Waste Grease-to-Biodiesel Plan Wins Aussie Prize

John Davis

aussiechallengeA plan to turn waste grease into biodiesel wins a prize from Down Under. Impress Media Australia reports Energy from Waste Pty Ltd., with members Lisa Chao, Philip Curran, Dr David Rutley, Brian O’Neil and Ted McMurchie, picked up first place in the 2013 University of Adelaide Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC) Australian eChallenge, and the group will travel to Austin, Texas to compete in the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition.

Energy from Waste’s winning business plan outlines how it will design, construct, commission and operate biodiesel production plants at major waste processing companies that currently collect and dispose of grease-trap waste, eliminating their disposal costs and creating a new revenue stream.

Professor Noel Lindsay, ECIC Director, says Energy from Waste was awarded first prize because the team delivered a proficient business plan that could result in positive outcomes for both local businesses and the environment.

“The Australian eChallenge is growing in popularity each year, with 35 highly creative and innovative teams competing in this year’s competition,” Professor Lindsay says.

“Energy from Waste was selected because the team’s business plan is thorough and professional. The team’s proposal clearly outlines an opportunity to reduce the cost of waste processing and decrease its impact on the environment.”

The group also won the $10,000 Adelaide Airport Clean Tech Award and could end up winning more than $50,000 in prizes.

Biodiesel, International

Washington Leaders Recognized for Biodiesel Use

John Davis

GWRCCC logo1Some leaders in the Washington, D.C. area are being recognized for their use of biodiesel. The latest edition of the National Biodiesel Board’s Biodiesel Bulletin says the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition (GWRCCC) honored the Smithsonian Institution and the District of Columbia Department of Public Works Fleet Management Administration for their part in using the green fuel to achieve “outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to a clean energy future.”

A local pioneer in biodiesel use, the Smithsonian received the Community Outreach Award during the GWRCCC’s Awards Luncheon on October 31. In addition to using biodiesel at the National Zoo and its other facilities, the Smithsonian has hosted a number biodiesel education workshops.

GWRCC also recognized another biodiesel user – the District of Columbia Department of Public Works Fleet Management Administration — as an award nominee. The District has implemented a far-reaching biodiesel program that is helping the city reduce harmful emissions and decrease petroleum use. Introduced in 2011, today biodiesel is fueling the city’s entire diesel fleet of 2,000 vehicles and equipment, including school buses, refuse trucks, street sweepers, emergency vehicles and more. The city used nearly 1.4 million gallons of biodiesel blends in 2012, displacing 202,318 gallons of petroleum in just one year. In addition, the D.C. Department of Public Works recently opened two of its biodiesel fueling sites to federal government vehicles.

The recognition came as part of a ceremony that honored 10 D.C. area leaders for their green energy commitments.

Biodiesel, NBB

Taiwan Scientists Microwave to Make Biodiesel

John Davis

microwave1The microwave oven is one convenience just about every kitchen (and office lunch room) finds indispensable, but it also might become the next tool for making biodiesel. This article from the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in southern Taiwan says researchers there have found a way to turn waste cooking oils into biodiesel in 10 seconds.

“I was told that Taiwanese people like to cook a lot and the waste cooked oils can be a problem for the environment. So we come up with an idea that is very unique to combine the microwave and with certain catalyst that we can fully convert the waste cooked oils into the biodiesel in 10 seconds,” [says Prof. (Emeritus) Aharon Gedanken from the Department of Chemistry at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel, who is currently a Visiting Chair Professor (since Feb. 2012) at NCKU].

The technology underlying the study is now in the process of applying for a patent, according to [Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)] Distinguished Professor Jiunn-Der Liao who has invited Gedanken to cooperate with NCKU faculty conducting the research.

“By the year 2020, in the European community, 20% of the diesel in the gasoline station will contain biodiesel,” said Gedanken, “and I hope by that year in Taiwan 100% will go to biodiesel and if the project is successful, we can convince people to collect waste cooked oils instead of through it away.”

School officials say they can now convert more than 200 pounds of used cooking into biodiesel each day and expect to be producing tons in the near future. Plus, they hope each home kitchen will be able to use the technology to produce biodiesel on a small scale.

Biodiesel, International

Biofuel Groups Ask to Intervene in RFS Case

Cindy Zimmerman

Three organizations that represent biofuel producers have asked to intervene in the latest legal challenge to Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

mess-rfsThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Growth Energy, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), filed a motion Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to intervene in the challenge against the RFS by Monroe Energy, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM). The lawsuit seeks a reduction of the 2013 volume obligations for all renewable fuels.

The groups are asking the Court’s permission to intervene in this lawsuit on behalf of member companies which would be directly impacted by that action. “Moreover, a reduction in the volumetric requirement for any one type of renewable fuel under the RFS could affect the demand for other types of renewable fuels,” the groups stated in the filing.

In January, the same court upheld EPA’s authority to set advanced and cellulosic biofuel volume obligations at the maximum achievable level, in order to achieve Congress’ intent to promote production and use of renewable fuels. The trade groups will ask the Court to reaffirm this finding.

BIO, biofuels, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, Growth Energy, RFA, RFS

USDA Says Spring Canola is Good Biodiesel Crop

John Davis

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAResearchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture believe spring canola could be a good crop for biodiesel for producers in the drier parts of the Great Plains. This news release from the Agricultural Research Service says ARS agronomist David Nielsen and others are finding ways to stretch scarce water supplies and increase crop returns in that part of the country.

Nielsen, who works at the ARS Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, Colo., worked with colleagues to combine existing plant growth computer models and generate spring canola production simulations. Then they ran their results from the combined model with 16 years of regional weather data, four different soil water levels at planting time, and other site-specific information to generate spring canola yield estimates for nine locations in Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas.

Results from their crop simulations suggested the highest yields would be produced in the north-central area near Champion, Neb., and the lowest yields would be produced in the south-central area near Walsh, Colo. When 75 percent of the soil water was available for crop use at planting, the model indicated six of the sites had more than a 70 percent probability of producing a canola seed yield of at least 900 pounds per acre.

The researchers found they could net anywhere from $67 to $189 per acre in returns, depending on plant-available soil water levels. They’ve also developed a simple decision support tool for canola production and economic analysis that can be used by farmers for canola planning.

Biodiesel, Research, USDA

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFFred. Olsen Renewables has announced that the company has acquired the remaining 50% share of joint venture Brockloch Rig Wind Ltd. from RWE npower renewables. Brockloch Rig Wind comprises two planned wind farms – Windy Standard II and Windy Standard III – located in the hills above Carsphairn Forest, some 9km north of Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway. The first phase of the project was consented in 2007 with a planned installed capacity of up to 75 MW. Construction on Windy Standard II is due to commence in mid-2014 with pre-construction activities already underway. Windy Standard III is a proposed development of up to 43.5 MW.
  • The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC), has made available the presentations from the International Sessions at the GRC Annual Meeting & GEA Expo held last month in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
  • The Ashegoda Wind Farm began producing wind energy on Oct. 26 in Tigray state, Ethiopia. It follows a plan to create a “climate resilient’ economy by 2025. The new energy capacity supplements hydropower from the 6,000 MW Grand Renaissance Dam now under construction on the Nile. The wind farm consists of 84 turbines and nine percent of the costs were funded by the Ethiopian government.
  • Sol Systems has announced the successful finance of a 1.2 MW solar project in partnership with its investor client, Washington Gas Energy Systems, a subsidiary of WGL Holdings, which will own and operate the system. Located at Presbyterian Senior Living Services, a non-profit located in Glen Arm, Maryland, the system will provide electricity under a long-term Power Purchase agreement. Financing for the construction of the project was handled between Sol Systems and Building Energy. Washington Gas Energy Systems will own and operate the system.
Bioenergy Bytes

Report: U.S. Military to Rely on Electric Vehicles

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new report, “Alternative Drive Vehicles for Military Applications,” the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is expected to increase its purchases of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the next few years. The move is part of the military’s efforts to operate vehicles that do not run on fossil fuels. According to a recent report from Navigant Research, the DOD will acquire more than 92,400 EVs for non-tactical purposes from 2013 to 2020.

AdvancedTransportationTechnologies_Icon“In remote theaters of operations, the cost of moving fuels to forward military locations can be a multiple of the cost of the fuel itself,” said Scott Shepard, research analyst with Navigant Research. “The military’s approach to reducing fossil fuel consumption from non-tactical operations includes acquiring increasing numbers of vehicles powered by ethanol blend and biodiesel blend fuels; but the majority of the investment will go toward HEVs and PEVs.”

The report highlights one particular area of focus for the military market, and that is the development of microgrids in tandem with vehicle-to-grid (V2G)-enabled PEVs. Microgrids can enable bases in both tactical and non-tactical operations to utilize energy generation sources more efficiently and to operate independently of conditions on the grid. V2G-enabled PEVs used solely in non-tactical applications provide an additional layer of energy support and storage that can assist islanding microgrids and balance distributed energy generation resources by providing power from the vehicles’ battery packs to buildings.

The report examines the market for alternative drive vehicles for both tactical and non-tactical military fleets. Market drivers and barriers are analyzed in detail, and key industry players are profiled. Market forecasts for vehicles and fuel consumption, along with fuel cost savings, extend through 2020.

Alternative Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Microgrid, military, Research

Biggest Threat to Farm Bill?

Talia Goes

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ”Does farm size matter?” On Food Day, Oct. 24, 2013, the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance hosted a panel, “Farm Size: Does It Really Matter?” at the State Room in Boston to discuss the differences and similarities between large and small farms, and how farm size and ownership affect consumers’ food-purchasing decisions. You can watch the full video here to see if the panelists agreed with what most of you thought: size doesn’t matter as long as it’s sustainable.

Our poll results:
· No, as long as sustainable – 38%
· No, all are needed – 35%
· Yes, it’s big vs. small – 15%
· Yes, bigger needed to feed growing population – 10%
· Other – 3%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s the biggest threat to getting the farm bill done?” Is nutrition the hang-up, or is it agriculture? Let us know!

ZimmPoll

Enter The Haunted Energy House

Joanna Schroeder

gI_86333_haunted-house_200The United States celebrated Halloween yesterday and to pay homage to the holiday, ClearlyEnergy created an energy haunted house that unmasks the energy gremlins lurking in your home. Here are some fun tips to banish the gremlins and ghosts from your home (well, at least until Halloween next year).

  • Afraid of the dark? Don’t be: 11 percent of the typical household energy budget goes to lighting, so just turning off the lights can reap ghostly good savings. Avoiding the ghoulish gloom, save by using more compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) instead of incandescent bulbs, or better yet: go straight to LEDs.
  • Familiar with energy saving angels battling comfort demons on the thermostat front? Programmable thermostats can cut the tug-of-war: make the savings when nobody’s home or when everybody’s asleep.
  • Letting old showers & toilets RIP (aka rest in peace) can save big bucks. Low-flow shower heads use less than half the gallons per minute of older regular models, and cut the electricity and gas use needed to heat all that water. Newer toilet models flush a whole lot less water down the …toilet!
  • Think being a tech geek unleashes the electricity demons? Think again! While home electronics are the fastest-GROWING part of the household electric bill, over two-thirds still goes to the big stuff: lights, heat & a/c. Turning off a mobile phone all night for a year (rather than leaving it plugged in) saves 50c, while washing clothes cold rather than hot for a year saves $80. So to save green and be green, not point fiddling with a tablet’s power settings (but beware of the XBox, TV and computer gremlins).
  • How does doing laundry make us energy devils? Washers which are not EnergyStar maniacally throw money away. A typical non-EnergyStar top-loading washer uses over ten thousand gallons of water per year (that’s over $100 in water costs) and another $100 to heat all that water and run the machine. An EnergyStar model (even the top loading kind, rather than the even more efficient front load variety) uses half as much water and a third less power.
  • Think the emissions from the witch’s cauldron look pretty icky? Any ancient fridge is also causing some serious human earth farts (greenhouse gas emissions). Refrigerators made in the 80s use about four times as much electricity and cost $200 more each year than modern ones, and even 90s models suck down twice as much power as those made in the past couple years.

Click here to experience the full interactive tour of the energy-haunted house.

Clean Energy, Education, energy efficiency

Ambassador Energy Expands Solar Training Program

Joanna Schroeder

Ambassador Traning Install Training SmallAmbassador Energy has expanded its solar training programs both for companies and individuals seeking to learn more about the solar industry. The company is offering both classroom and online courses including North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners certified courses (NABCEP EL), in its Southern California Training Facility.

Director of Training, Catherine Kelso, facilitates the training program and is herself NABCEP certified in both PV Installation and PV Technical Sales. “Solar jobs are abundant,” she said, “but the good ones require a unique skill set. NABCEP is the gold standard in solar. I call NABCEP certifications ‘job insurance’.”

The next 32-hour course required to be completed before the participant is able to take the NABCEP EL test is scheduled for January 13-17, 2014 in the AE training center in Murrieta, California.

The 2014 Solar PV training calendar includes:

  • NABCEP Entry Level – Solar PV Design and Installation 32-hour course and NABCEP Entry Level exam
  • Prep courses for NABCEP PV Technical Sales and PV Installer
  • Advanced PV Design and Installation [qualifying for NABCEP continuing education credits]
  • AE’s proprietary New Agency Boot Camp
  • Solar for Electricians
  • Solar for Contractors

Click here for more information on the solar training courses.

Alternative energy, Education, Solar