Bruce Babcock, PhD, has been added to the roster of presenters for the upcoming RIN Academy set for August 26 in Des Moines, Iowa. Dr. Babcock is the Cargill Endowed Chair of Energy Economics and a professor of economics at Iowa State University and the Director of the Biobased Industry Center. Dr. Babcock will present his views on the effect of RIN pricing on consumer acceptance of higher ethanol blends. He will also discuss his researched findings on sugar markets and the competitive advantage, if any, of sugar ethanol over biodiesel in meeting the Advanced Biofuel volume requirements of RFS2.- Quad County Corn Processors will formally break ground on a new “bolt on” biorefinery that will turn corn kernel fibers into cellulosic ethanol. Quad County’s Adding Cellulosic Ethanol (ACE) project ground breaking will take place at 1:00 pm (CT) on Monday, July 29, 2013 at the plant and visitors are welcome. Confirmed speakers for the ceremony include Congressman Steve King; Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, DC; Monte Shaw, Executive Director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association; and Brian Jennings, Executive Vice-President of the American Coalition for Ethanol.
- Gas Technology Institute’s (GTI) third international conference on thermochemical biomass conversion science, tcbiomass2013, will bring together experts and visionaries in gasification, pretreatment, pyrolysis, and upgrading to explore the world of bioenergy, September 3-6, 2013 in downtown Chicago, IL. The theme of this year’s event is Making it Real. Speakers from numerous facets of the bioenergy arena will discuss how the use of biomass to produce renewable and sustainable fuels is becoming a reality as industry experts move advanced conversion processes into commercial projects.
- Power-One, Inc. announced that at its special meeting of stockholders they approved the adoption of the merger agreement, pursuant to which ABB will acquire Power-One for $6.35 per share of Power-One common stock. On April 21, 2013, ABB agreed to acquire Power-One in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1 billion. The transaction has already received the required antitrust approvals and Power-One and ABB expect to complete the transaction by the end of this week.
Vilsack Says Congress Only Works During Crisis
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Ames, Iowa this week and while there gave remarks during the Iowa Farm Bureau’s (#IFBF13) 2013 Economic Summit. The standing room only crowd wanted to hear what Vilsack would say regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the Farm Bill.
Vilsack was not complementary of the current Congress saying that they only work when there is a crisis. He used the fiscal cliff as an example. Currently, Congress is reviewing the RFS and the Senate and House have not come to terms on a Farm Bill, or “food, fuel and jobs bill. He said that the RFS was working, and needs to stay in place.
Vilsack said that Congress needs to do the work now on the Farm Bill and the agricultural industry must not succumb to an extension of the current bill because this rewards failure. He also noted that the ag industry deserves a Congress who understands the importance of agriculture.
The Farm Bill, said Vilsack, is not just a food bill. It is a jobs bill, an energy bill, a research bill and an innovation bill, its a conservation bill, its an entrepreneurial bill. Without all of the above, the U.S. will lose its place as the leader in agriculture. It’s all of these things.
Listen to UDSA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s remarks here: Vilsack: Congress Only Works During Crisis
DuPont Gets Win in Court
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. has issued a ruling affirming the May 2012 decision of Judge Barbara Crabb of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin that the Novozymes patent on an alpha-amylase enzyme used in the ethanol industry is invalid for lack of an adequate written description.
Ms. Soonhee Jang, vice president, IP Strategy and Chief IP Counsel, DuPont Industrial Biosciences said of the decision, “We are gratified the Court of Appeals affirmed the Wisconsin court’s ruling that the Novozymes patent is invalid. From the outset of this case, we have firmly believed Novozymes’ patent to be invalid. Today, the Court of Appeals recognized our rights in the marketplace as a true innovator providing customers with choices.”
Enerfuel SA’s Portugal Biodiesel Plant Opens
Good things can come to those who wait, and a Portuguese biodiesel maker really put that saying to the test. Enerfuel S.A. has opened it’s 7.5 million gallon a year multifeedstock biodiesel plant in Sines, Portugal. Biodiesel Magazine reports the project has been some years on the making, first starting planning and construction in 2006 by Austria-based BDI-BioEnergy International AG. The brakes were put on the project in 2008, and last year, Enerfuel told BDI to finish it and make the plant ready for production – a process that cost in total about $17 million.
“Following the positive conclusion of the performance test, we are delighted to hand the plant over to a satisfied customer, particularly in view of the fact that it is also the first multifeedstock biodiesel plant to come into operation in Portugal, albeit after some delay,” said Edgar Ahn, chief science officer and member of BDI’s management board. “The active involvement of the Portuguese mineral oil company GALP in this project is confirmation to us that well-known fuel manufacturers have confidence in the high quality of our unique biodiesel production technology.”
The refinery uses animal fats and used cooking oil its biodiesel feedstock.
Montana Clean Energy Fair Features Biodiesel, Solar
Montana might be known as Big Sky country, but this past weekend, it could certainly also take on the Clean Sky moniker. The Billings (MT) Gazette reports a couple of small projects featuring biodiesel and solar were part of Saturday’s Montana Clean Energy Fair at the National Center for Appropriate Technology.
[Matt] Elsaesser is the executive director of the S.A.V.E. Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group based in Helena. On Saturday, he gave a demonstration on how to make biodiesel fuel using vegetable oil, lye, methanol, and other ingredients.
Though Elsaesser, who is also a city commissioner in Helena, was making only a small batch of biodiesel fuel, it took him just a few minutes to combine the materials in a jug that he then shook and let sit in the sun. He explained that it would take 6-8 hours to settle, but then be ready to go.
John Harris and Nick Mariann, of Remote Power Systems in Stevensville, were promoting their Power Cube, a mobile set of solar panels that could be transported to a remote spot to provide power.
Mariann said the technology was first developed for the military. He said it could be dropped by plane to remote military sites like Afghanistan. The system could also be used for remote construction or emergency sites, as well as homes or cabins off the grid — though the Power Cube is also grid ready, Harris said.
The article goes on to say the cube sells for $17,500 and can be set up in about 10 minutes. Other companies also showed off their products at the fair.
RFS Subject of House Subcommittee Hearing
Two days of hearings featuring 16 witnesses representing a wide variety of stakeholders impacted by the Renewable Fuel Standard are being held this week by the Energy and Power subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Testimony will be presented by representatives of oil, automotive, ethanol, biodiesel, advanced biofuels, corn farmers, poultry, environmental and restaurant organizations, among others. “I give the House Energy Committee credit for creating a process that is designed to come to a clearer understanding of the impact of the RFS,” said Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen, who is on the first witness panel starting Tuesday morning. In written testimony submitted prior to the hearing, Dinneen stated, “By virtually any measure, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been an unmitigated success.”
Scheduled on the second panel is Tom Buis, president and CEO of Growth Energy. “We certainly look forward to that opportunity to be able to tell the facts,” said Buis, adding that Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) both indicated they want “to get the facts out on the table” and “if Congress is doing its job they will take this seriously.”
The first part of the hearing begins at 9:45 am on Tuesday and will continue at 1:30 pm on Wednesday.
Fuels America Announces New Ad Campaign
Fuels America coalition members today announced the launch of a new ad campaign with the theme of choice when it comes to our energy future. The campaign is targeted to policy makers in Washington DC and focused on supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which is under continued attack by the oil and food industries.
“We’re talking about the fundamental choice America is facing when it comes to our fuel mix – do we want alternatives to oil or not?” asked Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “We’re about choice, we’re about market access.”
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis stressed the importance of energy supply diversity. “Just as you wouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket in any business, we shouldn’t do it as a nation in our fuel choice,” he said. “Oil has tried everything they can …and now this desperate attempt to change the (RFS) because they’re afraid of competition.”
Novozymes North America president Adam Monroe said the RFS has helped increase investment in advanced biofuels. “We’ve developed the technologies, we’re building the plants, so why are the opponents attacking us as we’re crossing the finish line?” he asked. “Like most disruptive technologies and alternatives, they’re very serious threats to an existing monopoly.”
Representatives of the renewable fuels industry, including Dinneen and Buis, will be among those taking part in a House subcommittee hearing this week about the RFS.
Listen to or download Fuels America press call: New Fuels America RFS Campaign
Watch one of the new TV ads below:
Solar on the Farm
“Making Sustainability Work” was the theme of the 2013 Southern Peanut Growers Conference this past week and one of the sessions was devoted to energy efficiency, including the use of solar on the farm.
Peter Marte with Hannah Solar of Atlanta, Georgia says solar energy is getting to be more popular for farming operations because costs have come down. “It’s no longer expensive, the price has dropped 80% over the last three years,” he said. For that reason, Marte encourages farmers to take another look at the possibilities for their operations. “If you haven’t gotten a quote for solar this week – not last month, not a year ago, this week – you don’t have a quote for solar.”
Marte says Hannah Solar has completed a number of agricultural projects around the state of Georgia and many that have benefited from utility company buy back programs. “We’ve done a lot with peanut farmers,” he said, highlighting one example of an irrigation pivot offset system. “So in the winter months when he’s not using the irrigation pivot … he’s still getting compensated for that energy at a fair rate.”
Other projects include the American Peanut Growers shelling plant, which is one of the biggest rooftop solar arrays in the state, solar barns and more. Find out more in this interview with Marte from the peanut growers conference – Interview with Peter Marte, Hannah Solar
RES America to Construct Minnesota Wind Farm
RES America Developments Inc., a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas), will be working with Xcel Energy to construct the 200 megawatt (MW) Pleasant Valley Wind Farm. The project is near Austin, Minnesota, adjacent to the Grand Meadow wind project owned by Xcel Energy.
“RES Americas is pleased to once again work with Xcel Energy to provide an additional 200 megawatts of affordable and clean energy to the region,” said Susan Reilly, president and CEO of RES Americas. “This is an excellent example of the realized benefits of the Production Tax Credit. This project will generate clean, renewable energy, and provide one of the lowest cost power resources currently available in the region.”
RES Americas will continue its role as developer and constructor of Pleasant Valley. Once the project is complete, RES Americas will transfer ownership of Pleasant Valley to Xcel Energy, who will own and operate the project. The development and construction schedules remain on track to be completed by the end of 2015, with development activities into 2014 and plans to break ground in mid-2014.
“The Pleasant Valley Wind Project along with the other wind purchases we are making will lower our customers’ bills, offer protection from rising fuel costs, and provide significant environmental benefits,” said Dave Sparby, president and CEO of Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company.
Pleasant Valley Wind Farm is part of 600 megawatts of wind power recently announced by Xcel Energy in its Upper Midwest service territory. According to RES, when combined, the projects will produce enough energy to serve 180,000 homes and over the lives of the projects, lower customer costs an estimated $180 million. At the same time, the projects will reduce carbon emissions by 1.2 million tons each year in Xcel Energy’s Upper Midwest service territory, where the company already is on track to reduce carbon emissions 30 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.
Kawa Capital to Buy Conergy
U.S. based financial investor Kawa Capital Management has announced it intends to acquire the majority of sales units from Conergy as well as necessary associated 
administrative, management and infrastructure functions of Conergy AG, including the “Conergy” brand. Production subsidiaries Mounting Systems GmbH and Conergy SolarModule GmbH & Co. KG are not part of this transaction.
Kawa, the Conergy Management Board and the preliminary insolvency administrator have signed a letter of intent. The parties intend to finalize the details of the envisaged transaction and the purchase agreement in the next four weeks. The purchase agreement is expected to be executed in the second half of August, subject to a number of conditions precedent including the approval of Conergy’s creditor committee.
“Kawa is our preferred partner. We have been in intense negotiations about an investment in Conergy for months and have agreed on the future concept for Conergy already a long time ago,” said Conergy CEO Dr. Philip Comberg. “Our expertise is highly complementary. 
In the last two years we have consistently focused Conergy on our strengths in international sales and services. At the same time, we have developed new financing and asset management services.”
Comberg continued, “With this setup, Conergy is ideally suited for the future challenges in the global solar growth markets. We want to sustainably implement this ‘downstream strategy’ in the international solar markets with a strong financial and strategic partner who is investing in the company for the long term. Kawa’s financing and structuring capabilities combined with Conergy’s global platform, track record and unparalleled expertise in downstream solar PV creates a unique and leading market player.”
Kawa’s objective is to acquire the two German entities Conergy Deutschland GmbH and Conergy Services GmbH as well as the subsidiaries in the U.S. and Canada, Singapore and Thailand, Australia, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. Read More