Ethanol Industry Refutes AAA Claims

Cindy Zimmerman October 28, 2013

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to “lower the amount of ethanol required to be blended into gasoline for 2014” in order to “protect drivers by preventing a possible surge in gas prices or the increased use of potentially damaging E15 gasoline.”

The ethanol industry wasted no time in responding. “The Energy Department and more than 40 studies say that more than 60 percent of cars on the road today can safely use E15,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president Bob Dinneen of the blend that has been approved by the EPA for 2001 and newer vehicles. “More than 40 million miles have been driven on E15 without a single complaint.”

Dinneen says RFA has reached out to AAA with data that proves E15’s safety, including the recently released NREL review of E15 studies but so far have been rebuffed. “Why is AAA resistant to data that benefits a nation of drivers?” Dinneen asked.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

ShockWave Reactor Helps Biodiesel Efficiency

John Davis October 28, 2013

A new video demonstration is showing how the new ShockWave Power Biodiesel Reactor (SPR) is making production of the green fuel more efficient. Hydro Dynamics, Inc. (HDI) posted the video to show how its product will make the transesterification process go better.

Although not a complete replacement for seeing the technology in person, video is becoming commonplace on the web to demonstrate technology and quickly convey information to customers. Our other SPR cavitation videos have been viewed over 750,000 times showing everything from simple cavitation bubbles to gas-liquid mixing to an ethanol extraction animation http://hydrodynamics.com/about-us/videos/.

The ShockWave PowerTM Reactor (SPR) is manufactured by Hydro Dynamics, Inc., a world leader in process intensification reactors. Together with World Energy, Hydrodynamics, Inc. offers reactor systems to the biodiesel industry for every size of plant and the expertise in biodiesel processing necessary to implement ShockWave PowerTM Reactor in any new or existing biodiesel production facility. With over 500 million gallons of annual reactor capacity now sold, the ShockWave Power Reactor is setting a new standard for efficient biodiesel production.

More information is available on the company’s biodiesel page.

Biodiesel, Video

Pentti Itkonen Chosen as Energy Ambassador

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2013

EnergyVaasa, the largest energy cluster in the Nordic countries, recently chose 25 year old engineering student Pentti Itkonen as their Energy Ambassador. In a press conference held at Citec’s premises at Navi Mumbai, India, it was announced that Itkonen will embark on a global tour, beginning in Kittilä in Northern Finland to Norway, USA, Ecuador, Brazil, Spain, Thailand and India. Pentii will spend a week at each of the chosen countries and meet and hope to influence key stakeholders of renewable and green technologies.

In this journey, Pentii Itkonen could experience a project where experts from many countries work together to come up with the best solutions to the customer’s needs. Thus, Itkonen became more acquainted with one of Waste-to-Energy power plant projects designed by Citec, a company that provides multi-discipline engineering and information management services to the Energy and Power industry, and other technology-dependent industries. In this project, the customer is from Switzerland and the plant is built in the UK.

Pentti Itkonen said, “It’s amazing to be in Incredible India, I have to admit that this has probably been the destination I’ve been looking forward to the most. The people at Mumbai office have welcomed me with fascinating Hindu ceremonies and I was honoured to start off my week like that. It was interesting to discover how Citec is working globally and specially the Indian operations. We also discussed over a certain waste-to-energy project.”

One of the highlights of Itkonen’s visit was when Mr. Alexander Stubb, Finland’s Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade met with Citec’s senior management – Mr. Martin Strand, CEO, Mr, Nasir Mulani, Managing Director India, Mr Arun Tyagarajan, Director Citec India and the Energy Ambassador in Mumbai.

“In an agro-based country like India, Bio-power has a growing demand. Nevertheless, solar and wind power are also areas where the future is heading towards. Citec is also working on such projects. Aiming for a cleaner environment, we are proud to support the Energy Ambassador campaign,” said Mulani.

In addition to his exposure to Citec as a global company and its energy business in India, the Energy Ambassador also received insight into other aspects of India.

Alternative energy, Clean Energy, International, Renewable Energy

Argonne National Lab Releases Updated GREET Model

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2013

The Argonne National laboratory has announced the release of the updated GREET fuel cycle model. The GREET model was first released in 1996 and since its release, Argonne has continued to update and improve the model. GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

The GREET model is a tool designed to fully evaluate energy and emission impacts of advanced vehicle technologies and new transportation fuels, the fuel cycle from wells to wheels It also takes into account the vehicle cycle through material recovery and vehicle disposal.

Key updates include:

New marine fuel pathways and commercial vessel operations
New sorghum ethanol pathways
New Tallow pathway
Electric power sector technology shares, efficiencies and emission factors by technology and utility regions
CH4 emissions for natural gas pathways
Transmission and distribution (T&D) emission factors, energy intensity, mode shares and distances
Biofuels land use change (LUC) data and new modeling options
Cellulosic biomass feedstock updates (e.g., farming, T&D, dry matter losses)
Fertilizers and nutrients use for biofuels pathways
Petroleum refining efficiency
Light duty vehicles (LDV) tailpipe emission factors
Hydrogen production with latest DOE H2A models
Urban share of criteria air pollutants (CAP) emissions (petroleum, electricity, LDVs)

The GREET model is free to use. Click here to download the updated GREET fuel cycle model.

Alternative energy, Alternative Vehicles, biofuels, feedstocks, Indirect Land Use

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2013

Natural Power has announced that consent has been granted for Fred. Olsen Renewables’ 20.7 MW Mid Hill II Wind Farm. The wind farm will comprise up to nine 2.3 MW Siemens turbines, and is sited next to the 25-turbine Mid Hill Wind Farm, which is currently under construction in Fetteresso Forest, near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, giving both developments a combined capacity of over 75 MW. When operational, Mid Hill and Mid Hill II could potentially generate enough electricity to power over 38,500 homes.
The school board of the Lucia Mar Unified School District (San Luis Obispo County, California) awarded Chevron Energy Solutions a contract to design and develop a program which will include solar energy systems, energy efficiency measures and improved lighting components that are estimated to save the district over $40 million, or about $20 million after paying all program costs over the 30-year project life. The project will include 1.7 MW of solar generation capacity at 7 district sites, upgraded HVAC systems, irrigation controls and energy-saving LED lighting. In total, the project is expected to reduce the district’s utility-purchased electricity costs by approximately 75 percent.
ForceField Energy, an international manufacturer, seller and distributor of energy products and solutions, has announced the appointment of Stephane Vachon as its new Vice President of Business Development and Operations. Prior to joining ForceField Energy, Mr. Vachon was Chief Executive Officer and President of DEK International SA.
First Power and Light, LLC has signed an Engineering, Procurement and Contraction contract valued at $7.5 million to install a 2 MW solar array on an existing landfill that will supply electricity to the community of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. This system to be installed will use approximately 8 thousand 250 kw solar panels. The project’s developers will use approximately 15 acres of land and the project is projected to break ground by the first of the year.

Bioenergy Bytes

Energy Entrepreneurs Present Ideas in Africa

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2013

West African entrepreneurs and companies presented 10 clean energy projects totaling over USD $80 million to invest in Accra during the West Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing (WAFCEF). The projects ranged from biofuels to solar, to biomass and hydropower. More than 100 financiers, clean energy experts and representatives of financial institutions from Africa and around the world took place in the event.

WAFCEF was the final stage of a business plan competition launched in March 2013 by the Climate Technology Initiative Private Financing Advisory Network (CTI-PFAN) and the Ecowas Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and other regional partners.

According to Joao Duarte Cunha, Coordinator of SEFA, “This initiative united like-minded partners interested in harnessing the entrepreneurial talent of the region to promote economic progress by using West Africa’s vast clean energy resources. WAFCEF really connected all the dots – entrepreneurs, ideas, advisory support and financing – and provided a platform for the often neglected smaller clean energy projects to succeed.”

The contest entailed the presentations of 10 qualified project sponsors who presented their business plans to potential investors and made a pitch for financing. The goal was to identify the most promising business ideas and unlock renewable energy and energy efficiency investment in West Africa. The 10 projects had been selected from over 70 submissions from across the ECOWAS region for their economic viability and environmental benefits. Before being presented at the Forum, each of them had received intensive mentoring from professional consultants.

SME Funds‘ Bioethanol Scale-Up Project from Nigeria was picked as the winner of the WAFCEF 2013 business plan competition. The $28 million Investment in the first round will go towards scaling up their renewable ethanol cooking gel production and clean cookstove manufacturing. Already over 1 million liters of cooking gel has been produced locally using 2G Cellulosic Bio-Ethanol technology from wastes such as water hyacinth and sawdust from Lagos saw mills. SMEFunds has already recruited over 15,000 entrepreneurs through its Carbon Credit Network and helped them start green businesses that sell the cooking gel and stoves across Nigeria and West Africa.

“People are hungry for good alternatives to kerosene and other unsafe, dirty cooking fuels,” said SMEFunds Co-founder and CEO Femi Oye. “We started with the simple belief that cooking shouldn’t kill. Why should our women cook with tears?”

SMEFunds plans to reach over 10 million households across West Africa with clean cooking and renewable energy technologies.

biofuels, biomass, Clean Energy, Hydro, International, Solar

REG’s Haer: Biodiesel Helps Break Big Oil Monopoly

John Davis October 28, 2013

As we recently recognized the 40th anniversary of the Arab Oil Embargo, which back then, showed how vulnerable the U.S. was working under foreign petroleum, one of the leaders at the nation’s biodiesel leader says his industry’s green fuel is a pathway to break the Big Oil monopoly. In this piece for the political blog, The Hill.com, Renewable Energy Group (REG) Vice president Gary Haer says biodiesel has grown from just a small, novelty fuel to a billion-gallon-a-year viable alternative to petroleum, foreign and domestic.

Following the aggressive act by Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to terminate exports to the West, Americans saw their gasoline prices soar fourfold setting off a decade-long recession. U.S. military involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts escalated consistently over the four decades that followed. These include the Iran Hostage Crisis, three full-scale wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the current showdown with Syria over chemical weapons and nuclear weapons showdown with Iran.

Today the aforementioned national security experts and their supporters lead the U.S. Energy Security Council (USESC), an organization that is scathing in their conclusions of how the combination of current U.S. oil dependency and a lack of diversity in transportation fuels choices are affecting both our economy and our national security:Read More

Biodiesel, REG

Farmers Harvesting Biomass for Project LIBERTY

Joanna Schroeder October 25, 2013

Farmers are now harvesting and delivering cob bales for the 2014 opening of Project LIBERTY in Emmetsburg, Iowa. Project LIBERTY is POET-DSM’s 20 million-gallon-per-year biorefinery currently under construction. When the facility begins production, it will use corn crop residue – cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk – as the primary feedstock to produce cellulosic ethanol.

With the 2013 harvest season already underway, growers have started delivering bales to the plant’s 22-acre stackyard. Although POET-DSM has organized four previous commercial-scale harvests in the past that have brought in nearly 200,00 tons of feedstock, this year’s bales will for the first time be used to produce cellulosic ethanol at the plant’s startup.

“Half of our biomass stackyard is filling up with cob bales for ethanol production,” Project LIBERTY General Manager Daron Wilson said. “Things are going smoothly. Our advance work over the last few years on feedstock logistics is paying off.”

Crop residue represents a new market for farmers that provides additional revenue with minimal input costs. It does not require any additional planting, and crop residue can be harvested with a standard baler. Nutrient replacement at POET-DSM’s suggested rate of removal – approximately 1 ton per acre or 25 percent of the above-ground biomass – is minimal.

“It’s been an easy way to diversify my farm operation and incorporate some much-needed crop residue management into the harvest,” said local farmer Charlie Kollasch. “This has been an important business opportunity for our area.”

POET-DSM intends to purchase approximately 100,000 tons from this year’s harvest to handle start-up and continuing operations through the 2014 harvest.

advanced biofuels, Agribusiness, Cellulosic, Ethanol

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder October 25, 2013

OwnEnergy has announced the sale of its Two Dot Wind Farm to NJR Clean Energy Ventures. Two Dot will be the 4th wind farm OwnEnergy has brought to shovel-ready status and sold. The Two Dot Wind Farm is located in Montana, 93 miles east of Helena, and is expected to create 40-60 temporary jobs during its construction phase and according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s JEDI analysis, the project will have a total local economic impact of $8.2 million. Once completed, Two Dot will consist of six, GE 1.62 MW wind turbines, for a total capacity of 9.72 MW.
Heraeus Photovoltaics has announced that effective November 1, 2013, Andreas Liebheit will join the company as a new executive member. Liebheit will be transitioning into the Global Management role of the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit, replacing Andy London, the current Global Manager, upon his retirement in January 2014. Liebheit has held leadership positions in the solar industry since 2006.
The City of Patterson, California and Chevron Energy Solutions will soon ‘flip the switch’ on a solar and energy efficiency project that is expected to save the community $6.5 million and reduce its utility electricity purchases by 90 percent. In what may be the first of its kind and scope in Stanislaus County, the project includes solar installations and energy efficiency programs designed to reduce energy usage. The city will generate its own green, renewable electricity, dramatically reducing citywide energy costs, saving taxpayers over the life of the project, and making neighborhoods safer by replacing streetlights with more efficient LED fixtures.
CHS Inc. has announced today the release of its new grain trading mobile app. The free app allows easy access to CHS grain terminals, soybean processing plants and select service center bids. It enables producers to make, monitor and manage offers to sell corn, soybeans and wheat electronically. The app also provides market information with the ability to create and manage futures-only, basis-only and cash offers.

Bioenergy Bytes

Hitachi Zosen Membrane Increases Ethanol Efficiency

Joanna Schroeder October 25, 2013

Greenbelt Resources Corporation, under its subsidiary Diversified Ethanol Corporation, has announced the selection of Hitachi Zosen Corporation as a collaborator on its ethanol dehydration module. Greenbelt has successfully integrated the zeolite ceramic membrane innovation from Hitachi Zosen to achieve a higher purity ethanol through a more efficient extraction of residual moisture. After a global search, Greenbelt said it chose the ceramic membrane from Hitachi Zosen for its durability, easy-to-maintain seal-less structure and high reliability.

“As we accelerate our efforts to establish overseas partners and expand the use of our technology, the addition of our zeolite ceramic membrane to the Greenbelt solution is a first for our company in the growing U.S. ethanol marketplace,” said Dr. Masanobu Aizawa, General Manager of Research and Development Strategy Department at Hitachi Zosen. “Greenbelt has the most extensive knowledge of using membrane technology in the ethanol dehydration process in the U.S. and our collaboration is ideal for us to leverage our innovations and add value that is useful to our global society.”

Hitachi Zosen will be providing the Greenbelt design team with a deep understanding of the membrane structure and their process design criteria. Through their partnership, Hitachi Zosen aided Greenbelt in the invention of a module to house the membranes, as well as helped them develop an overall system design that both achieves target ethanol standards and is simple and highly efficient. The simplicity and efficiency of the Greenbelt dehydration module enables membrane technology to become a contending alternative to molecular sieves traditionally used to dehydrate ethanol.

“In addition to the level of excellence in the simple yet durable design of their membrane technology, we are extremely impressed with the customer service from Hitachi Zosen,” said Darren Eng, CEO of Greenbelt Resources Corporation. “This is a winning combination of global expertise and the entrepreneurial approach by a U.S. upstart to deliver a truly economically sound and energy-efficient solution to the production of viable commercial ethanol for local market communities around the world.”

Hitachi Zosen has operated a zeolite membrane like the one used by Greenbelt in continuous commercial service since March, 2009. In addition to technical support, Hitachi Zosen conducted hands on training for membrane installations and participated with Greenbelt in system stress and performance testing.

biofuels, Ethanol

Page 811 of 1,944
←
1
...
810
811
812
...
1944
→