Navy Increases Support for Energy Excelerator

Joanna Schroeder

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has announced it will increase its support for Energy Excelerator, a Hawaii-based program that funds development of new and innovative energy ideas. The program, part of ONR’s Asia-Pacific Technology and Education Program (APTEP), is an effort to discover groundbreaking energy technologies, and supports startup companies in bringing those technologies to the market.

ONR is investing an additional $30 million into the project that today, has 17 companies in its portfolio. Companies participating in the program have raised $38 million in additional funding over the past three years.

Energy Excelerator“In the modern era, technological breakthroughs offer unprecedented opportunities to move toward diversified energy sources,” said Dr. Richard Carlin, director of ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons Department. “It’s vital for our Sailors and Marines, and the nation, to discover and develop new sustainable sources of energy-as well as dramatically improve the way we manage energy.”

Hawaii is uniquely positioned for such research, experts say, with unparalleled wind, solar, bioenergy, wave and geothermal resources. Its population is also keenly aware of the need for alternatives to fossil fuels because the state is dependent on imported oil for its power and energy use, and residents face the highest electricity costs in the nation.Read More

Alternative energy, military, Renewable Energy

Airborne Wind Energy Systems See Advancements

Joanna Schroeder

According to Airborne Wind Energy Labs, a major problem stalling the advance of renewable energy is that electrical energy cannot be stored economically. However, the company says that an airborne wind conversion system, directly charging thermal energy storage, could become the first economical energy storage technology not dependent on specific and rare location features.

gI_58601_Device_2_smallerThe proposed system converts wind energy directly into heat, which is stored in a low cost thermal storage, then used to drive a steam turbine and produce electricity in the time of elevated demand or reduced supply. The system does not require rare or expensive materials, components or construction techniques.

Existing renewable energy approaches also do not address the need in vehicle fuels says Airborne Wind Energy Systems. This need is not satisfied by battery powered electric vehicles because of high cost and low durability of the batteries. Synthetic fuels can be manufactured from natural gas using airborne wind energy, at lower cost than by traditional methods and without excessive gas use.

These technologies are currently being discussed, along with others at the Airborne Wind Energy Conference currently taking place in Berlin. This year attendees from more than 24 countries are participating in the conference.

Electricity, Energy Storage, Wind

Kenny Wallace to Drive in 900th NASCAR Race

Joanna Schroeder

Kenny WallaceNASCAR driver Kenny Wallace will be making his 900th NASCAR start at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, September 13, 2014  in the Dollar General 300. Joining the “900 Club”, Wallace will be among an elite group of drivers that includes Richard Petty, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jarrett.

Wallace will be behind the wheel of the RAB Racing No. 29 ToyotaCare, American Ethanol Toyota Camry, in a special paint scheme to commemorate the NASCAR milestone. Wallace currently sits at 898 NASCAR starts, but will also compete in the Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in the No. 81 SS Green Light American Ethanol Toyota Tundra on Friday night, thanks to Illinois farmers and the Illinois Corn Marketing Board.

To put into perspective the achievement of 900 NASCAR starts over his 24-year career, Wallace has traveled more than 276,000 miles across the Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series, garnering nine wins, 75 top five finishes, 204 top 10 finishes, and an astonishing 198,164 completed laps. Wallace has also been named the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver three times in his career.Read More

American Ethanol, Ethanol, NASCAR, NCGA

ACE Praises PEI E15 Findings

Joanna Schroeder

The ethanol industry is appreciative of the new report issued by the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) conducted at the request of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finding that the cost for an retailer to install the equipment to sell E15 is significantly less than ethanol detractors have claimed.

ACElogoRon Lamberty, Senior Vice President for the American Coalition for Ethanol, (ACE) who is also the owner of gas stations in South Dakota, explained that the report covers a number of potential scenarios that fuel stations would face if they wanted to sell higher blends of ethanol. He says the PEI findings are based on real-world fuel retailer situations, and are yet another example of how reality is very different from the wildly inaccurate rhetoric Big Oil has been using in the debate over E15.

“We appreciate that PEI and USDA have published neutral facts proving that retrofitting and preparing stations for E15 can cost as little as a thousand dollars – nowhere near the hundreds of thousands of dollars Big Oil and the American Petroleum Institute (API) have been telling reporters and elected officials,” said Lamberty.

“The only time the cost of adding E15 comes anywhere near the cost Big Oil has been using as part of their anti-E15 PR campaign is when a marketer builds a brand new station with brand new tanks and lines and 6 to 10 dispensers. And that estimate is actually for a new E85 compatible station with state-of-the-art blender pumps. Most existing two to four pump stations can be converted to handle E15 for less than $15,000 total cost – far below the dramatic price tag of hundreds of thousands of dollars that oil interests like to claim,” said Lamberty.

He said that retailers are looking for the fuels that drive consumer interest and make money and this report will help station owners know the true economics of offering higher blends.

“Along with the cost advantage of higher ethanol blends, retailers can see that E15 could attract more customers and give them a competitive advantage. We thank PEI and USDA Rural Development Energy Policy Advisor Todd Campbell for their efforts. This work will likely lead to more consumers saving money by buying ethanol blends like E15 when filling up at the pump,” concluded Lamberty.

ACE, biofuels, E15, Ethanol

BioEnergy Bytes

Joanna Schroeder

  • BioEnergyBytesDFDirect Energy and SolarCity have undertaken a broad agreement to provide solar electricity directly to businesses. The two companies have created a dedicated investment fund capable of financing up to $124 million in solar projects for Direct Energy’s commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, which is partially funded with up to $50 million from Direct Energy. Through the arrangement, eligible Direct Energy C&I customers will be able to utilize solar power with little or no upfront cost. Customers will be given a choice to pre-pay for their solar electricity or pay a monthly payment, with installation, insurance, repairs and monitoring service included.
  • Solectria Renewables, LLC, has announced that its SGI 500XT’s, 500kW external transformer inverters, have been chosen by Argand Energy Solutions, LLC to power the 2.3MW Franklin County Solar Farm in Louisburg, North Carolina. Argand Energy Solutions began construction on the 12-acre site in June and will be completed by October generating enough electricity to power 352 homes annually. The power produced from this site will be sold to Duke Energy under a 15-year agreement.
  • AMSC, a global solutions provider serving wind and power grid industry leaders, has announced that Consolidated Power Projects (CONCO), South Africa’s largest high voltage construction company, has selected AMSC’s D-VAR STATCOM solution to connect South Africa’s largest wind farm to the electricity grid. This is AMSC’s first D-VAR STATCOM sale to South Africa. The system will be commissioned in the first half of 2014.
  • Researchmoz has released a new report, “Global Waste to Energy Technologies Market 2012-2016“. The report primarily focuses on quantitative market metrics in order to characterize the growth and evolution of the Waste to Energy Technologies Market. The report was prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts, and covers the Americas, and the EMEA and APAC regions.
Bioenergy Bytes

Illinois Ethanol Workers Write to Protect RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

gtlThe employees of Illinois River Energy and GTL Resources Biorefining sent a letter to their Congressional delegation this week urging support of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“We are the 60 hard working employees of an independently owned and operated corn bio-refinery in Rochelle, Illinois,” they wrote, asking to correct misinformation about the RFS that was presented during a House Energy hearing in July. “The RFS is not a mistake and is in no way ‘unworkable.'”

illinois-riverThe letter points out that “there is no ‘blend wall’ problem,” that E15 is safe for 2001 and newer vehicles, there is no food versus fuel problem, and that “EPA already has adequate regulatory flexibility” to adjust volumes of biofuel production requirements under the RFS.

“In fact, not only is the RFS workable and in no need of legislative changes, it actually should be recognized for having accomplished precisely what it was intended to do,” they add, asking their representatives to “do the right thing” and support the law as written.

Read the letter here.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFA, RFS

Army Awards Wind Technologies Under MATOC

Joanna Schroeder

130919-A-QY194-001The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, working with the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF), has awarded its third round of funding as part of the Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) to a 17 wind technology contractors.

The contractors qualified through this process will be able to compete for future wind renewable energy task orders issued under the MATOC by the Army or Department of Defense (DoD). The MATOC leverages the DoD authority to contract up to 30 years under Title 10 USC 2922a.

This MATOC will be used to procure reliable, locally generated, renewable and alternative energy for DoD installations through power purchase agreements (PPA). The $7 billion contract capacity will be expended for PPAs to procure energy during a period of up to 30 years from renewable energy generation systems that are designed, financed, constructed, operated and maintained by contractors using private sector financing.

“Today we awarded the wind technology as part of the $7 billion renewable energy MATOC. We have one remaining technology left to award which is biomass,” said Col. Robert Ruch, commander, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville. “Awarding these contracts in the four distinct technologies, geothermal, solar, wind, and biomass, will allow us to more quickly award task orders for individual future projects as they are identified. We look forward to working with the EITF and other potential DoD organizations to help implement renewable energy projects.”

Click here for a list of the wind companies award MATOC funds.

Alternative energy, Electricity, military, Wind

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