wishing to testify are advised contact Julia MacAllister of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality by Nov. 26.

According to the notice, the public hearing will “provide a means for interested parties to present data, views or arguments” concerning the proposal, which EPA announced on November 15. Comments will also be accepted in written form for 60 days once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, which has not yet been done.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFS

E15 Now Available in Cedar Falls/Waterloo, IA

Joanna Schroeder November 22, 2013

ECI has announced it has begun selling registered E15 to motorists who drive a 2001 or newer vehicle. ECI is located near Waterloo at 1144 Hwy 63 North in Hudson, Iowa. E15, a blend of gasoline and 15 percent ethanol, can be used by all 2001 and newer passenger vehicles, which account for about 85 percent of fuel use in the United States. In order to offer E15, a retailer must register with the EPA.

“Offering E15 as a registered fuel gives ECI a leg up on our competition by being the only E15 retailer in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo-area to offer this low-cost fuel alternative,” stated ECI Energy Division Manager Terry Grant. “After reviewing the economics, offering E15 makes sense for our business and our customers.”

ECI had assistance with the process of offering E15 from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). “The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) congratulates ECI on being Iowa’s tenth retailer to include E15 as one of its renewable fuel options,” said IRFA Managing Director Lucy Norton. “Iowa is fast becoming the country’s E15 capitol proving that EPA’s proposal to lower RFS levels for 2014 is misguided and totally unnecessary. This will be proven as more Iowa retail stations begin offering E15 over the next few days.”

IRFA assists retailers in the registration process to ensure they comply with all applicable federal and state E15 regulations.

E15, Ethanol, Iowa RFA, Renewable Energy

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