Sugar-Based Catalyst Could Help Brew Biodiesel

John Davis

wfuvatechOne of the knocks about trying to turn fatty wastes into biodiesel is the use of sulfuric acid to aid in the esterification process to remove the free fatty acids (FFAs) that appear in high quantities in low quality oils. But researchers at Wake Forest and Virginia Tech universities have found a sugar-based alternative to sulfuric acid to improve the esterification process.

It is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and easy to filter out from produced biodiesel. “Unlike liquid sulfuric acid which has to be neutralized over a long period of time, our catalyst is a solid and can be separated relatively easily,” says Brian Hanson, a chemist at Virginia Tech who worked on the project.

From a commercial standpoint, this new catalyst could reduce costs by as much as 15 percent for a small-scale biodiesel production facility, according to a feasibility study conducted by Wake Forest University Schools of Business. While more research needs to be done to test the viability of the catalyst on a larger scale outside of the lab, it could one day help to make sewer waste and used oil waste affordable sources of fuel.

“Where this will make a lot of commercial sense in the near term will be in the developing world or on an island,” says Dan Fogel, an executive professor of strategy at the Wake Forest Schools of Business. “In these kinds of places, energy costs can be as much as 50 cents a kilowatt hour. Here in Winston-Salem you pay around 11 or 12 cents per kilowatt hour.”

“Right now, you and I actually pay companies to come and dispose of sewer and used oil waste,” says Abdou Lachgar, a professor of chemistry at Wake Forest University and the project’s lead researcher. “What we want to do is to take the fat out of that waste and convert it to energy.”

The researchers believe that existing biodiesel plants can be retrofitted to use the new catalyst.

Biodiesel, Research

ACE Supports EPA’s RVO Efforts

Joanna Schroeder

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding leaks in the press about the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard. While the majority of EPA employees were furloughed during the government shut down, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, along with several other of her key staff, remained on the job.

ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings points out in the letter, “We understand that the oil industry prefers to continue amassing profits in a market where ethanol is artificially ACElogorestricted to just ten percent of gasoline demand even though it is less expensive and cleaner than petroleum. Recall, the oil lobby fought to prevent ethanol from comprising even ten percent of the market when the original RFS was passed by Congress in 2005 and they have rebelled against the necessity to blend more than that since the law was expanded in 2007.

Their state of denial about higher ethanol blends was the reason that the waiver language was one of the final outstanding provisions that oil companies tried to weaken as finishing touches were put on the RFS by Congress. They wanted the opportunity for their cuff-linked attorneys to wordsmith and dodge their way out of compliance when the RFS became a real threat to their continued monopoly on consumer pocketbooks.

Simply put, the ‘blend wall’ is not a justification for triggering the waiver authority under the RFS. To the contrary, the purpose of the RFS is to allow consumer access to cleaner and more affordable alternatives to petroleum. To waive the RFS based on the blend wall rewards oil companies for doing nothing to comply with the inevitability of higher ethanol blends, and would take the teeth out of the most consequential policy enacted by Congress to improve the way we produce and use transportation fuel.

Based on the thoughtful and appropriate steps EPA has taken to date to ensure the RFS is successful, we know the Administration would not want to retreat by creating the kind of dangerous precedent that harms consumers by caving in to oil industry demands.”

ACE, biofuels, RFS

Patriot Adds ICM Selective Milling Technology

Joanna Schroeder

Patriot Renewable Fuels TeamPatriot Renewable Fuels LLC of Annawan, Illinois has purchased ICM’s patent-pending Selective Milling Technology (SMT). According to ICM, the technology increases ethanol yield, reduces viscosity and increases oil recovery. In addition, with the Patriot Renewable Fuels contract announcement, ICM and its partners have used this technology to increase ethanol yield to surpass more than one billion gallons of annual ethanol production.

“It gives us great pleasure to announce the purchase of our Selective Milling Technology by Patriot Renewable Fuels,” said ICM President Chris Mitchell. “Today we celebrate two milestones – the first which illustrates ICM’s ability to provide our customers with this technology towards increasing the yield of more than one billion gallons of annual ethanol production. The second milestone we celebrate is Patriot’s five year anniversary as an ethanol producer, and as a solid contributor to the economic growth of Annawan and the surrounding region. We’re thrilled to continue delivering this successful yield enhancement solution that can improve our customers’ bottom line and strengthen their communities.”

Patriot Renewable Fuels general manager Rick Vondra added, “Today, we are a 120 MGY producer that draws upon the strength of ICM’s revolutionary platform technology and the ability of SMT to increase our ethanol yields, increase oil recovery yields, and ultimately increase our revenues. With our 200 local/Midwestern investors, we’ll harness that strength and continue to make an impact on agriculture and economic development.”

biofuels, Company Announcement, Ethanol

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFAbengoa an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has declared the price of its capital increase of class B shares totaling €450 million, initially announced on October 7, 2013. The company has also granted an option to the underwriters of the Offering (greenshoe) to purchase up to €67.5 million in additional shares over the next 30 days, meaning that the final amount of the capital increase could reach €517.5 million.
  • Canadian Solar has announced that its subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions, has begun construction of the 100 MWac Grand Renewable Solar Project utility-scale solar farm. The Grand Renewable Solar Project is Canada’s largest photovoltaic project, and is being financed by Connor Clark & Lunn Infrastructure and developed by Samsung Renewable Energy. The solar power plant is expected to be fully operational in 2015. The 100 MWac utility-scale solar power plant, which is located in the Haldimand County, will include approximately 440,000 Canadian Solar CS6X high performance modules.
  • The Broward County Commission (Broward County, Florida) unanimously voted to move forward with an innovative “open market” approach to financing for residential and commercial energy retrofits for its more than 1.8 million county residents. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program adopted by the County lets property owners voluntarily and cost-effectively fund energy-saving retrofits of their homes and businesses. Financing is available for solar panels, LED lighting, HVAC and wind-resistance improvements. Interest rates are competitive because repayment is collected as an assessment on the owners’ property tax bill.
  • The producers of the In View series, an educational series distributed on numerous cable TV outlets, including on the Discovery Channel, have announced plans to highlight some of the improvements and innovations that have made renewable energy more practical and cost-effective and are looking for inspirational stories.
Bioenergy Bytes

EU Ends Probe Over Biodiesel Imports

John Davis

areu-flagThe European Union’s anti-subsidy probe over some foreign biodiesel is ending. Reuters reports the original complaint from the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) about unfair subsidizing of biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia is being dropped.

“In accordance with article 14 (1) of the basic regulation the proceeding may be terminated where the complaint is withdrawn, unless such termination may not be in the Union’s interest,” the document said.

This is a separate procedure from a proposal from the European Commission to extend anti-dumping duties against imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, accused of selling the product into the bloc at unfairly low prices.

Argentina is the world’s biggest supplier of the fuel.

The EU had been the biggest buyer of Argentine biodiesel until last year, when sales began to tumble over dumping accusations, which have been denied by Argentina.

Argentina’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying it felt “unease” about the continued inquiry into possible dumping.

It said there are no grounds for the inquiry and that a threatened increase in duties imposed by the EU would “exclude Argentina from the European market.”

Argentine biodiesel industry officials say the anti-dumping taxes set for November will still keep the South American country’s green fuel out of Europe.

Biodiesel, International

DF Cast: A More Reliable Solar Investment Way

John Davis

Investing in renewable energy, particularly solar, hasn’t always been an easy proposition. The biggest stumbling block is the way you have to invest in a company and all the baggage that comes with that company. But Oakland, Calif.-based Mosaic, America’s first online marketplace to offer solar investments to the public, believes there’s a better way, allowing investors to invest in projects instead of the whole company.

In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk with Katie Ullman with Mosaic, who explains their platform is changing the way solar, and other renewable, investments are considered. She explains how their team works to find the right investments, weeding out the vast majority of the ones considered to minimize the risks for investors and maximizing the chances for success.

Listen to more of the conversation in this Domestic Fuel Cast: Domestic Fuel Cast - Katie Ullman, Mosaic

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, Domestic Fuel Cast, Solar

Biodiesel Making Significant Contributions to RFS

John Davis

globaldataA new report shows that biodiesel is leading the advanced biofuels pack when it comes to contributions to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). GlobalData says U.S. biodiesel production is on target to produce more than the 1.28 billion gallons set under the RFS for this year, making it the first Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated advanced biofuel, and outpacing other advanced biofuels.

Jeffrey C. Kerr, GlobalData’s Managing Analyst for Downstream Oil & Gas, says: “The RFS aims to reduce oil imports and cut back auto emissions with cleaner-burning fuels such as cellulosic ethanol, biomass-based diesel, and sugar-cane-based ethanol. However, cellulosic ethanol has yet to achieve a production level significant enough to seriously contribute to an RFS-mandated 16.55 billion gallons of renewable fuel. That’s where biodiesel makes a significant contribution.”

This year, the EPA set a cellulosic requirement of just 6 million gallons, a mere fraction of the 1 billion gallons originally agreed for 2013. However, it is forecast that cellulosic producers will not even meet the smaller volume requirement, since few commercial scale production plants have been built.

Still, some cities in the US have been making strides to institutionalize the use of biodiesel. In September, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg signed a law that requires all city diesel vehicles to use a fuel blend of 5% biodiesel (B5) by 2014, and of 20% (B20) by 2016 during the warm weather months. The law also calls for the city to conduct a pilot program that studies the feasibility of using B20 throughout the whole year.

If New York adopted B20, that would add 2 million gallons of biodiesel use per year.

The report adds biodiesel’s growth has been helped by the $1-per-gallon production tax credit.

Biodiesel

Colorado Solar Opportunities Continue to Grow

Joanna Schroeder

Three new community-owned solar PV facilities have gone online in Colorado this week. There are now 10 shared utility-scale arrays operating in the state. In addition, Clean Energy Collective (CEC) has an additional 10 facilities, representing nearly 5 MW, are in development.

CEC_Lowry5-hiThe resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado is now host to two 500 kW community-owned solar facilities that will serve Xcel Energy customers in Summit County. Both systems were sold out before construction was complete. A 400 kW community-owned system perched on a former Air Force hangar is also now delivering clean power to Denver County ratepayers. Combined with the 106 kW original array on the historic Hangar 2 building, this creates the nation’s largest building integrated PV (BIPV) installation at over 500 kW.

Introduced in 2010, CEC’s community-owned solar model (COS) was designed to provide every ratepayer in a utility territory the opportunity to purchase individual solar panels in a shared, locally-sited, utility-scale array. This innovation opens up solar PV ownership to renters, people in multi-dwelling buildings, properties with poor solar exposure, and individuals of all income levels. Because they are sited and maintained for maximum production, utility-scale facilities provide more energy for longer than smaller, individual systems, allowing for a faster and greater financial return.

“Our model is not supplanting people who want to and can put solar on their house, but rather opening the market to the other 75% of electric users who have until now faced insurmountable barriers,” said CEC founder Paul Spencer.

While community solar makes PV energy available to everyone on the grid, CEC said real traction for rapid deployment has come from its broad appeal for utilities. Large IOU’s, municipal utilities, and rural cooperatives can add solar to their mix with a turn-key solution. It provides in-network, reliable, utility-scale clean energy generation at reasonable power rates that applies nicely to RPS requirements without capital outlay or responsibility for monitoring, customer administration, operations and maintenance.

CEC has partnered with six utilities so far in Colorado, including 11 facilities rewarded through Xcel Energy’s Solar Rewards Communities program. Once complete, access to solar ownership will be available to more than 95% of Colorado ratepayers. CEC has also installed the state’s first community-owned solar gardens for New Mexico, Minnesota, and Vermont, and has topped $40 million in facility developments.

Alternative energy, Electricity, Solar

WEC Issues 10-Point Action Plan for Sustainable Future

Joanna Schroeder

The World Energy Council (WEC) has issued a 10-point action plan for how governments, industry, and key decision-makers should refocus their efforts and resources to achieve real progress in resolving the energy trilemma. The World Energy Congress is taking place 2013TrilemmaCoverThumbnail-209x300in Daegu, Korea this week. The report, “World Energy Trilemma: Time to get real – the agenda for change,” provides a detailed guide to creating a global policy framework that addresses the energy trilemma: energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability.

The WEC said the report is the culmination of the findings of a two-year World Energy Council study, “World Energy Trilemma,” conducted with Oliver Wyman, the management consulting firm. Recommendations from the past two years of study were the result of interviews with over 100 energy leaders in 41 countries, including chief executives, ministers, and heads of development banks.

“Governments face a daunting challenge to deliver secure, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy services,” said Joan MacNaughton, executive chair of the WEC’s World Energy Trilemma studies. “How well they meet it has a fundamental bearing on the social and economic prospects of their countries. Over the last two years our World Energy Trilemma study has identified what governments and energy leaders believe is needed to balance the energy trilemma.”

WEC Balancing Energy TrilemmaMacNaughton noted that while leaders say they are ready to act now, they acknowledge the need for more guidance and support. “Our analysis provides the basis for countries to assess their political and institutional risk, and our new ‘Agenda for Change’ report describes how they can mitigate such risk and unlock the investment to deliver the required energy infrastructure. This subject will be the core of discussions between government and business leaders at the World Energy Congress,” added MacNaughton.

The WEC’s 10-point Agenda for Change action plan includes:
Action 1: Connect the energy trilemma to the broader national agenda.
Action 2: Provide leadership to build consensus – nationally and globally.
Action 3: Improve policymaker dialogue.
Action 4: Increase engagement with the financial community.
Action 5: Minimise policy and regulatory risk and ensure optimal risk allocation.
Action 6: Adopt market-based approaches to carbon pricing to drive investments.
Action 7: Design transparent, flexible and dynamic pricing frameworks.
Action 8: Drive (green) trade liberalisation.
Action 9: Meet the need for more research, development & demonstration (RD&D).
Action 10: Encourage joint pre-commercial industry initiatives, including early large-scale demonstration and deployment.

According to the report, addressing strong demand growth, widening access to the 1.2 billion people currently not served by energy grids, and balancing the upgrade of aging infrastructure with environmentally progressive systems requires investment and coordination on an unprecedented scale. However, the impact of shale gas discoveries in more than 40 countries, cost breakthroughs in certain renewable technologies, and increasing the efficiency of transport, construction and household energy use could enable communities to live and work within a widely more sustainable energy landscape.

Alternative energy, conferences, International

NY-Sun Initiative Features New Solar Project

Joanna Schroeder

The largest solar project to date has gone online under the New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s NY-Sun initiative. Owens Corning, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Constellation have completed a 2.7 megawatt solar project at Owens Corning’s thermal and acoustical insulation plant.

The solar installation was designed to supply approximately 6 percent of the plant’s annual electricity needs. Constellation financed, built, owns and maintains the solar power system. Electricity generated by the system is purchased by Owens Corning under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation.

Owens Corning solar projectFrank O’Brien-Bernini, vice president and chief sustainability officer for Owens Corning, said, “Owens Corning is committed to helping solve the world’s most pressing energy and climate challenges, and we are constantly seeking solutions that will materially contribute. This solar project represents our continuing efforts to implement programs that advance our 2020 Environmental Footprint Goals, and we are proud to be part of a project that helps protect New York State’s environment.”

The solar power system is comprised of approximately 9,000 ground-mounted, photovoltaic panels located on more than nine acres. The system is expected to generate approximately 3.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year (based on first year production).

“Nearly two years after Governor Cuomo first announced the NY-Sun initiative, the Owens Corning large-scale solar project is a great example of how public-private partnerships are changing the landscape of New York’s clean-energy economy,” said John B. Rhodes, president and CEO for NYSERDA. “We applaud Owens Corning and Constellation on this NY-Sun milestone achievement. This project is a testament not only to the state’s investment in expanding its renewable energy portfolio, but also to its commitment in providing cleaner, more affordable energy for New Yorkers.”

New York State Senator Neil D. Breslin added, “Clean, renewable energy is good for the environment and good for New York businesses. I congratulate Owens Corning, NYSERDA and Constellation on the completion of this project. Through the NY-Sun initiative we will continue to create clean energy jobs and a more sustainable future for our state.”

Alternative energy, Electricity, Solar