Bison Wind Energy Center Wins Award

Joanna Schroeder

bison-wind-farmMinnesota Power’s Bison Wind Energy Center in North Dakota was voted the best wind project of the year at the 2013 POWER-GEN International Conference. According to Minnesota Power spokespeople, this award is considered the industry’s top honor for a new wind generation project.

“It’s gratifying to be honored by your peers for conceiving and completing a world-class renewable energy project,” said Al Hodnik, chairman, president and CEO of ALLETE Inc., the parent company of Minnesota Power. “Wind generation is a critical component in achieving our EnergyForward resource strategy of an energy mix that is one-third renewable, one-third coal and one-third natural gas as we help transform the nation’s energy landscape.”

Minnesota Power was honored for phases 2 and 3 of the Bison Project, whose capacity of 292 MW includes 85 state-of-the-art direct-drive Siemens 3MW turbines. The energy is delivered to customers using a repurposed direct current transmission line, originally built in the 1970s to send coal-based power from Center, North Dakota to Duluth, Minn.

On August 1, Minnesota Power announced it was moving ahead with phase 4 of the Bison project pending regulatory approval, a 205MW addition that will make it the largest wind farm in North Dakota at nearly 500 MW of capacity.

Alternative energy, Electricity, Wind

‘Operation Free’ on Renewable Energy

Joanna Schroeder

Lt. Gen. Norman SeipArizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability recently hosted guest speaker and Operation Free representative Lt. Gen Norman Seip (USAF, ret) on the topic of sustainability and national security. The event was part of the Sustainable Speaker lecture series at ASU’s Tempe Campus.

Lt. Gen. Seip retired after 35 years of military service with his last assignment as commander of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The three-star general continues his military support through his work with such non-profit military support organizations as Operation Free and the Truman National Security Project.

“Our nation’s dependence on unstable and unsustainable forms of fuel is a strategic vulnerability,” remarked Lt. Gen. Seip. “The military is moving out rapidly to combat this vulnerability. The Navy and Air Force are using advanced fuels to power its fleets and aircraft. At the 2012 RIMPAC exercise, which is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, the Navy powered an entire Carrier Strike Group fueled by alternative sources of energy. Pilots flew the world’s most advanced combat aircraft up to twice the speed of sound, powered by an American-made biofuel blend made from algae and recycled cooking oil.”

Also in attendance at the lecture was 33-year veteran of the Army and Army National Guard, Lt. Col. Joseph Knott, who was one of 12 veterans recognized during a Nov. 5 ceremony at the White House for their work advancing clean energy and climate security. Lt. Col. Knott is a PhD student at ASU’s School of Sustainability, and a supporter of Operation Free.

operation free logo“I spent my career making our military more sustainable and more combat effective and Arizona’s military installations are leading the way,” shared Knott. “Davis Monthan and Luke Air Force bases installed a combined 30 MW of solar. The Army is moving forward to acquire up to 20 MW of solar power for Fort Huachuca, located in Cochise County. And the Arizona National Guard is also leading the way, already having installed over 800 KW of photovoltaic renewable energy generation operating at Guard facilities across Arizona. They have plans to increase their use of renewable energy to support the military readiness of the Arizona National Guard.”

Following today’s event, Operation Free representative and Afghanistan veteran, 1st Lt. Aaron Marquez shared his enthusiasm for the advancements in military sustainability. “I have seen it on the ground in Afghanistan and right here at home. A more sustainable military is a more effective fighting force. Our national security depends on our ability to adapt to the world’s evolving energy environment and innovate new solutions to our energy footprint. It is exciting to see this work taking place at the Pentagon, at Luke Air Force Base and right here at ASU where the School of Sustainability is actively engaging on military sustainability.”

advanced biofuels, algae, Alternative energy, military

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFThe Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) is pleased to welcome Algenol Biofuels as a new member. Algenol is a global, industrial biotechnology company focused on commercializing its patented algae technology platform for the production of ethanol and other biofuels. Algenol’s DIRECT TO ETHANOL technology uses sunlight, algae, non-arable land and carbon dioxide to produce ethanol and waste biomass that can be converted into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
  • Nominations are open for the Sustainable Bio Awards 2014 taking place on March 5, 2014 in Amsterdam during the 9th Annual World Bio Markets Congress. The awards recognize the innovations that are taking place in the development of sustainable and renewable fuels. Categories include Industry Champion 2014, Breakthrough Technology of the Year, Collaboration of the Year, Bio-based Product Innovation of the Year and Bio-Based Strategic Financier of the Year. Nominations will close on Friday, 31st January at midnight GMT.
  • There are only three months left to register to compete in the global Valeo Innovation Challenge. Engineering students around the world must register before February 14, 2014. The goal of the Valeo Innovation Challenge is to design equipment that, between now and 2030, will make cars more intelligent and intuitive. Students taking part in the challenge must develop bold, revolutionary solutions for the cars of 2030. To date, 91 teams of engineering students from 17 countries have signed up for the contest and people from over 129 countries have connected to the Valeo Innovation Challenge website.
  • Morrison & Foerster, wind power and renewable energy project advisers, has just concluded the final PPA for Apex Clean Energy’s 300 megawatt (MW) Balko Wind project, which will produce enough electricity to power 110,000 U.S. homes. The firm was counsel for Apex in its deal to sell the remaining 100 MW of wind energy capacity from its 300 MW Balko Wind Project through a Renewable Energy Purchase Agreement with the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative. The deal is expected to come online in 2015 and WFEC’s total power capacity will rise to 1,850 MW.
Bioenergy Bytes

Eight Gas Stations in St. Louis Go Solar

Joanna Schroeder

Eight gas station and convenience stores owned by Home Service Oil Company, along with its headquarters in the St. Louis, Missouri area are going solar. Real Goods Solar has been selected to design, install, monitor and maintain the solar power systems. When combined, the solar systems will provide an estimated 378 kW of power and generate nearly 478,000 kilowatt hours each year.

Home Service Oil Convenience StoreThe project involves the deployment of solar power systems on the rooftop of the gas station and convenience stores. Construction is scheduled to begin in December 2013 and be completed in January 2014. This project marks the company’s entry into the fuel retail industry.

“Our selection of Real Goods Solar, a premier solar company in the country, to deploy solar energy at our locations will reduce our carbon footprint while generating significant electricity savings,” said Zach Mangelsdorf, director of real estate and development at Home Service Oil Company. “We see this as a smart investment and a great way to use renewable energy in our operations. We also expect these rooftop solar systems to inspire greater customer loyalty by the many environmentally conscious customers we serve.”

With the solar systems, the gas station and convenience store chain expects to reduce the facilities costs of electricity by at least $43,000 in the first year. This is expected to add up to more than $1 million over the next 25 years, while eliminating more than 18 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions or the equivalent of taking more than 1,757 cars off the road or not consuming 945,225 gallons of gasoline (per EPA-based data).

Justin Pentelute, Real Goods Solar’s president of residential and small commercial systems, added “This win demonstrates our capabilities to pursue new market segments which have significant regional and national growth potential. Not only are we successfully executing our growth strategies in residential, but we are also gaining traction in small commercial systems that represents a fast-growing part of the market. We are proud to work with Home Service Oil Company and applaud their decision to go solar to reduce their operating costs and their carbon footprint.”

Electricity, Renewable Energy, Solar

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