Biodiesel Feedstock Plantation Certified Sustainable

John Davis

cargillpalmOne of Cargill’s palm oil plantations in Indonesia used for providing a feedstock for biodiesel is certified as a sustainable operation. The company announced the PT Harapan Sawit Lestari (HSL) plantation was awarded the certification under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards in the European Union (EU).

ISCC is a certification scheme that promotes responsible farming by allowing sustainable products to be differentiated from non-sustainable ones, including greenhouse gas emissions at different stages of the value chain. It is approved by the EU to cover the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which means that Cargill is able to provide palm oil intended for energy applications to customers who are working towards compliance with the RED.

“We have always believed that responsible and sustainable production of palm oil is the way forward for this industry and we have been working hard to make our operations in Indonesia increasingly sustainable. The ISCC-EU certification covers the entire supply chain at all of HSL’s locations which produce about 130,000 metric tons of sustainable palm oil annually,” said John Hartmann, Chief Operating Officer, Cargill Tropical Palm Holdings Pte Ltd. “This represents a major milestone in our sustainable palm oil strategy and we are proud to continue our efforts to promote the palm oil sustainability agenda across the relevant sectors related to the palm oil industry.”

Cargill goes on to say the certification is part of a larger corporate responsibility initiative that looks to help local farmers adopt sustainable agricultural practices, improve land use, increase the quality and quantity of their crops, and promote safe and efficient working practices.

Another one of Cargill’s palm oil plantations in Indonesia, PT Hindoli in South Sumatra, had one of its first smallholders’ cooperatives, KUD Mukti Jaya, receive ISCC-EU certification last summer.

Biodiesel, International

Renewable Fuels Fall Preview

Joanna Schroeder

Congress is preparing to return to work and renewable fuels will be top of mind at their return with debate still ongoing around the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as well as the need to pass a bi-partisan FAARM bill before the end of September.

Fuels America recently brought together several renewable fuel experts held a call to discuss the progress the renewable fuel industry has made over the summer. In addition, the experts took a look ahead to issues that will both help and hurt the industry.

Panelists included Delayne Johnson, Quad County Corn Processors, Bob Dinneen, CEO and President of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, and Paul Bertels, Vice President of Production and Utilization, National Corn Growers Association.

Fields of Corn Photo- Joanna SchroederDinneen noted that as he traveled this summer around the Midwest how he saw fields of corn. This, he said, is undermining Big Oil’s “food versus fuel” argument that he called a “canard”. He pointed out that both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and United Nations (UN) have both come out in the past few weeks with reports that food inflation is really low.

Tom Buis noted that part of what the RFS debate is about is the movement to second generation biofuels (ethanol plants are beginning to co-locate second gen technologies with first gen technologies). Everyone knew, said Buis, that when the RFS was passed, the country would have to move to higher blends to achieve the 36 billion gallon goal. He said that if Big Oil can keep the so-called blend wall from being cracked they can go to Congress and say the RFS isn’t working. However, Buis noted that as consumption of biofuels increases, investments and technology developments in second generation biofuels will increase – a move that will continue to erode Big Oil’s market share.

To learn more about the continued biofuels debate in DC, listen to the full press conference here: Renewable Fuels Fall Preview

advanced biofuels, Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, food and fuel, Growth Energy, NCGA, RFA, RFS

Vilsack Speaks to Growth Energy Members

John Davis

There’s an old Chinese proverb that’s also considered a curse: “May you live in interesting times.” This morning, members of the Growth Energy Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. heard that from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, as he explained how it’s “interesting” that Congress seems to have its priorities turned around, with lawmakers working to change Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) while doing nothing to pass a farm bill.

vilsack1“We believe (the RFS) is working,” said Vilsack, pointing to the EPA already making adjustments to reflect market conditions. “That’s the way it’s supposed to work. There’s no need for Congress to intervene in this.”

Vilsack says, in his opinion, the oil companies are behind the efforts to derail the RFS, mostly because they need the octane they get from ethanol but want to pay pennies on the dollar to get it. “What they (Big Oil) would really like to happen is for this industry (ethanol) not to succeed, so all those production facilities could be made available for 10 cents on the dollar. That’s what Big Oil’s interest is.”

Vilsack made the tie between the showdown with Syria, the RFS and the farm bill, as he looked at Gen. Wesley Clark, former NATO commander and Growth Energy co-chairman. “When and if Congress makes a decision to authorize military action, when and if the President implements that decision, who is going to implement it? It’s going to be a kid from rural America,” pointing out that rural Americans make up only 16 percent of America’s population but 40 percent of our military.

Vilsack urged Growth Energy members to send a strong message to Congress this week. “When you go and talk to your members of Congress to support the RFS, an additional message is, ‘We’ve been waiting a long time for the farm bill; don’t be sending our young men and women into harm’s way and not give them a decent opportunity back home. Get your work done.'”

Listen to Sec. Vilsack’s full address to Growth Energy here: Ag Sec. Tom Vilsack Address to Growth Energy

Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy

Senate Leaders Support RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

nfu-reidSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) attended a press conference for the National Farmers Union in Washington on Monday to stress support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“We’ve learned a lot about biofuels, we’ve done so much better in producing biofuels for things other than crops that we eat and that’s important,” said Senator Reid. “I’m happy about how important our biofuels industry is.”

Talking about his friend Neil Young, who was also at the press conference, Reid said noted that they both share a belief in renewable energy and agriculture – Portion of Sen. Reid comments

nfu-stabenow-awardSenator Stabenow, pictured here with NFU president Roger Johnson, spoke on behalf of both passage of a new farm bill with an energy title and keeping the RFS in place.

“I am a huge proponent of the Renewable Fuel Standard, we need to continue to invest in research and development and energy efficiency,” Stabenow said. “It’s about getting us on to homegrown energy and off of foreign oil and it’s about jobs.”

Listen to or download Stabenow’s remarks here: Sen. Stabenow remarks

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFS

Students Raise the Green Flag for Algae

Joanna Schroeder

5217a9d137b67.preview-300Students and professors at Utah State University are raising the green flag for algae with a record breaking small engine dragster. Earlier this month at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Aggie A-Salt Streamliner clocked in at 73.977 miles per hour – beating the current record in their division of 72.102. The team hopes to set additional records with their algal-biofueled dragster during the World of Speed taking place in Utah’s west desert this week.

“The big benefit, once the price is brought down to where it’s competitive with regular diesel fuel, is that it would be a totally renewable fuel,” said USU Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Lance Seefeldt in an article in the Cache Valley Daily. “It would come from CO2 and sunlight. Then when you burn it, it turns back into CO2 again.”

The team of students is racing with algae biodiesel fuel that they are researching, producing and testing themselves. Graduate student Rhesa Ledbetter said that a benefit of using algae is that other resources are not being burned up.

“Producing fuel from things like corn and soybeans, things that we actually use as food products, that’s a major concern. We are taking something that’s food and using it as another resource. It can also start driving up costs,” said Ledbetter. “So if we can use something like algae that’s naturally present, I think people are much more open-minded.”

5217a979e8f83.preview-300A year ago, the dragster set a land speed record while running on yeast biodiesel fuel. Seefeldt says the big difference is that yeast biodiesel fuel comes from cheese waste while algae captures carbon dioxide out of the air and uses energy from sunlight to turn it into usable fuel.

The multi-department project began six years ago and has been featured in such places as the National Biodiesel Board’s annual conference where attendees were fascinated to learn about both the research and the racing.

“This is super exciting because many of the other schools working on this don’t have what we have in our hands,” said Research Assistant Mike Morgan who is also the driver of the dragster. “It’s the opportunity to raise the flag for everybody else and show that it’s doable.”

advanced biofuels, algae, Education, Racing, Research

E15 Additions At the Right Price

Joanna Schroeder

According to some new information from the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI), the cost of upgrading an existing retail gas station to sell E15 is much less than recently suggested by ethanol opponents. For the past year, several stations throughout the Midwest have been offering E15 and seen increases in both overall fuel sales and in-store sales.

Yet some retailers who want to offer E15 have been off put by concerns around price being fostered by biofuel opponents. Those detractors have claimed that adding E15 will cost retailers $200,000 to $300,000. However, the ethanol industry has repeatedly stated that such estimates represent an absolute worst-case scenario that would be far from the norm. In fact, the stations that offer E15 today have spent an average of just $10,000 per station to add the product—or slightly less than $0.01 per gallon of gasoline sold for the average retail gas station according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

ICM ethanol retail stationPEI has now further underscored the ethanol industry’s point that E15 station conversions can be done affordably. By request from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), PEI examined the potential cost of installing E15 at retail gas stations under 10 different scenarios. For example, stations that are just required to have compatible equipment can offer E15 with minimal investment. Those that can use existing dispensers—such as the Kansas station that was first in the country to sell E15 last summer—can offer E15 for under $1,200 on average per station. In this case, the investment in converting the station to sell E15 can be recouped in just one month (due to the potential for increased profitability from the sale of E15).

Those that require a listing by a testing laboratory also have inexpensive options. Stations can choose to retrofit their dispensers to offer E15 for under $4,200 per dispenser on average or replace dispensers to offer E15 for under $20,500 per dispenser on average. Even new stations being built could add E15 for under $10,000 per dispenser on average.

How do retailers pay for these upgrades? The good news is the return on investment (ROI) is quick given today’s markets. Given ethanol’s discount to gasoline and the current value of RINs, retailers offering mid-level ethanol blends like E15 can quickly recoup their investments in infrastructure.

Retailers should also keep in mind that the PEI cost estimates do not include any available incentives that help defray installation costs. Federal, state and local incentives and grant programs are available in most areas, and would further help reduce the cost of equipment and installation. One example, the USDA’s REAP Program, has funded hundreds of blender pumps that can offer a range of ethanol blends like E15. Click here to learn more about adding E15 to your current station offerings.

biofuels, E15, Ethanol, Renewable Energy, RFA

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFFuelCell Energy has announced a co-marketing agreement with NRG Energy for the marketing and sales of FuelCell Energy power plants. NRG will market the power plants to its customer base, offering a financing option utilizing a power purchase agreement whereby NRG will purchase and own the power plant and sell the electricity and high heat to the end-user or the customer can purchase the power plant. The agreement also includes the option of NRG Energy purchasing and owning fuel cell power plants for its own portfolio and selling the power to the electric grid.
  • Clariant, a global specialty chemicals company, has received the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) for its sunliquid demonstration plant in Straubing, Germany, which opened in July 2012. The certificate confirms that the cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residues produced with the sunliquid technology is compliant with the sustainability criteria set out in the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
  • Trimble has announced that Eco2 Ltd. will be implementing its forestry bioenergy solution from Cengea, a Trimble Company and part of its Forestry Division. The Cengea solution will be used to manage Eco2’s supply chain operations for its state-of-the-art, straw-fired Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant in Lincolnshire in England.
  • ReneSola Ltd. has announced its ReneSola Jiangsu Product Center Laboratory has successfully completed an audit performed by TUV SUD, one of the world’s leading providers of testing and certification services. The audit certifies that the Company’s laboratory is qualified for potential induced degradation (PID) testing on photovoltaic modules according to International Electrotechnical Commission standards.
Bioenergy Bytes

US Navy Battery Testing Facility Goes Solar

Joanna Schroeder

The Battery Innovation Center in Newberry, Indiana, adjacent to the US Navy’s largest battery testing and research base, is the home of an isola solar power carport developed by renewz sustainable solutions. The solar charging carport system is the first energy lab in the country to feature Silfab solar panel technology.

gI_80421_Ltgovindiana“The completion and deployment took just a matter of days for this first solar power canopy on our new facility grounds,” said Charles LaSota, President of the Battery Innovation Center. “renewz’ rapid-assembly design, combined with an innovative solar technology and power management package, proved to be fastest and least disruptive to our operations of any others we found on the market, something we believe will be of great importance to future opportunities for our armed force bases in their pursuit of energy independence around the world. The need for robust solar-recharged energy storage operating systems becomes more apparent as the number of electric vehicles in our defense arenas increases.”

“Built right at the front steps of the US Navy’s largest battery development facility,” said Sass M. Peress, CEO of renewz, “this modular two-car solar canopy took just two days to assemble without need for any foundation trenching thanks to its ballasted design. Having now built several solar carports in 2013 of this type, our technology and team have clearly demonstrated how armed forces, educational institutions, governments, power utility and corporate entities around the world can quickly and easily deploy renewable, clean energy supplies for their electrical vehicle charging infrastructure, while powering their electric fleets towards true ‘zero-emission’ targets.”

Paolo Maccario,General Manager and COO of Silfab added that his company understands the importance of batter energy storage for the continued expansion of alternative energy. He also noted that the mission critical operations of the country’s armed forces require robust, reliable and innovative solutions.

“This aligns with the business philosophy Silfab prides itself of. High density and “smart” solar PV modules are just some examples of such innovation. I wish to congratulate all the partners in this project for sharing the same relentless pursuit of perfection and technological advancement,” concluded Maccario.

Alternative energy, Alternative Vehicles, Energy Storage, Solar

Argentinean Biofuels Production

Cindy Zimmerman

ifaj13-biodieselArgentina ranks third behind the United States and Brazil in soybean production, but first in the export of soy products, including biodiesel.

The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) held its annual Congress in Argentina last week and those who attended learned quite a bit about farming and biofuel production in this South American nation.

Soybeans are the number one crop in Argentina with 50 million tons produced annually and production of biodiesel was 2.8 billion liters last year with exports totaling 1.77 billion. Argentina has been able to become very competitive in the export market for biodiesel and other soybean products since the country’s soybean growing regions and crushers are located close to port facilities, they have a highly developed crushing industry and a relatively small domestic market.

ifaj13-ag-secyArgentine ethanol production is much smaller, but on the rise. “I would say that Argentina is moving forward with corn-based bioethanol, but we are betting on sugarcane bioethanol,” Argentina’s Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture Lorenzo Basso said in an address to the IFAJ Congress.

Ethanol production is forecast to grow to 400 million liters this year and 600 million in 2014 with five new refineries using corn instead of sugarcane coming on line. All of the country’s ethanol production is for domestic use with a 5% mandate for fuel. Argentina is not big in either corn or sugarcane production, so Basso says they are looking ahead to using biomass for bioethanol production. “Biomass is in everybody’s agenda,” he said. “Argentina has a great potential to use biomass from forestry, as well as residues and wastes.”

Listen to some of the Secretary’s comments via an interpreter: Argentine Agriculture Secretary Lorenzo Bosso
2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol, International

Coffee Cup Could Become the Next Biodiesel Tank

John Davis

yangliu1That hot cup of Joe in the morning could become more than just a jolt to get your body going; it could be the next tankful of biodiesel to get your vehicle going. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are figuring out how to turn old coffee grounds into biodiesel, and Yang Liu, from the school’s College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), will present his findings at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) 246th National Meeting & Exposition this week in Indianapolis.

Liu and fellow researchers Qingshi Tu, a UC doctoral student in environmental engineering, and Mingming Lu, a UC associate professor of environmental engineering, used a three-pronged approach to converting waste coffee grounds into energy sources including biodiesel and activated carbon by:

Extracting oil from the waste.
Drying the waste coffee grounds after oil removal to filter impurities in biodiesel production.
Burning what was left as an alternative energy source for electricity, similar to using biomass.

The researchers launched the project in 2010, gathering waste coffee grounds in a five-gallon bucket from a Starbucks store on UC’s campus. After collection, they removed the oil from the waste coffee grounds and converted triglycerides (oil) into biodiesel and the byproduct, glycerin. The coffee grounds were then dried and used to purify the biodiesel they derived from the waste coffee grounds.

The researchers found that the oil content in the waste coffee grounds was between about 8 and 20 percent, while making a biodiesel that meets the ASTM International D6751 standard.

Biodiesel, Research