Montana Clean Energy Fair Features Biodiesel, Solar

John Davis

MTCleanEnergyFair1Montana 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.

Biodiesel, Solar

RFS Subject of House Subcommittee Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

house-energyTwo 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.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Growth Energy, RFA, RFS

Fuels America Announces New Ad Campaign

Cindy Zimmerman

rfs-ad-choiceFuels 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:

advanced biofuels, Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, RFA, RFS

Solar on the Farm

Cindy Zimmerman

spgc13-solar“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.”

hannah-solar-2Marte 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

Audio, Farming, Solar

RES America to Construct Minnesota Wind Farm

Joanna Schroeder

Xcel Energy Nobles 4RES 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.

Alternative energy, Electricity, Energy, Wind

Kawa Capital to Buy Conergy

Joanna Schroeder

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 Kawa Logo copyadministrative, 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. Conergy logoIn 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

Alternative energy, Company Announcement, Solar

Chrysler & NextEnergy Explore Battery Power

Joanna Schroeder

Chrysler Group has partnered with NextEnergy, a Detroit-based non-profit energy-technology and business accelerator, to evaluate vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology using four all-electric minivans. If the EVs prove to be viable storehouses of electricity, they could provide energy savings by sending surplus power to the grid.

“This program is indicative of our broad-based approach to powertrain development,” said Bob Lee, Chrysler Group Vice President and Head of Engine and Electrified Propulsion Engineering. “Advanced internal-combustion technology remains at the core of our efforts, but the present regulatory climate we live in compels all auto makers to explore V2G_minivan__midalternatives such as electrification. We’re choosing to go the extra mile by also exploring how electric vehicles might mesh with our energy infrastructure.”

The battery-powered minivans are connected to a charging module that, thanks to unique NextEnergy technology, can simulate any electrical grid in the world.

“This, when coupled with Chrysler Group’s powertrain expertise, has enabled leading-edge business-model and technology demonstrations,” said NextEnergy President and CEO Jean Redfield.

Among the scenarios under study is reduced reliance on “spinning reserves” – the expensive practice of having huge generators at the ready to balance spikes in energy demand. According to Chrysler, if EVs were linked together in sufficient numbers and their combined surplus power was sold to utility companies, they could conceivably offset demand surges. The expectation is that tapping such a reservoir would cut costs for utility companies, while also putting money into the pockets of EV owners.Read More

Alternative Vehicles, automotive, Electric Vehicles

Jam the Stands

Joanna Schroeder

Jam at the StandsThe “Jam the Stands” racing series continues on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at the Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. During the event, fans will enjoy a free evening of high octane stock car racing and learn about biofuels. Gates open at 2:00 pm and racing begins at 5:30 pm.

The Biofuel Mobile Education Center will be at the Speedway, thanks to the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, which is sponsoring the “Jam the Stands” racing series across Minnesota. The Biofuel Mobile Education Center gives race fans the opportunity to learn more about ethanol fuels using touch screen computers, educational displays, videos, and flex fuel station locaters.

The American Lung Association in Minnesota will also be in attendance to help share the clean air benefits of E85. Some fans who drive flex fuel vehicles will receive a coupon for $2 off a tankful of E85 at the Short Stop Quick Mart at 4725 Quail Road, Sauk Rapids. The event also features a $50 Visa cash card giveaway as well as a Husqvarna equipment give away from Mimbach Fleet.

biofuels, E85, Education, Racing

DF Cast: Geothermal Potential Just Below Surface

John Davis

Geothermal energy is seen as one of the cleanest and most efficient in the world, ranking right up there with the likes of wind energy. But growth in the energy source has been slow but steady.

KarlGawell1In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from Executive Director of the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) Karl Gawell who believes the trend away from coal-fired plants and toward other renewable energy sources could see things pick up for geothermal. He says geothermal’s steady supply is the perfect complement to wind and solar energy plants that might have intermittent gaps that geothermal can easily and quickly fill.

GEAMGM1In addition, he talks about the GEA’s Geothermal Energy Expo 2013, September 29-October 2 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas. He says with the growing international market in geothermal hotspots, this gathering is the perfect opportunity to meet with people with geothermal interests around the world. Registration is available here. And you can find out more about geothermal energy at his group’s website, www.geo-energy.org.

Hear more of the conversation here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Geothermal's Potential

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, Domestic Fuel Cast, Geothermal

Michigan Research: Diesel Saves Money

John Davis

UMTRIA new study shows that vehicles that run on diesel save their owners money. While the research didn’t specifically mention biodiesel, the green fuel would also be part of that savings. Biodiesel Magazine reports the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute found that the total cost of ownership (TCO) is lower for diesel vehicles compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts.

“Our results show that clean diesel vehicles generally provide a return on investment in both the three- and five-year timeframes, though there are differences in the amounts of return among mass market vehicles, medium duty trucks, and luxury vehicles,” authors Bruce M. Belzowski and Paul Green, assistant research scientists with UMTRI, state in their report. “The estimates of savings for three and five years of ownership vary from a low of $67 in three years to a high of $15,619 in five years, but most of the savings are in the $2,000 to $6,000 range, which also include the extra cost that is usually added to the diesel version of a vehicle.”

The report concludes that diesel vehicles can and do compete well in the U.S. market and are at an advantage when fuel economy regulations for 2016 and 2025 are considered.

Biodiesel, Research, University